Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers and followers. Without you taking the time to comment and encourage me throughout the year, I would probably lose interest in blogging and forget how much I enjoy it. So, this image is for you.

A Monarch butterfly sipping the nectar of Butterfly Weed at the Veterans' Memorial Garden at the Safety Harbor Marina in Safety Harbor, Florida.

The Monarch is probably the best known butterfly. They are migratory, but it is interesting to note that no one butterfly makes the entire trip from coast to coast. In the Spring, the adult butterflies head back North, breeding along the way. Their offspring finish the trip.

The above information is one of the reasons I have the passion to continue photographing nature. Everytime I capture an image, I research a little tidbit of information to pass along to my readers. It's amazing how much one can learn in small chunks without trying. Photography teaches all of us so much about the world we live in.

Dawn Sunshine Skyway Bridge

I'm always trying to find a different perspective when I'm photographing a familiar site. The Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Ft Desoto, Tierra Verde, Florida is one of my favorite scenes to photo. Not only because it's the Skyway, but because I love to photograph bridges. I'm always on the lookout for a new one to photograph.

It's strange, I've photographed this bridge, especially at dawn and sunrise, hundreds of times and most of them from the same location on East Beach, and never thought to turn the camera on its side. I was pleasantly pleased with this shot.

Whenever I'm out with my photography students, I tell them to not be a "walk-up-shooter". Spend some time exploring the view; look up, look down, walk all the way around the subject if possible, take shots from near, from far, well you get the idea. I tell them this because it's one of my faults that I'm trying hard to overcome. I'll have to practice what I preach more often.

Immature Yellow-crowned Night Heron

This immature Yellow-crowned Night Heron was taking advantage of the low tide to hunt for his evening meal in Tampa Bay in Safety Harbor, Florida.

As their name implies, they normally hunt at night, but this guy must've been really hungry or wanted to nest early.

Unlike the Black-crowned Night Heron, the Yellow-crowned Night Heron feeds mainly on crabs and crayfish. They can be seen foraging around near dusk when other Herons are well on their way to roost.

Night Herons differ from other Herons because they do not roost in colonies. They prefer to find their own private corner.

Because they're nocturnal, these birds are more skittish than most; but I find that when they're looking around for food they don't really care about anyone. They only concentrate on one thing, and that's finding their next meal. It is during that time that I find I can get pretty close to them, if I stay low and move slowly.

A Study in Lines

I don't know why, but whenever I come across a scene like this I have to photograph it. Maybe it's because as a child my favorite toy was a Kaleidoscope. Whatever the reason, I love converging lines.

I like the pattern, the square at the end, the depth, the shadows, and the way the lens captures it.

This walkway is at HCC (Hillsborough Community College) in Ybor City, Tampa, Florida. The shadows is what first attracted me to it. Then I looked at the detail in the bricks the arches and the lines in the ceiling tiles. They all converge to form a perfect rectangle at the end. It looks to me like a long tunnel for whatever reason.

On this day, the lighting was perfect. I was out with a group of friends when I spotted this and stopped to make this shot. Everyone also shot it with their own unique vision and our photos were so different, it was hard to believe we were all at the same place at the same time.

It has been said that if 100 photographers and/or artists were told to make a picture of what they saw, no two pictures would be the same. At least 6 of us photographed this scene and no one's were even similar. Some of them didn't look like the same place.

I guess it would be safe to say that this was made with my eyes and my vision.

Endangered and Nearly Extinct

Isn't it amazing how far we've come with technology in the last 10-15 years? Pay phones could be found in front of every convenience store, and on nearly every corner in any city in the United States no matter how far you travel. Now, the only place they can be found is on the highways at rest stops.

Only the very well off could afford cell phones or car phones 15 years ago. Now, everyone has a cell phone; even children.

What is the need to be in touch every place we go? No matter where we are, what we're doing, we have these things growing out of our ears. We can't even have a day off. Because we have our cell phones, anyone from our offices or jobs can reach us anytime, and no one thinks any thing wrong with butting in on our own time.

