Where's Wendy? Downtown Dunedin!!

© Spellbound Images by Wendy - All Rights Reserved

When I first started doing portraits in the area I didn't always go to Clearwater Beach. Although the beach has a beautiful natural backdrop, sometimes I just want more out of my portraits. I want that urban look that pops colors and textures... and so do some of my clients!

Since I've been in the area, Dunedin has always been a place that appeals to the senses. It's small, comfortable, and you never get the evil eye from venue owners for capturing their establishments as part of your portraits. In fact they welcome it! Seriously I've been to some local cities where they follow you around and want to know what you're doing just because you are taking photo's of their architecture, even if it's is just in the background of a portrait. It leaves a bad taste in your mouth and makes you wonder if you should ever attempt that again.  You can always expect a friendly face in Dunedin!

Dunedin is the perfect setting for capturing teens, and children... because of it's lively colors and wonderful textures it brings a pop to their portraits that you just cant find in most places. It makes them feel alive, and they love to revel in the promise and wonder of this small towns eclectic style. It certainly provokes curiosity and happiness for client and photographer!

Because of it's historical impression Dunedin also works great for vintage style portraits. From the street lamps to the stage in the center of Main St. this town is the perfect place for photo's with an old time appearance.

Out door stairways, benches with arbors, abstract painted walls, as well as bricks, and stone, make this the perfect spot for photographing those funky Seniors, and spirited Children! And that's not all.... stay tuned for more exciting photo opportunities in Dunedin, Florida!

 

Love, Laughs, and Photographs,

Wendy

All images captured with the Olympus E500 on Lexar digital media. All post editing done with Adobe Photoshop CS4 using Onone and Topaz adjust plug ins.

Where's Wendy? South Beach, Miami, Florida!!

© Spellbound Images by Wendy - All Rights Reserved

The last stop on our mini escape was Miami, I hadn't been there since the 70's and my partner had never been. Of course we stopped off at the Hard Rock Miami, for dinner and a cocktail, before exploring other parts of Miami.  You will find that a lot of my post's will include shots and info about the Hard Rock... I believe it is our goal to visit each and every one!  This particular Hard Rock happened to hold a bar that was a replica of Eddie Van Halen's Frankenstein guitar!  We were seated in a booth surrounded by Elvis (my personal favorite), and our waiter Dave was awesome!  After dinner we browsed the memorabilia of 100's of artist while listening to great music on the Hard Rock music channel.

It was getting late (almost dark) when we left the Hard Rock, and made our way to Ocean Drive, and South Beach. I hadn't visited the Atlantic Ocean in several years, yet the water was just as beautiful and blue as I remembered it in the past!

After a walk and a few shots (photographic, not alcoholic) :) on the beach we made our way down Ocean Drive where the night life is really kickin! If it weren't so late I would have loved to stop and take night shots of all the great restaurants, hotels, motels and clubs. The ambient light was amazing! Rainbows of neon for as far as the eye could see. Beautiful! But Alas, it was late, and we still had a 3 hour drive back home.

I will be heading back to Miami soon to capture all of it's beauty including Ocean Drive... with it's lighted venues, amazing cars, and exciting night life. Spending more time in South Beach is definitely on my schedule!

Love, Laughs, and Photographs,

Wendy

All images captured with the Olympus E500 on Lexar digital media.  Post processing done in Photo Shop CS4 using Onone, and Topaz adjust plugins.

Where's Wendy? The Jupiter Lighthouse!!

© Spellbound Images by Wendy - All Rights Reserved

When I found out we were going to Jupiter, Florida I decided to do a map search to see how far away it just might be. I love Google Maps!! When the map search brought up Jupiter, Florida it also included pictures... and one of those pictures was a Lighthouse!! Well... if you know me... you also know that I have a very high affinity for lighthouses! I don't know why, I just do! Maybe it's the whole nautical thing, and being the daughter of a sailor that makes me go gaga over them, in any case I do love a nice lighthouse! We made it our very first stop when we pulled into Jupiter, as it was Sunday and the lighthouse waterfront museum would not be open on Monday.

