You win some, you lose some

This is the 14th floor pool deck of the Icon Brickell complex in Miami, looking out over Biscayne Bay.

Three buildings form around it on the north, south and west sides, leaving the open view you see here facing east. The buildings to be seen are on Brickell Key a small island just offshore. Each of the three Icon buildings are more than 50 floors, offering magnificent views of the bay, Miami River and downtown.

The Viceroy Hotel occupied the west building until it was acquired in June 2016 and changed to a W. I shot it and this picture in 2010 when it was Viceroy managed.

I loved this pool deck and watched the sunrise from it more than a few times.

So what?

Well, the damn thing leaks and had been found to be structurally unsound. The residents of Icon Brickell and the new owners of the hotel tower (an arm of the government of Qatar) have to cough up $14.4 million dollars to fix it. The fix will also take well over a year during which time there will be no pool deck and ongoing construction noise as it is shored up from all sides.

The lawsuits are flying, not at the talented architects at Arquitectonica and Phillipe Starck's firm Yoo, who designed the buildings, but at the contractor.

It's going to be a mess. Such a shame.

Mayakoba Magic

Forty minutes south of Cancun and ten minutes north of Playa Del Carmen, Mayakoba is several hundred acres of jungle, mangrove swamps, man made canals, a golf course and three (soon to be four) gorgeous resorts. A gorgeous beach with turquoise waters tops it off.

Fairmont was the first and was soon followed by Rosewood (pictured above) and then Banyan tree. Hyatt Andaz is scheduled to open by the end of 2016.

This was my third time in nine years and it's as good as the first day I laid eyes on it. Owned by Spanish developer OHL, who have sensitively developed the land, with the addition of the canals and little streams, all of which are man made, they have created a nature preserve among the wetlands of the mangroves. Myriads of birds - you should see the size of the Great Blue Heron - deer, coati, raccoons, crocodiles, iguanas and mammals of all kinds are to be seen throughout the day.

The larger canals connect the three resorts, while the numerous streams are within each resort and allow one to watch the cormorants dive for fish while sitting on your patio or terrace. It's a great way to have morning coffee and watch the sun slowly rise over the trees.

Electric powered boats, like the one above, ply visitors to and fro and many of the casitas have their own private dock for water taxi service if you prefer it to the golf cart shuttle service available at all of the resorts.

Highly recommended and don't forget to bring a camera!

Grand Hyatt, Playa Del Carmen.

The recently opened Grand Hyatt is right in the middle of the bustle on 5th Avenue, the main shopping, dining and place to be seen street in Playa.

It's also a block long and stretches out to the beach. Distinctive, modern architecture set it apart and certainly raise the bar in the area known for its local boutiques, cafes and shops. From cheap T shirt shops to Cartier and Mont Blanc, they're all there on Avenida Cinco.

I work in the Riviera Maya and around Playa about three or four times a year and have developed a taste for Playa, which I first of all quite disliked. Resorts on the Riviera Maya are relaxing and tranquil while Playa is busy, very busy. Traffic is a hodgepodge of everything imaginable and no one seems to know what a stop sign is. Parking is almost impossible - unless you know of my secret spot. It took a long time to find so I'm not telling.

Aside from that, it's full of real characters, both tourist and local and there's never a dull moment.

Thanks to Braulio and the rest of the folks at Hyatt who made it a pleasure. The above is sunrise at the infinity pool, overlooking the ocean.

Cancun

I know, I know.

Cancun, Riviera Maya. Riviera Maya, Cancun. What can I say? It's a very busy place. Tourist arrivals and new resort building keep going up and up.

This was brand new - Excellence in Playa Mujeres, north of Cancun and the hotel zone, directly facing it's namesake, Isla Mujeres.

Before all of this development started, I was in Isla Mujeres. No ferries in those days, just fishermen who would take you over for a few pesos. There was only one hotel and a lot of smuggling of electronics it seemed. Late at night I watched fishing boats swinging their booms and big nets over the dock to unload the day's catch . . . . . . large boxes labeled Toshiba, Sony, Panasonic etc. The Honda motorcycles weren't in boxes!

