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<\/a>We landed in Tampa, secured a rental car, and headed out in search of breakfast. Along the way, I spotted a sure sign that we were, in fact, in Florida. The Elvis manatee mailbox had confirmed that we were in the right spot.<\/p>\n As my travel companions settled into the beachfront condo, I scrambled to run out to the beach, camera in hand, to capture the first moments of paradise. It had been a while since I had been to an actual beach with waves and nothing but blue for as far out as the eye could see.<\/p>\n Beach sunsets are a wonderful thing, especially to photographers. Capturing that Cartier-Bresson “decisive moment” though, is difficult. I found myself struggling between this frame and that one for “the best” shot. A daunting task when looking through 40 frames of a gorgeous sunset.<\/p>\n One day of the trip was set aside for fishing out in the Gulf. The weather was nearly perfect, and we caught a few really nice sized King Mackerel.<\/p>\n We were greeted by a flock of pelicans when we arrived back at the dock. They had heard through the grapevine that we had a successful trip and they were eager for their cut of the spoils.\u00a0 There was a bit of a battle.<\/p>\n Our third day found us in Lake Myakka State Park. Deer, Limpkin, Cranes, Egrets, Anoles, and of course, Alligators. Oh, and a canopy walk complete with a tower rising 74′ above the surrounding forest.<\/p>\n That evening, we were treated to a thunderstorm and lightshow over the Gulf.<\/p>\n My photographer companion and I visited a pier on Anna Maria Island to cross a long desired shot off of my bucket list.<\/p>\n While there, we happened to catch some dolphins.<\/p>\n The next day we hand fed squirrels at Coquina Beach, fed the gulls, and I shot way too many images of the surf crashing against the rock wall.<\/p>\n The moonlight on the evening of the last day allowed me to do a fun portrait shoot with my wife. Moonlight beach portraits are super fun.<\/p>\n As much as I enjoyed being out of the Western PA area, It did feel good to come home, especially being greeted by this view of Pittsburgh from the plane!<\/p>\n My wife and I had the privilege of joining our good friends on a\u00a0 trip to Siesta Key, Florida in late April. It was the first vacation for us in a while, and my first trip to Florida in nearly 25 years. To say that I was excited is an understatement. Our flight from Pittsburgh … Continue reading Vacation!<\/span> <\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>