Friday, August 31, 2012

Long Overdue...

I know I am long overdue for an update, and sometime in the next month I'll be able to explain away my absence... (some of it has to do with intermittent lack of internet access over the last week - that issue has been resolved for now!)

But for the time being... I can at least make an announcement and share a pretty picture. :)

Last spring I entered Island Magazine's photo contest (theme: depict island life)  I poured over my collection of images, studied previous year's winners, poured over my collection again... and submitted my most favorite group of photos which I felt showed Island life as I see it.  A few months later, I received word that one of my images made honorable mention in the contest!  Then two days later I received paperwork telling me not to announce it anywhere until the magazine posted *all* the winners... hence the extreme delay in finally sharing!

My Honorable Mention Photo:


This photo was taken at the end of the dock of the Pelican Bar, which resides 2 miles off the southern coast of Jamaica, just outside of Treasure Beach.  The bar itself is made entirely of driftwood, and is built on a sand bar seemingly in the middle of the ocean.  In reality, the area just around the bar is only about 3 feet deep, which is perfect for snorkeling (however one must travel by canoe from the shore over the deeper part of the bay to reach the sand bar) The dock stretches out the back door of the bar, and is a great place to lay out in the sun and enjoy a beer after a bit of snorkeling.  This is taken from the end of the dock, looking back to the shore where we'd boated over from.  I didn't paint the heart on the drift wood, that was there already :)  Many people who come to the Pelican Bar carve their name on a piece of wood or leave behind some memorabilia, making the interior of the bar an eclectic guest book.

For reference, here is another shot I took that day, standing in the same spot... I simply turned around to look back up the dock.  This was a rare moment between boatloads of tourists, when the dock was empty and you can just see our friend Tyrone inside the door eating lunch.



The Islands Magazine competition was stiff, and I'm honored to be named along with so many other great images.  You can see see all the great honorable mentions and winners on Island Magazine's Photo Page.  (I'm also excited to see they use a portion of my image for their front page collage!)