Category Archives: Family Portraits

Family Portraits, Island Info

Sanibel Museum a Must Do!

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A Sanibel museum is a “Thing to Do” while your are visiting Sanibel and Captiva Islands.

A Sanibel museum to visit

One Sanibel Museum is the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum

Now in its 20th year, The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum on Sanibel Island is the only museum in the United States that is solely devoted to shells and the mollusks that make them.

Ours is a natural history museum that exhibits beautiful shells from around the globe. Our world-renowned malacologist and two Marine Biologists are joined by highly educated docents to offer a wealth of knowledge, surprising facts, and rare insights into the lesser-known complexities of shells. Yes, there’s science (and a lot of it!) and we also cover many cultural, historical and culinary facets of shells.

Still, our greatest asset is an innate sense of curiosity and wonder about shells. We have a lot of fun here at the Museum; we thankfully never stop learning and sometimes even get a little goofy about new discoveries – whether brought to our attention by a guest, gleaned from our own research, or found within the larger scientific world. Come see us; you’ll be glad you did!

 

The other Sanibel Museum is the Sanibel Historical Museum & Village

Sanibel Historical Museum and Village was founded in 1984 with a mission to preserve and share Sanibel history. The story of Sanibel is told from the Calusa and Spanish eras to the early pioneer families who settled on the island in the 1800s. It tells of warriors, adventures, fishermen, farmers and proprietors.

Seven historic buildings were moved from their original island sites to the Historical Village. Each building has been restored to its original state. Volunteer docents share the stories of Sanibel with almost 10,000 visitors a year. Join us as we follow the footsteps of the past.

Sanibel Museum

Family Portraits, Island Info

Sanibel Toy Store-visit after your portrait

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Sanibel Toy Store

A Sanibel toy store is a must visit after your family portrait with Nick Adams Photography.Sanibel Toy Store

Nanny’s Children’s Shoppe

Nanny’s is children’s boutique and Sanibel toy store that has been on the island since 1982.  It has been voted by consumers as the best children’s store on the islands since 2012,Nanny’s Children’s Shoppe was established on Sanibel Island in 1982.  In 1999 Nanny’s was purchased by Jan Gabrielson who kept the traditional children’s shoppe an island tradition and over the years successfully established a loyal customer base.  Rick and Paisha Dowden and Paisha’s parents, Jeff and Brenda Beigh, purchased Nanny’s in July of 2013. “Nanny’s was always an island tradition for us.  Every year we’d visit the children’s store and were sad to hear that she was closing.  We decided to purchase Nanny’s from Jan to keep the island’s traditional children’s shoppe open.”

Needful Things

Needful Things is a collectible Sanibel toy store that sells Hello Kitty (thousands of items) Cats Meow Sanibel Village, Re-Ment miniatures, pranks, candy, trading card games, and hundreds of really strange things!

Our kids love to visit here!

Sanibel Surf Shop

This flagship Sanibel toy store is located in Sanibel at Jerry’s Shopping Center. Sanibel Surf Shop is undeniably the islands most
unique, “Everything Under the Sun” beach outfitter. Tee shirts, sweatshirts, and sandals for all ages. Souvenirs, snorkelgear, towels, chairs, beach umbrellas, pool and beach toys. Books from local authors, like Randy Wayne White. That’s just to name a few of our items. One trip is just never enough.

Toys Ahoy

Collectors and kids of all ages love to visit this Sanibel toy store to see unique and fun toys featuring Playmobil, Thomas the Tank Engine, and Madame Alexander. You’ll also find many educational games, books, a variety of stuffed animals, collector’s cards, tin toys, nesting dolls and Dover books at Sanibel’s best toy store .

 

 

Family Portraits, Island Info, Testimonial

Family Portraits and Bad Weather, Sanibel Lighthouse Beach

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Sanibel Photography

Sanibel photography is always fun but when you have a run of bad weather, it can make it challenging. We tried to photograph the Hebb family over a the coarse of their stay and we had some unusually bad weather that week. So we took the unusual step of rescheduling during the day (rather than sunrise/sunset). Luckily we had a spectacular window, bright sun and blue skies. There was even some blooming Railroad Vine or Beach Morning Glory as it’s also known.  According to The South Florida Plant Guide They describe the Railroad Vine as follows: “To call the unique railroad vine a fast growing ground cover is almost an understatement. Like a turbo-charged express train, it makes tracks so rapidly you can almost watch it grow.”  Check out The South Florida plant Guide it’s a great resource for local plants.

