Photo Blog 2011

New camera lens

My favorite subject cooperated nicely on the evening of purchasing my new lens! This was taken in low light in the bedroom. That, and the new camera make quite an image.

After buying our motorhome, we went to St. Petersburg and visited the Dali and Chihuly museums. Dali far more interesting perspective that I realized, with hidden images in his work. No photos allowed in either museum, but the building here was worth the visit! Amazing! I took so many photos, and Clem was very patient. :-)

We did it!!!

Spent the last two days in Ft Meyers and Tampa shopping for RV's , and a bit of sight seeing.
And we bought one!

Also visited St. Petersburg after making decision, so stay tuned for those photos....some cool ones!
On my way to class at FAU Lifelong Learning.....no good photos for that! :-)

Can you feel the breezes blowing??

This is the most beautiful day one could imagine! Warm and sunny with cool breezes blowing across the lake, whistling through the palms and gently blowing through the house. Wow. This is TRULY why we are here. A lot of the country has been getting clobbered this winter, and we have had some chilly temps to be sure, but can't complain. And this week has made up for the chill we had.

Now, this may look like a snap shot, but in fact, I have set the aperture to get deep depth of field, so you can see the table, pool, palms and lake in focus! But I really took the shot to remember this beautiful day....and to remember that Clem is right. In our search for a larger house , we DO want to be on a body of water! The breezes come off the lake even when there is little elsewhere, creating such a feeling of serenity.

This cat is into his comfort!

No fancy photography here, just a quick snap shot of the big Sas taking a nap with his head propped against the pillow! He sure knows how to find the cozy spaces!

Beautiful evening, and I talked Clem into going out with me just before sunset, to see if I could find something interesting to shoot. The places we went did not turn up much, but they did turn up what might be our new favorite ice cream!! Haha! And I was determined to lose some weight! Not with THAT stuff!!

This one was taken through frosted glass that had small burst shape openings. Kind of interesting. Maybe some other subject might work better. Reflected light added to this shot.

and some experimental shots

Still on the bike with the point and shoot. May have to go back with the "real" camera!

haha.....just noticed if you look closely at the reflection in the mirror, you see me at the bottom taking the photo!

Waterway from top of bridge

This is the floating bar where we had drinks several weeks ago, when I posted photos of us and friends. This day I took a bike ride wondering if I could cross the PGA bridge and not be killed! Turned out not only could I do it , but I could stop at the top and take a photo! This is my little point and shoot.

Loki loves the pool

He sits out there along side the pool, and often gets a drink.
Here he had just had one, and is just hanging out on the edge!

And my artistic shot.....

Lens envy!!

These guys had the biggest lenses I had ever seen! They were watching a bird in a tree, and when it took off, their cameras sounded like machine guns, snapping shots in flight! I had watched, and started walking away, when I got the idea to take photos of the lenses! I used my longest telephoto here, as my walking companions were hurrying me, and I could not go back for the shot. Passed the next two on my way out.

This one looks pretty modest after the guys in the gazeebo!

David and Cindy visited for a couple of days

We went on a beautiful walk in a wetland with a 1 1/2 mile boardwalk on a gorgeous sunny afternoon. Well, it is my new favorite place! Tons of wading birds, completely oblivious to human activity around them. Sitting on nests, stalking for fish, or just sunning. Saw a spoonbill....the first I had ever seen in the wild. An otter scampered from waterway to waterway with a Great Blue Heron stomping after him. For what purpose, I am not sure, but it was entertaining to watch. And then, finally, the alligator reared his sleepy head, to the delight of all visiting.

I am anxious to go back at a more optimum lighting time, and see what I can capture. There were folks with huge lenses arriving as we left....we had evening appts so could not stay. I left with great "lens envy!" Those things were HUGE!! On the way out, I got the idea to start shooting a few of THEM, which I did, and will post. Wish I had thought of it sooner. :-)

David and Cindy left today to go back to the snow in Boston. Oh well....they got a sun break!

Where did Sas go??

Kind of absent one day, I went looking for him. Found him snuggled up on the wicker bed in the far bedroom. Alert here, he closed his eyes and settled in when he realized I was just going to take photos....again.......and not make him get down.

...and my favorite artistic shot of the day!

My favorite flower shot of the day

Fran and Jack came to visit.

I feel bad that the weather was less than desirable while they were here, but we did have drinks outside one night, and breakfast outside yesterday morning. Enjoyed having them here, and had fun despite the weather. We went to Mounts Botanical garden in the morning, and Flagler Museum in the afternoon, and it rained while we were in there. Good timing!! A famous Florida storm overnight woke them with thunder and lightning. I didn't notice! :-)

This guy was fishing on our lake out back, so I crept out and starting taking photos. I would take one, wait, creep forward a step slowly, shoot another....repeat! He let me get fairly close, as you can see, before stalking off. He did much better than his fishing companion, a giant white heron, who flew away as soon as I got out of the screen door! I should just camp out there on a blanket with a book and my camera.

Ok, so, I am sitting here enjoying the sunshine, and she is pointing
this thing in my face, rolling around the floor and taking different
angles........and she thinks a can of tuna is payment enough for her
playing paparazzi. sheesh.....