Maryland – Page 2 – U.S. Pictures – Bill Swartwout Photography

January 21, 2022

Sun Setting in the Trees of Assawoman Bay

Every sunset is different even if you view them from the exact same location.

The setting sun disappears into the trees at the western edge of Assawoman Bay at The Point of the Live Bayside Community. This golden sunset is in southern Delaware to the west of Ocean City, Maryland, and Fenwick Island, Delaware.

As the sun sets, atmospheric factors begin to play a much larger role in determining what features of the sunset we can see. Where we are in relationship to the horizon will greatly affect how much of the sun will be visible above the horizon. The same can be said for atmospheric conditions. If a sunset has a lot of clouds and haze, less of the sun will be visible. If it’s perfectly clear, this will allow more of the sun to shine through and illuminate additional parts of the sky. In essence, all sunsets are different because every atmospheric condition is different, but there are certain tendencies which we can observe as consistent patterns.

A black and white presentation of a gorgeous orange-sky sunset may lack the color but the monochrome emphasized the shading a detail of the trees. B&W also “works” in a more modern decor environment and even in a business office.

Sun Setting in Trees of Assawoman Bay Monochrome

Click the links for more information and to browse or shop the variety of wall art and decor items available.

Link: Sun Setting in Trees

Link: Sun Setting in Trees in Black and White

Link to: Bill’s Fine Art America Gallery

Link to: Bill’s Pictorem Ocean City Gallery (w/ Free Shipping)

I have been to this exact location on several different occasions over the years and I have never seen a sunset from this vantage point that can quite match this one.

Sometimes it’s hard to believe that so many sunsets can look so different. But if you’ve ever watched one in the same spot over several days, you get to see all of the different ways the sun can set on a warm summer evening or at the end of a frigid wintry day. This golden sunset is in southern Delaware to the west of Ocean City, Maryland, and Fenwick Island, Delaware.

This is probably my favorite sunset. It couldn’t have been any more perfect. The sun prints the water perfectly while the clouds are there to add some drama to the sky. This shot reminds me of being on vacation and seeing these gorgeous sunsets day after day. I hope you enjoyed this beautiful example of one of nature’s splendor!

January 17, 2022

Baltimore Inner Harbor Panorama Wall Art

How Downtown Baltimore looked nearly two decades ago.

This Baltimore Inner Harbor photograph is one of the most popular, as being one of the first images to be sold multiple times over the nearly 20 years since the Baltimore City skyline looked this way. What differences could you see today – if you were to trek to the top of Federal Hill Park in South Baltimore to view this vista in person?

Baltimore Inner Harbor Panorama Original

The same image is also available in a black and white presentation. This view emphasized the lines and shape of the city skyline as opposed to making an overall statement in color. A lot can be said for black and white images in a contemporary setting, such as a modern home or an office. Especially an office in one of the buildings in this nearly two decade old photograph

Baltimore Inner Harbor Panorama Black and White

This image has appeared in countless conference pamphlets over the years, it is in print in a book on Urban Geography by the Harvard University Press and was even used by the City of Baltimore at a “sister cities” conference in The Netherlands.

Links to larger images and to browse or buy.

Link: Baltimore Inner Harbor Panorama Photograph

Link: Baltimore Inner Harbor Panorama in Black and White

Link to: Baltimore Collection at Fine Art America

Link to: Baltimore Collection at Pictorem (w/ Free Shipping)

Notes: The decade-old photograph of the famous Baltimore Inner Harbor is a compilation of four images “stitched” together, yet is still relevant today. There are some differences over the last dozen or so years. Can you spot them? Imagine the differences from the time Fort McHenry defended Baltimore during the War of 1812. Imagine how this city might appear if the British Invasion was not thwarted.

January 16, 2022

Ocean City Boardwalk Arch Wall Art

This iconic boardwalk sign greets visitors to Ocean City, Maryland as they enter town from Route 50.

The iconic Ocean City, Maryland Boardwalk Arch greets visitors as they enter Ocean City from the west, along Route 50 and North Division Street. This welcoming sign greets visitors to the beach and boardwalk, just as a print of this can greet visitors in your home or office.

Beach and boardwalk greetings are a tradition no matter where in the world you live, but in Ocean City, Maryland, it is THE tradition.

Here is a black and white presentation of the Boardwalk Arch for those of you who prefer monochrome images as home or office decor.