I switched to Sony many years ago because of their lovely Zeiss lenses, but this was the first time I had used an E mount mirrorless for a job. While they produce lovely files, I miss a bright, optical viewfinder. Electronic viewfinders just aren't up to snuff. Especially for work in bright sun and this old man's eyes. Having to hold a camera away from my body in order to see anything just has the wrong feeling about it.

Riviera Maya

I decided to add a few entries in order to catch up - while I'm in the mood and have the time.

Just north of Playa Del Carmen and next to Mayakoba is Blue Diamond, formerly the Mandarin Oriental, the last time I was there in 2008.

Lush and dense landscaping contrast the smooth and sparse exteriors of the Casitas dotted around the grounds. Mine had a stream behind and I watched from my patio as the Cormorants fished for food every day.

Mi Casa

Goodbye Harmon Hotel

MGM have finally been allowed to demolish the Foster + Partners designed, Harmon Hotel at City Center, Las Vegas.

 

The subject of endless and expensive lawsuits after the structure was found to have construction defects, it will soon be a goner. The builder wanted to "fix it" and MGM would have none of it. Foster has been silent.

 

It will be dismantled, floor by floor, rather than imploded. So, if you're staying at the nearby Aria, Vdara or the Cosmo, be prepared for endless noise and disruption. For "The city that never sleeps", it will be another reason to be awake all night that's got nothing to do with the Cosmo's nightclub or pool scene. Sigh.

 

It's a pity. I rather like it, yet it has sat vacant and never used for some years now while the lawyers went at it. Something had to happen and finally a judge said it could.

 

 

 

 





Breakfast companions of the day

My breakfast plate about ten seconds after I got up and started to walk away.

We're in the Riviera Maya where the locals call these little guys, "qwate", that's the phonetic spelling. I looked them up and couldn't find anything. They look like a cross between a Raccoon and a Lemur and they're highly skilled at begging.


Guess I'll have to get a bigger plate tomorrow.

Cabo San Lucas

Cabo San Lucas last month. High up on the cliffs leaning over the bridge which connected the "upper" resort to the "lower" resort down at the beach. Not bad for a guy with vertigo.

I pulled out the old trusty Mamiya 645 for this one and decided on a Phase One P25 back. While I also have the larger, P45+, I thought that  22 megapixels was enough for this.

The first time I worked in Cabo was about 25 years ago and there were about 5 or 6 hotels. A lot has changed since then. According to the local map there are 50 resorts along the shore from Lands End to the airport. That's a lot of beds.

This was the first time I've ever been dinged for having too many cameras and I had to donate $80 to the Mexican government for ]import duties. Not bad, I guess and Customs were polite and apologetic. Everyone's got a job to do, no hard feelings from me.

In between allowing time for security, the flight time and the time difference, I had been travelling for 12 hours by the time I went to get my rental car. A less than speedy hour later I was on my way, in the middle of the night, down the dark highway that snaked through the desert into San Jose. I could hardly keep my eyes open I was so tired and was relieved to see a lighted toll booth ahead to break the monotony.

When I pulled up to the attendant and rolled down the window I could see and smell smoke coming from the rear of the car. "Is your parking break on?" he asked. Oops. Thirty pesos toll and take the first right to Cabo, along the shore road.

Now it was all fast moving traffic as I wizzed by endless franchises and new buildings into Cabo. It was amazing how peppier the car was with the parking break off. [wince]. Once in the old section of town I, of course, took a wrong turn and ended up on the wrong side of the cliffs. I was staring at the Pacific and wanted to be on the bay side facing the Sea of Cortez. From my high vantage point I could see where I wanted to go, right by the Navy Docks at the marina. But I was facing the wrong way at a one way street. To hell with it and I took a chance, hoping I wouldn't meet anyone on the narrow road or see the Police. I was already practising my "I'm just a lost tourist, I'm sorry" speech when the road ended and there I was at the marina. I turned right and I was at Lands End, the very bottom of Baja California.

