Flamingo Sunsets

In the winter of this year I had the opportunity to visit the Everglades for a week of photography.  I journeyed over most of the park from the eastern entrances everyday from pre-sunrise to post-sunset.  One location quickly became my favorite after my very first visit.  Flamingo is about 38 miles from the east entrance to the park.  I wasn't setup for camping so I made the drive every day to Flamingo for sunset.

I was looking for a western exposure to the open water where I had a feeling that magical light could happen around sunset.  My first trip to Flamingo was a stark reminder of the the official bird of Florida-the mosquito.  They nearly carried me away that night and I never left my Deep Woods Off at home after that.  The evening was very special as the Florida Bay was dead still and the post-sunset sky glow was reflecting off of the water like a mirror.  This evening was colored by pink and blue pastels in the sky.  The next evening was a little overcast and didn't provide much in the way of special light.  My third evening was specactular.  The pre-sunset sky was full of popcorn clouds and a brilliant sun reflecting off of the bay.  Then it followed up with fantastic post-sunset sky glow and clouds that really made the trip special.  

So it goes without saying that I have found a favorite photo location in the Everglades and will visit this spot every time I am in the area.  

I invite you to view the full size images of Flamingo Sunsets at this link.  

Flowing Water Workshop Students in the Field

We just had a wonderful weekend in the field photographing flowing water, forests, sunrises, and sunsets in the highlands of West Virginia at Blackwater Falls State Park.  I will have much more about this workshop and future workshops, but wanted to let you see some images of the students working in the field.  What a great group of hard working and talented photographers.  Here is a link to the gallery of students hard at work.

Gallery of students working in the field.

Whew!

Hello all!  Can't believe it has been 3 months since my last post to the blog.  It has been a crazy time.  The bulk of the time was spent in Florida at art shows.  I did get to mix in some landscape and astronomical photography as well.  

I did pick the right winter to be in Florida, huh?  It was certainly a rough one in my home state of West Virginia.  While some Floridians were complaining about some cool temps early in the winter, the weather was really spectacular during my stay.  

My fine art photography was on display at a total of 8 shows over that time period and we met many new collectors and admirers of our beautiful landscapes and astronomical wonders.  The art show locations were mostly on the Atlantic coast line in the Miami region with one show on the Gulf coast in Sarasota.  

The amount of work involved in putting on a display at the country's finest art shows is really quite overwhelming at times.  I admire those who can do this by themselves on a regular basis.  Most artists have either a spouse or paid help to assist with the logistics of the show.  For me it was a lone endeavor and at times was quite overwhelming.  I hope to do a few select shows over the coming months, but will not be doing a huge schedule of shows.  In spite of the very hard work, the shows provide many great benefits.  Thousands of eyes catch my interpretation of the beauty of earth and sky.  What is most important is that they see the prints as intended and not on a computer monitor that may or may not be calibrated and producting accurate colors and brightness/contrast.  That is one of the most rewarding parts of the display for me is knowing that the viewer is taking in the image as intended.  

 Image capture Brent Mayard, enhanced by Jeff BallIt is always a great time under the stars with friends taking astrophotographs.  The last week of February I joined fellow astrophotographers Brent Maynard and Byron Bergert for some astrophotography from Big Pine Key in the Florida Keys.  We had 3 wonderful nights of imaging under the dark southern skies.  I am currently preparing all of the deep sky images for presentation and hope to be presenting them over the next few months.  The above image was captured by Brent and I enhanced it in LightRoom.  We are looking in the direction of Cuba over the open water where skies are very dark.  At this lattitude we gain access to numerous deep sky objects that we simply cannot see from West Virginia.  

Sunset over Florida Bay from Flamingo. Copyright Jeff Ball 2011

While in Florida I had an opportunity to image in the Everglades.  I fell in love with sunsets over Florida Bay from Flamingo.  I will have a 3 image series from my evenings at Flamingo in the next few weeks.

So "hello" again and stay tuned for many new images coming from both earth and sky.  Take care.  

Two New Images Join the "Designer Series"

Light PathVertical SwirlsMary Johnson has worked her magic again to produce two new designer presentations featuring the amazing light from Antelope Canyon.  Please click on the thumbnail to view the image and gorgeous framing presentation in the black portfolio presentation window at full resolution.  These new prints make a wonderful companion presentation on any home or office wall.  The prints were designed as a pair to complement each other in a stunning presentation of slot canyon light.  More information on the prints and framing may be found here.

A New Portfolio: Slot Canyon Light

Light PathVertical SwirlsThe light in the American southwest slot canyons is amazing.  The blend of colors as the light is reflected on the canyon walls creates a unique palette that is hard to find anywhere else.

Today we announce a portfolio dedicated to this special light.

Please take a moment to journey to Lower Antelope Canyon and experience the unique palette of color and light today.

Please click on either image to enter the gallery or HERE.   Please don't forget to click on each thumbnail to enter the black portfolio mode for best viewing.