Have you ever taken the time to drive near your home to see what hidden treasures might be close by?

Well, I’ll be the first one to say…ah..nope ! I usually think that to find a secret treasure that a quest must be embarked upon. After all, that is part of the adventure. Going somewhere less familiar and exploring new territories.

This week I had a request for some images closer to home and thus I had an incentive to look around the corner to see what I could find. I live in a fortunate place that is right along the Chesapeake Bay and the nooks and crannies of the waterways are boundless.

With the car GPS and the iPhone navigator, points of interest were highlighted so I’d just pick one and drive to it. I realized just how much I had been missing by not spending time closer to home. There are a good number of marinas and several of them are accessible.

As it happens the one that I stopped at yesterday, our boat mechanic has his shop there, which I never knew about. So a familiar face in a strange place made me feel more welcome. A lot of sailboats were at the marina and quite a few were on land being worked on in preparation for the winter.

And then magic happened. I all of a sudden began to notice the textures and patterns on the sailboats that were out of the water. Unique forms that begged for abstracts. I began to channel my inner Art Wolfe Abstract Photography and I started to have a wonderful time.

I was having such a great time but losing the light rather quickly. I’m also working on breaking a habit of mine which is to photograph in overcast days or in shade.

I absolutely love photographing in shade or overcast days as I can photograph throughout the day and not be concerned with dark shadows and and harsh light. But the quality of light is flat and dull overall so I’m trying to develop the habit of chasing better quality light found around sunrise and sunsets. Late October is a great time to explore as sunrise is later and sunset is earlier than in the summer months.

It is a work in progress but now I have a standing invitation to come and visit the marina any time that I want. Very exciting!

So ask yourself, what is just around the corner in your neighborhood? What can you discover without having to go too far from home? It can be exciting to find what you never expected to find.