Diving in Grand Turk at the Bohio Resort

" Bohio" means home on Grand Turk.  Our home away from home for our diving vacation.  Grand Turk is a flat, small island that happens to be the seat of government for the Turks and Caicos Islands of the Caribbean - cruise ships come in for lunch and an afternoon at the beach; not very picturesque but the sand is divine.
Unexpected weather kept us out of the water for the first couple of days.  But it did provide a chance for body surfing!

The Bohio restaurant has wonderful food!

 The boat comes right up to our resort beach, we hop on and motor a short way to "The Wall".  The Wall goes down 7000 feet but we explore only the first 100 feet down.  Diving off Grand Turk is what people come here for - not the scenery and not the night life.  The island is also full of dogs, who look alike and donkeys, who roam freely everywhere.

There was a guy on the beach everyday with a horse.  He charged the tourists $40 a ride.  Deb knows how to ride and she had fun!  I had fun getting panning shots of her racing down the beach.

This is the Caribbean - just beautiful!

Photographing A Beach Wedding!

Portrait photography is not my first love.  I am happiest above the tree-line knowing I got there by my own steam.
So why did I shoot a beach wedding?  Many photographers support themselves with portrait photography.  It pays the bills.  It's a challenge, it's fun and people are endlessly interesting.  Luckily, I'm retired and I don't need to do portraits.  But... I'm finding out about the fun.  And I'm learning a lot about photography as I do it!

The photographs are my wedding gift to the bride and groom.

How did I prepare myself?  What are the major things a photographer needs to think about when shooting a wedding?  Here's the short list:
~ Know the sequence of events of the ceremony.
~Who is in the wedding party?  Who is family?
~Familiarize yourself with the location and plan your shots.
~If it's a large wedding you will need two people with cameras.
~Pray for overcast skies or at least lots of clouds, no sun (white dresses and sun don't get along)
~Indoors? Learn to use your flash well!
~Ask the bride what she wants and how close to them you can get.
~Look at lots of photos online for inspiration.

It was great and I had a wonderful time capturing their special moments.  The best part is that they love the photos!

Hunter's Beach - Hidden Gem of Acadia

The trail to Hunter's Beach is easy.  The footing is tricky.  Wet roots provide the biggest challenge.  It follows a lovely little brook through dense forest to a cobble beach opening directly onto the Gulf of Maine.  The beach is a great place to catch the sunrise and see smooth cobbles, chunks of bedrock polished by the tireless waves.
You cannot get there on the Loop Road.  Instead, take Rt. 3 south from Bar Harbor towards Seal Harbor.  Turn left onto a small road angling towards the ocean which later reconnects to Rt. 3.  Look sharp as you are liable to miss the tiny parking lot at the trail head.  Down the road a bit you can find the trail head to the cliff trails or you can start up from the beach and climb the cliff trail.

Hunter's Head will be to your left.

Hunter's Cliff trails to the right offer exciting views of the beach and the ocean.

Hardly anyone knows about this peaceful little corner of Acadia.  Finding it feels like wonderful discovery all your own.
The cliffs are not for faint of heart.  One can walk out onto to rocky ledges for a wonderful view.

View of Hunter's Head

Close up of the lichen and moss on the cliffs.

Senior Portraits at the Beach - Plum Island, MA

Ever been asked for pro bono photography work?  It's worth doing if it's not your normal thing as a photographer.  Portraits are way out of my comfort zone.  But natural light is not.
I had a blast with my friend's granddaughter planning what kinds of shots she wanted.
We didn't know where to start until I found a great webpage that gave us 47 Amazing Senior Portrait Ideas at Buzz Feed by a Buzz Feed staffer!  She picked the ones she liked.  We planned shoots around those ideas.
This is our version of the beach idea we found in the 47 Ideas article:

I picked her up at 6am and drove to the beach as the sunrise was just beginning.  It was cold so we brought blankets and warm clothes for in between shots in and out of the water.

Did I mention it was cold?!  She thought so too!

We ended the morning with breakfast at Friendly's.  I had fun doing this with her and she loves her photos.  It was an opportunity for me to grow as a photographer.