Ocean City Boardwalk Arch Black and White

Where to find prints and home decor featuring one of these photographs…

Link: Ocean City Boardwalk Arch

Link: Boardwalk in Ocean City – Enhanced

Link: Ocean City Boardwalk Arch Black and White

Link to: Bill’s Fine Art America Gallery

Link to: Bill’s Pictorem Gallery (w/ Free Shipping)

The Boardwalk sign was built in 2000 but The Boardwalk, officially known as Atlantic Avenue, dates back to 1902, when several oceanfront hotel owners got together and constructed a wooden walkway for the convenience of their guests. At high tide, it was rolled up and stored on hotel porches. Around 1910, a permanent promenade was built.

Welcoming visitors to the beach and sands of Ocean City, the iconic Arch greets cars along Route 50 and North Division Street. This work of art has stood tall since 2000 and brings joy to beachgoers with every visit.

For more than two decades, visitors to beautiful Ocean City, Maryland have been greeted by this historic structure on the Atlantic coast. Our beautiful interpretation is a perfect accent for your home or office.

January 14, 2022

Baltimore World Trade Center and USS Constellation

Photographs of an iconic skyscraper and an historical ship in the Baltimore Inner Harbor.

Baltimore’s World Trade Center on Pratt Street in downtown Baltimore stands tall above the historic USS Constellation, the only surviving ship from the Civil War era, in the famous Inner Harbor.

Baltimore World trade Center and USS Constellation

This photograph of two of Baltimore’s best-known landmarks is also available in a black and white presentation.

Baltimore World trade Center and USS Constellation in Black and White

Here is where to see larger images and browse wall art and home decor items.

Link: Baltimore World Trade Center and Constellation

Link: Baltimore World Trade Center and USS Constellation Monochrome

Link to: The Baltimore and the Inner Harbor Wall Art Collection.

The Baltimore World Trade Center stands tall above the historic Constellation in the Baltimore Inner Harbor. It offers stunning views of the harbor, downtown Baltimore and beyond.

What do you see? In this image, the Baltimore World Trade Center stands tall above the historic USS Constellation. The Baltimore’s WTC stands 400 feet above this Maryland city’s waterfront promenade.

At the top of the Baltimore World Trade Center is an observation deck. While you’re there, you might want to check out the nearby USS Constellation, a former Navy ship that later became a museum and attraction in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Both are excellent photo opportunities–the former for a picture-perfect view of Baltimore and the latter because it’s way cool.

You’ve been burning the midnight oil but now it’s time to take a break. After grabbing a quick snack, you decide to take the elevator up to the observation deck of Baltimore’s World Trade Center. Wow, what a view! It almost seems like you are floating above the city in some kind of tall ship. Below you can see the historic Constellation and the Domino Sugars sign off in the distance. Across the water, on the south shore, you can see the tall and grassy Federal Hill Park that overlooks the Inner Harbor. You head back down to your hotel room (office, apartment) and smile as you notice everyone seems to be smiling as well.

The World Trade Center, designed by architectural firm Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, is the crown jewel of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. The juxtaposition between this contemporary building and the adjacent historic buildings—including the National Aquarium—adds to its grandeur. The World Trade Center was featured in the 2014 movie The Fault in Our Stars.

The Baltimore World Trade Center and USS Constellation wall art is a must-have piece of Baltimore memorabilia. Our photo print is available as a ready to hang poster, a photo blanket, a travel mug and more.

Dramatic and graceful, the wonderful work of architecture is one of Baltimore’s most beloved landmarks. Its unique spherical observation deck is located a third of the way up the building, with windows that offer extraordinary views of the harbor, city, and surrounding areas.

Link: Baltimore World Trade Center and Constellation

Link: Baltimore World Trade Center and USS Constellation Monochrome

Link to: The Baltimore and the Inner Harbor Wall Art Collection.

January 13, 2022

Fenwick Island Lighthouse Wall Art Photographs

An early morning clear blue sky provides a fine backdrop for the first of these “looking upward” views of the light.

The Fenwick Light is located on the state line border between Delaware and Maryland. It is just inside the town of Fenwick Island, Delaware and just across the line from Ocean City, Maryland. The Fenwick Island Lighthouse was first lit on November 10, 1808.

An early morning clear blue sky provides a fine backdrop for this first “looking upward” view of the Fenwick Island Lighthouse.

