Herring Gull

This Herring Gull had just landed on the beach at North Beach in Ft. Desoto, in Tierra Verde, FL. My friend and I headed to North Beach right after watching the sunrise on East Beach.

I went to Ft Desoto this morning chasing the sunrise again. It was another incredible sunrise. It rose right between the spans after we moved to catch it there. It's still coming up a bit left, so with a little luck we'll still be able to photograph it between the spans for another week.

Friday's my day off, so I'll be giving it one more shot (not pun intended).

African Crowned Crested Crane

This is one of my favorite zoo birds--even if I can't say its name 3 times fast. I took this shot at Busch Gardens in Tampa, FL, but I've also seen them at Lowry Zoo in Tampa as well.

I just love that crest and those pink cheeks. You can't see it in this photo, but his pupil is lined with a pretty aqua color.

Here is a full-size photo of him showing off his beautiful plumage. In this image, you can see why I think they're so beautiful. They don't have much of a fear of humans, though. Although, I've never been to Africa, so I can't say how much they're really afraid of humans. Most zoo animals are pretty much used to us from seeing us on a daily basis.

Chimpanzee

Sunday, I went to Busch Gardens with a couple of friends and had a great time. It's been taking a while to go through all the photos I took--especially since I've been playing around with Lightroom 2 and trying to make up my mind if I want to stick with Lightroom and give up ACDSee Pro 2 for organizing and quick editing of my photos.

It's a tough decision, since I've been using ACDSee Pro for years so I'm comfortable with it, and I'm new to Lightroom, so it's a bit more difficult to use for me, and I'm not sure of the organizing, so it's really slowing me down.

Enough about my problems with my software. This Chimpanzee looked so sad sitting against that tree. I can't help wondering what was making him look that way. They're so cute. I think he's a little older than most of the ones we usually see.

Daybreak, Sunshine Skyway Bridge

Yet another trip to check where the sun would rise. I'll be doing this until I catch the sun rising right between the spans of this bridge.

This morning, though, I got a very pleasant surprise. I also caught the moon setting. In all the times I've been here, I've never seen the moon set over the bridge. It made me happy I didn't opt to sleep in today.

This image was taken from the turn-around on East Beach at Ft Desoto Park in Tierra Verde, FL.

Sunshine Skyway Bridge Sunrise Check Up #2

We went over to check up on the position of the sun as it rises yesterday. This first one is a look at it in total darkness.

The next shot was taken at dawn.

The third shot, almost at sunrise. And finally, the sun rose. It still isn't between the spans, but I'll be going back to check it on Monday. Hopefully, it'll be a bit closer.

In 2006, it rose between the spans on Dec. 2nd, and in 2007 the date was Nov. 15th. It appears that it's about 2 weeks earlier every year.

It only lasts for about 2 days, so we have little chance to catch it until we have to wait another year to try it again.

Sawgrass Lake Park Pond

Today I started another self-assignment with my group. The challenge is to produce 3 photos of the same subject that are totally different. It wasn't as easy as I thought, but it sure gets you thinking before composing.

These are my first 3 compositions. I took them of the little pond at Sawgrass Lake Park, which is less than a mile from my house. It's going to be interesting to see what I can come up with for the next 6 days. So far, I'm the only one who has posted anything. We'll see how many join the challenge.

All three images were taken of the same pond. I took the first and second ones using my wide-angle lens (18-55mm). For the last one, I used my telephoto (75-300mm) lens. I also changed my angle of view. I was standing when I took the first shot and sitting on the ground for the second. I believe I was standing for the 3rd shot.

Tell me what you think by leaving a comment.

Little Blue Heron

This Little Blue Heron was just at the end of my fence under a tree when he spotted me trying to get a shot of him. Just as I was about to give up because he kept moving further and further behind the tree, he moved. I got really lucky because he moved to the stump just in front of the house with no tree cover.

I made the shot and for some reason, he didn't mind me being there--or he didn't see me, because he never moved at all.

Little Blue Herons and Tricolored Herons are similar in color except the Tricolored Herons (a.k.a. Louisiana Heron) have a bit more maroon color and have a pure white chest and neck. They are quite a bit smaller than the Great Blue Herons that we're used to seeing. These smaller herons are a bit more skittish than the Great Blue Herons as well.

Taken in my backyard at Joe's Creek, in St Petersburg, FL.

Muscovy Duckling

This cute little guy is one of 5 ducklings that hatched from a nest behind my Amaryllis plants in my backyard.

He's about a month old now. There were 12 originally, but the 'gators and/or hawks got the other 7. These little ducklings and their mother still come into the yard to rest out of the sun. As you can see, they have absolutely no fear of me.

