I took a family vacation to Destin Florida with the intent of taking a short break from writing a daily blog. 2 1/2 months later I finally started back. Taking time to write a daily blog got to be to much, so I have decided to limit it to once or twice a week depending on what is happening in my life. It would be ideal to have more leisure time to travel, photograph, and write about my adventures. But reality set in, and like most people I still need to work to support my travel and photography addicition.
I did not expect to get in a lot of nature and wildlife photography on this trip with the family, so mine time alone was limited to the very early mornings. What is interesting about Destin, and all beaches on the panhandle of Florida is that the beaches run east and west. The sunrises and sunsets are actually behind you over the bay area when you are out on the beach. If you want that classic orange ball sun rising or setting into the water you have to shoot it in the bay between the barrier beach and the mainland. You can still create some amazing scences with the early morning light, it is just not your classic shot with the sun being in the frame.
The beaches along the Florida panhandle are really some of the most beautiful you will find. The quartz sand is bright white and very soft. The waters here are clear and warm. It is an ideal place for a family beach vacation. There are many entertainment activities, restaurants, and shopping locations in the many towns along the panhandle.
What was frustrating for me as a nature photographer was the lack of birds and other wildlife to photograph on the beach. I guess I am pretty spoiled going to south Florida so often where the birds far outnumber the people. Don't get me wrong, there were some birds around, but they were far and few between. Even in the early mornings at first light there was not much to photograph except the overall scenery. A couple mornings I even drove down to some protected national seashore beaches were no development is allowed. I did see and photograph some birds and other wildlife, but I was dissapointed with the overall numbers and results of those trips. So I just concentrated on the seascapes.
One evening a large thunderstorm started building right offshore out in the Gulf of Mexico. The light show put on by mother nature was spectacular! I was able to set up my tripod on an elevated deck overlooking the beach and capture the best lightning shots I have ever taken. Since it was so dark I simply had my camera on complete manual settings. I shot at ISO 100 with an apeture of f11 using a wide angle lens. Shutter was set to bulb and a electronic shutter release as used to trip the shutter. Many of the exposures were around 30 seconds that the shutter was open until I captured a big lightning strike.
I spent five days in a friends beachfront condo and had a great time. Having your family together on a trip like this makes it very special. I know that I would never get tiredof living on the beach. I love the mountains, but those eary morning walks on the beach are the best.