I pulled into the hotel and finding I was the first to arrive I gratefully was ushered to my room quickly and flopped. I woke at 3 a.m., fully dressed, laying in bed with all of the room lights on and my iPhone clutched in my hand.

The balcony doors were wide open and the cool desert breeze was wafting the curtains backwards and forwards. Sunrise was in three hours and I needed to be ready. Ugh!

Riviera Maya Resort

Back in the saddle again just south of Cancun. After numerous jobs in the desert this year it feels good to be back in such familiar surroundings.

I'm trying out the Cambo Technical camera with a Phase One back for this and after a bit of fiddling I'm getting the hang of it. This was with a Schneider 35 XL lens and it's lovely.Such rich rendering from the Phase back and the Schneider.

The cruise ship passing by on the horizon was just a lucky beak for this shot, taken from the roof of an adjacent building.

The original processing was in Capture One for the heavy lifting and then with adjustments from Lightroom, and then finally in Photoshop. A lot of work, but worth it I think.

The Cambo forces a very different way of working which I found a bit tedious at first, but you get used to the slow and methodical pace after a while.The results are sure worth it.

The lull before the storm

Three days of weather just like this before Hurricane Isaac came visiting. Then, three days of howling winds, flying debris and monsoon-like rain, and watching more Law & Order reruns than are good for you. Who knew the Weather Girl on Peruvian TV wore a bikini? I do now.

Rodeo Drive

I'm normally not one for social commentary, I'll leave that to much more talented people like Sebastio Salgado. I couldn't resist this though. In behind the designer stores on Rodeo Drive is an alley for deliveries and such. This is where the little people deliver merchandise, pick up garbage - all out of site of the shoppers and tourists. This is also where the glue sniffers and the winos go, but we Photoshopped them out - respect their privacy and all - as we also blurred the plates on the cars and the name on the van. Happy shopping.

Edris House, Palm Springs

The Edris House was built in 1953 by E. Stuart Williams, who also designed and built The Sinatra House,and is a wonderful example of Modernism and the Palm Springs lifestyle. Our thanks to JR, the current owner and careful curator of this masterpiece.

Hyatt Palm Springs sunrise

It's dawn at Starbucks on Palm Canyon and I'm sitting with Larry, Darren, Tim et al, and working out the day's shooting schedule when I see them out of the corner of my eye.

A sixtyish couple: she, tall and thin, very elegant looking in linen slacks, plain silk blouse and a discreet pearl choker. He is about five foot four, two hundred and seventy pounds plus, wearing a muscle style T shirt and the loudest Hawaiian shorts I have ever seen.

How do people as different as them even know each other, I think? What brought them together in the first place? Was he a silver-tongued smooth talker, while she was painfully shy? Is that too obvious and simplistic? Probably.

I'm engrossed in them, projecting all kinds of scenarios about their initial meeting. "What do you think?" Huh? "Are you even listening? What do you think?" About what? "We're were thinking of not working today and just goofing off." Very funny guys, I'm not in that much of a fog, let's go.

As we stood up and left, I realized that I actually was in that much of a fog so I went inside and ordered another coffee to go. As we walked up the street, past the T shirt shops and for lease signs that are so familiar on this section of Palm Canyon, I couldn't help but wonder what Palm Springs is all about. I certainly don't get it. It's okay, but no big deal in my mind - unlike Beverly Hills where we had just left after a couple of days and I think is one of the most mindless places I've ever been.

Back in my room, packed for the day and looking out from my balcony, I took this shot. It will always remind me of my mystery couple.

Las Vegas resorts

Back in the desert again last month, this time in Sin City.

Again, not my usual thing, I'm used to beaches, ocean and humidity, but this assignment came directly from the shot of the W in Scottsdale I posted a little while back. Not too often that things like that happen, but when it does it feels that all is right with the world.