We take them everywhere. It doesn't matter if we're on vacation, shopping, visiting with friends, we have this need to have our cells glued to our ears.

Now cell phones aren't just phones. They're portable computers. First came our planners; remember the Franklin Planner? I remember when my company paid us to take courses to learn how to use our planners to plan out our day. It was a requirement. Next, they gave us Palm Pilots, then portable PCs and finally laptops. Do we need to be always available every minute of our day for our jobs? Is it really a convenience or a pain in the butt? You decide.

Sunrise Over the Skyway

I have been doing this shoot every year since my friend, Linda Weekley, told me about it in 2006.

Once a year, the sun rises between the spans of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tierra Verde. I get this shot from East Beach in Ft Desoto. It happens only for 2 days a year, and it's never the same time.

That means that starting in October, I have to check where the sun rises so I can estimate when it'll be right there between the spans. I go probably 2 or 3 times in October, then once a week, down to every couple days to catch it just right. I got lucky this year; my friend, Jim, was there yesterday and let me know today would be the day. Jim is a member of my photography group, and they're all involved with this as well. As a matter of fact, it's become a tradition with the group. We all go out there for sunrise, then go to work from there if it's on a weekday.

I just made it on time today. I usually go at dawn, but today was the day the time changed (from Daylight Savings Time) and I got confused. I got there just before it rose. These are the photos I got from when I got there until it was just right.

If you go back in my blogs, you can compare this year's with each previous year. It's pretty cool.

It's still as exciting to see it today and it was back in 2006 when I caught it for the first time.

Don Vicente de Ybor Historic Inn

This shot was made during a walking tour off the beaten path in Ybor City, Tampa, Florida.

The Don Vicente de Ybor Historic Inn was built in 1895 by the founder of Ybor City, Vicente Martinez-Ybor, as his office for a land development company.

At the turn of the century, it became a clinic treating Ybor City residents. After the clinic closed, it sat empty for 18 years suffering vandalism, fire, neglect and vagrants.

In 1998, Jack Shiver, saw the potential for the old building and began refurbishing it painstakingly restoring it to its original splendor. Two years and two million dollars later the doors were reopened as the Don Vicente de Ybor Historic Inn. It is located at 1915 Republic de Cuba (Corner of 9th St and 14th Ave) in Tampa, FL. USA.

Ally

It's been a long time since I've posted to my blog. I really need to get better about this.

I had a shoot on Monday for this girl. She just wanted some photos for her Facebook. She brought tons of clothes and her stylist with her. Earlier in the day she had her hair and makeup done. She was really serious about this shoot.

For someone who's not a model, she did a fantastic job. She loves the camera and it loves her. I had a hard time choosing only a few for my site use. I like the lighting in this one.

Most of the photos were taken in Phillippe Park in Safety Harbor, FL. It's a beautiful park and offers many different locations for a shoot. We were all over the park, changing clothes before changing sites. Because of the humidity, her hair didn't last as long as she did, but her stylist made the best of it. In every shot, she had to fix her hair. Her stylist (also her sister) did a great job as well.

I'd love to have the chance to work with her some more. I tried to talk her into posing for my club; but she didn't really seem interested in posing for that many photographers. Maybe at a later date.

Butterfly Weed

Butterfly Weed grows wild in pinelands, sandhills and dry roadsides in Florida and is often planted in gardens to attract butterflies--especially Monarchs. They love any flower in the Milkweed family.

A little known fact about Butterfly Weed is that it used to be called the "Pleurisy Plant" by Native Americans who used to chew it's root to treat Pleurisy and other Pulmonary ailments. Most plants that we rarely consider is that at one time or another they were or are still used in medicine.

When we look at plants and wildflowers all we think about is the smell and beauty of the flowers, never about its contribution to us as medicine. Some of our prettiest flowers are medicine.

Kennebunport Inn

Since I've been getting behind in my editing, I'm posting this one from my vacation to Maine with my son and daughter-in-law last June.

This is the famous Kennebunkport Inn. It has been a landmark since 1899. It was once a tea merchant's mansion and has the distinction of being listed as one of the Travel Channel's "Maine's Best Escapes".

