Eric Crossan

nature photography workshop St Croix USVI

Today,Saturday I had the opportunity to conduct a nature photography workshop on St Croix in the USVI. It was held at the “SEA”’s Southgate Coastal Reserve on the Islands North East End.  Approx.  10 participants interested in expanding their knowledge of photography came and I explained items such as outdoor fill flash, use of polarizing filters, ISO settings, etc. A lot of questions were asked and each on answered. This was the second workshop I have held here and hope to come back again

Architectural Interior Panoramic

On a recent assignment in St Croix, USVI  our photography studio,Eric Crossan Photography,photographstcroix, was asked to photograph the interior the grand salon  at Mill Point which is built around a 1700’s sugar mill. But it was no ordinary request. The Property manager asked that the final photograph include the salon,kitchen and dining area. Even with my widest perspective correction lens I could not come close to capturing the entire space. So I made 2 images and stitched them together to create one spectacular final image. This is a perfect example of what a professional photographer can do to create an exciting image to help promote, advertise  or sell a property.

The first time I traveled out to Point Udall from our USVI   St Croix rental  condo the Seabreeze it was a bright,hot day. Upon arriving at the high wind swept point I saw a hugh storm brewing in the Caribbean out toward the British Virgin Islands. As a photographer in the US Virgin Islands I grabbed my Canon 5D Mark II and started shooting the developing scene. Then I stopped and slowly turned around 360 degrees and what a view.Of course it changes with each passing hour and I can;t wait to get back for a sunrise. This image was created from 2 separate images stitched together to make one.You can see more St Croix images at  www.photograpstcroix.com

A special  thank you to Michael and Kerri for allowing me to make there official engagement portraits on the beautiful Island of St Croix in the US Virgin Islands.  Even after waiting for the sun to set the temp. was a warm 88 degrees they both held up great.  We started at the  historic 1750’s Rum factory ruins at the former  Butler Bay Plantation and ended up at Sprat Hall Beach, home of  the Sunset Grill, where we  completed the photo shoot as the sun disappeared into the Caribbean. St Croix offers a great mix of historic properties and white sand beaches lining the warm  Caribbean waters in which to stage photography sessions and weddings. Come down and check us out…. Mon….

After more than an hour of laying still on the beach watching this little guy go in and out of his hole, I finally won his trust and at a mer 3 feet away captured some interesting images. These land crabs live in the sand at waters edge and inland as well. This critter lives in front of our condo on Sunset Beach in St Croix.  I have been building a library of images for my commercial photography business in the USVI

All Eyes On You- Caribbean Land Crab

During my last stay in St Croix, I was contacted by the Hibiscus Beach Resort to make some new photographs of one of their suites, which was damaged last year by hurricane Omar. In addition to showing off the new rooms they also wanted to be able to see the views of the Caribbean which is visible from each. A combination of lighting and retouching made this USVI commercial photography

Interior commercial photography in the USVI

Interior commercial photography with ocean view

assignment a success.

Now that I am a part time resident of St Croix in The Virgin Islands I have been making new business contacts and have started photographing commercial assignments and adding to my stock library. I just launched  www.photographstcroix.com , my new website promoting work I have done here in the states and in St. Croix. While not completely finished it has  samples of my architectural, advertising,portrait, wedding and aerial photography and will soon host a Island Wall Art portfolio from which businesses and residents and visitors can purchase photographic art made on the Island of St Croix. Working out of our oceanfront condo the Seabreeze on the Islands West End ,I have been busy talking with wedding planners,realtors and businesses  to promote my photography on the Island. The last advertising images I made on St Croix were of Mill Point, an upscale property that can be rented for weddings or vacation. It is a home built around a 1750’s sugar mill and sits on the side of the Old Bulter Bay Plantation overlooking the Caribbean.  A computerized  LED  pool light was just added and the manager wanted to show how cool the effects were. Through a long exposure and some light painting on the mill the striking image was exactly what Michael was looking for. A powerful,inviting image of the  residence/mill at night to promote it on it’s website.There are several other images of the mill on my photographstcroix

Mill Point in St Croix USVI

website

Back in january I had the honor of conducting a photography workshop at the Southgate Coastal Reserve on the East end of St Croix .The Southgate Coastal Reserve was created in 1999 and expanded in 2000 through two generous gifts from an anonymous donor with a keen interest in birding and education.The Reserve is located a little over 3 miles east of Christiansted, just north of East End Road. It totals 100 acres and encompasses a coastal salt pond, mangrove forest, beach forest and upland grassland. The pond and surrounding wetlands provide habitat for many resident and migrant birds including several species classified as threatened or endangered. Three species of sea turtles nest on the beach berm – all are classified as threatened or endangered. About 12 attendee’s interested in photography showed up and I went about showing and explaining the importance of taking your camera off of auto and to the manual settings to produce better images.  We also worked on fill or reflective lighting to enhance flowers etc, in bright sun. After and our or two we assembled on the beach overlooking the beautiful Caribbean  for a Q & A session . I hope to return to the reserve soon to continue to explore for  more photographic images.(photograph of Eric(with camera) and attendee’s by Carol Cramer-Burke)