The Rocky Shoreline of Jupiter Island, Florida

This month we decided to do a local adventure since we will be doing a lot of traveling over the holidays. With a storm over the Atlantic creating a huge swell we decided to head to the rocky shores of Jupiter Island in Tequesta Florida.


Day 1 - The Late Afternoon Sun

It would have been a good idea to bring the GPS and the trip would have taken 35 minutes rather than an hour and 10 minutes.  But at least Lyla had a nice hour-long nap.

With the sun dropping fast, we had to make a sprint for the beach, where we spotted some rocks to the south along the shoreline

The storm out at sea has blown in an incredible swell bringing in over-head high waves and ripping currents. A perfect time to capture some images of one of the few rocky shorelines that Florida has to offer

Lyla was happy to be back in her hiking backpack and at the beach, and I was happy to have my camera back in hand with the family

I used a fast shutter speed to freeze the waves and give the images the ridged mood of the afternoon

And its not going to be easy to stay dry for these shots. Looking through the camera the waves find a way of sneaking up on you.  This will have to be our scrapbook shot for the adventure.

So far so good keeping Lyla dry!

And happy...she loves the ocean, talks to it the entire time we are taking pictures.

Looks like Lyla is starting to lose focus...time for a bottle

after we pick up a couple shells for keepsake of course...

not sure if that is the best place to have a bottle Lyla

much better here...

While Lyla and Nicky had a picnic, I decided to venture on back to the beach and see what I could do with what was left of the evening sunlight on the dunes

Once the sunlight fell to a level where the dunes shadowed the ocean, all of the other photographers packed up there things and headed home...

 while Lyla, Nicky and I stuck around to see how the setting sun to the west would play the clouds...and I am glad that we stuck it out!

Even though we only had an hour to work with we ended up with some great shots.  I was a little frustrated because we got to the beach 10 minutes late and the sun was already partially below the dune shadowing the shore. 

Perhaps a second day will be necessary for some sunrise images. Nicky and I agreed to let Lyla make the decision. If she wakes up before 6:00am we will make trip.

Day 2 - Lyla Gets us up for a Sunrise Trip Back to Jupiter Island

Well, Lyla woke up at 5:30am, so it's a go...off to Jupiter Island.

Arrival: 6:35am

Running late again so I take off for the beach while Nicky packs up Lyla...

Missed the sunrise but that's OK, I am looking for the post-sunrise light on the crashing waves.  I knew this was going to be a challenge this morning because of the backlighting from the sunrise.

I found some shorebirds to shoot while I was waiting for Nicky and Lyla and the sun

Here they come

Lyla loves the ocean! She has been up for an hour now and hasn't even asked for her first bottle yet...just taking it all in

OK, no successful shots yet, looks like I am going to have to get wet again

Well, I spent a lot of time in the water...

But came up empty for the day, except for one or two macro shots

Regardless, we had a blast, and checked off another adventure!

...NEVER STOP EXPLORING

Tinker's Creek Historical Waterfall

Last weekend I was in a wedding in Cleveland Ohio near my hometown on Lake Erie and I talked Nicky and Lyla into making the trip with me.  Even though Lyla wanted to take a longer trip to visit with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, Nicky and I are both low on vacation days so we had to keep the trip short. With that said, we only had one day rain or shine to find another photography adventure...

So here we go...Lyla is getting pretty good at traveling

This plane ride was much shorter than San Fransisco last month, and I think that Lyla is beginning to become a pro at flying...as long she has a window seat

And with all of the excitement there was no time for napping!

After two long nights with old friends it was time to get serious and grab the camera and backpack and head for the nearest natural area.

Cuyahoga National Park...only six miles from the hotel!!

It was great that my brother and his family, my parents and my Aunt Pat made the trip to go exploring with us. With the help of my brother and his wife who are more familiar with the area we found Tinker's Creek, a historical preserve.

While everyone packed up for the hike, my niece Mia and I snuck ahead of the group to get a preview of what we were getting into. With the sound of rushing water in the distance I knew there would be great potential for photography even though it was a grey overcast day.

Wow, this place is much more beautiful than I expected!

Mia and I rushed back to get the others so we could find a way to get closer to Tinker's Creek waterfall.

PART 1 - Above the Falls

Along our search for a trail that would take us to the bottom of the falls there were so many landscapes that caught my eye

And I was so excited to see the first leaves that were falling since I haven't been up north for the autumn in years. I made sure to include them in all of my landscape images.  Its ironic to me that dead leaves can bring so much life to a landscape.

I was attracted to the rock ledge formations on the other side of Tinker's Creek and I have learned over the years that sometimes to get the picture I am looking for is going to come with wet shoes and clothes...and a convincing for approval from Nicky to bring Lyla along!!

We made it across...

And it was worth the wet feet for the rest of the day! 

 We posed for a couple scrapbook shots...

Picked up a stone for keepsake...

Then headed back to the group to stretch out...

And have a bottle with grandma!

While Lyla hung out with grandma the rest of us spent a little more time exploring the stream bed

And I quote my brother here - It is amazing to see how water forms its own paths through the rock over thousands and thousands of years

My dad had a great idea to take a picture of this skinny channel from above to make it look like an aerial shot of a large river in a canyon

And Nicky nailed the shot!...

while I worked on this shot, captivated again by the autumn leaves

While we were gathering the group to venture to the bottom of the falls we found my sister-in-law Amy and my niece Mia taking a moment to take it all in

So many fond memories of exploring with my dad and brother over the years...

Mia and grandma drop some sycamore leaves in the water and watch them go over the waterfall

OK Lyla...full belly...couple of hours of daylight left...back on the trail in search of where our sycamore leaves ended up

Part 2 - The Falls

There were some crazy rocks along the creek that made some great abstracts as we made our way up the lower creek towards the waterfall

Looks like Lyla and I have a new photo companion!

These weathered rock formations are incredible!

Everyone was right on board with my slow meander towards the falls

With time to play in the water...

Chill on the rocks...

search for critters...

Chill on the rocks...

climb the rocks...

Chill on the rocks...

Search for fossils...

And...chill on the rocks

A little mommy/Lyla time

OK, the anticipation has built long enough so off we go

OK Lyla, you chill here for a minute

Dad took the time here to conquer the waterfall and prove his youthfulness

One more minute Lyla, almost got the shot...

The low lighting overcast weather created the perfect scenario for creating these long exposure images 

I never would have thought that this waterfall was only six miles away from our hotel in Twinsburg, Ohio

Time to head back for a picnic

Looks like I finally tired Lyla out

Time for some food...

Uh oh, not carrots though

Well, off we go at 4 in the morning back to reality.  Maybe one day we will figure out that early morning flights are so tiring

What a great trip though. Thank you so much Aunt Pat for spending the weekend with us and babysitting Lyla, and thank you mom, dad, Matt, Amy, Mia and Delaney, Laurie, Steve and Blake and Easton for making the trip to see us in your busy lives.

We had a blast and I think we made the best of the short time that we had. We cant wait for our next adventure...

Through the years I have observed that as we progress through life our responsibilities with careers and family continue to fill our schedules, it becomes easy to lose track of our passions in life. Nicky and I have agreed that exploring new places is one of those passions that we both share, so we have challenged ourselves to reserve one weekend a month for a new exploration. We have no clue yet where our next adventure will be, but we are looking forward to it