Wednesday, May 26, 2010


Yesterday I felt the need to get out and take a drive. I decided to go to Fred Howard Park in Tarpon Springs. When I got there there around 630 the light was absolutely beautiful falling on the beach, the trees, everything. Then after a few minutes a giant bank of clouds came and ruined everything. The above photo is the only one I took that I liked before this happened. It is a wonderful park though. One area on the 'mainland' features a small beach area and amazingly beautiful old trees dripping with moss. Then there is a road that takes you out to a mini island with more white sandy beaches and water that yesterday was amazingly warm

The other two photos here were taking this morning in my community with my macro lens and to me simply evoke a nice sense of calm peacefulness which I am all about.

So I have decided that the content of my blog is going to be alot different then it has been. Up till now it has been pretty much my latest photos and a little bit about the subjects-some nice photos but oh so dull. I now want to make things more personal, hopefully there will be something interesting for everyone, friends, fellow photographers and clients. I find I am always sharing links and info individually with friends and this will reach a lot more people all at once. I also intend to share unique places to go that I discover as I am a big supporter of non-cookie cutter restaurants and products. I am forever on the lookout for unique and genuine people places and things.
To any fellow photogs who use Epson paper I received an email from them today that you can receive 50% their paper for the next week!!! Just go to Epson.com and search for paper.
The code to enter at the end is 'papersave'. Their shipping is really reasonable too-they tend to run this deal 2-3 times a year if you sign up to their email list you wont miss out.
I will leave you today with a quote from one of my favorite authors-Paulo Coelho,
"If you have a past with which you feel dissatisfied, then forget it, now. Imagine a new story for your life and believe in it. Focus only on the moments when you achieved what you desired, and that strength will help you to get what you want."
from 'The Fifth Mountain'

Stephanie

Sunday, May 23, 2010

A New Friend for Marvin


So, many of you who know me, know that there is a wacky duck I call Marvin who lives at the lake in my community. I named him after Marvin the Martion because of the 'brush' on his head. I have been told Marvin (known by many other names others have given him as well) has been living here over 5 years! Until recently all the other ducks at the lake have been just regular everyday mallards. We all see Marvin as their king and leader lol. Then about a month ago I noticed another oddball duck hanging out this one grey and white.

At first I thought maybe he/she-actually I have decided to call it a she until I see evidence to the contrary was only stopping by. Sometimes we have a pink spoonbill or other kind of duck drop by one day never to be seen again but she-I haven't come up with a name for her yet-has apparently decided to make a home here.
I also did not notice Marvin paying any more attention to her than any of the other ducks but this past week things have changed.

This week I noticed that every time I took my walk these two were together, whether it be sleeping next to one another on the side of the lake or swimming along together. I realise the above photo is pretty bad I just couldnt seem to snag the shot of them together I wanted this morning. I am very happy the two oddballs have come together. It is funny how things in the duck world mimmick what happens in the human world. This is not to say they do not associate with the mallards they do although sometimes Marvin is mean and chases them around.


Ha this one is cute! What should I name her? The first thing that popped into my head was Jane Grey because she is grey and Marvin can be kind of evil at times like Henry VIII!
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Thought I would go ahead and include to other shots I took while walking around this morning. Most of my life I lived in Maryland and you did not see lizards around very often. Here in Tampa they are everywhere especially in the summer. Every time I go out I see see them in various sizes and shades of brown or grey perched everywhere or running around. Yesterday I made the mistake of going out with out my camera and cannot share a photo of two of them hugging. Yes hugging. No not mating they were sitting together-each a different color and one had its arm around the other and they were perfectly still. I watched them for several seconds-never seen anything like that before!

This is just a close up of a cool plant I spotted whose seeds where shimmering and swinging back and for in the breeze.
Stephanie

Thursday, May 13, 2010

A Walk in L.A.




Hello!
Last weekend I traveled to Los Angeles to be a bridesmaid in my oldest friend, Aleetas wedding. I love California! As much as I enjoy living in Florida I do wish the land was not so flat here! And then of course there is the humidity. California has beautiful mountains and hills everywhere and just so much to see! The energy there is just different and there seem to be flowers everywhere.
On this visit I stayed in a hotel in Downtown just next to the Times building and LAPD. While I was pretty busy most of the time with wedding activities I did have a few hours to myself one morning to take a long walk around the area where I was staying.

I really like this shot of the times building. I used the new HDR toning feature in Photoshop CS5 for some of these shots and using this on one exposure looks better than my some of my attempts at real HDR!


I walked to Grand Avenue with features the Disney Concert Hall and Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. It is so fun exploring here you never know what you will find around the next corner.



This is another favorite of mine of a tree in front of the Disney Concert Hall I am not sure why it struck me from across the street but it did. Perhaps it is the contrast between the green tree and the silver metal, and the way the light was reflected.

Here is a photo of the entire concert hall this is not an easy thing to photograph!
The sun was strong making the silver all kinds of bright!



One of my favorite things to find in cities are wall murals and paintings like this I especially like to use them as backdrops for portraits. I was all on my own this time though. I could probably spend a few years exploring various sections of the city before moving on to San Diego, San Francisco etc.... looking forward to my next trip!
Stephanie