Anyway back to the Hebbs, we managed to get some terrific shots, the kids did great. So much so we received this amazing compliment…..

“I just received my pictures and they look fantastic!  I wanted to say Thank you again even though the weather seemed to be against us at every turn!”

Shooting during the day does have its pluses. Magazines sometimes prefer bright sun type pictures for a lot of shots. Some editors think ‘bright=happy’. While it’s not as flattering as low light photography, we can certainly help softening harsh shadows with the use of external camera flash. The only real drawback to full sun shooting is that it can hard on your eyes. Some people really struggle with squinting during a high sun shoot. If you have sensitive eyes I would not recommend doing a beach family portrait in full sun.

Sanibel photography is certainly more challenging than you might think but with the right tools and willing subjects it is definitely worthwhile.

Thanks to the Hebb family, it was great to meet you guys, come back and see us soon:)

sanibel photography, Railroad vine, Beach Morning Glory
Railroad Vine Boys
sanibel photography, beach walk, beach portrait
Stroll along Lighthouse Beach
sanibel photography, beach walk, beach portrait, kids beach photography
Boys hand in hand
Family Portraits, Island Info

Sanibel Photographer/Lighthouse beach

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Sanibel Photographer at the Lighthouse Beach

Sanibel photographer Nick Adams has many locations that he regularly uses but the Lighthouse is one of his favorites. Nick recently photographed the Rutt family from Colorado at the Lighthouse. It was a less than impressive evening but Nick stated that “the Sanibel Lighthouse is always a good choice during inclement weather situations. If we can reschedule then we will but our clients cannot always do that.  The good thing about the Lighthouse is not only do you have the lush tropical colors of the foliage but geographically speaking, you can always walk around the tip of the Sanibel Island to shelter from the wind. We are also blessed with some beautiful driftwood that has washed up on the beach over the years”. The Sanibel photographer added whimsically: “What’s better than driftwood for a family beach portrait?”. The Lighthouse is located at the most southeasterly tip of Sanibel Island. The Sanibel Lighthouse is a mecca for shelling and dolphin watching. Shelling is fantastic because geographically the Gulf of Mexico predominantly travels from north to south.  As it passes by the bottom end of Sanibel Island the water swirls around the end of the island and deposits sea shells, driftwood and other ocean artifacts.  For this reason, if you were to start walking from the Sanibel Lighthouse towards Captiva along the beach, the further you go, the less shells you will find. The dolphins also enjoy the tip of the island for a different reason. The tide is very strong as it travels past the end of the island. It’s either on its way to the Caloosahatchee River or leaving the Caloosahatchee River out to the Gulf of Mexico. For that reason a deep channel has naturally been carved into the seabed. If you walk out from the end of the island you will find the water very shallow and then after a few yards you will feel the seabed drop away. The seabed drops from to around 5′ to around 25′-30′ in a matter of a yards. This channel is horseshoe shaped and follows the contours of the tip of the island. If you go to the lighthouse at low tide the channel becomes more like a river and you can quite often find dolphin herding fish along the channel. They coral them into a dead end, where the fish will meet an untimely demise:( It is a sight to see, lots of splashing and dolphins in large numbers, it’s pretty spectacular. A great way to see the dolphins up close is by boat. The Sanibel Thriller runs a trip out of the Sanibel Marina on the East end of the Island.  Reserve a seat towards the back, its the best place to see the dolphins from. You will also get a 90 minute tour of the island.

Nick received wonderful compliment from the Rutt family:

“Just an FYI…the pictures turned out fantastic like always.  I am sure we will be seeing you next summer J”

Forever grateful to have such great clients, on behalf of Nick we would like to say a big thank you… and we definitely look forward to next year:)

Lori Adams

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Just Hanging
Sanibel photographer
Sanibel Driftwood
Sanibel photographer lighthouse
Pretty in Pink
Family Portraits, Island Info, Just for fun

Top Sanibel, Captiva Ice Cream Spots

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Top Sanibel, Captiva Ice Cream Spots

After your family portrait with Nick Adams Photography you should treat the kids (and yourself) to one of the top Sanibel, Captiva ice cream spots….  Go on you deserve it!!!!

