I went to Naples Florida to ring in the New Year with some old friends and had a really great time.
It was during one of the coldest days on record as Florida went through several days of record lows but
that didn't stop me from hitting the beach for some fun.
Here's a few pics of what I found.
Naples is a small but very rich community and I always see some cool cars driving down 5th ave to the beach.
My parents bought a house just off the beach in 1972 for $60,000. It still stands but all around houses are being bought, leveled and replaced with ones like this which is just a block away.
Growing up I spent all my time fishing or surfing at the Naples Pier which was just a short walk from my home.
If you take the time to look around there is so much to see and it helped bolster my appreciation for nature.
Even though it was record lows and the water was a chilly 53 degrees my friends couldn't stay out of the water
and hit the small but fun waves for some surf.
They used to call us ripple riders for surfing in Naples but pulling of moves like this requires a lot of skill
and many Naples surfers have gone on to ride waves around the world.
It's very rare to see something like this in Florida especially several days in a row.
The late afternoon light is perfect for shooting models at the beach and one of my favorite spots is just south of the pier.
Every day people come to the pier to watch the sunset before walking over to 3rd street for dinner and drinks.
Sometimes it's hot and sometimes it's not. This day the pier emptied out as people thought the sunset was a bust when the sun went behind the clouds. Experience told me to wait it out.
The clouds were moving fast and the sun worked overtime producing a very pretty sunset for those that waited.
The next night the same thing happened. The disappointed crowd left early and I waited to see what would happen.
After the sun dipped below the horizon the after glow produced one of the best sunsets I've ever seen.
I've only seen one sunset better than this. It was in 2005 and I was out surfing in Tamarindo Costa Rica.
Earlier in the day was a solar eclipse and we watched it while out in the water. At the same time a light fog formed over the water giving the eclipse a mystical feel. After the eclipse the fog cleared and a few hours later the sun set. It was just as colorful and vibrant as this one but it took up the entire sky from the horizon to the mountains behind me in a gradient color spectrum that was pulsating. It was low tide so the wet sand was reflecting the sky. It takes a lot to blow me away and that one did. It was magical and I stood there in awe until it went dark.
Still this wasn't a bad way to start the New year and I hope the rest of it is just as colorful.
