April 2019 – A Snowbird's Life Through the Lens

fantasy images, learning, perseverance, photography, silliness, technology

Multiplicity…

April 30, 2019April 29, 2019 naturecoastimagesblog

That was the name of the class we took. In the class we used an actual person posing for us in the same garden area five times, in five different poses, in five different places. At the end of the exercise you, okay, not me because I didn’t know the camera controls in my new camera so I gave up pretty quickly. And that’s really just an excuse because I never learned to set the focus where I wanted it in any of my cameras. But I guess the class was a success since I now know how to do exactly that. And how to erase an image from one photo and add it to another. Trust me, it’s exhausting, thinking I mean. At the end of the exercise some of us had the same person appearing five times in the same final photo. You have to admit that that idea has potential.

Obviously that would be a lot more impressive than seeing three bunnies, or three Ginny dolls, since I easily could have had multiples of those items. But a heck of a lot of work went into these images and I’m glad I learned to do it. I’m sure I entertained the neighborhood while I tried to pose various objects out in the sunshine, and before I could get the camera focused the wind would knock them over. Or I’d realize that the background of the photo was going to be terrible, which had me on the ground trying to shoot so that the sky would be the background. I tried, but was futile. I moved inside and got the bunny photo and called it a day. But I learned a new trick, and I am an old dog, so that’s something…

a second look, finding my way, on closer examination, perseverance, photography, road trip, sky, strangers, sunset, technology, the big picture, travel, unintended images

Surprise…

April 29, 2019April 28, 2019 naturecoastimagesblog

I’ll admit it, I was disappointed. I had decided to go to Green Key beach for the sunset at the last possible minute. At 4 miles down the road it was my only hope for a setting with multiple possible shots, talking about composition here. I’m not so willing to go miles and miles lately, maybe it’s the anticipation of my first snowbird excursion which is coming up soon. When I arrived I walked to my left from the parking lot which is when I saw that the tide was up and the long shots of the sunset colors in the wet sand weren’t going to happen. So I took this shot…And then walked to the other side of the beach for the main event, but people kept photobombing the actual sunset shot…But, as usual, I was chatting with another photographer, so it was a pleasant way to spend an hour or so, but I wasn’t concentrating as much on the pictures I was taking as I was with our conversation. So when I got home and looked at my photos in the computer I was pleasantly surprised. Sometimes you don’t know what you have when it’s right there in front of you…

a second look, dragonflies, Florida landmarks, Florida wildlife, flowers, gardens, nature, Nature Coast Botanical Gardens, perseverance, photography, weather

Not a creature was stirring…

April 28, 2019 naturecoastimagesblog

… except for the lizards, which were everywhere at the Nature Coast Botanical Gardens yesterday. Suddenly the rain had stopped and the sky was gorgeous, so off I went. And thought I’d outsmarted myself because that quickly the sun was gone again. But I’m glad I didn’t give up. The lizards were scurrying everywhere, but my real destination was the butterfly garden where the zebras that I was chasing the other day were the only busy butterflies I saw…And if I’d given up I would have missed this cooperative fella…And then I found the Secret Garden. I think it’s where the Easter Bunny goes for R&R after his big day…

'scene' along the way, Florida landmarks, Florida wildlife, nature, perseverance, photography, sunset, weather

Darn weather…

April 27, 2019April 26, 2019 naturecoastimagesblog

Timing is everything. I spent a beautiful Florida day inside yesterday, compulsively looking at and editing photos from John’s Pass. Also watching my new obsession, Harry Bosch, on Amazon Prime. Now it’s storming like crazy and and I’m wanting to be out shooting. At least I won’t run out of episodes of Bosch any time soon. Sunset from Madeira Beach. It honestly wasn’t the best sunset ever, but it was a pretty darned good day anyhow.

'scene' along the way, Florida landmarks, fun, perseverance, photography, road trip

Sightseeing…

April 26, 2019April 25, 2019 naturecoastimagesblog

Seeing the view across the water at John’s Pass is certainly beautiful. And the quaint charm of the buildings housing the restaurants and shops will catch your eye, particularly when lit up in the evening. But the best part of walking the boardwalk just might be the smells coming from those restaurants. If you weren’t hungry when you got there just give it a little while. But then you have to decided which one to choose. Good luck with that!

'scene' along the way, adventure, birds, Florida landmarks, Florida wildlife, friends, fun, nature, perseverance, photography, road trip

John’s Pass…

April 25, 2019April 25, 2019 naturecoastimagesblog

This photo from the FCCP photo walk last night just might be one of the least colorful one’s that I took, but I found the story behind it to be pretty unique. We were enjoying being on the boardwalk and the bird’s eye view of the fishing boats that were at anchor, and the fishermen cleaning their fish. They were being supervised by pelicans, snowy egrets, black crowned night hawks, blue herons, and white egrets, all waiting for scraps from their work. Not having been there before it was hard to decide where to look first, the cute little shops, the scenery in general, or walk to the beach where the sunset would be happening soon. One of the other photographers mentioned that when he comes to John’s Pass he always goes down an alley to a little building that has a sign about tarot reading. I thought he was pointing out a place to eat, but he was talking about the birds, on the roof, on the wires, and on the neighboring buildings. When we found this place later on the number of birds had dwindled and the owner of the business was hosing down the sidewalk out front. She said that the birds come to her because of the rescue. She told us that about 12 years ago a blue heron showed up with a fishing line attached to him, and she liberated him. Soon another bird came to be rescued, and another, as if they were telling each other where to go when they got caught in the fishing gear. And so it’s been going for all these years. Just one little slice of what we saw last night. After getting home late and having so many photos to go through this is the best I can do for now. We had hardly gotten out of the car when we arrived and my friend was already declaring that she wanted to come back. I think that’s a great idea!