Last Party at Duck In Virginia Beach

Last Party At The Duck In
Virginia Beach Photo By Tim Rudziensky
June 2, 2011

There it sits, on Shore Drive, the gazebo from the old Duck In.
Six years later and the site is empty, except the gazebo stranded
on the beach. An ocean breeze and ghosts of the past, whistling
through the structure that was once the go to spot on Friday nights.

I pass the Duck In everyday as I drive across Shore Dr., and
just about every day I think of those Friday night parties. If
you've been there, done that, then you can feel my pain. There
was a mystical quality about that beach, catching up with good
friends, a cool breeze with a brew in hand.

Sure there are other establishments to patronize, the Shore Drive corridor still has it's bars and restaurants, but none with the ambiance of the Duck In. This was a special place, for a very long time.

I didn't attend that last party, August 14th 2005. It was a Sunday night, and Jimmy Buffet was rumored to be making a surprise appearance. Even with that possibility, I opted for a quick helicopter flight to capture the action as the sun set on this popular icon. A piece of Virginia Beach died that night.

My pilot Keith Smith phoned and convinced me this was a must have photograph. He was right, as of this writing, my gallery still offers three or four different photos of the "Last Call".  Here are two of the best sellers.

While I can't offer you a beer on the beach, I suggest you stop by the gallery at 847 Seahawk Circle - Suite 101, in Virginia Beach, and check out the 16x20 prints that are in stock. Call ahead if you'd like to stop by early or late in the day, as a photographer, I am often out chasing the light.

Parting - Partying Shot -  are you in this photo?

Visit www.VirginiaImages.com to see more of my Virginia Beach Landmarks

Hope to see you soon!

TIm Rudziensky

Photographer

Virginia Images Photography

757-425-3110



Virginia Beach Photo Mural - 33 foot Wide Beach Panorama

A 33 foot wide x 8 ft high panorama of the north end of Virginia Beach is one of the newest photographs available through the Virginia Images Gallery. I've been working hard to capture more local images, building my portfolio to include scenes that are not specific to one area or depicting just one single subject.

For many years I've concentrated on capturing historic architecture, landmarks, popular local scenes and botanics. My wife and business partner Maryanne, has encouraged me to wide the perspective a little, to change my style of art.  She has also continued to push me toward producing large canvas prints. As usual, she was right! Why I resisted the trend toward canvas for so long has no reasonable explanation, other than perhaps being comfortable with what I had been doing for years.

Canvas has changed the way photographers display their art forever. We've always made large photos, and until 2005 framed them under glass. Glass! Reflections! Heavy! Breakable! Fingerprint Collectors.....

Here is the recently completed panorama of the beach at the North End of the Oceanfront. Captured with a Canon 5D Mark II, the nine image composite is over 500 MB and prints out as a 33 foot wide by 8 foot high wall mural.

Thank you Mary, Lee and David for allowing me to access your beach!  This will soon appear in a local hospital.

Having been sidelined for months due to an injury, I was really feeling the need to get out and capture images with a new style, in particular images that look great reproduced on canvas.  I spent one full week rediscovering the city I live in. Virginia Beach has so much to offer, that it really is possible to find great pic's right outside my front door.

This photograph has simple composition, but it's one of my new favorites and I'm hoping it will be a popular one at the upcoming Chic's Beach Art Show on June 25th.  This spring I made an effort to go back to the basics, following the elementary rules for composition. Can you see them in this picture?

A rented Camaro for a week also got me out of bed earlier than usual creating those softly lit scenes every photographer loves! Stopping first at First Landing Seashore State Park, a place I've been a hundred times, I was able to see it in a way I never have before. I traveled to Pungo, picked some strawberries, went to Back Bay to capture beach dunes, and then stopped by Big Sky Farms to photograph horses.

Then end result of this week long tour of the beach, is that



Stranded Beach Ball



there are more than 100 new photographs in the Virginia Beach collection, all of which I am proud to offer as canvas reproductions. If you are local, stop by the gallery near Lynnhaven Mall and check them out!  One last photo, Maryanne's favorite, taken along the Chesapeake Bay near my home, looking down from the deck landing.

All Photographs © Tim Rudziensky - Do Not Duplicate - All Rights Reserved. For more information contact the Virginia Images Gallery   http://www.virginiaimages.com/  847 Seahawk Circle Suite 101 Virginia Beach VA 23452  Phone (757) 425-3110