I looked at my Crystal Beach photos again and wondered where my head was when I chose, and edited, photos for my last post. Maybe I should wait an extra day between working on them and posting them to see if I still think they look good. Or I can blame the recent cataract surgery since I have over a month to go before they’ll check my vision again. So this is the same shoot but different pictures.
I guess you can see why I wondered if the sunrise would be extinguished by those dark clouds. On the other hand it’s so fun to see the sun’s rays peeking through any opening in the clouds that are there.The little blue, or rather un-blue, heron again.I was excited to see some color coming out in the sky, and we found this natural ‘frame’ for the scene, so I took a lot of pictures of this same scene. And yes, as the sun began to drop from under the heavy clouds the color came up.The word twinkletoes came to mind when I saw this picture in the computer.Flocks of pelicans were flying over. Heading for a roosting spot nearby, or maybe they have many miles to travel?Still looking for nice foregrounds for the main event.Gotta love a nice moon shot. And there is a full moon set complete with a partial eclipse coming on Tuesday morning. Very early.I heard one of those girls comment that ‘this is dangerous’ as she skated onto the pier on roller blades.And there it was finally, what we were waiting for. The sun escaping those dark clouds and giving us the color we hoped to see.It was worth waiting for.
The feature photo is the view looking to the south from the pier as I waited for my friends to arrive. I know I mentioned that our visit with friends after the shoot included sitting outside in perfect weather, but did I mention the candlelight? Thanks to Eddie and Linda for their hospitality.
The other day I decided that it was about time I went out to do something, anything. But right about then my phone app informed me that it was raining, only it wasn’t. I looked out to see dark clouds overtaking the sky, but leaving sunlit white clouds in a still beautiful blue sky. So I grabbed the new phone, the one that has an amazing new camera that does work, even if I can’t use it as an actual phone at the moment. One of the abilities of the new iPhone 14 pro max is the ability to take a 48 MP photo, so I set it to do just that and rushed to the park and shot a few photos of that gorgeous sky.
I hoped the depth of that sky would come through.I disturbed the ducks who were all sitting on the bank minding their own business.More sky, just because.I wondered how that sky would look in black and white. I hope I can take the black and white class the next time my club offers it.
There was a problem though. At 48 MP WordPress couldn’t process the images as they were, and my post never uploaded, or even saved in WordPress. I guess it gave up and sent it into trash. So these are the reduced size photos that made WordPress happy, and makes me wonder what the heck you do with a 48 MP photo. Print it probably, another example of a technology that I haven’t mastered as of yet. It wasn’t my intention to have to deal with a new phone, camera, and even lens, all at the same time, but that’s where I am at the moment.
And, by the way, I made it back into the house just as the skies opened.
I took the feature photo with my new iPhone 14 pro max about 15 minutes after I peaked out the back window and saw an all white sky, and I congratulated myself on not going out for the sunrise. I’m not sure what made me look, and then I couldn’t find either phone to take a picture. Either phone, you may wonder? Yes, the new phone I ordered through Spectrum Mobile arrived exactly one week ago as I sit here writing this. My old phone transferred all my data to the new phone perfectly, until it was time to bring in the cell phone carrier info. It’s not just me, I found lots of people online who wiped their old phone and now have found themselves without a phone for 11 days, 24 days, and who knows if it’s longer for other people. It’s the SIM card in the old phone vs. the eSIM card in the new phone. In that sense it’s Apple’s fault for rocking the boat, but really it’s Spectrum’s fault. I didn’t intend to get a new phone until I saw that Spectrum also had a deal to finance the new phone and trade in the old phone. Spectrum now works with the eSIM card, says the advertising. Instant activation, it says! I will soon have to wipe the old phone and send it in. I have a ‘ticket’ in the queue for activation. A supervisor says it’ll cost me a $50 restocking fee to just send the new phone back. It’s called the Rock and the Hard Place. Someone who is also in this state of limbo said that he now has a $1200 iPod. At least I take pictures with mine.
To add to the general upheaval I had cataract surgery on Wednesday last week. Which all went perfectly, but added to the tension. I went for a post-op check the next day and had 20/20 vision. The doctor said I wasn’t supposed to be doing that well! But my close vision is now the pits, worse than I anticipated. I’m actually worried about the day I leave home without my cheaters. It’s bound to happen sometime. But if it’s a choice between a glitch with the iPhone or a glitch with the cataract surgery, I guess I’ll live without a phone for a bit. After all, I take lots more pictures with it, I hardly ever talk on the phone.
