Sarasota/Venice Florida

florotory · Oct 29, 2013

I am moving to Venice/Sarasota FL area this weekend. Are there any groups or meets? If not any suggestions on where some good spots to photo? I enjoy landscape , city scape, auto, actually just about any type of photography. I am still very new at it. Currently shooting with a Nikon D7100 18-55mm and 55-200mm.

NancyMoranG · Oct 30, 2013

I will be arriving in Ft Myers on Friday for 2/3 months. Is that an hour or so away? Maybe we will get some other responses and hook up. Why are you moving there?
Nancy

florotory · Oct 30, 2013

Fort Myers isn't too far. Prob an hour or so. I'll be moving there cause of my job.

JerryLove · Feb 26, 2014

I'm in Riverview. 40min the other way.

JoeW · Feb 27, 2014

No advice about meet ups or groups--I'm not from that area. But there are a couple of tips I can offer from first-hand experience....First, lovely beaches to play with and use as backdrops for shoots. Second, there are a ton of commercial orchid farms there so get your flower photographer mojo going. Third, google "Ringling" and "Sarasota" and look at all the diverse hits you get there. The Ringling School of Art and Design is a good place that is likely to have some possible options for you (models to shoot, classes to audit, possible assistants, exhibits). You've got a host of Ringling resources in and around the area (museum, old mansion), there is an old Ringling hotel that is abandoned. You could spend a year just shooting stuff that has a Ringling angle to it. I believe they've got an annual "Chalk Festival". If you go north of Sarasota just a bit, you get to Ft. DeSoto which is a great place to shoot (either for landscapes or as a setting or wildlife), one of my favorite places in Florida. You've got baseball spring training going on right now...I think the Orioles are based in Sarasota and the Twins in Ft. Myers so something to go for if you shoot sports. Sarasota itself has quite an arts community so a photographer should be able to find quite a lot of amigos very easily.

Now all this is just what comes to me off the top of my head...I'm sure with a bit of research you'll come up with a lot more.

DSRay · Feb 27, 2014

florotory said:
Fort Myers isn't too far. Prob an hour or so. I'll be moving there cause of my job.

More like two hours depending on the day or time of day as it's along Snow Bird highway (I-75) which is mostly two lanes with construction along the way. I have driven it twice in the last month and both times I had times of 25 mph bumper-to-bumper traffic.

NancyMoranG · Feb 27, 2014

Wow Joe, you could work for Florida Tourism Council!
I am still in the Bradenton +/- area...
Nancy

JoeW · Feb 27, 2014

NancyMoranG said:
Wow Joe, you could work for Florida Tourism Council!
I am still in the Bradenton +/- area...
Nancy

Thanks--that's nice of you to say that. And speaking of Bradenton, there is the IMG sports academy down there. Started out for tennis but has now added golf, lacrosse, baseball, basketball and the US Soccer Federation will often hold camps or even residency there for the women's national team or the boys U-17, U-20 teams. So it's an easy way to get a chance to shoot some professional or near professional athletes in practice or in competition.