Florida birds

While on vacation in Florida, I enjoyed walking in marshes, along the beaches, and in preserves to capture images of various wildlife. The most prominent were the birds, always alert to securing the next meal.

Here are some.

Chile and Argentina Montages

While traveling with Grand Circle Tours in Chile and Argentina this winter to escape the cold North and to enjoy the South American culture, I took over 1000 digital pictures.  Now it is time to do something with those images and I just finished creating some montages from them.  They include two from Valparaiso, which is a port city where 17 hills tower over the basin city.  They mentioned that it was their San Francisco. The highlight of the trip for me was the visit to the famous poet Pedro Neruda's home on the hill and to see how he was inspired by the incredible views of the city and harbor.

In Buenos Aires, we visited the cemetery that contained Iva Peron's mausoleum.  At night, we enjoyed dinner and the Tango, which was an incredible display of talent.

Let me know what you think of these montages.

Florida Birds

 The Florida birds were a delight to view and photograph.  Here we have the white egret, the blue heron, and and a pelican taking off after a lunch of fish.

Fast forward

The sports setting on the Canon Rebel was very handy when photographing some mobile animals during a vacation in Florida.  At 10 Thousand Island park, the motorized boat took us out to the islands covered with red, black, and white Mangroves. As the boat moved along, the dolphins swam to the boat for a "free ride" in the wake or in the front of the boat.  It appeared to be great fun for them and was definitely entertaining for the passengers.

Osprey nests are numerous near the beaches and many were inhabited by fledglings.  Here is a picture of one parent leaving the nest to secure the next meal. The sports setting was also useful for photographing flowers moving in the wind.  The wood stork posed for a while, then started walking away. The camera caught the motion without any blur. Great setting to play with!

Sunsets

It has been a while since I have seen Southern sunsets, so the holiday escape to Florida was a real treat for such viewing and photographing.  I vacationed in Ft. Myers and visited the beach as often as possible to capture the sun during its final stages of the day.  Here are some of my favorites.

Abstract Cement Sculptures

The sun was perfect today in Ithaca to photograph the cement sculptures in the sculpture garden of Cornell Plantations.  With no leaves on the trees, there was little distraction from the magnificent cement objects.  I am continuing to work on a series of abstract montages, which are a distinct diversion from my focus on flowers over the years.

Here is one of the montages I produced today.  Would love to have any feedback.

Shagbark Hickory Tree

This was a submission to a blog on the Cornell Johnson Art Museum website.

Each day, this tree greets me as I view it while walking to pick up the paper or mail. It has grown in its present position for years on the golf course and I cannot remember a time when it was not there.

The tree changes its hue and expression depending on the time of day and season. Right now, the gold leaves are brilliant in the autumn sun and announce the beauty of the season.  In the early morning, the sun shines through the leaves from the East and in the afternoon, the glow of the setting sun illuminates both the leaves and the irregular bark.

Each season, the tree is interesting to view. In the winter, the rugged bark is poignant against the harshness of the climate.  The many grays of the shagbark denote the sculptural lines along the trunk and branches.

From winter to spring to summer and then to fall, this tree has been a visual reminder of both change and consistency.