An unusual Mackerel Sky frames this wide angle shot of the Fenwick Island Lighthouse just north of the state line between Maryland and Delaware.

Fenwick Island Lighthouse in a Mackerel Sky

An unusual Mackerel Sky, in a black and white presentation, frames this wide angle shot of the Fenwick Island Light with an added “star filter” for emphasis on the light. The images above are also available in B&W without the additional edit.

Fenwick Island Lighthouse in Black and White with Star

Links to: the Fenwick Island Lighthouse in my Fine Art America/Pixels Gallery.

Links to: the Fenwick Island Lighthouse Lens at Pictorem.

The above are but a few sample of my photographs of the Fenwick Island Light. I love to showcase and preserve the unique beauty in and around my Coastal Delaware home. This lighthouse landscape photography is just one of a wide variety of memorable photographic opportunities that make online galleries unique.

Fenwick Island is located on the state border of Delaware and Maryland, and there are a few places along the boardwalk where you can get right up to the line. I was lucky enough to be in this place at sunset when the light was all aglow. This photograph is one of a series that I took during my trip recently.

Whoa! It’s a bird, it’s a plane–it’s a photograph of the Fenwick Light. You can bring this state line landmark into your home with the help of these high quality art photographs.

I’ve have the pleasure of photographing the Fenwick Island Lighthouse at various times. These photographs come in many sizes, and will look great wherever you place them.

Delaware. The Fenwick Island Lighthouse Preservation Society will keep this light at its current location. A prime spot for photographing the summer sunsets of Ocean City, Maryland and the summer sunrise of Rehoboth Beach,

Fenwick Island Light, also known as Fenwick Island Lighthouse, is located just inside the limits of the town of Fenwick, in the state of Delaware. When it was built in 1866, it was one of the first 50 lighthouses to be established by the federal government. It is a conical, rubble stone light and is a height of 128 feet.

Fenwick Island Light is one of the few remaining lighthouses in Delaware, and is located within the vacation destination of Fenwick Island. It’s location enabled it to serve as a navigation beacon for mariners sailing along the Delaware and Maryland coasts.

In the early 19th century, mariners from colonial Delaware and Maryland operated a series of beacons to protect them from sandbars and other hazards along their coastlines. Today, one of these lighthouses still shines over Fenwick Island.

I’m a photographer. That’s my job. My passion is photography and my favorite thing to do is shoot coastal and coast-related images. There’s something very calming and peaceful about being near the ocean beach. I am a skilled photo guy who likes to travel and make photographs of places I’ve been. I don’t set out to produce amazing art. If I do, then that’s just a bonus.

This is where I live. It’s nice here, but you have to watch out for the flying fish. (That joke isn’t even funny… it’s just inside Delaware.)

Looking for a fun way to brighten up your office? Need a gift idea that’s both quirky and useful? These trendy, affordable wall art prints will provide both. Perfect for children’s rooms, too! (copy.ai)

January 11, 2022

Blooming Christmas Cactus in Fuchsia

A Christmas Cactus blossom in both color and in black and white.

Nancy’s Christmas Cactus is caught during a rare blooming event with this pink – magenta – fuchsia flower being illuminated by morning light a few days before Christmas.

Although known as a cactus, this plant is really a succulent, the Schlumbergera truncata. Commonly known as a Christmas Cactus, Thanksgiving Cactus and/or Holiday Cactus, this beautiful plant is named for the seasons in which it typically blooms.

A black and white presentation of a colorful blossom actually brings out some detail in the petals that the pink/fuschia/magneta color seems to hide.

Christmas Cactus Blossom in Black and White

Links for larger wall art images and home decor items.

Link to full color image: Christmas Cactus Blossom

Link to B&W image: Christmas Cactus Blossom in Black and White

Other terms associated with these images might include: fuchsia, pink, cactus, flower, plant, christmas, bloom, schlumbergera, beauty, magenta, floral, decoration, blossom, houseplant, petal, december, blooming, blossoming, winter, season, succulent, christmas cactus, botany, seasonal, holiday cactus, schlumbergera truncata and flora.

January 10, 2022

Frozen Waters and Chesapeake Bay Bridge Reflections

From a cold January cruise underneath the Chesapeake Bay Bridge

Another of my older photographs dates back to January 31, 2014 and a winter cruise to warm Caribbean islands and sunshine. The frozen waters beneath the Chesapeake Bay Bridge reflect the waning light of the last sunset on the last day of January, 2014. We do not see an icy Chesapeake Bay like this very often and this particular combination of lighting and ice floes in the Bay may never be seen again.

