Playgrounds of the Rich and Famous

This past weekend, I was out for a drive on Sunday, enjoying the sunny but hot weather to cruise the beach road up to Palm Beach...windows down, sunroof open, tunes cranked, and a great view the whole way. ; Along for the ride was my new Tamron 10-24mm lens, hoping to try a few ultra-wide angle shots to start getting the hang of it.

First stop was at the inlet in Boynton Beach...just to check how the waters were, and see some boats headed in and out by the jetty. ; Thunderstorms were looming to the west, but stayed out over the swamps and never bothered the beaches...waters were warm and clear:



The inlet was running tides-out and pretty smooth for the boaters:





And some locals were enjoying fishing off the jetty:



Driving along the beach road, you jog around the beachfront mansions in Manalapan, which pushes the road against the intercoastal waterway. ; This is where you get to see the mega-yachts parked from the mansion owners. ; This particular yacht is a 142-foot yacht built by Diaship/Heesen in Holland, named "Octopussy 007":



Once up in Palm Beach, I parked along Worth Avenue...which is Florida's equivalent of Rodeo Drive or Fifth Ave. ; This is a street lined with million-dollar megashops and designer stores, with parking spaces full of Rolls Royces, Aston Martins, and lowly Mercedes Benzes. ; The street itself, like much of Palm Beach, has a little bit of history having become popular for the rich and famous in the 1920's and holding its old money title to this day. ; The scenis aspect is that there are shops lining the street, but also small corridors called 'Vias' leading to inner courtyards with additional shops - many of these still have the old charming Spanish paving, fountains, and gardens providing shade and quiet while perusing the many high end stores. ; It is also hard to photograph without a wide lens, since the vias are narrow and courtyards small and packed with details...so it seemed a fun place to play with the 10-24!







A few of the 'Vias' that cut into the courtyards:







And some views within the courtyard areas:









So that's my tour for today of the playgrounds of the rich and famous. ; And me. ;

 

Thanks Leo. ; Actually, that jetty/dock is curved - this is a smaller jetty opposite the larger one on the other side of the inlet - the inlet curves right at the mouth to prevent waves from heading in, and the smaller inside jetty is built with a curve following to the south.

As for focal length...it's about 3-5 feet...it's a small jetty, and I'm practically standing on top of the people in the shot. ; This is the very strange and cool thing I'm still getting used to with ultra-wide - I get close to something thinking it'll be a cool effect, then look through the lens and find that I'm still miles away as far as the 10mm is concerned. You have to stick things right on top of the lens to make them close - and the lens picks up things in the periphery you figure have no chance at all of being in your shot (like the hands of a fisherman standing to my left while I was shooting the net-throwing guy).

I'm still in the very early learning phase with it - I find the architecture scenes in the small courtyards and hallways most successful, because I'm right on top of the subject. ; The buildings across the street don't come out as well because I was pointing ever so slightly upwards, which creates some strange distortion effects. ; These rectilinear lenses have been worked hard to keep vertical lines straight and distortion free, and they work surprisingly well...but if you start introducing your own angles to the shot, it blows the whole reality (sometimes that's a cool effect too...you just have to know when you intend to use it!).

 

I'm definitely beginning to get that, Jeff. ; Other than 15 or so test shots around my back yard, this was the first time shooting with the lens, and even then, only 60 shots or so. ; It requires an entirely unnatural photographic approach for me, which usually involves shooting from a safe and covert location...this lens requires you to get right out in the open, right in the face of things, right on top of subjects. ; It's very cool, but I'm certainly having to learn how to use it better, and when it works versus when it doesn't. ; So far, my two biggest impediments to really putting this lens through its paces are the weather (it's too darn hot to hunt all over town lugging a camera around to take shots...the weather now lends itself to shooting from indoors or in the car, or taking one fast snapshot and running for the AC) and the location (we don't have much in the way of landscapes that are interesting in wide perspectives, and have no historical structures).

Can't wait for cooler weather, and for some travels to places where i can really play with the lens. ; Pixelmania should be fun!

 

Down the Miami way is not bad either - when cooler, you've got the artsy Coconut Grove area, art-deco South Beach, gorgeous architecture of Viscaya, and the wealthy old-money Coral Gables area, that are good for strolling and taking your time for a shot.

Though Disney is sounding pretty tempting too! ;