Florida Artist Eve Wheeler

Photo by Captain Brian

Painting by Eve Wheeler

Eve emailed me a while back and asked if she could paint one of my photographs.  She specifically asked if she could paint this first photo.  I don't often allow other artists to recreate my visions through the lens. I trusted Eve. I felt she did a great job. You can see her visons of art on her website at Eve Wheeler Art

Martha Stewart Blog Revisits Sanibel Shell Fair

I was excited to be mentioned in the Martha Stewart blog by my friend Hannah Milman. She has been a long time supporter of the Sanibel Shell Fair. The photos she captured of the beautiful shell work and shells at the 75th  annual shell fair are spectacular. Thank you Hannah for a great post! To view the full blog posting, visit Martha Stewart Craft Blog June 25, 2012.

P.S.  One of my favorite pictures in this blog is the Black Tahitian Shell and Pearl, gotta love those pearls.

Interview With Grad Student

You can never learn enough about the world we inhabit. I am a huge supporter when it comes to educating on the environment in and around the water.  I recently met with Julia, a graduate student from Duke University, who was researching positive and negative feedback on the Dolphin Smart Program. I found it refreshing to speak with Julia who showed passion, knowledge and ambition for educating more people on marine life.  It's young students like her that will pave the way for future protection of marine mammals.  Julia, thank you for the opportunity to meet with you and provide feedback on the Dolphin Smart Program.

The Longest Day Of The Year

Sometimes you just have to leave the camera behind. Listen and walk, walk and listen. I enjoyed listening to the first day of summer on one of my favorite islands.

I LOVE SHELLING With Pam And Susan

Beautiful day! I enjoyed relaxing and exploring with Susan (who is a wealth of knowledge on fossils and rocks) and Pam of I LOVE SHELLING. The trip started with the fossil hunter and the sheller exploring a new sand bar off the coast of Captiva. We then pulled anchor and traveled farther north to one of my favorite sea side towns, Boca Grande. We visited many of my favorite spots and a few secret spots (but not all of my secret spots).  I enjoyed showing Pam and Susan a beach where you can find shark teeth. We could have spent all day there but it was time for lunch. Temptations restaurant on  Boca Grande  was a perfect place to talk shells and fossils while enjoying delicious food. After lunch we traveled to beautiful Cayo Costa. The landscapes were stunning and the conversations were equally satisfying. We collected augers, jingles, tusks, Susan's 4th baby's ear(yeah!),  a gaudy nautica, worms shells, shark eyes, olives, lightning whelks, fighting conchs and shark teeth.  Also, my favorite- the sea pearls. Thank you Susan and Pam for a full day of relaxing and exploring island style.

One Swell Of A Week

I  had a lot going on this week.  It felt good to watch a wave reach its final destination.

Texas Rides Again

The ladies from Texas ride again and then some. This year Kim and Cheryl brought with them Daniel, Steve and George Ann.  Cheryl collected many fighting conchs and she wants to make a table out of them .  We traveled to a couple Islands shelling and grinning along the way.  I enjoy taking out passengers from the Lone Star State! Thanks for a great trip. Also, glad that you got to connect with my friend, Lacey. 

The Miller Family

What an extraordinary family- Corey, Kim, Graham, Chloe, Quincy and Wren. I have enjoyed this family for many years, they are always positive and their glass is always half full. We had a blast collecting fighting conchs (and there were many) and exploring the mudflats. We walked the beaches in a remote area collecting the conchs, when Wren said, "Captain Brian can we go back to the swamp?" So the swamp it was.  We returned to where we started and the girls got to play with live hermit crabs and make little corrals for them before letting them go. Kim found a beautiful lightning whelk. Corey was happy to just be there and enjoy his family. I was happy to be a part of this family's memories.

Fun with Richard and Ann

This was a fun day with Richard and Ann.  We took lots of pictures, had enjoyable conversations on cameras, shelling and camping.  Ann found albino cockles, her first alphabet cone, fighting conchs, worm shells, a gaudy natica and lightning whelks, just to name a few.  Richard took some pictures and I managed to snap a few too.