05 15 2010 Sea Ray Parking Only

This is a gag sign at the boat docks where my boat is kept. It happens that the only boats on the row are Sea Ray brand, and my Brother-in-law commented on how he could not believe the marina was being so mean by placing such a sign! I thought it was hilarious, especially when I told him I hung it as a joke!

On the photography side, I used a wide open aperture and a very fast shutter speed to blur out the background. The shutter speed had to be real fast because it was so bright outside that the large aperture could have blown out the photo with too much light.

05 14 2010 - Retro Cat

Here is Callie. I played with the filtering of the picture to make it look darker and more retro. It changed the feel of the photo.

05 13 2010 - Last Pics from the Gulf

Here are a couple of photos from my last day on the beach. The beach was clean and pretty, with the exception of these blue jellyfish washing up.

05 12 2010 - Cross on the Beach

This cross looked like it was fixed from driftwood on Orange Beach. See it yourself at the State Park in Orange Beach, AL.

05 11 2010 - Getting Dark on the Gulf

I went to the beach after the sun when down and took these photos. I set up on a tripod so I could keep the camera still.

05 10 2010 - Back to the Gulf

The beaches in Gulf Shores were still pretty this past week. 




Brewing Storm

4

05 09 2010 Mother's Day

Thank you to my Mother for being the best. She is a Super Mom!

05 08 2010 The Ceiling Fan

I know, this is a stretch. I was tired though and had forgotten to snap a photo for the day so I took this picture of my ceiling fan and then mixed it up with Photoshop. A little odd, but fun.

05 07 2010 - Tired

When I came home after being gone a week, I could not tell if SidaLeigh was happy to see me or mad at me for being gone. Either way she was exhausted. She buried her head in this blanket and started snoring.

05 06 2010 - More from The Gulf

Here are a couple more pictures from the pretty Gulf Shores of Alabama.



Come Sail Away

Pelicans In Flight

05 05 2010 - Gulf Shores

I was so happy that I got to spend two weeks working in Gulf Shores and that the beaches were perfect the whole time I was there. I tried to take a lot of pictures, in case the sugar white beaches get messed up by the Deep Horizon oil spill of 2010. The oil rig blowing up was such a tragedy and my thoughts and prayers are with the families of the employees that lost their lives.

Nature is so beautiful and even if or when the beaches are impacted by the oil spill, my hope is that everything will rebound and recover.






Follow Me



The Crane



Uh, A little Help?

05 04 2010 Nature Walk (2)

A few more pictures from my walk. I think the turtle must have been fed by humans in the past because he was totally begging for food with his eyes. I do not know what kind of turtle or tortoise or whatever it was, but I thought it was neat. I found the sign to be very ironic. The second snake I encountered was tiny and translucent. I don't even want to know where it came from or how new it was, or where more where.




Happy Turtle (or Tortoise? I should look that up)



Umm, What Happened to the Sign?




Tiny Snake

05 04 2010 Nature Walk (1)

Alabama has some of the best state parks around. One of my favorites in particular is the Gulf Shores State Park in Gulf Shores, AL. It has great cabins, nature trails, golf, fishing, and more. These photos are from a photo walk down the nature trail. I suggest the trail, but I also suggest that you watch where you step. I almost stepped on two snakes. I almost stepped on snake trying to see an alligator in the pond on the trail. Enjoy the trail, but keep your eyes peeled.





Dragon Fly (or Sit)




Serenity



The Snake (poisonous and dangerous)

05 03 2010 Watching the Waves

A seagull watching over the waters of Gulf Shores.

05 02 2010 - Eclectic Pottery

I bought this bowl from Eclectic Pottery in Eclectic, AL near Lake Martin. If you are ever in the area, you should drop by because they have beautiful work.

05 01 2010 Brilliant Sunset

Another pretty end to a pretty day.

04 30 2010 - Retro Sailboat Photo

I tweaked and tried to make this photo look old. It reminds me of one of those photographs that hangs up for a long time and it fades to one color. I love the nostalgic feel of those kind of photos and since I did not have one, I tried to make one.

04 29 2010 - 1 Photo 2 Ways

When I take photos using the RAW format, I love being able to tweak and change the pictures to what I want.  This is an example of one image that has strong clarity and the other has very low.  There is a dramatic difference between the two using just one adjustment. 

04 28 2010 - Stand Strong

I named this piece "Stand Strong" because as we all know dandelions are very delicate when they open and fluff out, but they hold on as long as they can to each delicate piece.

04 27 2010 - I Heart You

Just a little love coming from some flowers that had bloomed and were on their last leg. There were piles of azalea blooms under their bushes after a storm, so I scooped them up and started playing with them.

04 26 2010 The Brick Wall

This is a quote from Randy Pauch, the professor who is known for "The Last Lecture". He shared a lot of wisdom during his too short life. This is one of my favorite quotes.