This is one of 3 broods that were hatched here this season. The first set were originally 17 born in July. Only 4 remain and they're almost as big as their mother. The other set also has 4 out of 11. They're about the same age as these guys. It appears they all have the same father.

All the sets had one pure yellow duckling. In the one hatched in July, the yellow one has a pure white neck and breast. The two younger yellow ones are beginning to get their darker feathers now and I believe they'll also have white neck and breasts.

It's so much fun watching them grow. I can't believe how fast they grow up. The mother will stay with them probably for 2 1/2 months before she leaves them. The 4 who were hatched in July still stay together. I'm waiting to see how long they do that.

Ft Desoto Sunset and Fisherman

This was one of the most incredible sunsets I've seen in a long time--even the birds cooperated.

This was taken during a workshop with my friend, Jim Sykes, on sunsets and moon rises. We went to one of my favorite places, Ft Desoto in Tierra Verde, FL. We started at the old fort, than as soon as the sunset faded, we headed for East Beach to catch the moonrise.

East Beach is still in Ft Desoto about 3 or 4 miles to the east. We were hoping to catch the full moon rise between the spans of the Sunshine Skyway bridge, but it rose a bit to the left of the bridge. I think I'll be going back once a month to try to catch the full moon rising between the spans. With a little luck, I won't forget about it and not go.

Vinoy Basin

Today I went to a meetup/workshop for using off-camera flash. During the workshop, while waiting for my turn to shoot the model, I noticed this amazing light and beautiful clouds and just had to take a shot.

The condos in the mid-ground are the Vinoy Condos. They're just to the right of the famous 5-star Renaissance Vinoy Hotel here in St Petersburg, FL. The water is a little inlet on Tampa Bay where a few sailboats are moored. Just in front of the condos is the Vinoy Marina, the hotel's own private marina. Out of the photo, further to the right is The Pier.

Oh yes, I did finally get my chance to shoot the model. You may see her photo at a later date.

Bald Eagle

This Bald Eagle was at Lowry Zoo. He's there because I believe he's blind in his other eye and can't be released out into the wild. I had to wait quite a while before I could get his picture with his good eye showing.

There are 2 Bald Eagles in the exhibit. I don't know what's wrong with the other one, but they're both equally beautiful.

I like the position of his head in this shot. It more closely resembles the portrait of the Bald Eagle as our nation's symbol.

If you like my work, please comment. If you'd like to see more, please visit my website here.

Diamondback Rattler

Ever get a really close look at a Diamondback Rattler's fangs? Well, here's one for you.

Before any of my kids read this a get too excited, this particular one was just yawning and it was in Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, FL. There are plenty of Diamondbacks here in Florida, and I see a few a year, but I'm not crazy enough to tempt one and get this close--even with my longest lens.

I had a great day at the zoo with a few of my friends from my photo group. We all got some outstanding shots during our visit.

I don't like faking zoo shots for live (in the wild shots) and feel photographers should be honest enough to tell the truth when their photograph was taken in a zoo.

Even though zoo photos are so much easier to get, and it's the only place that one can get more species than they'll see in a lifetime in the wild, I miss the hunt. I think that's the biggest thrill for me--the hunt--then the capture (photographically). Although, some things like this one are nearly impossible to get without putting yourself in harm's way.

If you like my work, please comment; if you'd like to see more, visit my website by clicking here.

Ukranian Catholic Church

I don't know how come I never saw this church before. Way back in the '80s when I was still living in CT, I worked for the Manchester Evening Herald. It no long exists unfortunately. It was a nice local paper featuring local news.

My beat at the paper was women's news and the Sunday church news. Every week I had to feature one of the area churches. I really enjoyed this part of my job, because it allowed me to be more creative.

As you can see, I still love to photograph beautiful churches. This one is no exception. I really like the spires on the top with the crosses atop them.

Excellent architecture and the stained glass is amazing. Gorgeous scenes were depicted on each side of the church.

If you like my work, please leave a comment. If you'd like to see more, please visit my website here.

Northshore Daybreak

One of the best things about living in Florida is the beaches as we all know. I live about 5 miles of Northshore Park which is on the banks of Tampa Bay.

Saturday, a couple friends and I went to the park to check out the sunrise. We didn't have much of a sunrise, but daybreak was awesome, as you can see here.

Northshore is in St Petersburg and runs just adjacent to downtown and across from The Pier. Since St Petersburg's beginning, The Pier has always been the place for everyone to meet, shop, enjoy the sunrise, beaches and everything else that goes along with being in a tourist area. The Pier juts out into the bay for about 1/4 mile. It's an inverted pyramid design and the third pier built since St Petersburg was founded.