The Kennebunkport Inn is located in Dock Square, Kennebunkport's shopping district and the only hotel/inn there and well worth checking out if you're going to be in the area.

Sun Rays and the American Flag

Just as I was leaving the Safety Harbor Marina last Monday, I spotted this as I was getting into my car.

Sun rays have always fascinated me. This one is no exception. Right after shooting this scene, it started to pour.

Florida's rains are really strange. It was pouring at the Marina, which is only 11 blocks from the Safety Harbor Grille where my friends and I go for dinner every Monday after our Meetup. It wasn't raining a drop at the restaurant, but people were calling to let me know it was pouring rain on the Bayside Bridge which is the opposite direction from the Safety Harbor Marina.

Sometimes it'll be raining across the street while it's not raining a drop on the other side and the sun is shining. Last week, I was driving home near 38th Ave in St Petersburg. The traffic in the opposite direction were slowed down to 15mph because the rain made it impossible to see, while on my side of the street, the sun was shining and it was dry as a bone. It's crazy.

Immature Yellow-crowned Night Heron

After some searching on the internet to find out the difference between an immature Yellow-crowned Night Heron and an immature Black-crowned Night Heron, I've decided that this must be an immature Yellow-crowned Night Heron.

It seems they look very similar in the wild, and if the two species are not together, then it's very hard to tell them apart. They both have white speckled bodies and faces, their eye color is the same, and their bill and leg colors are the same. So, how did I tell the difference when only one species is present? I guess knowing little details would make it an educated guess. According to all the sources I'd seen on the net and in my books, the only way to tell the difference is by looking at the color of their plumage and the length of their legs and stoutness of their bills.

My most trusted source is the Field Guide to Birds (Eastern Region) by the National Audubon Society. According to their book, young Yellow-crowned Night Herons are grayer, with stouter bills and longer legs than the young Black-crowned Night Herons. Since colors can be deceiving depending on the light cast, and I couldn't compare the legs, all I had to go on was the stoutness of the beak. Lucky for me, the Field Guide to Birds also has photos of both species. I matched up the beak, and made a definitive identification. This is a Yellow-crowned Night Heron!

Moon Jellyfish

This Moon Jellyfish (Aurelia aurita) washed ashore at Cocoa Beach. I found it in the early morning light the day after I photographed a wedding in Cocoa Beach. There were many on the beach, but this was the best specimen I could find.

Moon Jellyfish feed by collecting planton, mollusks and medusae with its tentacles, while drifting with the current. Jellyfish don't actually swim. They drift with the current.

Moon Jellyfish do not have lungs, trachea or gills. They breathe through the absorption of oxygen through a membrane. They also do not have circulatory or excretory systems.

Jellyfish have many predators including Ocean Sunfish and Leather Back Turtles. Sea birds also eat jellyfish. Their lifespan in the wild is less than 6 months, but can live in controlled environments such as aquariums for 2 years.

Apple Snail Eggs

These fluffy looking pink worm-like creatures are Apple Snail eggs. I researched and researched and couldn't find a thing about them until finally, a friend told me what they are.

The Apple Snails lay their eggs above water to protect them from fish and underwater creatures eating them.

Apple Snails have both gills and lungs, so they are Amphibians. Their mantle cavity is divided to support both respiratory systems. They also have separate genders unlike some snails, which have both genders. They spend most of their time underwater.

Apple Snails are the primary food of Snail Kites and Limpkins. I once saw a Limpkin nest. Alongside the nest was maybe 25 Apple Snail shells piled up ready for the chicks.

Giant Swallowtail

Giant Swallowtails (Papilio cresphontes), are the one of the 2 largest butterflies in the United States. This one has a wing span of about 5 inches and some have wings spans of 6 inches.

This one was at rest just before dark on one of my bushes so he was an easy shot to make. I checked several times and I was surprised to see that he spent the night right there out in the open.

Their larvae/caterpillars are known in the citrus industry as "orange dogs" and are considered a pest because they feed off the leaves of citrus trees.