Our photography group was incredibly active before covid, and we have now begun to schedule photo walks while we pray for them not to be rained out. After I joined I attended all the classes and photowalks that I could manage, and that has been a blessing to me with the new friends I have made. So last night we set out to St. Pete for the night photo walk extra early, to beat the traffic. This despite some very ominous skies in just the direction we were headed. We parked two hours early, and just then we heard a crack of thunder just over head. But, amazingly, the storm didn’t materialize and the clouds blew inland. And quite a few other photo-walk starved members showed up for a fun evening.
We met near the St. Pete Pier and rode the free trolley to the end of the pier to grab a light dinner and kill some time before the shoot.The fisherman on the left has caught a shark a day since last April, or so said the trolley drivers. The fisherman knew that they were talking about him so he came over and got out his phone to show us photos of his prize catches.This is our spot to meet the group. Silly me, I touched the ‘papers’ on the bench since I thought they had gotten all wet in the short rain that we did have… but they were part of the sculpture.And then we walked along the busy downtown streets, peeking into doorways, and at fun store fronts, as well as busy bars and restaurants.I will confess that I was hot and sweaty, and struggling with an extra heavy tripod that I have no intention of borrowing again. My fellow photographers were shooting up at buildings, and squatting on their heels to get the angles they were looking for. I was barely keeping up, and when I got a chance to shoot I didn’t even set up the tripod, I just used it as a monopod and I was sure I wouldn’t get any usable shots at all. That I did came as a huge surprise to me.I almost skipped shooting this doorway but my friend told me to take the shot and he’d wait with me.This was my last shot and my favorite. We were returning to the car about a half hour after sunset and I liked this view. Another shot taken on the run, I think I’m loving my new camera.
The group stopped at one of the bars we had walked past and all had a drink together. Or maybe two even. I think I wasn’t the only one to be happy to be out shooting in a group again. And to think of the months of nice weather we have ahead of us, and all the places we might go, makes me happy.
She sat on a swing on the playground. It was a half hour until sunrise and there was a faint tinge of pink at the horizon, enough to encourage her to stay put despite the distant thunder, and the big, fat mosquito that she swatted on her neck. She wanted to use her new camera to take pictures, but thought that without a tripod it was probably futile in the dim light. So she used her phone, wanting the wide angle to capture more of the sky. She took a few pictures, but mostly she waited…
Peeking out the dining room window there hadn’t seemed to be any color in the sky to the east. She was glad she came out.The lights on this lanai are new. She wondered if the lights were new, or maybe there were new people in the house..As she waited more of the sky turned pink, and the ducks began to announce themselves.Dark clouds seemed to be taking over though.Finally the color came up, and the rain never fell, a good morning.
The feature photo and the last photo are from the new Canon R7 with the 18-150mm lens.
Just thinking about looking at my pictures from last night had David Bowie in my head all day. As with most of the music of my youth I can sing the song but have no clue in the world who sang it, I looked it up.
It really was a no brainer. Friday night at Krate, with live music, this time from the 70s and 80s. Music and dancing for photo ops, plus the timing would include the sunset, and even if a storm blew in there would always be the food. I opted for the same thing I got last time, a frozen sangria and the Southwest egg rolls from Blush.
See the nice blurred background? I can thank my new ‘nifty 50’ lens for that. It was the only lens I brought to force myself to use it. And this was probably the only picture I took that really took advantage of it’s capabilities. The class we are currently taking requires homework. I thought I might get portraits at this event, but I couldn’t very well ask this adorable little cutie and her mom to move somewhere else, somewhere without a trash can front and center in the picture. I took a lot of pictures of her, but they never moved to a better location.A lot of cropping got me to this image. I loved the position of her feet.These little girls presented the same problems. So cute though.Dad walked this little guy right in front of me, Cropped this one like crazy too, but it’s a portrait anyhow.But this is supposed to be about dancing, and this lady was dancing even before everyone was invited to dance. I had to walk around her to find a better background than the cars in the parking lot.This couple deservedly won the dance contest.But this lady and her granddaughter (?) stole the show for me. I wish she had on the red shoes that the song calls for, but a red bow in her hair will have to do.How sweet is that little girl? She was surrounded by people so my ability to get a photo was limited. I don’t know that I saw those eyes until I checked the shots in the camera. I think grannie might have embarrassed her a bit.The sunset was blooming nicely.Lots of sky to see.
A Snowbird's Life Through the Lens 