November in Las Vegas isn't warm, especially hanging off a terrace 25 floors up on a windy evening. The noise, crowds and hookers are all way down below. all I can hear is the sound of Stan Getz playing Bossa Nova from the room and Astrid Gilberto's sweet voice accompanying him. Perfect music to be shooting the Bellagio fountains to. We also did a number of stitched panoramas from this terrace that turned out quite well, although we were way off the twelve shot panos that Peter Lik did from an adjacent location with a Red Epic. But, that's Peter for you.

The new(ish) City Center is the largest private construction project ever undertaken in the U.S., and it is mighty impressive - hotels,casinos,shopping,entertainment and residences all rolled into one massive development.You could spend a month shooting the place and still have missed something, it's just that big - and worthy. Although I must admit that the Veer Towers gave me the willies - twin towers leaning in the opposite direction to each other. Reminds me of a hotel we did in Atlanta that didn't have one right angle in the whole place. Just doesn't feel right somehow.

A special thanks to the guys at the Sony Store in the Forum Shops in Caesars Palace for coming through when we had a technical issue. Not too often we find service that good anymore and more's the pity.

Cape Cod in the Fall

It's been over twenty years since I've had a job on Cape Cod. In the meantime, we actually owned a summer place in Hyannisport for a number of years. So, I've shot a lot here, but this is only the second time that I'm getting paid to do so.


These two shots are typical Cape in mid-September. One glorious sunrise and one dreary cloudy day that was also very interesting, but unusable for commercial purposes. I didn't even notice the cloudy scene because I was facing the other way toward the resort and the ocean and muttering about the crappy weather.

Deciding to call it quits and pack up for the day I looked over my shoulder across the saltwater inlet and marsh behind me and voila! Nice little scene and very Cape Cod like.

It's unusual for us to be working outside of the Sunbelt and the tropics, but it's not for lack of interest on my part. It just rarely happens that way, and when it does, I can't think of a place I love to be more than this.

Summer in Scottsdale

This is a personal shot and an unusual one for me because I usuually don't work in urban surroundings.

It was taken during a break on a resort shoot in Scottsdale, AZ. I decided to go downtown and explore the air-conditioned cocoons called shopping malls. Sitting at a traffic light, I saw the newly opened W Hotel out of the corner of my eye, on the cross street. I zipped over and parked on a side street and watched the scores of twentysomethings come and go from the W. They all seemed to be dressed in baggy surfer shorts and garish T shirts, proclaiming "Acapulco Beer Champ", and the like.

Starwood like to brand the W as a hip brand but I doubt that this is what they had in mind. Must be happy hour, I thought, as the music blared from the rooftop pool deck and I could see the silhouettes of their bodies milling around against the setting sun.

I quickly and somewhat absent mindedly shot off about a dozen frames and didn't bother to go inside because it looked like a zoo. Besides, I was on a mission and going shopping before we started to set-up for the evening's shoot.

Later that night, I started to process the day's take and when this shot popped up on the screen I became dissapointed that I hadn't spent more time or given it more thought. I liked it and wished that I had more to choose from.

All that I can say is that I blame it on the heat. It was 115 degrees for seven days in a row and even the usual cool night air of the desert didn't materialize. The first day, I just thought that the heat was a little crispy. The second day, I started muttering, "son of a bitch", but by the third day, I was going mental. Even the cameras and lens barrels were hot to the touch and when a gust of super-heated wind hit my face, it just sucked the breath from my mouth.

I've worked in the desert before; here in Scottsdale, as well as Las Vegas and in Cabo San Lucas, Baja, a number of times, but I have never been as debilitated as this. My usual stomping ground is the Caribbean and Mexico and I rarely work north of Miami. Not only do I have no problem with the heat, I love tropical weather and feel that I was born for it. All I can say is that it's a good job I've been doing the Cancun shuttle lately and my skin is already well tanned, because I would have fried otherwise.

