Cinnamon beach, St. John, US Virgin Islands. Canon 5D Mark II, 16-35mm f/2.8L, 1/80 sec @ f/13, ISO 200, polarizing filter.
When I left Fairbanks for a little tropical reprieve in the US Virgin Islands, it was minus 35 degrees below zero. What a contrast to this Caribbean scene! My journey, although short, was partly a vacation although a photographer is never really free from the addiction of picture-taking. Significant rain and clouds in the first few days kept my DSLR in the pack, and I shot mainly with my Iphone. However, when I saw these clouds forming, I ran for the camera. Although the polarizer filter was helpful for the water, I rarely like it’s influence on the sky, specially with the 16mm lens. It is never a uniform representation and tends to vignette to the opposite side of the sun’s direction.
This picture was taken along a popular beach in a National Park which covers a good chunk of the Island of St. John. And that is a good thing or the whole island would be covered with houses, much like it’s neighboring Island of St. Thomas.
I’m back in snowy Fairbanks now, with the temperatures to drop well below zero again. It sort of feels like a dream looking at this picture… meanwhile, I’m getting ready for a cross country ski.