I hope you are enjoying my blog. If so, please let me know by entering a comment. If you'd like to see more of my work, check out my website here.

Sunshine Skyway Bridge Panoramic

This is daybreak at the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tierra Verde, FL. It spans between St Petersburg and Sarasota, FL.

It's span is 5.5 miles with a vertical clearance of 193 feet and the world's longest bridge with a cabled main span. Building began in 1982, and after a cost of $244 million dollars, it was dedicated in 1987. The bridge was built to replace the old structure after the freighter, MV Summit Venture collided with the original structure in 1980 sending over 1200 feet plunging into Tampa Bay killing 35 people.

If you like my work, please comment. If you'd like to see more, visit my website here.

Daybreak East Beach, Ft Desoto

Daybreak, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2007 on East Beach, Ft Desoto in Tierra Verde, FL.

This image was taken the same day, but a little earlier than the Sunshine Skyway Sunrise photo I posted previously. In the distance you can see the light trails from cars traveling onto and off the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

The sky was amazing this morning. It's rare to see clouds first thing at daybreak. I like the pink color near the horizon. This is one of my favorite spots right at the end of the turn-around to photograph the bridge. If I had waited a bit after sunrise, I could've photographed the birds coming in to feed. Unfortunately, I had to leave to go to work.

If you like my work, please comment. If you'd like to see more, please visit my website by clicking here.

Sunshine Skyway Bridge

Every year the sun rises between the spans of this bridge for only 2 days. The problem is, we never know which 2 days it is. In 2006, it rose between the spans on Dec. 2nd and in 2007, it was on Nov. 15th.

So, every year I start going to my favorite spot to check it out and try to guess when it's going to rise perfectly in the center of the spans.

I went out this morning and it's not even close, so I'll check it in about a month. However, we had some really nice clouds at daybreak when I captured this image.

It's too bad the bridge is being painted because the spans aren't lit up. It's so beautiful lit up. It'll be a while before it gets done, so it looks like it won't be lit this year when I finally catch it in the right place once again.

If you'd like to see a larger image, just click on the image.

If you like my work, please comment. If you'd like to see more, you can check out my website by clicking here.

John's Pass

John's Pass on Madeira Beach in Florida is a tough shoot, but with a little patience and a whole lot of walking and looking around, one can find some pretty terrific shots.

This is not an actual lighthouse, I don't think; but it's atop the Friendly Fisherman restaurant. In order to get this view from above, I went to a competing restaurant higher up on the boardwalk and went up to the roof of the parking garage.

It's a unique view, and one I didn't know about until a waitress in one of the many eateries on the boardwalk saw my camera and told me about it. That was an excellent tip!

It was pretty hazy out that day, and we all went up there to capture the sunset on Madeira Beach, but it was so hot, no one wanted to wait the extra hour. We all took what we got for images and left fairly quickly. I think it was something like 92 deg. F, if I can remember correctly. This was shot in mid August which is hot anywhere in the states at that time of year.

If you like my work, please leave a comment. If you'd like to see more, visit my website by clicking here.

Carolina Saddlebags Dragonfly

I found this dragonfly just sitting on the sidewalk as I was leaving work. I was particularly interested in the detail of his "saddlebags".

These Carolina Saddlebags dragonflies are the only dragonfly found worldwide and very common; yet, I believe this is the first one of this variety I've seen. Maybe it's because they are almost constantly moving and I was lucky enough to catch this one at rest.

This image was taken with my compact Canon Powershot A560. It's a 7.1 MP camera I carry around in my bag just so I don't get caught without a camera when I run across something like this. Although it doesn't have the control my DSLR has, it doesn't do a bad job capturing images.

If you like my work, please comment. If you'd like to see more visit my website by clicking here.

Osprey in my Tree

This one is the most elusive, hard to photograph bird I've ever photographed. He perches in this tree overlooking the river behind my house whenever he's hungry. For over 2 years I've been trying to photograph him but have rarely got a really good one.

It seems he's learned the chimes on my door from my alarm. As soon as he hears the chimes, he checks to see if I have my camera. Then he does one of two things. If I have my camera, he lets out a couple of screeches to let me know he's seen me and takes off across the lake. If I don't have my camera he buzzes my head and goes back up to the tree.

The only way I can catch him is if I go out my front door and walk all around the house while I keep really low and be careful to hide behind trees, my shed or whatever I can think of. Then once I think I'm close enough, I quickly come out, capture my image and he takes off. I only get 1 shot if I'm lucky and I have to be quick. This is the result of one of the lucky shots.

I think I like the hunt as much as getting the photograph. :)

If you like my work, please comment; if you'd like to see more, visit my website here.