Cocoa Beach Sunrise

I've been so busy editing photos from a wedding I did in Cocoa Beach, that I have neglected my blog. For this, I do apologize. Hopefully, things will return to normal again.

This sunrise was made the morning after the wedding. I particularly like the way the sun reflects on the water and the color.

I've never been to Cocoa Beach before and for me, I wasn't all that impressed. It's more suited for the younger crowd.

Even the hotel lounge was too loud. Before bed, my assistant, Suzanne, and I decided to have a drink and wind down from the hectic day of photographing the wedding. She was looking forward to a nice, quiet glass of wine, while I was looking forward to a Bloody Mary. It was so loud in the bar and everyone was smoking. Luckily, Florida liquor laws allow drinks to be taken outside of the bar. We went outside and sat by the pool where we were able to have our drinks, conversation and wind down. We then headed to bed and got a good night's sleep before traveling back home.

I only took a few photos on the beach since once the sun came up, it was hot, hot, hot; even that early in the morning. The drive wasn't too bad; but I was glad to get back to St Petersburg.

Southeastern Lubber Grasshopper

This time of year, one can find these giant Grasshoppers most anywhere in Florida.

The Southeastern Lubber Grasshopper (Romalea mycroptera) is a flightless, slow moving grasshopper with a voracious appetite. They can quickly destroy the largest leaves. They cause wide-spread damage where ever they're found. When disturbed, they emit a foul-smelling secretion.

I've seen them walking around on the sidewalks, on my patio chairs, table and in the grass, along roadsides, field edges and salt marshes. They can be found in the southeastern and south central parts of the US.

Safety Harbor Marina Sunset

This shot is for my friend, Margo. I know she misses her second home, so I'm posting this one for her.

Every Monday night, my friends and I go to the Safety Harbor Marina for our regular Meetup. With it being so hot in Florida this time of year, we've changed our regular times so we meet at the Marina, then leave for the Safety Harbor Grille a few blocks away, then go back to the Marina or walk around downtown for our regular shoot.

This photo was made 2 weeks ago tonight when we decided to change our regular times. We're rarely at the Marina for photographs around sunset except in the Winter (if you can call it a Winter in Florida) months.

I'm really enjoying the new times. Tonight, everyone chose to walk around Safety Harbor downtown for some street shots. I begged off because I'm just 2 weeks out of my Cam Boot and cast on my foot and since I have a wedding to shoot on Saturday, I don't want to chance walking around unnecessarily. A new foot injury is not what I need right now. Although, when I injured my foot, I shot a wedding on a Golf Course. It hurt like the dickens, but I made a commitment and I had to show up; broken foot or not.

Marina on the Kennebunk River

Yep! More photos from my vacation in Maine. It seems like I'll never get through all those photos. It's a good thing I didn't go for a month!

This view is of the Kennebunk River. It runs alongside the downtown area of Kennebunkport. Most of the shops and homes are built on its banks. In this view, you can see where the Whale Watch boats and Charter Boats are just waiting for their busy season to start.

If you click on the photo, you'll see a larger image which will allow you to see more detail on the docks.

I was lucky to have wonderful weather with just enough clouds in the sky to make it interesting on this vacation.

Amaryllis

My Amaryllis, Belladonna cultivar from my backyard.

I started these plants a couple years ago with 21 bulbs. At the time, the directions said to plant them 12" apart. To me, they looked too sparse like that because I know zip about gardening. So, I planted them a bit closer. Now I have probably 40 plants all crowded in together. I've read that they can be propagated through division, but I have no idea what that means, let alone how to do it.

I love these flowers. They're the only flowers in my yard that my roommate doesn't destroy because he likes them, too. All the others are whacked to the ground every time he mows. It breaks my heart every time he does that. It's his house and I'm a renter, so I have no choice in the matter. I just won't buy any more plants.

These flower twice a year and they're just about done now. I think there's only 2 or 3 clusters left. The flowering period lasts about a month and they're just so beautiful. According to my plant books, there's supposed to be only about 4-6 flowers per stalk. These have 6-9!

I'm sad to see them go and can't wait for the next flowering period. I'll miss them.