Florida Birding 2013

Our winter trip to Florida and other points of interest produced some interesting stops. Since I returned, I have been busy at work and home. I have completed the first video of some footage I shot of nesting birds. The weather was not so good, but I did like the overcast skies. It always provides some great light for photography and videography. I just posted a short (3:13) video and you can catch it here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdyXrMHchTc
 Be sure to change the
viewing setting to HD 1080 for best results. Happy Shooting ! Comments welcome ! :)

Crutch

Packing up for next big trip

It's that time again. Pete and I are experiencing a bad case of cabin fever. It's time to head to Florida for the nest building season. We are planning to hit our favorite places again. It has been awhile since we made this trip and boy are we ready. This imageof a Rosettia Spoonbill  was made in 2008, in Kissimmee, Florida. We will be leaving on Wednesday and returning next Monday. We will also take time to stop by St. Augustine, for some night photos. We have wanted to shoot the Jacksonville, Florida city scape for some time, so we will stop there, for some night photos before moving up the coast, to Savannah and Charleston. We both have some new things we want to try at all these places. I will post something at every opportuinty, with some comments. Thanks for looking. Happy Shooting!

Crutch

The Story Behing the Photo !

When we arrived at Mount Rainier the weather was sunny, but the fog and mist were moving in fast. We kept getting peeks of the mountain, but no clear shots for picture taking. When we got to Reflextion Lake the mist and fog had completely covered the entire mountain and it was getting darker by the minute. Pete and I had plans to move on to Seattle that evening, but we decided to wait it out and return the next morning. There was a small town close by and we managed to get a room about 25 miles from the lake. So we returned the next morning to find more fog and mist, but it seemed to be moving out. So we waited and waited....and waited. Finally the fog lifted and this is the view we had. 14, 426 Ft. Simply amazing ! I could NOT do justice to this scene :(   I adjusted my point of view a little and clicked the shutter at 10:46 am on July 29, 2012. ISO 100... 1/250...F9.9 Happy Shooting !

Crutch

Cataloochee Valley

 

 

Pete and I made a short trip over to the Cataloochee Valley in North Carolina the other day. The weather was perfect and we had a great time. We took the back road through Cosby, Tn and Mt Sterling, N. C. It had been awhile since I made this trip. It makes for a great day and I encourage everyone to go there when they get the chance. Around 4:00 every afternoon the locals come out and picnic, while waiting on the elk herd to move into the valley from the hills. I think there is now over a hundred elk, since they were re-introduced to the area some years ago. There are several old buildings to discover and inspect, inside and out. Check the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3iay57PFTM&list=FLHKoRv7IewBkCInhb1hdeSA Thanks for visiting my sight. All comments are welcome. Happy shooting! 

Crutch

Foothills Parkway & Greenbrier

I have been super busy for the last few months. I will try to post a little more often here. I recently tried my hand at time-lapse photography. I still have a lot to learn, but it's a lot of fun.







Check out my results here:
http://www.youtube.com/watchv=jdDPOkzcgUI&list=UUyBqOew6lM2AmJze0J0pHpw&index=1&feature=plcp

Thanks....Crutch

The Story Behind the Photo !

I have been very busy since the holidays with little chance to take photos. I would like to share with you one of my "Bucket List" photos, taken in 2009. I have many more to do, so I hope to get back on the road soon. This photo was taken on June 8, 2009 at the space center in Florida. Through a good friend I was able to obtain a VIP :) pass to the Banana Creek viewing area. This is about 3.25 miles from the launch pad, but still closer than mission control. The launch of Atlantis, STS 137  was truly spectacular and amazing. I still have a lot more to do, but I crossed this off my bucket list, on June, 8, 2009 at exactly 7:39:37 PM using a 400mm lens with a 1.4 teleconverter, set at 1/2000 of a second, at F7.1, set manually with an ISO, at 400. Happy Shooting!  Crutch

Route 66 Abandoned & Forgotten

This is the final segment of our trip down Route 66. The Mother Road was a great experince and we enjoyed every minute. We saw some great icons along the roadside and made some great side trips. The most striking for me was the many buildings and structures that people just walked away from. When I-40 was completed the traffic stopped along Route 66, in favor of the faster and safer superhighway. Its almost haunting and sad at the same time. Here is a short video, of the buildings that time forgot. Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJaH5iQ0tqI As always, Happy Shooting!  Crutch