Photo Of The Day: November 11, 2008

Barbados isn't all just warm beaches and white sand. There's also an amazing terrain that is as varied as can be imagined. Here's just one example, taken in the middle of the island. For more pictures of mountains in and out of the United States, visit Paul Scharff Photography.com.

Photo Of The Day: November 10, 2008

If you drive to the most absolute northern tip of Barbados, you'll come to the Animal Flower Cave. That unusual name comes from small animals that look like blooming flowers which live in the shallow pools of the cave's floor. After you arrive, you are escorted down a stairway to a large underground cave that has a handful of large openings out to the ocean. The "floor" of the cave has naturally-formed shallow pools of residual water. But in one part of the cave, there is a natural pool that is eight feet deep -- deep enough for swimming. When the sun streams in from the outside through its opening to the ocean, it's a sight that is beyond beautiful. For more photos of water, visit Paul Scharff Photography.com.

Photo Of The Day: November 9, 2008

I was a little perturbed yesterday when a rainstorm interrupted my shoot in Barbados, particularly as I had just arrived to cover Bathsheba, one of the most picturesque and dramatic locations on the entire east coast of the island. But I quickly became unperturbed when I saw the result afterwards -- a full arc rainbow right over the Atlantic Ocean. As long as I've been shooting, I've never shot, or even seen, a full rainbow over any body of water. So this shot is particularly special. It's small so you can't really appreciate the grandness of the scene, so you'll need to use your imagination to visualize how enormous the rainbow was, stretching well over a mile. And now that I've taken this, I bet it's Judy Garland's new favorite picture. For more photos of water, visit Paul Scharff Photography.com.

Photo Of The Day: November 8, 2008

After arriving in Barbados in mid-afternoon, I spent most of the time hopelessly lost trying to find my way around. The problem wasn't driving on the left side of the road -- I was actually living in England when I became old enough to drive and be licensed, so that part was completely natural. Nor was it the lack of good maps, many of which are available free at the airport and other locations. The issue seemed to be a lack of street identification, so I had no idea if I was where I thought I was. The simple answer is, I usually wasn't! Being lost when you're a photographer is generally a good thing, because you get to see opportunities you may have otherwise missed. But I didn't want to miss the sunset, so I found Highway 7, the road that goes along the coast, and just stayed with it. And just as I arrived at Carlisle Bay, the sun put on its daily show, as seen here. For more photos of sunsets, visit Paul Scharff Photography.com.

Photo Of The Day: November 7, 2008

Today I leave for a shoot in Barbados. Although I live closer to Newark Airport, JFK has a nonstop so I'll be leaving from there. But it also means that, for an early flight, I have to leave the house in the dark of night. One nice thing about that is seeing the Verrazano Bridge from the Belt Parkway. I see the bridge from my house, but this provides another nice perspective. Here's a shot taken last week when I was returning from Turks and Caicos. For more pictures of bridges, visit Paul Scharff Photography.com.

Photo Of The Day: November 6, 2008

The Sands at Grace Bay Resort sits on the shore of Grace Bay Beach in Turks and Caicos with more than 12 miles of white powdered sand and dazzling transparent turquoise waters. Comprised of 114 suites in six three-story buildings within lush tropical landscaping in a Caribbean Plantation style setting, there's a lot to see and enjoy there -- including this pool right at the edge of the beach. For more pictures of swimming pools, visit Paul Scharff Photography.com.

Photo Of The Day: November 5, 2008

The end of the day provides many photographic joys on Turks and Caicos other than just great sunsets. One thing it provides is interesting color just after the sun has gone down. Here's how Grace Bay Beach looked last week, with the wet sand picking up and reflecting the subtle color in the clouds while the water kept its peaceful azure blue color. For more pictures of the ocean, visit Paul Scharff Photography.com.

Photo Of The Day: November 4, 2008

Turks and Caicos has bold, dramatic colors that are pretty typical of the Caribbean. It shows up in many ways, including at this store window. Although the establishment was closed when I took the shot, it still provided a simple and stark design of color and form. For more pictures of colorful objects, visit Paul Scharff Photography.com.