The day after I left, Phoenix and Scottsdale were hit by a massive sandstorm, hundreds of feet high, driven by searingly hot winds, that pummeled the city and brought it to a standstill. Whew. Close one.

Yucatan memories

I recently returned from back-to-back projects in Mexico - a week in Cancun and then we drove south to the Riviera Maya for the second shoot.



Fourteen consecutive days of 5am starts and 7pm finishes seemed like child's play when I returned and faced editing about 8000 frames. "You've got to learn to be more selective", I said to myself. As if that's going to happen, because I always say that to myself. Ah well, old dogs, new tricks and ne'er the twain shall meet. (Apologies to Kipling).

I used to live around here in the 1970's and although much has changed it still feels like home to me. At one point we were a short drive from Belize, where I also lived, but I resisted the temptation of a trip down memory lane because we were on a schedule. Cancun didn't really exist then, it was just a big spit of white sand which curved out 15 miles into the sea. Local fishermen would ferry people across to Isla Mujeres for a few pesos and Cozumel for a few pesos more. Now, huge catamarans ferry hundreds of people at a time to these islands and Cozumel even has an international airport.

Playa del Carmen is supposed to be the fastest growing town in Latin America, but it seems to decay as fast as they build. Even the building seems to be half-assed, unfinished this, unfinished that and there are more potholes than in the old part of town. Maybe they're actually constructing potholes? Hmm. Still, it has a charm that even the hordes of English louts roaming the streets can't dent.

Playa is definitely more Mexican than Cancun and although I usually go for more "authentic" myself, there's something about Cancun I really like. The Riviera Maya is completely the opposite of Cancun's large, multi-level resorts, and intimate, low-rise buildings spread over large, mangrove covered, properties prevail. If heaven on earth exists, this is it.

Miami Image

Miami Images - Images by Andrew Ptak

I spent last week working in Miami and took an extra day to spend an always educational day with Seth Resnick. Time with Seth is always well spent, but as an extra bonus, Eric Meola dropped in at lunch time. I've admired his work for 3o years, or more, and it was a real treat to meet him in the flesh.

This is a personal shot I took in South Beach one night. I should have a few in my Stock site in a week or so - just got to find the time to edit and process them.

Yes, South Beach was the usual zoo, with Superbowl coming up shortly, adding to the fun and games. Big sound stages and scaffolding for TV crews being built on the beach. Kind of glad I'm going to miss it though, it would be hell to try and work around that.

I met a street artist selling his (awful) paintings outside of Starbucks on Ocean Drive. I didn't buy one of his paintings, but I did buy him a coffee and we chatted for a few minutes. Turns out he's from Provincetown, Mass. and "winters in Miami Beach every year. Guess you don't have to have money to have a winter residence.

Anyhow, we're great lovers of Cape Cod - had a summer place in Hyannis for many years - and I know P'town very well. I asked this fellow about Dixie, a flamboyant Queen who runs the Post Office Cafe and whom we've known for years. He always embodied all of the fun and the intelligence that the place possesses. Bummer of bummers, turns out that Dixie died when he fell down the stairs and cracked his skull. What are the chances of being far from home and meeting someone on the street who is also far from home and finding out something like this? Provincetown will go on but one small and vital piece will be missing.


EDIT - I notice that this image flickers on screen. Damned if I know why, the lighter version of the flickering image is actually the exposure of the real file. Hmmm.

Empress Hotel Victoria BC Canada

This is the Fairmont Empress in Victoria, Vancouver Island. The Grand Old Dame of the James Bay inlet, she looks out at the comings and goings of locals, visitors, Cruise ships and seaplanes, as they parade before the Inner Harbour, as it's called.

It was starting to get dark and a storm was just clearing, making way for a peachy glow across the building facade which faces due west. It's a lovely spot and over a million visitors a year to the harbor must agree.

Toronto sunset

Toronto has a few, small islands that have a great view of downtown. I came to capture the lights of downtown at night from my island vantage point, but like this one better.

The contraption sitting in the water on the left helps to guide the ferry into the dock on the island.