I took the above photograph earlier this year during the Gasparilla Festival in Tampa. The event usually provides the photography hobbyist a wide variety of photographic opportunities: very colorful, to say the least. I spent time today working on the image in Photoshop and here you see the end result of my efforts. Click here or on the photograph above to see the "before" and a better view of the "after."
What a fun time to have photography as a hobby! Enjoy, Nathan.
You may have noticed the link above regarding Vinci. Click on this link to learn more about his difficult journey. I spent yesterday with good friends, along with Vinci and it was inspiring to see him so full of life and mobility after his surgery. Click on this link (or his photograph above) to see more of the little guy. Enjoy, Nathan.
What a great place to take your camera on a cloudy day: John's Pass (click here for Google Map). Within a small area, one may experience the shtick of Florida tourism, which makes for great photographic opportunities. If you're ever in the area, don't pass up this opportunity to bring your camera--especially on a cloudy day--and your appetite for great food and drinks. Click here or on the photo above to see a few more of my photographs from the day. Enjoy, Nathan
I have a few photographs to share from yesterday's road trip to St. Armands Circle, which is located just outside Sarasota, Florida. It was a bright, hot day with few shoppers around (still signs of poor economy?). The sights and food were all very good (The Columbia Restaurant is highly recommended) . As the afternoon sun warmed the air, the clouds began forming above, which is so characteristic of this time of year. The photograph of the sailboats was taken a short distance from the circle [click here for map]. Click on the photograph to the right to see the rest. Nathan.
Follow this link to a dozen photographs that I took at the Lowry Park Zoo earlier this summer. Enjoy! Nathan
I spent time this weekend at the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, Florida. Especially inspiring was the Warhol Exhibit. If you are in the area, I would highly recommend a visit. The Museum is exceptional and a jewel in the Tampa Bay area. Click on the sailboat above to see more photographs. Two of the beach photographs were taken at Anclote Key Beach near Tarpon Springs. Enjoy
Some birthday gifts are priceless.....
I enjoyed part of my birthday yesterday by visiting one of my favorite parks in the Tampa Bay area: John Chestnut Park. My two best photographs included a small alligator that was stalking me and a Tricolored Heron. It appears the juvenile alligator had been fed by humans since he followed me around the lake; unfortunately he will be removed from the park at some point in the near future because of the danger that this behavior poses to us humans. The heron was at the same lake and was doing some stalking on his own. The light was just right and I was able to get some very good photographs of him. For a higher resolution of each, just click on either photograph. Enjoy!
I'm in the process of learning Adobe Photoshop; in fact, it has been cutting into my photography time. This is a draft of a "thank you" note for a local business in Brooksville, Florida, Remington Outpost, which donated boots for the annual Boots and Pearls gala (see below).
Forgive my obvious errors (I am aware of at least one!) and know that I am in the process of learning, as always.
Nathan
I spent some time this weekend tweaking some photographs that I took at Biltmore House, Asheville, North Carolina, this past spring. Click on the "runway" chick above to see more. Enjoy!
Nathan
I want to share a few photographs that were taken in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The first gallery is from the Tennessee Aquarium and the second is from the Hunter Museum. Both are located in Chattanooga's great downtown area, which framed by the beautiful Tennessee River. Clicking on the photograph above will take you to the aquarium gallery and clicking the photograph below will take you to the museum gallery.
I took a few photographs at the Boots and Pearls Gala, Saturday, June 20th, at the Palace Grand in Hernando County. Click on the "boot and pearls" above and it will take you to the gallery.
Enjoy!
I spent Saturday morning at Youth and Family Alternative's second annual Rap River Run in New Port Richey. I created two separate albums: one has all of the photographs from the event except photographs of the runners; the second album has photographs of many of the runners at the finish line. Click on the photographs to go to either gallery.
The weekend has been dominated by household projects and time spent with friends. Photography was at an unfortunate minimum for me; however, I have some photographs from last weekend to share. Click on the photograph above and it will take you to the others. The birds were photographed in Tarpon Springs, Florida at A. L. Anderson Park and Anclote Key Park.
Today we remember those who have served and especially those who lost their lives during their years of service. We all have relatives, loved ones who have served or are now serving. Today we recognize our debt to them.
I took almost 1,000 photographs from Friday through today. Not all of them are here or on the SmugMug site; I have selected a few to share, if you click on any of the photographs in this entry, in addition to the navigation bar on the left you can select the "More Photographs" link and it will take you to my SmugMug site; once there, look for "Memorial Day Weekend, 2009" and it will also take you there. The "slideshow" will give you best view of the photographs.
As stated in my previous entry, my holiday weekend began early. Friday evening was spent in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Saturday morning I spent time in Pinellas County's John Chestnut Park, at least until the sky fell with a marvelous downpour of summer rain. Sunday was spent at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo. You may not appreciate how hot and humid it was Sunday: the animals were as miserable as the humans in the park that day. This morning I returned back to John Chestnut for a few more photographs. The pictures in the "Memorial Day Weekend, 2009" are in chronological order. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did taking them.
The holiday weekend began early for me. I took advantage of the soft, expansive cloudy sky (little "Florida Sunshine the past two weeks) and headed to Brasher Park, New Port Richey, Florida. While, low tide is the ideal time to visit this park for photographing the birds, you can always find something wonderful to shoot. Today I found three: a fisherman-friendly great blue heron, a very shy egret and a very hungry (what I believe to be) yellow crowned night heron. You can see a few more of the photographs by clicking on either of these two.
The weekend took me to Tarpon Springs, a local Bamboo grower and the back yard. Click on the photograph to see a sample of them.
Rest assured, this is not a recipe blog!
The cliche is "stop and smell the roses." Although over used and ancient, there is still much wisdom in the meaning of this phrase. I work a demanding job which leaves me with little motivation at the end of the day; the weekends give me space to explore with the camera and write here. However, today, I was inspired to go out and photograph a bit in the back yard. Backyards are great for photography because they are common to us: we discount the beauty there (and spend much time and money going to exotic places: not that there is anything wrong with that) and forget to explore. I enjoy the fragrance and taste of basil, especially sprinkled on a nice tomato with mozzarella cheese. Today I stopped and admired the plant. The sun was beginning its decent and created wonderful bursts of light. The lizard who hides out in the statuary was surprised I was out on a week night and, as a reward, for once, posed for the camera. None of these are great photographs, except for the subject.
There is much joy in photography for it allows us to look closely and admire.
Click on the photograph above to see more.