Officially, the William Preston Lane, Jr. Memorial Bridge, this dual structure spans over four miles of the Chesapeake Bay connecting Maryland’s Western Shore to Kent Island and the Maryland Eastern Shore on the Delmarva Peninsula. Standing 186 feet high at the highest point, this bridge instills fear in the hearts of many drivers who cross it. However, most drivers and passengers simply revel in the beauty of this engineering marvel.

Chesapeeake Bay Bridge Sunset Reflections

The above are two slightly different views of this rare occurrence of seeing ice floes as far south as the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. The orange light of the setting sun adds to the dramatic impact of this scene and is likely something that will not be photographed again. Yes, it was cold on the top deck of the Grandeur of the Seas when I shot these photographs but certainly not as cold as being in the water.

Link to gallery at FAA/Pixels: Chesapeake Collection

Link to gallery at Pictorem: Chesapeake Bridges (Free Shipping)

January 9, 2022

Misty Island of Assawoman Bay Wall Art

One of earliest and best selling images from my galleries.

This is one of the first photographs I offered for sale in my original gallery at Fine Art America. It was also one of the first images that was purchased by an art buyer from Newark, Delaware in August of 2014. I has been purchased many times since and on a variety of substrates such as a framed print, on canvas, on acrylic or metal. It is now also available in my Pictorem “Ocean City” gallery.

The Misty Island of Assawoman Bay Photograph is, historically, a best-selling image.

The original caption reads: “Late afternoon fog enshrouds this island on the western edge of Assawoman Bay near Maryland’s Ocean City resort. This is just on the Maryland side of the Maryland/Delaware state line, just south of the community of Live Bayside near Fenwick Island, DE.”

Click one of these links to see it in a larger size and view the purchase options. It is also available as a black and white print.

Link at FAA/Pixels: Misty Island of Assawoman Bay

Link at Pictorem (Ocean City): Misty Island of Assawoman Bay

Link at FAA/Pixels: Misty Woman of Assawoman Bay in B&W

Link at Pictorem: Misty Woman of Assawoman Bay in B&W

January 1, 2022

American Flag in the Header

The 15-star flag flies over Fort McHenry in Baltimore.

With a domain name and site title of U.S. Pictures it is appropriate for the header image(s) to be of an American Flag. In addition the majority of photographs in this website should be from somewhere within the United States of America. Hence: USPictures.com.

My first real success with photographing the American Flag was at Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland. The first image here is of the Garrison Flag (the large flag) flying over the parade ground at the fort and being backlit by the sun. This flag is spanking in the breeze much like the flag that was flying at the end of the Battle of Baltimore near the end of the War of 1812.

American Flag Flying over Fort McHenry — Star Spangled Banner

The second flag I am featuring here is the smaller “Storm Flag” and it is shown against a (somewhat) stormy sky.

Storm Flag Flying over Fort Mchenry — Storm Flag Against a Stormy Sky at Fort McHenry

The Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine is located on the Patapsco River in Baltimore, Maryland. It was here that Major George Armistead, commander of Fort McHenry, ordered the large garrison flag to be flown over the fort as a sign to the British that he would not surrender during their attack on Baltimore from September 13–14, 1814. It was during this bombardment that Francis Scott Key, a Baltimore lawyer and amateur poet, saw through the “rocket’s red glare and bombs bursting in air” the American Flag still flying over Fort McHenry. Key recounted his experience later on board a British ship where he was being held captive. He wrote a poem entitled “Defense of Fort McHenry,” which came to be known as The Star-Spangled Banner after repeated printing. This eventually became America’s national anthem.

Click the links below to see larger images and the types of wall art and home decor items that are available.

Link: Star Spangled Banner at Fine Art America

Link: Storm Flag Against a Stormy Sky at Fort McHenry

Link to: A variety of Flag Images

Link to: Bill’s Gallery at Fine Art America

Link to: Bill’s Gallery at Pictorem

I have been a photographer for over twenty years and during this time I have photographed the American flag on a number of occasions. These included photographing a number of historical flags displayed at various museums including, of course, the Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine in Baltimore, Maryland. These two photographs of American Flags were selected to show how it is possible to photograph the Stars & Stripes in different ways that express different moods as well as different lighting. Click HERE for more.