I was in one of my moods to just go out and walk around for hours and just photograph whatever I found interesting. Where else than South Beach at night would be a great opportunity to see some interesting sights to photograph? South Beach offers so much visually and what I enjoy is that I can walk around and in a relative short amount of time I can be on one side of South Beach and then walk across to the other. Besides South Beach always has a new story to tell every time I’m there.
Prior to me heading over to South Beach I drove under the Julia Tuttle Bridge to photograph the Miami skyline. Only problem was that it began to rain as I got off the highway. I waited 30 minutes and the rain was still coming down. It let up a bit and I was able to grab a couple of photos. I wanted the darkness in the clouds as well as the bright skies trying to break through so I took a 5 shot bracketed image and combined it into a nice HDR image.
I drove over to South Beach and decided to have a drink prior to my escapade of walking the city. I headed over to the The Marlin Hotel on 12th and Collins. DJ SilverFoxx spins there on Friday nights so I figured I would get a quick drink, listen to a little music and then be on my merry way. If you need something to do on a Friday night, I just gave you the best place to be. Great music, awesome vibes and a great atmosphere to unwind after a long week.
After a couple of drinks I headed over to Lincoln Road. There is a garage on the corner of Lincoln and Alton road I’ve been wanting to shoot from the top of for ages. I got there and the views were amazing. I could see pretty much all of South Beach and I even had views of the Miami skyline in view as well. I’m glad I brought out my tripod so I could take long exposures getting all the light trails from the traffic.
The thing about South Beach at night is all the weird things you can encounter. After leaving the garage I walked backed up to Collins Ave where I encountered tourists exploring the city as well as the party goers making their way to their destination. Another sight is the number of homeless people out on South Beach. They were sleeping every where. On the grass, under covered doors etc. I wish the city had a better policy in trying to help these people out.
For me the best part of South Beach at night is walking Ocean Drive. I love all the neon lit Art Deco buildings. My favorite is the Colony Hotel. I love photographing it. I just walked up and down photographing Ocean Drive. I always had to be mindful of my surroundings. There has been a rash of crimes on the beach and I wasn’t trying to be the next victim.
After a great night out, I can’t wait for the next trip.
