I read Nick Rains’ article “The Leica S2 as a Travel Camera” on The Luminous Landscape the other day and and came away with a great big smile. I was smiling because I discovered just how good the S2 is as a travel camera few months ago and I am glad see others make this discovery. This got me to thinking about my trip to South Florida last winter and I thought it would fun to share some images I got on that trip.
South Florida offers a wide variety of photography options and I explored many of them such as Key West, the Everglades, Hollywood Beach, and West Palm Beach. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to do everything I wanted (e.g., Big Cypress Swamp, Kite Boarders, etc.).
I came away with wide range of photographs which could be split into at least three different groups (blog posts). However, I chose to present a sample from each group here in one blog post to show what is possible in only 8 days in south Florida.
Key West, Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park
Key West Living Room – S2, 70mm, ISO 160, 1/180 sec., f/8.0
Regatta Practice – S2, Hasselblad 350mm CFE, ISO 160, 1/500 sec., f/8.0(?)
Picture Perfect – S2, 180mm, ISO 160, 1/750 sec., f/9.5
Sunset Palm – S2, 35mm, ISO 160, 1/125 sec., f/8.0 and some fill flash
I know it is bad form to mix color and B&W images, but I am not presenting a portfolio for review or producing a book here. I simply liked this photo in B&W better (Thanks to David K. for opening my eyes to the B&W version)
Storm Front – S2, 35mm, ISO 160, 1/125 sec., f/4.0
Sights around Key West
It Begins Here – S2, 35mm, ISO 160, 1/750 sec., f/8.0
Key West Stables – S2, 35mm, ISO 160, 1/180 sec., f11
Other Places – S2, 35mm, ISO 320, 1/180 sec., f/8.0
I love it when a shower passes through and wets the streets and sidewalks. It provides nice reflections of the city lights which leads to much more interesting photos. Key West was pretty good in this situation, but Times Square is still my favorite.
Tropic Cinema – S2, 35mm, ISO 160, 1.5 sec., f/11
Sloppy Joes – S2, 35mm, ISO 160, 6.0 sec., f/11
Green Parrot – S2, 35mm, ISO 160, 24.0 sec., f/9.5
Fish and Fowl at Robbie’s
Islamorada, FL is about half way out in the Keys and there is a place called Robbie’s where tarpon hang out around the docks in the winter. In addition, several egrets and great blue herons also hang out there looking for an easy meal.
Tarpon at Robbie's – S2, 180mm, ISO 160, 1/750 sec., f4.8
Egret at Robbie's 1 – S2, 180mm, ISO 160, 1/750 sec., f/9.5
Egret at Robbie's 2 – S2, 180mm, ISO 160, 1/250 sec., f/3.5
Various Wildlife In The Everglades
I included a large number of bird photos, many of which are not technically great, but I wanted to show the variety of birds in the Everglades. I also saw a couple Roseate Spoonbills, but didn’t get photos of them.
S2, 180mm, ISO 160, 1/750 sec., f/6.8
S2, 180mm, ISO 160, 1/500 sec., f/5.6
S2, Hasselblad 350mm CFE, ISO 160, 1/350 sec., f/8.0(?)
S2, 180mm, ISO 160, 1/750 sec., f/3.5
S2, 180mm, ISO 160, 1/180 sec., f/3.5
S2, Hasselblad 350mm CFE, ISO 160, 1/500 sec., f/8.0(?)
S2, Hasselblod 350mm CFE, ISO 160, 1/250 sec., f/8.0(?)
S2, Hasselblad 350mm CFE, ISO 160, 1/250 sec., f/8.0(?)
S2, Hasselblad 350mm CFE, ISO 160, 1/350 sec., f/8.0(?)
S2, 180mm, ISO 640, 1/250 sec., f/3.5
S2, Hasselblod 350mm CFE, ISO 160, 1/1500 sec., f/8.0(?)
S2, 180mm, ISO 160, 1/750 sec., f/6.8
Everglades Landscapes
S2, 180mm, ISO 160, 1.5 sec., f/13
S2, Pentax 67 45mm, ISO 160, 1/45 sec., f/8.0(?)
S2, 180mm, ISO 160, 1/180 sec., f/13
S2, 70mm, ISO 160, 0.7 sec., f/11
Next up is a fun image taken on Hollywood Beach. I say fun because I went a bit overboard in the HDR conversion. Typically, I dislike the HDR look however its OK when used for an artistic approach. It's also worth mentioning that the morning on Hollywood Beach were the only photos I took that day as I was visiting friends the rest of the time.
S2, 70mm, ISO 160, 1/125 sec., f/11
Finally, something completely different than anything else on this trip. These photos were taken at the annual Palm Beach Cavallino Classic Ferrari car show held at The Breakers Resort Hotel in West Palm Beach
S2, Hasselblad 105mm Makro (I'm pretty sure), ISO 160, 1/500 sec., f/8.0(?)
S2, 70mm, ISO 160, 1/250 sec., f/5.6
S2, 70mm, ISO 160, 1/250 sec., f/4.0
S2, 70mm, ISO 160, 1/250 sec., f/5.6
S2, 70mm, ISO 160, 1/125 sec., f/2.5
S2, 70mm, ISO 160, 1/180 sec., f3.4
S2, 70mm, ISO 160, 1/180 sec., f4.0
S2, 70mm, ISO 160, 1/125 sec., f/4.8
Whew! That is a lot of photos for one blog post – maybe too much. It was such a fun trip I really wanted to convey the diversity of shooting possibilities in South Florida. Next time I get down there, I want to try some street shooting in South Beach and Little Havana as well as make it over to Big Cypress Swamp for some landscapes.
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