Category: on closer examination

'scene' along the way, birds, coping, life goes on, memories, nature, on closer examination, perseverance, photography, road trip, sunrise, travel, unintended images

Sea Street Beach…

naturecoastimagesblog

I somehow got it into my head that sunrise was at 6:50 yesterday, so I wasn’t rushing as I drove to Sea Street Beach.  It was obvious that the sky was full of color as I drove, but I still wasn’t thinking.  It was the first morning without Ozzie, it wasn’t a normal morning at all.  And I had been up at 3 AM, even that is a little earlier than my normal early rising.  And I had had the thought that I wouldn’t have to rush for the sunrise, but I lost some time writing and thinking of Ozzie.  So for whatever reason when I arrived this is what I found02-14-19valentine202-14-19valentine402-14-19valentine302-14-19valentine sun02-14-19valentinefeature02-14-19valentinesignI think that the shape standing on the closest rocks might be trash cans.  I told myself I’d lop them out of the photo in editing.  But when I saw the photos I saw them as a heart shape, and it was Valentines Day after all, so I left it as is.  Funny how Mother Nature can perform for you even when you aren’t exactly on top of things.  But later on I got my first ever phone call from Cupid, and the day got a little brighter after that.

birds, Florida wildlife, natural wonders, nature, Nature's beautiful creatures, nesting, on closer examination, Owls, perseverance, photography

Whoo is that???

naturecoastimagesblog

This post came up as a memory yesterday and I’ve been knocking my head against a wall trying to figure out how to republish a post.  I went back again but wasn’t able to get as nice photos as I did this first time.  And now the owls of Philippe Park are feeding babies again, but I’m missing it this time around.  Next time for sure.

Photographers are a friendly bunch.  They freely share information on where to go to see whatever birds you may wish to see.  Upon losing the eaglets my attention turned to the Great Horned Owl nest I’ve been hearing about.  One of my new acquaintances posts info on the current conditions in the various parks around, so I was well aware that Phillipe Park was the place to go to find an owl-ette (?).  I had never been there before, but I was hopeful that I would find the nest.  I asked directions once I was there and was told to go through the 4-way stop and look for the paparazzi, LOL, and it worked.  Well, it got me to the area, but the other photographers had to point out the nest.  One even moved over to give me a better view, and finally I spotted the Mom up above the nest in a tree.  Some of them had been there for three hours when I got there, but I was just in time, they said, because they expected her to move to the nest any minute.  Then it would be feeding time.3-7owls1The Spanish moss that you see was a challenge to shoot through.  It was hanging from limbs between the owls and where we were standing, and it was blowing back and forth.  I had to switch to manual focus because auto focus kept refocusing as the moss came into the viewer.  Then someone yelled that she was in flight…3-7owlsfeatureOnce she landed all you could see was the baby, sort of…3-7owls2And we all scrambled across the way, hoping for a better angle.3-7owls33-7owls73-7owls43-7owls63-7owls53-7owls8And oh by the way, I wasn’t far off with my made up owl-ette.  Siri says it’s actually owlet.  Such a cute face, and quite the wing spread from the glimpse I got of that.  I have no idea what I used to think about before I became a bird-brain…

'scene' along the way, a second look, childhood, memories, moments, on closer examination, perseverance, photography, road trip, travel, weather

Powder Point Bridge…

naturecoastimagesblog

A 60 degree day was  all it took to get me out to the Powder Point Bridge in Duxbury, MA for what must have been the first time ever.  I had an image in my mind of a quaint little bridge, but the reality was that it was very long, weather worn, and built for utility.  There was a place to park, I was happy about that so that I could take pictures.  I expected the bridge would be the main event, but I was immediately distracted by the little lighthouse I could see way off in the distance.  The Gurnet Light I heard later.  I hadn’t used my 600mm lens in a very long time and this was my opportunity.  With the extender on the camera it was too much for me to focus sharply, and those photos turned out blurry.  I was going to have to get closer.  I saw that cars were traveling over the bridge, and even more exciting was that I could see them then taking a right and heading toward that lighthouse.  The speed limit on the bridge was 10 MPH, and on the dirt road heading toward the lighthouse it was 15 MPH, so there was a lot of time to appreciate the view that kept changing as I drove.  The ice that remained along the shore was melting and looked white and snowy.  And the signage was interesting, advising you of the dos and don’ts of watching the Snowy Owls that visit in the winter.  I wonder if they were there but nicely camouflaged.  I’m in hopes of finding Snowy Owls to photograph while I’m here this winter.  That would be the icing on the cake.02-06-19 Powderpointbridge102-06-191stphoto02-06-19bird02-06-19lighthouseview202-06-19lighthouseview302-06-19lighthouseview02-06-19closestlighthouseview

'scene' along the way, natural wonders, on closer examination, perseverance, photography, road trip, sunrise, travel

Like a house afire…

naturecoastimagesblog

But the house wasn’t on fire.  Those blazing windows were reflecting the sunrise at Dowses Beach that morning.  This was the last photo I took, mostly because my cameras had suddenly fogged over.  I had been shooting with both of them without a problem, but suddenly the lenses were covered in condensation.  The iPhone, however, trusty as it is, was fine.  I’m still happily shooting with an iPhone 7+.  I waited in line to buy the 1st generation iPhone and I’ve been replacing them with the latest greatest iPhone ever since.  Well, until now.  I had to have the 7+ with the two lenses and the bigger zoom.  But even that wasn’t enough  zoom so eventually I bought myself the Canon T6 kit, on sale, in hopes of being able to take close ups of the various birds who make their home in Florida over the winter.  It’s a very basic DSLR but I’m not planning to replace it until I learn to use this one a lot better.  I’ve added lenses however.  But despite having that camera and the Lumix lx5 I still resort to the iPhone frequently and am seldom disappointed.  The newest phones are reputed to have even better cameras in them, but honestly, good enough is good enough for me…

02-04-19rocky502-04-19camera02-04-19rocky6

'scene' along the way, finding my way, live and learn, on closer examination, perseverance, photography, road trip, sunrise, unintended images

The Cape Cod Light…

naturecoastimagesblog

It only seemed sensible to head toward Provincetown from the Nauset Light.  I was probably half way there after all.  But imagine my surprise when I saw a sign directing me to take a right turn to see the Cape Cod Light.  I decided I couldn’t miss such a conveniently placed surprise photo op, so off we went. We being Ozzie and me.  I was disappointed to not have gotten more lighthouse photos when I was here over the summer, so I’m glad I finally saw a few today.  Of course  I imagined them with a wonderful sunrise or sunset sky behind them, but I guess you can’t have everything.  And besides, that’s what keeps you/me coming back…01-28-19capecodlight01-28-19cclight01-28-19cclight3

'scene' along the way, a second look, on closer examination, perseverance, photography, road trip, sunrise, travel, weather

Veteran’s Park Beach redux…

naturecoastimagesblog

I decided to try Veteran’s Park Beach again this morning. It was nice last time, but the sunrise never developed that morning.  Today the sky was gorgeous, but boy was it ever cold.  But I was ready, all bundled up, toasty warm.  All except for my fingers.  I didn’t know it was possible for a person’s fingers to hurt that much, but the sunrise was so pretty that I stuck it out as long as I could stand it.  And I’m happy to say that my polar fleece gloves have shown back up, so next time should be a lot kinder to my fingers.01-26-19vpb101-26-19vpb201-26-19vpb401-26-19veterans01-26-19veteransreflect