The Ten Thousand Islands Project - Part 3

I liked this piece of driftwood that stood out away from all the downed trees. Most of my compositions taken that evening included it in the foreground.

As often as I photograph in the Ten Thousand Islands, I never know what to expect when I get out there. On this recent trip, my second day was a serendipitous study in black and white on Panther Key (see previous blog). For the third day, I wanted color as I anticipated a sunset from Picnic Key. All I needed was a clear view of the sky, clouds and interesting foreground subjects. Unfortunately (or fortunately), Picnic Key is a complicated mixture of beach, storm debris, and tidal flats. You never know what your going to get on any given day.

Our 6-mile route from Panther Key (top left corner) to Picnic Key.

My rudimentary attempt to show the direction of the setting sun (red) and the rising sun (yellow) from where I stood on Picnic Key.

Clear view. Naturally in the gulf, you can observe sunsets every day. Picnic Key's beach is one of many that offers a clear view. But it comes with a caveat; it happens only a few months out of the year. That's because the setting and rising points of the sun change every day. Notice the big island to the left of Picnic Key in the above photo. That island blocks the view of the sunset from February to October. So if you want a clear view of a sunset from Picnic Key, you have to be there from November through February.

My one horizontal composition that at least shows some of the hurricane destruction. The sun was setting off to the right of the frame as I faced south. 

Clouds. After I arrived on the island, fluffy cumulus types speckled the sky but soon disappeared all together. A blank sky filled my view as I played the waiting game on the beach before sunset. It's those cloudless skies that I dread most. Without clouds at sunset, the sky will be a large blank space providing nothing more than a bright ball on the horizon. As luck would have it, about 2 hours before sunset, the sky became blanketed with stratocirrus clouds. Perfect.

Foreground Interest. I gathered my camera, tripod and filters and walked the beach about an hour before sunset. The beach had changed dramatically from hurricane Irma. Earlier, I had found an interesting driftwood that might serve well in the foreground. I also anticipated that the incoming tide would not be high enough to cover the beach, leaving me with interesting textures to place in the scene.

As I look over my photos from this trip, once again, Picnic Key appears differently than from previous visits, a shapeshifter if you will. And this is why I keep coming back.

As the sun set, the clouds darkened with a purple hue. There's that driftwood piece again.

For comparison, below are three images from the past, to give you a sense of change.

Picnic Key, November 2016. Liking the cloud formations, I captured this low tide scene midday with a polarizing filter on the lens.

November 2013, this was one of my first attempts at getting a long exposure image on Picnic Key. Low tide revealed significant debris from previous storm damage.

One afternoon in February 2009, heavy fog rolled in on Picnic Key. This interesting piece of driftwood has long since disappeared.