Category: foggy sky

'scene' along the way, a second look, eagles, foggy sky, fun, perseverance, photography, second chances, sky, weather

Back to the eagles…

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Finally I was up early with heading to the eagle nest as my priority for the day. One lone photographer was there when I got there. I hadn’t met Dan before, but as we tend to do we started discussing places we knew of to go to take pictures. He said he’d been there about 15 minutes when I got there and nothing much had happened. He had a huge lens on his camera and no tripod, so I knew he was going to hand hold that thing. I had a problem with my big tripod so I switched to my usual 400mm lens and moved closer to the nest than he was standing. Suddenly two birds came up from behind the trees and flew away too fast for either of us to get a picture. A few minutes later I saw the eagle come back to the nest and managed to get a picture before it settled down, and again there appeared to be nothing happening at all. Dan said that it had been one of the eagles from the nest that had chased off a juvenile eagle, but he hadn’t seen it come back to the nest. He gave up shortly after that, after all we had been there at least 90 minutes by then. And then I left too, but I decided to head to the fishing pier nearby.

The parking lot was full, many more cars than usual even if it didn’t seem to be more people than usual. It was low tide, I mean really low tide. I wonder if this egret was wondering who stole the water, because that’s what I was thinking. Lots of fishermen were wading, but these boaters were on their own, almost. The joys of a zoom lens is that I found another boat way off in the distance. And a bird was circling overhead, but it wasn’t until I looked at the pictures in the computer that I wondered if this was that juvenile eagle Dan had seen, based on the size of the head and the shape of the beak.

This great blue heron was standing by the path as I walked back to the car. Seeing him made me decide to drive past the nest again, just in case, and guess what. There he was, or she, but where was the light that had been so nice?

After a few shots I switched to the big lens with the extender and used it hand held, so I’m surprised that I got any usable pictures at all. Now it was time to go home so I turned the car around but I had to pull over one more time to take this last picture with the sun on him, or her. It was a nice morning after all…

birds, foggy sky, nature, perseverance, photography, sky, sunrise, weather

Dusty sunrise…

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It seems the Saharan dust is still with us.  Not much more than a blush in the sky at sunrise and sunset.  Lately I’ve seen some really interesting pictures of the sun as it was rising in a dusty sky.  Against the color of the sky the sun looked like a yellow ball, really more like a moon than the sun, with wispy clouds trailing across the view.  I think I was hoping for either/or this morning, a lovely sunrise or a photo of that unusual looking sun.  I got neither.  To the naked eye I clearly saw the circle of the sun, and with wispy clouds, but that doesn’t seem to be what the camera saw.  Birds were flying through my shots and I hoped that they would create a better shot than they did.  Even the iPhone shots were disappointing.  I had the phone in my new phone case with a tether, but I find that the tether isn’t long enough to put the phone in my pocket, and I didn’t want it to hang, so I did the next best thing, I tucked it in my bra.  That worked well until I heard the phone, still in my bra, snapping pictures on its own while I snapped pictures with the camera.  You can’t make this stuff up…

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I took a photo class online yesterday and I should have tried working with the exposure compensation.  I hope I get another chance at it.

a second look, foggy sky, Hudson Beach, nature, perseverance, photography, rain, sky, storms, sunset

Hedging my bets…

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“How long do you stay after the sunset?” asked my friend.  She commonly posts spectacular pictures of a sky full of color, taken from Safety Harbor, an hour south of me.  A mile from her house I might add.  She assured me that the sky after a thunderstorm is prime timing for a great sky.

