Day Six - USS Alabama & Desoto Falls

Pete and I wound up our trip with a visit to the USS Alabama on display in Mobile. This was a fantastic experience for me. Lot's of history and very interesting. This ship served in World War II and Vietnam. Many battles and absolutely no damage inflicted by any enemy. It's was hard to image these big guns firing in anger.
We then started our journey home with a planned stop at Desota Falls, near Fort Payne. There was a lots of water and breathtaking vistas. This was truly a unexpected treat and a must see if you like shooting waterfalls.
This ends our trip and we hope to be home tonight. Thanks for following us. If you have any questions or comments about our trip or places we visited, just email me here at info@crutchphotography.com

Crutch

Day Five - We found some shrimp boats !

Last night at dinner a local suggested we go to Bayou La Batre, Alabama in search of shrimp boats. They said the bayou was one that survived Katrina pretty much untouched. It is the oldest shrimping town in Alabama. Lot's of boats and very friendly fisherman. They were ok with Pete and I taking photos. One guy said he and his wife stayed aboard their boat for several days during the hurricane. The storm surge was over 12 feet, but they came through with very little damage and went fishing the next week. They stay out for 30 days and burn over 8,000 gallons of fuel during a normal trip. No wonder we pay so much for shrimp :) Taking a tour of the USS Alabama battleship tomorrow! Happy Shooting !

Thanks for following us, the trip is almost over :( Crutch

Billy's Seafood

Well, we made it to Alabama. We shot three forts yesterday and some other stuff. This was a treat, Billy's Seafood, where all the locals and some tourists shop for fresh seafood. This guy is "Bubba" and he let us shoot some shrimp boats and other stuff at his fresh seafood store. This stuff was coming in the back door, off the boats and he was selling it out the front door as fast as he could. His motto is...If It Swims, We have It...We enjoyed our visit, but decided not to purchase any seafood. We are still looking for brown pelicans and more shrimp boats. Better luck tomorrow :)...Happy Shooting! Thanks for following us.

Crutch

Sunset at Pensacola Beach, Florida

Well, we have made it to Pensacola Beach, just in time for sunset. We have shot two lighthouses and some street scenes in the town of Appalachicola, Florida. It's been busy, but a lot of fun and great weather today (78). We also shot some shrimp boats in dock and some beach scenes. It's time for some great seafood and good nights sleep. Headed out early for Fort Pickens and the morning sun, then onward to Mobile Bay, Alabama. Happy Shooting ! Crutch

St. George Island, Florida

We have shot pics most of the day. This is our second lighthouse of the day. St. George Island lighthouse. The brick building is the old keepers house, which is being remolded and will be the new museum. The weather is perfect today (74). We plan to do some sunsets tonight. Tomorrow we will continue to move west along the gulf coast. Hopefully, we will shoot two more lights and stop around Panama City. Thanks for following and Happy Shooting!

Crutch

Okefenokee Swamp NWR

Pete and I arrived here this afternoon. We spent about 4 hours in the swamp. We shot plenty of alligators and birds. This big guy tried to ignore us, but we were persistant. We are headed to Appalachee Bay on the gulf coast of Florida. We will get a good nights rest and start again tomorrow at the St. Marks Lighthouse, in St. Marks, Fl. Happy Shooting ! Crutch

Return to Florida

My good friend, Pete and I will be leaving Monday, to make an early trip to Florida. It's a little early for the nesting season at our favorite locations, so we will be checking out some new spots on this trip. We will stop by the Okefenokee NWR in south Georgia on the way down to see what we can find in this massive swamp. We intend to run the panhandle around to Mobile Bay, Alabama in search of sunrises and sunsets, shrimp boats, lighthouses, wading birds and anything else we can find. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know at this email. As usual, Pete and I will move very fast and will be very flexible. Pete is anxious to try out his new Nikon D90 and I have a new 70-200-F2.8 IS that I intend to wear out..hehehe. Happy Shooting! Crutch

Macro for a Change

Many current and recent digital camera lenses, both SLR zooms and fixed lens cameras, have what they refer to as a “macro” capability. You can shoot very close-up so your (small) subject fills the frame. Many photographers are happy with this and shoot close-ups of flowers and bees and insects and all sorts of interesting things. If you want “true macro” which enables you to shoot 1:1 or larger, then you need a macro lens. This is typically a fixed focus lens with a focal length of 50mm, 80mm or up to perhaps 110mm. Usually the 50mm macro is cheaper than the longer ones and the quality just as good, with the additional benefit of wider depth of field and often a wider maximum aperture than the longer macro lenses. The advantages of the longer macro lenses, (say 100mm, for example) is that you can be further away from your subject and still fill the frame (kinder on the knees and the back).

With point-and-shoot type cameras with fixed lenses, you can often get a close-up lens that screws into the front of the lens on the camera and enables you to get closer to your subject and get a larger photo of small or tiny subjects.

Macro is another style that keeps this hobby of ours so interesting and challenging. Give it a try, you just might like it. Happy Shooting !

Crutch