Mini Con - 2014

I thought this year I would try to better my photography at comic book conventions. Interesting people, lots of color, challenging lighting and backgrounds. I have been to Super Con in years past. This year I thought I would go the whole route of South Florida conventions.

First stop - Mini Con - $5.00 entry fee. Free Parking.

  

As the name implies, this is a small convention but a great way to get initiated. The venue was close to my house which was appealing. I was not sure exactly what I was going to shoot. It was much easier to meet people and have a conversation which is the real reason most people attend these events.

   

It didn't take long to realize I already knew a good number of people from my time at the Florida Ren Fest. Nice to know the creative and talented people I have been interacting with for years have other talents and interests I knew nothing about.




And it never hurts to make a few new friends like Freya and Rick (above). One thing I did come away with was a photography lesson late in the day. I made a lot of mistakes with these photos. Let's see if I progress as I work my way through the remaining conventions.


For more photos from the event [click here]

Vital Flight - Boca Raton - 2014

This was an event and rare opportunity I was very privileged to attend. Through my very good friends, the South Florida Pirates I was allowed to bring along my camera and capture a special day for children in need.




The Vital Flight group is an all volunteer organization dedicated to providing medical or humanitarian services where ever they are needed. This event was about flying the children on a short excursion to get them used to the planes in preparation for when this service is needed.

 I was not able to stay long enough to take a flight of my own but it was great to see the kids and their families out for the day.

The highlight for most, including me was interacting with the South Florida Pirates. They live for these types of events and bring a lot of joy to these kids.

For more photos  [click here]

Blowing Rocks Preserve - Hobe Sound FL

I've written about Blowing Rocks Preserve before. I've been there several times over the years and always unexpectedly. There are two ways to see this beach. At low tide so you can see a fairly boring beach with sand and rocks. And at high tide for the full effect and understanding of how this beach got it's name. As luck would have it, this visit was at the lowest possible tide. I know. I have an AP for that. I just did not have 12 hours to wait.




I spend a lot more time in this area these days. I think I will use that AP to go during a high tide and watch the waves create their magic on this rare bit of Florida shoreline.

Giving My Photos a New Life

This is a proud day indeed. I've been taking photos a long time and simply posting them on Flickr for people to enjoy. In the past year or so I've been getting ever increasing hits and making a lot of new friends. Up until today my greatest achievement was that several of my good friends have used my photos in their Facebook profiles. It's been a great honor to see people I know personally, use my photos as their face to the world.

Recently I was in St. Augustine and took a few photos of a place I've loved since I was a kid but never really captured properly.






I spent several days and made it a point to visit every place I had been before, always wanted to visit, and never knew existed. I captured as much as possible and shared it to the world.

I don't advertise my work. I'm not a professional photographer by any means. Just a guy with a camera. Some how, some way, and totally unexpectedly I was contacted and asked for permission to use a few of my photos. I had seen some prints around town and thought how great it would be to visit again one day and see a tiny photo of mine hanging up in the back of a bar or something.

Well, today I got photos of the installation.

I call this blog Moving Pictures because I post the photos that make a difference in my life, bring a tear to my eye, make me unreasonable happy, or just plain move me in an emotional way. Thank you Anie Perez of Public Imagery in Tampa. You did all that and more.

If you missed my St Augustine photos [click here] and [click here]

Trying Out Steampunk

I am best known for taking photos at events. Not being in them. Of all the genres out there, Steampunk was the one that spoke to me. I did not have the time or funding to go crazy with it and some of the pieces were re-cycled from my venture into Pirating. I think it came out well. I had a crazy amount of compliments. I also got a chance to interact with the folks I have so admired over the years from the other side of the lens.

For more photos [click here]

Florida Renaissance Festival - 2014

I took a little break from blogging so I could do a little living and concentrate on taking photos. My first stop - 6 weekends at the Florida Renaissance Festival. This is my hometown fair and has grown from an occasional visit over the last fifteen years to an obsession of sorts.



But It's more than that. It's where I've made a good many friends. Not just at the various shows they preform in but out in the real world as well. It was suggested a while back I step out from behind my camera and get to know some people. Thanks to that little push and 800,000 hits on my Flickr page, I have gotten way out of my comfort zone and have become a part of the show. I don't get paid for my photos but over the course of the season, several of the participants used my photos for their promotions and Facebook pages. With all the amazing photographers who attend this event, I am always in awe when someone chooses one of mine as their face to the world.

For more information on this, my favorite South Florida event [click here]

If you would like to see my photos from the full six week run of the show [click here]