Photo Of The Day: November 3, 2008

The Regent Palms is a 72-suite luxury Providenciales resort situated on Grace Bay Beach in Turks and Caicos. Among other things, it has an amazing design that provides eye-popping beauty throughout the resort. Here's one example: the entry lobby that you come into when arriving there. For more photos of architecture, visit Paul Scharff Photography.com.

Photo Of The Day: November 2, 2008

Two days after arriving in Turks and Caicos, I was on Long Bay Beach at 6:10 a.m. for the sunrise. As is typical for any sunrise, and accentuated in Turks and Caicos, the presentation was spectacular. The combination of pink, blue and orange in the sky almost looked like color was added after-the-fact, but it was the real color that morning. For more pictures of sunrises, visit Paul Scharff Photography.com.

Photo Of The Day: November 1, 2008

The brown pelican is the smallest of the eight species of pelican, although it is a large bird in nearly every other regard. It is about four feet in length with a wingspan of about seven feet. It's common in the Caribbean, so it was easy to see in Turks and Caicos. Unlike the American White Pelican, it dives for fish from the air, and often travels in groups in single file, flying low over the water's surface. Here's one I saw just taking off, and if you look closely, you'll see the drops of water behind him where he took off. For more pictures of unusual animals, visit Paul Scharff Photography.com.

Photo Of The Day: October 31, 2008

I just returned from a shoot in Turks and Caicos. Turks and Caicos are two groups of tropical islands just north of the Dominican Republic. Their population of roughly 30,000 includes 22,500 on Providenciales, where I was. Here's a shot of the sunset on my first day there. For more pictures of sunsets, visit Paul Scharff Photography.com.

Photo Of The Day: October 30, 2008

This picture is appealing to me because of the reflection of the masts in the water below them. But if it were a perfect unrippled reflection, it might not have worked as well. The ripples in the water not only made the reflection of the masts a bit squiggly, they also broke up the masts, making it feel that much more interesting. Add the gradated orange color, and you get another perfect scene painted by nature. For more pictures of boats and water, visit Paul Scharff Photography.com.

Photo Of The Day: October 29, 2008

This photo almost has a Christmas feel to it because of the combination of red and green colors. These are lily pads deep in the Everglades in Florida, and they make a wonderful sight when the green tops and red bottoms are all around you. For more pictures of the Everglades, visit Paul Scharff Photography.com.

Photo Of The Day: October 28, 2008

Somehow even a basic steel bridge looks good when its surrounded by all the color of the fall season. For more pictures autumn colors, visit Paul Scharff Photography.com.

Photo Of The Day: October 27, 2008

I can't help but think of the old Get Smart TV series when I look at this continuum of doorways, taken at Vizcaya in Miami. For more photos of Miami, visit Paul Scharff Photography.com.

Photo Of The Day: October 26, 2008

The sky looked perfect at twilight the day I took this, sailing south under the Manhattan Bridge. For more pictures of New York City, visit Paul Scharff Photography.com.

Photo Of The Day: October 25, 2008

This shot of a boat sitting in Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island looked perfect in the multi-colored sky. For more pictures of Rhode Island, look for a new gallery coming next week at Paul Scharff Photography.com.

Photo Of The Day: October 24, 2008

The sun is setting earlier on Sandy Hook, and at changing angles. So there are new opportunities to get sunsets you won't get any other time of the year. Here's one taken about a week ago. For more pictures of Sandy Hook, visit Paul Scharff Photography.com.

Photo Of The Day: October 23, 2008

I'm heading down to Turks and Caicos to do a shoot on Sunday, and it's likely I'll be traveling through Miami. So it made me think it was a good time to include a photo of the Miami skyline, taken just as dusk was approaching. For more pictures of Miami, look for three new galleries coming this week on Paul Scharff Photography.com.