Digital Watercolor

We didn't actually get to go up into the lighthouse as it was closed for renovations (a nice new coat of paint I believe), but we did get to take the tour and check out the Tindall home, and the engraved brick walkway, not to mention it got me close enough for some great shots! The lighthouse has been part of the Loxahatchee River history since 1860, which makes it 150 years old this year (the reason for the sprucing up I'm told). They will be celebrating their 150 Light Years on the 20th of November with a fund raiser by the Loxahatchee Historical Society, that will include music, food and drink, and a live auction.

The Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse has shined brightly through the civil war, two world wars, and countless hurricanes. It's surrounding property is home for 11 coast guard families, and the Pioneer Tindall home which we were allowed to tour. The Tindall home is filled with some awesome memorabilia from the late 1800's and early 1900's.

If you ever get to the East coast of Florida, this is a must see landmark. Not too far from West Palm Beach, and not to far from Port St. Lucie! I cant wait to go back again!

Love, Laughs, and Photographs,

Wendy

All images captured with the Olympus E500 on Lexar digital media.

Where's Wendy? Hobe Mountain!!

© Spellbound Images by Wendy - All Rights Reserved

Hobe Mountain... which I'm told is pronounced (Ho-bay Mountain), is located inside Johnathan Dickinson State Park, and is the highest natural point in South Florida at 86 feet above sea level.

We took the 10 minute hike up the mountain walkway to the look out tower used by the Army during WWII. I was impressed by the winding path way made of wooden slats much like a modern day deck. The park was home to some 6,000 officers and soldiers in 1942, used as a radar training camp.

From the look out tower you can see the entire expanse of the park where I photographed a 360° panoramic. If you look close enough you can see “Highway 1” that runs along the West Coast of Florida, the inter-coastal waterway, and the Atlantic Ocean all in one shot!

The Hobe Mountain tower is located on sand dunes and is surrounded by Sand Pine Scrub. Sand Pine Scrub is one of the oldest ecosystems to native Florida. They are an important habitat for wild life and act as a recharge area for the water table. They also provide a small amount of timber for paper making. Most scrub lands are endangered as they are high and dry areas that are not susceptible to flooding, so they are commonly used for golf courses, orchards, and housing developments. Hopefully this wont happen to Hobe Mountain, since it is located inside a State Park.

I hope you get a chance to check out Hobe Mountain, and Johnathan Dickinson State Park in your travels! Check back soon for my blog on the Jupiter Lighthouse!

Love, Laughs, and Photographs,

Wendy

All images captured with the Olympus E500 on Lexar digital media.

Where's Wendy? Tumbtack.com!

Thumbtack is awesome!  Read about my business, check out some images, find out where I'm located and what I like to do!!

Check out my Spellbound Images by Wendy on Tumbtack.com

Where's Wendy? Johnathan Dickinson Park!

© Spellbound Images by Wendy - All Rights Reserved

We traveled to South Florida this past weekend, where we enjoyed some much needed rest and relaxation from the same old grind. That's not to say there wasn't work involved but it was minimal and for the most part we just enjoyed our little mini escape from the same old song and dance. As always... the first thing I packed was my gear! Both camera's... check. Batteries, and extra batteries... check. Both flash units... check. 6 Flash cards... check. All lenses (including the fish-eye)... check. Polarizing filter... check. Tripod, and tripod clips... check. Not to mention other small items like lens clothes, remote, etc. Okay... I'm ready! Ooops... clothes, I need clothes! And food... can't go without food! Damn... back away from the equipment bag and get the rest of your stuff together! This is a camping trip, but not totally primitive... You do need some supplies!

We traveled the back roads over to the East coast and down to Hobe Sound, Florida. It was a leisurely drive on a beautiful sunny, fall day (we don't get too many of them here). We arrived at Johnathan Dickinson National Park around 5:00 pm. and set up camp. We have converted our pick up into a self contained camper. I think a little thicker pad on the bed is in order, but the only issue we had. All in all it worked out pretty well. While traveling, we folded the pad in half towards the front of the bed to leave room for coolers, back-packs, and camping gear. We didn't have the whole hassle of setting up a tent, since there were only two of us and the truck was our bed. Before night fall we unloaded the coolers and gear, put our clothing packs in the cab, and started our fire. Clamped a light to my tripod (just one of it's many uses :D), Threw the table cloth over the pick nick table, and plugged in the radio (always gotta have music)! And sat down for a good game of Rummy, under the stars!

