Making the best of a bad situation...

Last week, I heard there was going to be an eclipse that would be partially viewable by the East Coast of the United States shortly after sunrise.  The only downside to this, so far, was that I don't like mornings.  But, not wanting to miss a rare photo opportunity, I made it a point to make it out to the beach.  As seen in the photo below, I wasn't the only one.  :)

Sadly, though, there were clouds on the horizon, so I didn't see the actual eclipse.  It's ok though.  There will always be times when things doing don't go as planned.  You can either get frustrated and let it impact your work, or make the best of the situation and come away with some good images.  Here are some photos of the sunrise.

Harry Potter and some of my favorite images

A few years ago, I went to The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter at Universal Studios in Orlando, FL.

The park had been hyped-up so long before it ever opened that there was no possible way it could live up to the expectations that I had built up in my head.  It probably also doesn't help that I have not read the books and only seen a few of the movies.

My biggest complaint is that the park was much smaller than I expected.  I was anticipating something the size of the Magic Kingdom at Disney.  It seemed much smaller.  There were a few shops (the lines of which were about 30 min to well over an hour to get in, BTW.  Who wants to wait in line that long just to get in and maybe find something to buy???), a couple restaurants (we ate lunch at one and the pot pie was so bad I didn't finish it) and a couple rides.  Over all, I was not impressed.

However, my disappointment aside, I made the best of it.  Looking for different angles and waiting on clouds to move, I got some great images.  Such as these from the main attraction, Hogwarts.

Hogwarts the ride at Universal's Wizarding World Of Harry Potter

Hogwarts the ride at Universal's Wizarding World Of Harry Potter

A good lesson to take from this is to try and make the best of a bad situation.  You're already there.  You can either complain about it and have a miserable time, or look for a better angle and come away with some great images.

Larger versions of the photos, as well as other images from the trip can be seen and purchased at John Shippee Photography: Wizarding World Of Harry Potter.

Jax Beach Storm

The storm tonight was amazing!  I'm so glad I decided to go check it out instead of heading straight home.  I did my usual "just one more photo, then I'll leave..."  Of course, one led to another, and another, and another... Before I knew it, 20 minutes or so had passed.

My timing of getting back to the car could not have been more perfect.  As soon as I got the camera and tripod broken down, put in the car, and then shut the door behind me, it started pouring.

Check out the rest of the images from the storm here:

Take me to the storm photos!