Pinocchio’s Original Italian Ice Cream

Pinocchio’s serves 37 of the 130 + flavors from their repertoire each day. All of their ice cream is prepared daily right in their store from the finest and freshest ingredients. Among their signature flavors are the World Famous Sanibel Krunch©, Dirty Sand Dollar©, Wedding Bells© and Key Lime Frozen Yogurt. A great place to go after watching the sunset at the Sanibel Lighthouse.

Pinnochio’s Address: 362 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel, FL 33957

Top Sanibel, Captiva Ice Cream Spots

Sanibel Deli & Coffee Factory

The Sanibel Deli is located on Palm Ridge Road opposite CVS. As well as being one of the best delis on the Island it also serves frozen yogurt, hard serve ice cream, milkshakes, sundaes and flurries. It is also a place we will regularly be found getting “to-go” for lunch.

Sanibel Deli & Coffee Factory address: 2330 Palm Ridge Road Sanibel, FL 33957  Across from CVS

Zebra Treats

You can choose from 12 different flavors of delicious Honey Hill Farms frozen yogurt! – choose from fat free or low fat options, Add your choice of 52 toppings: fresh fruit, candies, cookies, nuts, chocolate…. Sprinkle your high school colors! Shake your football team! Rebel! Do your own thing! From kiwis to coconut, Reese’s to M&M’s minis, Boba’s to Butterfingers – check it out, choose and conquer! Zebra Treats is located in the Baileys Grocery Store shopping plaza.

Zebra Address: 2467 Periwinkle Way Sanibel Island, FL 33957

Love Boat

Love boat Ice cream is without a doubt the most famous ice cream in the area. Although it is fairly new to the island it has been an institution at its original location on San Carlos Blvd, Fort Myers since 1967. The original building is a single story building with architecture that matches the inception date but don’t be fooled by its looks, this ice cream shop is incredibly popular by tourists and locals alike. My personal fave is the banana split. They have over 50 flavors of homemade ice-cream. You can also get sundaes, shakes and sorbets. When mentioning top Sanibel, Captiva ice cream spots  you cannot forget Love Boat. We are truly blessed to have a location on the island now. Thinking about it, I can’t believe they didn’t do it years ago!

Tie in a trip to Love Boat Ice Cream with a trip to the grocery store. Jerry’s Foods is right next door which is one of the two main grocery stores on the Islands, (the other being Bailey’s). Jerry’s is a great spot for the kids, there are several large bird cages that house exotic birds. You can get your ice cream and enjoy it alfresco amongst the birds and lush tropical greenery.

There are several other shops in the plaza including a restaurant in Jerry’s, a fantastic kids clothing store called Nanny’s and gift stores.

Love Boat Address: 1700 Periwinkle Way, Unit #9. Sanibel Island, FL 33957

 

Scoops Ice Cream Shoppe, Captiva

Fortunately if you are staying at South Seas Island Resort you have access to one of the coolest candy/ice cream/milkshake/pizza stores in the nation! no joke, it’s a kids haven! Hundreds of types of candy on the walls,  a well stocked ice cream cooler, old fashioned soda dispensers, all set in a vibrant multicolored 50’s diner type setting. This place is so cool I have even taken brides in for a photo shoot. The only downside: if you are not staying at South Seas  you won’t be able to use it:(

top ice cream spots sanibel captiva scoops south seas

 

Latte Da coffee & ice cream shop

Latte da is known for serving the locally famous and excellent Queenie’s home made ice cream. Located at the historic Captiva Island Inn on Andy Rosse Lane, Captiva. Check out the amazing story of how a local island resident, Queenie started Queenie’s Ice cream here. Queenie’s ice cream is absolutely delicious and has to be included in the top Sanibel, Captiva Ice Cream Spots. It’s so good in fact, that many of the local restaurants use Queenie’s as their ice cream of choice…. Mmmmm must be good:)

Latte Da address: 11508 Andy Rosse Lane Captiva, FL 33924 239-472-0234