Johnathan Dickinson is 11,500 acres of wide open space, and is located on the Loxahatchee River. We drove 4 miles to our campsite of 123 campsites. It was perfect since there were only a few spaces occupied. That made things even more peaceful! We chose a spot right on the river, even though there was so much foliage that we couldn't actually see the river without walking right up to it. We were also located right where the racoons run from the river bank to the trash can in hopes of finding some good eats! It wasn't long after dark that we heard rustling in the bushes, and sure enough... with the flash light in hand... we spotted several little bandits in the brush. They definitely were not afraid of us and had to be chased away from our trash can and cooler several times. When it was time to rest all of our gear and food went on top of the truck. Still... sleep did not come easy, as we had to continue to chase them away from climbing on the bumper and trying to get to the goods! Since we couldn't see the river anyway we moved our camp for the second night, and it was much more peaceful!

Johnathan Dickinson was once Camp Murphy... During WWII the land was actually home of the top radar training school. It was home for more than 6,000 personnel and had it's own power plant, sewer system, theater and church. No one really knew what was going on there, only that a secret Army base had been constructed. Camp Murphy was deactivated in 1944 and the operation shut down. It became a State Park in 1945, soon named after a Quaker who's vessel ship wrecked there in 1969. There is so much to do at this park on the Loxihatchee besides camping... There are boat tours down the river for those who don't want to launch their own vessel, there are bike trails, and equestrian trails for those who love horses. Not to mention fishing, canoe rentals, concessions, and a restaurant. The Rangers were awesome... friendly, and informative, and if sleeping under the stars is not your thing... they also have cabin rentals.

We really enjoyed our stay at Johnathan Dickinson... and plan on visiting some other State Parks in the near future, while the weather is nice! Stay tuned for my blog about Hobe Mountain, which is located in Johnathan Dickinson Park!

Love, Laughs, and Photographs,

Wendy

All images captured with the Olympus E500 on Lexar Digital Media.

Where's Wendy? Tropicana Field!

© Spellbound Images by Wendy - All Rights Reserved

Last week I got out to my first ever Major League Baseball Game. I had never been to a Rays game and I've lived in the area permanently for over 20 years. In fact the closest I've ever come to the Trop was when I spun my car out on I-275 in the rain a week after my youngest son was born (2 months prematurely). When my car finally stopped I was over looking the wall directly facing Tropicana Field! Okay... that's another story.

So on Saturday, September 25th we made it to the Rays vs the Seattle Mariners game. The ticket men checked my camera bag for anything illegal (camera's with lenses over 12” not allowed), we wandered through the concession stands, and ordered up a drink. The Trop was filled with smiling faces for this winning Tampa Bay Team! We made it to our seats and enjoyed watching the Rays spank the Mariners 9 – 1!

A special bonus, that we weren't aware of was on Saturday nights they have a concert series. On this particular night The Brett Michaels Band was playing. Yep, Brett Michaels from the 80's band Poison.... Yep, Brett Michaels from the favorite TV show “Life As I Know It.” So the crowd enjoyed some good old favorites after a great game! During the game Brett even did his rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”

Of course after a game everyone likes to wander over to Ferg's sports bar for more celebrating! We did just that... the crowd was pleased with our 9 – 1 win, and everyone was having a great time!

 

Last Wednesday our Rays team bought some tickets... and the first 20,000 fans to show up at the ticket booth's on the 29th of September got in free! We decided to take the kids to a game! We piled into the van and headed for Tropicana Field once again! But alas... we got there too late and all tickets were gone. That's okay... we decided to do what the rest of the stricken fans did and head over to Ferg's! It was a beautiful night... the weather was cooler than it has been, and there was a nice breeze coming in from Tropical Storm Nicole. The kids enjoyed the game from one or two of Ferg's great TV's, while munching on wings, and fries! Soda's were free, so they drank 'till their hearts content! After the game, which was a loss 2 – 0 against the Orioles, the place was packed! The kids enjoyed music (they even danced by the table), and a crazy Tampa Bay crowd!

Sooo... The TB Rays made it to the post season, and tied the Yankee's in the standings at 95 wins and 66 loses. The Rays went to the World Series in 2008, and we're hoping that happens in 2010!

Love, Laughs, and Photographs,

Wendy

One last note... On Sunday the Tampa Bay Rays won the American League East!  Way to go Rays!!

All images captured with the Olympus E500 on Lexar Digital Media.