And So It Is Christmas...

The tradition continues. First, your photographer, of beach, street, and the world.

Robert Mitchell

This was a nice surprise. I had forgotten the Fort Lauderdale tradition of putting up a Winter display on the plaza by The Wall:

We always evaluate those for how well they will survive the late night...well, partiers.

This next gets credit for being truly "street", the notorious parking lot right in the middle of East Las Olas, A1A, the Elbo Room, and The Wall. I love the transition from green to pink to blue, from street light to night:

Mitch is having a lot of fun with filters. We get a lot of Sixties psychedelia, but Mitch has also discovered the austere power of black & white:

I love the crazy illusion of the waterway sliding down like a ski slope:

I get a kick out of the trouble Mitch took to make this composition, squatting down to silhouette what is actually a clever stainless steel bike rack in the shape of a bike. I know he goes out of his way to capture effects, but I remember that bike rack and can see him setting up this shot in my mind's eye.

In this next shot Mitch catches a bird in flight against a stunning backdrop. Mitch has his themes, and the bird in flight might be the one he works the most. Tying this to his decades of incarceration might be too easy. I imagine growing up in tough Detroit might have a strong spirit like Mitch looking to soaring birds as well as a reminder that escape is possible.

This next is almost too good to be true, so I suspect Mitch has been at the filters again. If so, he knows what to do with filters:

I am a sucker for the light off the tiles, and an unusual blue sky sunrise:

This next came as a shock after all the sunrises and night shots. I forgot where Mitch is.

A leftover from the Visit of the Chicks a ways back, a story I never really heard from the crew down in FtL:

Not the greatest shot, but it was the best of quite a few Mitch took trying to make something of a magnificent thunderhead that formed just outside the reef. Nice to see a fullish moon sneaking into the story:

People love to just stand and look out to sea, and Mitch loves to capture their liberation.

We do not get many of these, but another strong theme for Mitch is macrophotography, aka super close-ups.

And we close, too, with our artist, this time hanging out with friends from his beach club.

Merry Christmas, young fella!

Truly Mitch's Eyes

Here's Mitch.

Maybe we will make it a tradition to start each show with Mitch himself. And this particular post is indeed just a look at Fort Lauderdale and the universe through Mitch's eyes. But first a public service announcement from Mitch:

Sorry, not many pics today, at the church volunteering. So as we look to the sky and offer up a prayer for those who have breast cancer, and those who have survived. Here's to you all, may all things be made whole within you and all sickness be removed, cast aside to never appear again. Have a blessed day. -- Mitch

Here in New Jersey we would not call that "surf", but that ship is just outside a reef that keeps things mighty calm along the beach. Neat trick walking down to the surf to create a storm-tossed illusion.






On the waterway it is pure glass.



Here is our quiet bay.

"Birds fly free so as the day dawns let your mind fly as well." -- Mitch 

Looks ominous. Mother Nature can be such a drama queen. I miss the tropic weather.

I like the tiles in the next shot. And this is where I did William CC Chen's long form tai chi. I need to get back to that. Thanks for the reminder, Mitch.

Good morning all. Welcome to the new day. Hold your head high and tell the world I'm strong, confident, and capable of accomplishing anything. Today I'm a better me than I was yesterday. Have a blessed day. -- Mitch

Ansel Adams had the Sierras and Mitch has his sunrises, but his eyes love macro as much.

Never quite got the story, but the beach had some visitors one day. There is free range and then there is free range.

Welcome to the new day we got a special on beach chicken today. As we wake we must realize that life is full of surprises. -- Mitch

We must not forget the palm trees.

Stop rushing into the vast unknown headlong moving to nowhere. -- Mitch

May the day shine down upon you like the dawn shining on my feathered friends,as they begin their day. Let your spirit fly free and soar in the morning sky. Call one to another a hearty good morning, it will make someones day. Be thankful that God has given us the moment. Have a blessed day. -- Mitch

Sun sets on another day. We watch as the world slowly starts to sleep. We can only wonder how we let such beauty pass us by. -- Mitch

And now we segue into the artistic realm with one last shot of the palms introducing a sequence of shots that remind we of wandering around an art museum, like the three times I have done that.

Be at peace with yourself. Just know that the right decisions are the ones that hurt most. Have a blessed night. -- Mitch

Here's a side of Mitch I have never seen. I had to include it, as you will see.

Repeat ... Jesus, you are my strength .... I love you ..... I need you ..... heal me and my family .... Pass the message to 8 people and you will see a miracle. Do not keep it please. -- Mitch

I used to crop and edit more, but not so much these days. And as a rule I prefer shots with a story and not just a nice sunrise, but then I remind myself that this blog is about Mitch's eyes, not mine. These are the things that make him get out the camera.

May the day shine down upon you like the dawn shining on my feathered friends,as they begin their day. Let your spirit fly free and soar in the morning sky. Call one to another a hearty good morning, it will make someones day. Be thankful that God has given us the moment. Have a blessed day. -- Mitch

I almost did not go with this one because it is cool but there is nothing in it. Then I decided I just liked it, empty or not.

"The vastness of empty space with just me filling it." -- Mitch

Mitch caught X prepping for  his photo shoot and turned a playful pose into Michelangelo.

Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. -- Psalm 30:5

Artists!

Artists! Mitch has been kicking my ass for not putting up his latest shots. He did not know I just started a new job and in my game we have to work double-time at first if we want to get on top of existing systems.

Anyway, it is a great company and they gave us Friday before Labor Day to make it a four day break and I may need all of that to keep up with the Ansel Adams of Fort Lauderdale.

I am glad Mitch pestered me. I had not had time even to look at most of them and now that I have things look promising. But first, the player intros.

That is x on the left and Mitch on the right.

Mitch says x came later, after I had moved on to Atlanta, Tampa, and New Jersey. No word on his story, but x is the unknown variable which aligns nicely with Buddha's insight that the self is an illusion. Could also just be the Malcom X thing rejecting the white name. 

Micth makes a sale!

Looks like Mitch is back making jewelry. Or is this an earlier customer dropping by to say Hi? Love the attitude. 

Here are some more new friends.

"My birds just chilling in the rain. We miss the beauty in front of us,because we rush past so fast it becomes a blur. Each day God opens up and shows us how much he loves us. Keep smiling and be happy always." - Mitch

 Apparently Mitch's friends like x, too.

"This is what happens when you drink all, morning without drinking water." - Mitch

Let's not forget to see the world through Mitch's eyes.

Van Gogh, move over.

I surfed right past this next one then said to myself, Wait. What was that?

It was so minimalist I almost missed the magic in the shades.

Ha. Just remembered, Mitch kills color minimalism. Usually it is bichromal...OK, in the Far East black is a color, let's call this a study in blue and gray.

While we are contemplating vehicles...

Hey, we're on the ocean, what's with all the land vehicles?

Lived there for five years, never once got on the water. Go figure.

Well, three minutes from my crib was a sports bar with great food, great staff, great regulars, a great view and not too bad skating on the boardwalk and Mitch and Joe and Jimmy and OG on the wall. Life was complete.

Speaking of views...

Don't be a dummy like me and keep thinking these are sunsets...

 This is Fort Lauderdale, on the east coast of Florida.

"Well shot fire, and throw away all the matches." - Mitch

Not sure who that is above. Below looks like x taking energy from the water.

"As the moon sets the sun also rises. Look in to the sky I can only say what a glorious blessed day." - Mitch

Mitch likes flora as much as fauna. Caught a cactus in bloom, and the camera flash had fun with the blossom.

This is a sunset, and Mitch gets the last word.

"Everyone have a blessed night. And take time to dance with the universe." - Mitch