Author: Mike Fender

Captured In Flight

It was only a couple years ago that I couldn’t find an eagle anywhere. Fellow photographers were finding them, and the photos were taunting me on social media. But the more I looked, the bigger the disappointment in not seeing…

Making Music

The new palm tree planted in Sergey Bogza’s front yard is symbolic to the 39-year-old Panama City Symphony maestro. Bogza was born in Russia but came to the United States when he was 9 years old. He’s lived, studied, and…

No Paint, No Gain

At times, it is hard to take Christon Anderson seriously. The 43-year-old Panama City native is a serious artist. His works have won awards and been on display in galleries and private collections. His abstracts and mixed media pieces are…

Zooming Out On Zen

Zen.  That is how freelance photographer Romona Robbins Reynolds describes the feeling she gets when she dons her goggles and takes to the saltwater with her camera. Above sea level, Reynolds juggles a small business, a home, a husband, a…

Ironman Florida

It was one small turn off a long, grueling road.  Alex Burgans had spent almost four hours and 26 miles fighting the third leg of the Ironman triathlon. When he rounded the corner at Pier Park, he could see the…

En Plein Air

It was the sand dunes that artist Michelle Held focused on as she looked out at the calm Gulf waters off Mexico Beach. She knew about Hurricane Michael and the devastation it brought to the town in 2018. But it…

Blended Communities

Planned communities are springing up across Northwest Florida — Latitude Margaritaville Watersound and Watersound Origins among them.