The Kill

These four images are technically not very good, especially the first. They are aggressively cropped. But, the four together tell a compelling story.

The first is a bald eagle with a sea gull in its talons.





The next three are dinner in a pine tree. Notice the dangling feet in the last image.







Bob

for the birds

Two days ago, I went with two Venice Camera Club members to... well,... I don't know where. One of my captors is a fisherman, so he is used to fibbing about location. I was first blindfolded, and then loaded into a white minivan. After driving around in circles (I guess), we all got out and began clicking. Here was the first stop. Alaska does not have a monopoly on these guys!





Near the end of the trip we saw a Kestrel - going away, as usual.






Bob

After Sunrise

As a follow-up to yesterday's post, this is immediately after sunrise.





Needless to say, I was pleased that the sun came under the main span.

Bob

Sunshine Skyway

Three days ago, I photographed the Sunshine Skyway bridge before dawn. I was at Ft. Desoto Park.



I could not believe the color. Below is the RAW file, before post processing.






This was captured 39 minutes before sunrise.

Bob

The Yak Rak

The Venice Camera Club had a field trip to Ft. Desoto Park. The hope was to find abundant bird life, but I was reduced to photographing yellow fiberglas at the kayak concession.





Bob

Riverdance

This was taken immediately before a performance of Riverdance , at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. A minute later, my wife read that all photography is strictly prohibited, so away went the pocket camera.





On the way home, on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge causway, the sunset was impressive. So, into a rest stop facing west, and out with the DSLR. There wasn't much of a foreground - I had to make do with this scrubby Mangrove tree (bush).





Bob

Will This News Never End?

Yes, yes, we all love him, but perhaps we're getting a little tired of it all.





Island Park, in Sarasota has some modern art, which should remind us of past feelings. It reminds me why I got a C in Humanities 40 years ago. Well, at least some of it can be used for framing.





Bob

Ham 'n Eggs

The Englewood Camera Club has an assignment: photograph 8 objects in their environment. OK, the camera with a laptop and Photoshop, what goes together better than that?





Of course, I had to use my Canon pocket camera to do this.

I am including one more bird pic from last Monday's Rookery shoot. This is the last chance. After today, it rolls past the one week deadline.





Bob

Nuts

This sailboat fared poorly during the recent cold front, and lies grounded at Island Park in Sarasota.





Two fellows seem to be formulating a plan to re-float the craft. In the background is the Ringling Bridge.





I think that it is the prettiest bridge in the Intracoastal Waterway. Sometime, I'd like to get some night shots of it. If the condo on the left is occupied, and lit at night, this could be a compelling image.

Bob

The White Ones

I've had a couple of Great Blue Herons, now it's time for Great White Egrets. These are also at the Venice Rookery.









Bob

Surfer Dudes

Yesterday (Wednesday, Jan. 21) was about as good as this series of cold days will get for surfing conditions. These shots were taken about 3PM, so the sun was where I wanted it. The results are a mild disappointment, but sort of what I had in mind.









The water was rough, but the surfers still got a fairly gentle ride without much spray. Nuts! I'm sure that they were more disappointed than I was.

BTW, some of these Surfer Dudes are, shall I say, "mature", and not slight of build.

Bob

Cruising

Yesterday was very cloudy and dark - no surfer photos.

A few days ago, this guy was cruising over Venice Inlet. He stayed inside the channel markers, as if he were a boat avoiding running aground.





I am fairly satisfied with the sharpness, but a small area of white on the head is blown out. Something else to ponder.

Bob

Follow-up

Well, yesterday WAS breezy at the beach, so this is my first try with the silhouetted surfer.





This was the only active surfer. This afternoon is supposed to have even more wind, so I'll try again with a modification. If the surfer(s) in the same area, I'll move a couple of hundred yards to my left. The sun will be directly behind the subject, and I'll be a little closer. That should really get the shutter speed up, and hopefully freeze spray, which should sparkle in the back light. Sounds good anyway.

Here is one more disappointment. I shot the North Jetty Fish Camp at high noon. I got 3 shots bracketed at one stop for exposure. Then I went through the Photoshop HDR drill.





To me, the result is no better that regular aggressive Photoshop processing. Perhaps the dynamic range was not as great as I thought. Sometime I'll try this again with an indoor shot - bright sun streaming through a window, with other parts of the room in deep shadow.

Hey, I just realized that this is the last post of my first month blogging! Haven't missed a day yet.

Bob

Waiting

A few days ago, a cold front with some wind passed through Venice. Often the Gulf becomes rough in this circumstance, so I went to the Jetty, hoping to photograph some surfers doing their thing. They would have been back lighted by the sun; my goal was to get some action silhouettes with lots of spray, and maybe convert to black and white.

But alas, the high pressure system had already moved in and the wind had clocked to the northeast, so the water was flat. These folks look as if they were looking for action too.





Well, maybe next week.

Bob

Flyin' into the Sun

Here's a late afternoon shot of silhouetted sea gulls.





Now, an ethical dilemma: This was shot on a Sunday, and today is the following Sunday. Am I posting this within a week of capture, or am I stretching the envelope a bit? Well, here's a more recent photo to cover the bases.





There, now I feel better.

Bob