Brevard County – Michael Stephen Wills Photography

Newlyweds and the Cruise Ship

Images of Newlyweds on the beach

June 8, 2021June 4, 2021 MichaelStephenWills7 Comments

With grandchildren in the Miami Area and a sister in Daytona Beach, Florida was on my mind this morning and memories of this beautiful experience on Cocoa Beach came to mind. After an eventful day touring the NASA launch control center, Pam and I took an evening walk during the golden hour, me with camera in hand.
Full in expectation of catching the passing scene with lots of shot I set to full size jpeg mode using a Sony Alpha 700 dslr with a DT 18-200mm f3.5-6.3 lens. The light was exceptional, so I did not expect much post production work.

My first impression was of the line of cruise ships heading south from Port Canaveral, the starboard side lit perfectly behind human denizens of the Cocoa Beach shore, in full enjoyment mode. A synergy of the images struck me. I took a few experimental shots then, as we progressed down the beach front this unusual tableau came into view.

Wedding Immersion — Newlyweds on Cocoa Beach give rapt attention to a distant cruise ship, it looks like an elegant child’s toy.

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Pulling back the focal length a bit the reason for the bride and groom on the beach is clear.

Newlyweds and Photographer — Photographer approaches from left.

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The session proceeded smoothly and professionally, it was a pleasure to watch. I felt no compunction for capturing these private moments on a public beach, the transcendence of the images reflect well on all participants.

Newlywed Photoshoot — Bride and groom pose while photographer composes the shot, her assistant behind.

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Pull back to capture the entire environment.
Enjoy!!!

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Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Cocoa Beach Kite Skating

Kiteskaters and Cruise Ships

September 10, 2017February 7, 2019 MichaelStephenWills24 Comments

In the early morning hours of Sunday, September 10, as Hurricane Irma approached the Florida Keys, I cannot sleep, worried about family members north of Miami and in Daytona Beach. To pass the time, I returned to the golden hours of March 4, 2017 evening. On vacation, Pam and I walked Cocoa Beach starting from Lori Wilson Park, headed north.

The light was perfect when I decided to switch to Raw-Jpeg mode, feeling the extra space was worth it. I don’t know why I don’t shoot Raw 100% of the time, as always, in retrospect, I regret using jpeg only. The camera was the Sony Alpha 700 dslr with a DT 18-200mm f3.5-6.3 lens purchased 2008 after an expedition to the Superstition Wilderness.

After capturing a wedding photo shoot and surfers there was this set of two Kite Skaters going at least 20 miles an hour. The Sony Alpha was quick enough to capture some of the action in raw mode, I am not satisfied with the sharpness of the images as the lens was not fast enough.

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My Online Gallery– CLICK ME!!!! — Overview, Approaching Kiteskater

We had never watched kite skaters before and were prepared to understand the vision from watching distant kitesurfers out beyond the breakers. North winds are the best for any type of kiting on Cocoa Beach and, that day, the wind was northeast. These riders zipped by in less than a minute. The sport is low key, it does not exist on Wikipedia. Image that. These two are having a fantastic time and stayed upright, going on and on and on down the miles long beach.

1990 KiteSkate pioneers on the USA east coast experimented with four-line controllable parafoil kites powering in-line skates for exciting rides on asphalt surfaces.

The name “Wheels of Doom” suggest the danger of going this fast over a hard, rough surface.

These Cocoa Beach riders are outfitted for speed and safety: pads, helmets.

Barefeet?? Unprotected skin? They must know how to dress, though maybe not. He has never fallen?

The beach within the tide line is solid, the pebbles, broken shells and such unforgiving as asphalt.

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Copyright 2017 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

March 2 2017 Sunrise Photo Album

a new start

May 6, 2017August 26, 2017 MichaelStephenWills21 Comments

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As would a proud parent here I present a sequence of images taken over a 2 minute 12 second interval, the morning of Thursday, March 2nd, 2017. While standing facing the Atlantic Ocean I captured this series of images as the sun emerged from the clouds. Technically, sunrise was hidden by the distant cloud cover obstructing the horizon. The emergence of the orb from the clouds adds drama to the images, the hazy atmosphere filters light to the benefit of the overall effect.

I worked with a Sony Alpha 700 DSLR with a UV filter, handheld in spot mode. I set the exposure by hovering over the sun.

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