Category: Florida

30th Annual NATJA Awards

I was honored once again to be recognized by the North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) in its 30th Annual Awards for Excellence in Travel Journalism. I received an Honorable Mention in the category of Photography – Photo Essay for “Photo Tour of Key West,” on Film Road Trip. Work eligible for the competition was work first published between October 1, 2020 and September 30, 2021. The winners represented the best in travel journalism, with journalists from major publications including Condé Nast Traveler, National Geographic Travel, and Travel + Leisure, and many others.
Take a moment to review the work of all our organization’s talented journalists who were recognized in this year’s competition.
I am honored to have been recognized each year in the awards competition since joining NATJA in 2016:
2020
GOLD: Photography – Cultural: “Everything is Relative”
BRONZE: Photography – Portrait, People: “London Gentleman”
HONORABLE MENTION: Photography Landscape, Seascape, Nature: “Meads Bay Moonset”
2019
GOLD: Photography: Featured Photo, Illustration – Online Publication: “The Heart of Anguilla”
2018
HONORABLE MENTION – Photography: Nature – Online Publication: “Bourbon Trail Magnolias”
2017
FINALIST – Best Independent Travel Blog: My Irie Time
2016
SILVER – Photography: Overall Excellence – Online Publication: “Andros, Bahamas”
BRONZE – Photography: Photo Essay – Online Publication: “Understated Elegance at Kamalame Cay”

March 3, 2022
Farewell Fuji 400H: The Zine

I’m a firm believer in printing your photographs, and it’s really satisfying to create a zine of your images to tell the story of your travels. Here is the flip book of our latest zine, Farewell Fuji 400H: Miami to Key West. Enjoy!
[flipbook id=”4″]

August 21, 2021
Photo Tour of Key West
Key West is only about six square miles, but there are photo opportunities everywhere you look. The Old Town section of Key West is filled with historical markers, pubs, shops, and interesting characters. Let’s take a short tour.
All images shot on Fuji 400H with the Canon EOS 1v and 50mm f/1.2 or 24mm f/1.4 lens. There is just one exception. The last shot is on the Mamiya 6 with the Mamiya 50mm f/4 lens.
If you missed some of our previous posts on the road trip from Miami Beach to Key West, check out the following links to our posts on Miami Beach, Miami’s Historic Art Deco District, and The Confidante Miami Beach.
May 11, 2021
Classic Key West: Casa Marina Key West, a Waldorf Astoria Resort
Key West has some lovely guest houses and hotels, but for my first trip to Key West, I had to stay at the historic Casa Marina.
Recently celebrating 100 years, the Casa Marina Key West Resort opened on New Years’ Eve in 1920. The hotel was the vision of Henry Flagler, co-founder of Standard Oil. In 1912, Flagler’s Overseas Railroad, connecting the Florida mainland to Key West, was completed, and Key West needed a grand hotel to accommodate the affluent passengers who would make the long journey.
Flagler would not see his vision come to life as he passed away in 1913, five years before construction began. The hotel was designed by Thomas Hastings and John Carrere, architects of New York City’s Metropolitan Opera House and the New York Public Library. The hotel lived up to the vision, with Florida pine hardwood interiors, grand archways, and magnificent high ceilings.
The hotel was purchased by the United States Navy in 1942 and was used as officers’ quarters during World War II. During the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, the resort served as quarters for the men of the U.S. Army’s Sixth Missile Battalion, 65th Artillery, bringing four HAWK missile batteries to the beach, where they remained until 1979.
The hotel is within walking distance of many of the famous sites of Key West, but is located on the far south end of island, where things are a bit more quiet. The hotel boasts the largest private beach on Key West.
Stay tuned for our next post, where we walk the streets of Key West! If you missed some of our previous posts on the road trip from Miami Beach, check out the following links to our posts on Miami Beach, Miami’s Historic Art Deco District, and The Confidante Miami Beach.
May 4, 2021
Retro Chic: The Confidante, Miami Beach
Looking for a beach vacation with the glamour of an historic hotel, without leaving the United States? The Confidante, Miami Beach is for you. The Confidante brings to mind the classic Florida hotels of the past. It is “retro chic,” a modern hotel with a nod to the elegant hotels from the golden era that made Miami Beach famous.
Opened in 2015 as The Confidante, the hotel has been known by many names since its opening in 1940. Originally opened as the Lord Tarleton Hotel, it transformed into The Hyde Park, The Crown, and The Thompson Miami Beach. The hotel was built in the Art Deco style, 18 stories high, and was Miami Beach’s first skyscraper.
The hotel is an Instagrammer’s dream, with a retro, candy-colored palette and fun vibe. The “Backyard” is located between the hotel and the pool area, where you can enjoy a cocktail amidst the palm trees.
Art lovers will be in heaven here. During our visit, the hotel hosted, “The Real Surreal,” an exhibit of the work of Salvador Dali and local artists. The hotel is also pet-friendly, so if you cannot leave your furry family member at home, they can enjoy the vacation with you.
There are two pools at The Confidante, one for adults and one for families. Adjacent to the pools are a number of furnished cabanas. We were there during spring break, the week before Easter, but it never felt crowded.
Our stay included a day at a pool cabana, which was outfitted with electrical outlets, a couch, and two beach chairs. We were treated to chilled water and a fruit plate. Our wonderful attendant, Heather, made sure we had everything we desired, including cocktails and delicious fruit pops made by Cielito Artisan Pops. Cielito’s pops are handcrafted, and made with local ingredients, free of GMOs, artificial colors, preservatives and high fructose corn syrup.
At the beach, you will have no trouble locating a chair and umbrella, and the kind staff will help you find your way. The beach is stunning, greeting us with beautiful turquoise water every day of our stay.
The hotel is located at 4041 Collins Avenue, in the middle of Miami Beach – away from the crowds of South Beach but within minutes by car or cab. The property is now part of the Hyatt Unbound Collection so you can earn or spend your Hyatt points with stays. It doesn’t have the feel of a corporate property. It feels like a family-owned boutique hotel, with the personal attention you would expect.
The best part of The Confidante? – we are returning next year!
Check out all of our posts on the road trip from Miami Beach to Key West: Miami Beach, Miami’s Historic Art Deco District, The Confidante Miami Beach, and our photo tour of Key West!
May 1, 2021
Miami Beach Art Deco District
One of the most exciting parts or our trip was exploring the Historic Art Deco District of Miami Beach. I loved walking the area looking for the details that make this area so special. I could have easily spent a week here, and would have loved to have a long lens on hand, but we will return! In just a few hours, I was able to see so many buildings in the style of Art Deco, Mediterranean Revival and MiMo (Miami Modern). The area was added to the National Historic District Registry in 1979 and can be found between 5th Street and 23rd Street, along Ocean Drive, Collins Avenue, and Washington Avenue.
Check out all of our posts on the road trip from Miami Beach to Key West: Miami Beach, Miami’s Historic Art Deco District, The Confidante Miami Beach, and our photo tour of Key West!
April 29, 2021
Miami Beach
Our first trip of 2021 took us to Miami Beach. I’ll share images of the Art Deco District in Miami Beach and our wonderful hotel, The Confidante Miami Beach, in a later post. First, let’s enjoy the people and sights of Miami Beach.
Check out all of our posts on the road trip from Miami Beach to Key West: Miami Beach, Miami’s Historic Art Deco District, The Confidante Miami Beach, and our photo tour of Key West!
April 29, 2021
Farewell Fuji 400H

