Some St. John residents may roll their eyes at the thought of a family portrait taken at official VI National Park designated scenic overlooks. Locals see those same views so often, that they may have forgotten how really special they are. As local photographers, we never get tired of the ever-changing beauty of our scenic vistas.
We love taking postcard-perfect photos of visitors in these special locations and why we add on free overlook shots with most portrait sessions. The vehicle pull-off areas make them safe places to take photos, which is important whether you are a visiting amateur shutterbug or a local professional photographer. Without worrying about passing traffic, (we drive on the left side of the road!) you can concentrate on taking that perfect photo.
While the Caneel Bay, Cruz Bay and Maho Bay overlooks are breathtaking, our absolute favorite is the granddaddy of all – the Trunk Bay overlook. No matter how many hundreds of times we photograph from here, the scenery awes us. The lighting is always different, creating magical moments whether the sky is clear or filled with puffy clouds. Morning, afternoon, or evening – it’s a beautiful setting.
Shooting a great photo here can take a little effort and patience. Since so many people stop to look at this world-famous view, a little patience may be necessary. Those people being posed will have to be looking away from it, and they would much rather be enjoying the view themselves. As the photographer, just relax and enjoy the moment yourself. You can take that photo soon.
Don't Do It With A Rental Vehicle!
A favorite trick of ours, unless we have a small photographer’s ladder with us, is to stand on the roof of our vehicle to take the photos. Do NOT try this with your rental vehicle! And, for goodness sake, do NOT try this with anything resembling an island car, or you may fall through its rusty ceiling!
The added height lets us take the photos while keeping the small islands in view while also keeping any cays or the horizon line from sticking or going through someone’s head. These are little things, but make a difference for that postcard-perfect photo. Taller photographers may not have this problem at all.
Bob From Tropical Focus At St. John Overlook
A perspective showing the visitors grouped to the right (beach) side of the photo is always a guaranteed winner too and much easier for anyone to shoot.
While we realize this blog entry may cause the VI National Park overlooks to become a little more crowded, that’s okay with us. When we visit, we’ll just hang around an extra moment or two to enjoy the fantastic views before we click our camera’s shutter. And if you’re on Trunk Bay beach and see this strange guy in the far distance up on the roof of his vehicle, it’s bound to be Bob from Tropical Focus, so be sure to wave at him.
Sharing our favorite scenic vista with the world is part of what makes our jobs worthwhile.
Most often I have been using a Nikon D-700 with 24-70 mm f/2.8 lens, swapping that with a 70-200 mm f/2.8 lens when necessary and a Nikon D-200 with a 18-200 f/3.5 lens (and other DX lenses or lenses for a smaller than the full size D-700 sensor). This holiday season I got a wonderful gift from my wife, a 2nd Nikon D700 body where I now keep my70-200 lens. (What a great woman!) Using the two D700’s with these pro lenses allows me the luxury of not doing lens changes on the beach and reduces the amount of time I spend cleaning sensors. Most importantly, that means more time focused on my client instead of my equipment.