So I saw this and headed out, but not south since the storm was heading that way.  I hedged my bets and headed to Hudson Beach where I could shoot from the covered pavilion if necessary.  It was.611-20badcloud

I made it under cover just in time for the skies to open, and I quickly discovered that the upper part of the covered pavilion was no cover at all, and descended to the bottom level and started shooting.  Looking at my pictures I thought my lens was dirty, and then I realized that it was the drops cascading off the roof that I was seeing in my shots. 06-12-20HDRHudson06-12-20boats

The fishing boats headed out despite the storm.  There was thunder and lightning, but behind me.  I couldn’t help but wish to see lightning out on the water.  And I began to have no faith that the sky would light up because wooly looking dark clouds were descending, and I got drenched getting to the car.  To leave you have to drive around a loop, and as I did I thought I saw the clouds breaking up so I continued around and parked again and took these shots with the iPhone, in the rain.06-12-20iphoneafter06-12-20iphoneafter2

I tried to leave, I really did, I drove around that loop two more times, but I just couldn’t bring myself to leave.  I stopped once more, for one more photo and then I headed home…06-12-20iphoneafter3

a second look, finding my way, foggy sky, moments, moon, nature, perseverance, photography, Rise and shine, road trip, sky

Out-of-focus…

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After a day of torrential rain yesterday I sat down at the computer with my cup of coffee intending to bring up a map of the US and work on a plan for getting out of here.  I’ve thought that the advantage of being on my own these days is that I can decide what I want to do, and when, and just do it.  When I was a kid my mother drove me nuts by suggesting we go someplace, the beach for example, and like any kid I’d be ready to jump in the car but she would have to make beds, do dishes, and pack a lunch first.  But these days I can get an inspiration and just head out the door, no one to consult, no one to point out all the reasons I shouldn’t do whatever the heck it is I might want to do.  But no one to talk things over with, debate the pros and cons, figure out priorities, and narrow things down either. 06-07-08fuzzyI may have gotten a sip of coffee in before I looked up and saw the nearly full moon shining in the sky above the curtains.  Not clearly, there were clouds drifting across the face, but that just makes for a better picture.  So out I raced to get the tripod out of the car, to get the camera set up, and get out front, in my pajamas and with bed-head firmly in place, and before I could get set up the moon disappeared behind a wall of clouds.  So I brought everything back into the house and sat and took another sip of coffee and looked up and saw that the moon was ‘out’ again.  And so I got myself out there again and rushed take five or so shots before it disappeared, permanently this time.

I have a feeling it’s going to be another out-of-focus sort of day.

a second look, boats, Florida landmarks, foggy sky, life goes on, memories, moments, perseverance, photography, sky, sunset, weather

Old photos…

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I missed the announcement that the photo shoot for the evening had been cancelled.  I figured it out while waiting for the ferry without another photographer in sight.  I went ahead and rode the ferry anyway, and also rode the sunset cruise out of Clearwater beach. The sliver of sky at the horizon provided enough sunset color to make me happy that day, and happy with my pictures, but they look different to me now, two years later.  Now I’m reviewing pictures from that day  and I find myself wondering about all the people who were there, all the dramas going on behind the windows that I photographed that day.  Were people enjoying a longed-for vacation?  Were there reunions of old friends happening anywhere out there?  Engagements?  Happy news?  Sad news?  I was enjoying my day that day even if it hadn’t turned out exactly as I’d expected.  But today I know that those hotels and condos are still there, but they may be empty, or nearly so.  There may be people enjoying the sunset from home even as I write this.  I hope so.  The hotels are man made, but the sunset is a gift.  It’s still there to be enjoyed.

I don’t know why I never went back and rode the ferry again.  My friend just visited me recently and I wish I’d thought to do this with her.  Right now I feel like I just can’t wait to go out and do things like this again.  I hope I remember to make the most of my  opportunities when that day comes.

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'scene' along the way, finding my way, foggy sky, life goes on, live and learn, nature, perseverance, photography, sunrise

Rhythms….

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When you wake up at 3:30 AM, and I mean WiDE awake, then you might find yourself bored before the sun comes up.  Lots of times that’s how I wind up out for the sunrise.  A different bridge on Sunday, and the only heron to be seen was the one in the tree in the distance.  And as the sun came up the birds started flying over, and landing in unison on the wire.  It’s a bit of a ritual it seems.  That the natural world is proceeding as usual, following its rhythm, is comforting while we are adapting to this new normal.03-29-20bridgesunrise203-29-20bridgesunrise03-29-20bridgesunrise303-29-20bridgesunrise403-29-20sunrisefinal