A combination of winter plus COVID isolation got to me in early January, and I decided it was time to plan a trip. This year’s vacation would be different. It would be in the United States given that the restrictions on foreign travel added too many obstacles to an already burdensome process. I also had a certificate for two nights at The Confidante, Miami Beach, Florida, which I won with my gold medal in the North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) competition last year. So we decided to tick an item off the bucket list and drive from Miami to Key West. I booked the tickets to Miami, booked the seaplane to the Dry Tortugas, and selected our hotel in Key West. In the back of my head, I am always thinking about what cameras to bring and what film I intended to shoot. With all the pastels of the buildings in the Art Deco district in Miami and the greens of the palms and faded colors of the ocean-worn buildings, I settled on Fuji Pro 400H. I put a good quantity of film, both 35mm and 120 in my shopping cart, waiting to pull the trigger after sleeping on it. The next day, Fuji announced the immediate discontinuation of 400H. I quickly tried to place orders, which were ultimately cancelled, and prices shot up on eBay. Fortunately, The Find Lab came through with the 120 I needed for this project, and I was ready to take this final trip to bid farewell to one of my favorite films.
Our film is back from the lab and if you follow me on Instagram, you’ve begun to see the images. We spent two nights in Miami Beach at The Confidante, then drove down to the Keys, spending three nights at Casa Marina Key West. I took the Canon 1v with the Canon 14mm f/2.8 II, the Canon 24mm f/1.4 II, the Canon 50mm f/1.2, and the Canon 135mm f/2. I also brought the Mamiya 6 with the 50mm f/4 lens, and the Olympus XA-4. My only disappointment is that I inadvertently slid the ISO switch on the XA-4 and horribly underexposed the roll in that camera, ruining those shots but learning a valuable lesson. I’m really happy with the rest of the shots, so follow along with our posts from Miami Beach to Key West: Miami Beach, Miami’s Historic Art Deco District, The Confidante Miami Beach, and our photo tour of Key West!

April 29, 2021