PixelSure Photography

A year after Hurricane Michael and there are still many reminders of the terrible storm that changed many peoples lives. This sailboat is still banked on the shore of North Bay by Gulf Coast State College; it's underside battered and beaten from the storm. Yet, the beauty and strength of a recovering community prevails. 

This little shoreline bird was photographed piping along the shoreline using Olympus' built in PopArt filter. 

This is taken underneath Russell-Fields Pier in Panama City Beach. I thought including the underside of the pier's walkway would give this perspective a little something different and it was overexposed when editing in Photoshop. 

Olympus' Live Time feature is a blast to work with and the results are some kind of awesome. It moves a little faster than Live Composite so it keeps you on your toes, so to say. This was shot over a span of 15 seconds at ISO 200; using a ND 1000 lens filter. I was surprised, really, at how well this shot came together and how fast Live Time moved longer exposure photography. Nonetheless, I found a spot to spread out a beach towel and set-up my little Gorilla Pod, underneath Russell-Fields Pier in Panama City Beach~ Dog Beach at Pier Park Mall. It made for a nice late afternoon. 

    Three Umbrellas On The Beach: An Overexposure. 

I was walking along the shoreline about ankle deep in water, looking at the pattern of the shore and determining what angle to shoot the evening's sunset when something brushed against my foot. Imagine my surprise when seeing this stingray: WOW, with a particular interest. There were two of these aquatic creatures playing in the sand; I thought they might be mating. Nonetheless, I can't remember the last time I saw stingrays moving in the shallows and it was fun shooting them. 

The first time I visited Camp Helen State park I was walking along the trail to the beach and saw this old fishing pier in the distance. It looked like the ancient ruins of an early beach civilization or bedrock- I was wowed. After doing some research about Camp Helen I came to the conclusion that this old fishing pier was probably built sometime around 1945 when the camp became a resort for employees of a textile mill: Avondale Mills, in Alabama. Nonetheless, this old pier has stood through some major hurricanes and although it may never truly be a bedrock, it is the ruins of an old fishing pier that many folks enjoyed and still enjoy today. (Edited 06/14/2022)

  This "Late July" sunset was shot using Olympus' built in art filters: Art 1- Pop Art; it makes for some bright, interesting, and fun colors; perfect for a real fun beach. The reds are brighter, greens are greener; when using this filter, the neon colors will knock you out.  Nonetheless, This was shot at 25 mm (micro 4/3); f/3.2 @ 1/200 second, ISO 200, +1 step exposure bias, max aperture 1.69.... During post processing (raw)- texture, clarity, and dehaze were reduced while vibrance increased to give it a more abstract or artistic appearance. The next photo shows you what the photo looked like before post processing.  

The SkyWheel is amazing and each time I have the opportunity to photograph it using Olympus' Live Composite mode, I achieve a different or unique shot. It's an awesome new addition to Pier Park Mall. 

This is an old weather observation unit "I think" originally was built by the military some years back. We don't see these structures in Bay or Walton counties as they're primarily found in Okaloosa County and many are still on military reservation (as far as I know). They may be used for other things now but that's unclear; I'm trying to find out more about them. These things have been here my entire life and always strike me as outlandish somehow. Nevertheless, this was taken with an Olympus OM-D  E-M5  Mark 11, using a 14-150 mm lens and a lens filter stack. 

This is sunset at Dog Beach in Panama City Beach and next to the city pier. It's a busy area and it was nice to have some time to shoot here. 

This is my first attempt at shooting the earth's rotation. It was more difficult than expected and easier than first thought, if that makes sense. This particular photo was taken in Olympus' live composite mode at a focal length of 22mm; ISO 1600; @ f/4.5; max aperture- 4, with live composite set for base exposure of 10 seconds. This was shot over about 30 minutes. I was hoping to achieve a full rotation but after about 25 minutes it was apparent I was only going to achieve a partial image of it. However, I did like how the star trails gave me an abstract sense of rain over the beach. And I'm looking forward to doing some more work with astrophotography and acquiring a scene or two illustrating the full circle of the earth's rotation.   

Upside down peace is symbolic of struggles for peace or even why some claimed an upside down peace sign is satanic. Personally, I think it's born from the tree of life; illustrating the essence of a peace warrior. 

This photo is from my last creative adventure with live composite photography. I know, it's not the greatest light painting you've ever seen BUT it was neat seeing this grid line chief take form. This was taken just before midnight at the corner of a residential street and hwy 98; in Olympus' live composite mode; 24- 4 second exposures, and over a 15 minute time frame. During each exposure I moved the lens and began rounding the lines in an attempt to create an abstraction of a horses mane; the chief's head dress took form instead. Nonetheless, it was fun working with the tripod on the hood of my car and learning to use the camera to draw with head and tail lights.  (edited 04/01/2019) 

Took my grand kids to Camp Helen for a spring break outing; they had a blast and grandma did too. This photo is of my grandson who found a tiny clam still attached to its opened shell. He came running from water's edge, excited about his find. He held the little clam out for me to photograph but I didn't have the macro lens on the camera (it's not water resistant) and couldn't get a clear shot of my grandson's find. Nonetheless, as he held the tiny creature between his fingers, he decided he should say a prayer for it and I had to take a photo. We'd talked about God and creation as we drove to camp that day. 

Went to Pier Park Mall (Panama City Beach) with the tripod a couple of nights ago to begin after dark live composite shooting; I forgot it was spring break. The section of the park I'd originally wanted to shoot at was congested with many people- there wasn't any place to put the tripod. I ended up shooting from the west side of the mall and as you can see from across the parking lot. This really isn't the best shot but using Olympus' live composite I was able to achieve "Sky Wheel Mania." It took a few shots and experimenting with different live composite settings before finding the right niche. This was shot on low ISO 100, @ a focal length of 14 mm for 24-8 second exposures. Watching the photo expose is totally cool, really. Working with my new Olympus OM-D camera is exciting. ( edited 03/18/2019)

Took a look at my weather app Saturday afternoon to make plans for shooting this week; imagine the excitement I felt when seeing four sunny days in a row.  Right away I began making plans for a shoreline shoot; taking a second look at the app to find that in exchange for sunny days all in a row, the temperature was taking a nose dive back to December. Thermal under garments and flannel shirts just didn't fit my vision so I stayed close to home; working with intentional movement. Photographers who say you've got to experiment with such techniques, aren't kidding. It does take a few frames to find a niche and practice makes perfect. I'm planning on doing more work with abstraction or moving the camera intentionally; "Strings and Hinges" won't hold me back. (Edited 03/04/2019 @10:15 pm CST)

Went to Conservation Park a few weeks back, scouting shots or places to shoot; this is one of the photos I took. They were doing a prescribed burn which created the slight foggy effect. Texturing the photo mellowed the effect from the smoke tho'- it was something different to do and overall I'm happy with the result. I do plan on returning to Conservation Park this spring to shoot and again in fall.