FORT PIERCE − TCPalm Visuals Journalist Eric Hasert is out and about in St. Lucie County and other parts of the Treasure Coast most days capturing events, people, things in photos and video.
But one of his favorite places to visit and relax is the jetty at the end of Seaway Drive, in Jetty Park, looking at the Fort Pierce Inlet.
Q: Why is the jetty your favorite spot?
A: I enjoy going to the jetty around dusk, as the sun is slowly setting. Colors burst on the horizon, the lighting starts to change, the heat of the day is gone, and the birds start soaring.
I walk up and down the jetty, usually with cameras, but instead of photographing people, I photograph things − the birds floating on the air currents; sailboats, fishing boats, moving through the inlet.
Sometimes I just carry the cameras to start a conversation with people passing by, also admiring the evening light. There are swings to sit on for people-watching.
I love watching the color of the lighting change, looking east, out towards the ocean, or west, at sunset and water across the channel. Sometimes it’s clear, sometimes it’s cloudy. It doesn’t really matter because it’s always different.
Q: What would someone expect to see there?
A.: Walking the jetty, you can watch the fishermen at the jetty’s end. What did they catch, or not catch? There are memorial markers near the rocks, always interesting to read, admire, photograph.
Often I see pelicans, perched on the stones along the sides of the inlet. There’s always something out there interesting to photograph, or to see. Seagulls, sandpipers., and sometimes the people. Sometimes it’s the clouds, glowing in the evening light, the deep orange of the sunset, merging in with the darkened sky above. The sounds of the water lapping onto the rocks from the current, or the low-pitch sounds of the engines of sport fishing boats, slowly rumbling past you, returning with the day’s catch. Or nothing at all, only the silence of the water between tides.
The sunsets are always different, some with intense oranges and reds, like the color of a Highwayman painting, only the color changes as the time ticks by and the sun sets, bringing the coolness with the dark as the reds and oranges fade away.
Sometimes I just watch and enjoy the gradual changes. Sometimes I need to photograph the moments.
Q: What is the cost?
A: All it costs to enjoy this is the price of some gasoline in the car, motorcycle, or the peddle power of a bicycle. Parking is free, but sometimes hard to find if it’s really nice out. There is the option of several fine restaurants along Seaway Drive that offer patio seating overlooking the inlet. What a wonderful way to enjoy dinner, watching the colors of the evening change.
Eric Hasert is a visuals journalist for TCPalm/Treasure Coast Newspapers. He can be reached at 772-216-2342 or eric.hasert@tcpam.com
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Staff pick: Visuals Journalist Eric Hasert likes to unwind in Jetty Park in Fort Pierce
Reporting by Eric Hasert, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
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