Eagles Nesting

There is a pair of Eagles nesting in a tree just a few blocks from my house.  Unfortunately, I don’t have my long lens with me, but I did manage to get a few shots using a fast shutter speed and cropping the images.  First, here is the uncropped image at 200mm , F9 at 1/1000 sec.

 

Here it’s cropped:

 

Finally, a cropped shot of the Eagle in flight:

Again at F9 and 1/1000sec.

 

I’m using my older Nikon D70 with a 24-200 lens.  Next time I’ll bring my D80 and 300mm lens. 

NOTE:  The images actually look sharper in Photoshop, than they do here on the blog, I hesitate to sharpen them anymore.

Sunshine Skyway Sunrise/Sunset

I’m testing Windows Live Writer, so I thought I’d post a photo from last November.  This was pre-dawn at the time of year when the sun rises right between the spans of the bridge.

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This was taken at Fort DeSoto Park.  A great place to see a sunrise in the east…

 

and a sunset in the west! (From earlier this week)  I was on top of the Fort…yes there really is a Military Fort at Fort DeSoto Park!!

What a Difference a Day Makes

After a day of Wind and a day of Fog, today it was just slightly overcast and quite nice!  People flocked back to the beach and the patio at Pass-A-Grille on St. Pete  Beach.

Saturday is Art Day….of course I see these artisans here just about everyday so who can tell?

And remember the fog from yesterday and my comment about the Big Pink Hotel?  Well, here it is!

This is the famous Don Cesar Hotel.  I’m standing just a few steps forward, from where I was for yesterday’s photo.

From Windy to Foggy

Today the wind calmed down, but the fog rolled in!  I knew it would be late in the day before the cold front moved through, but I’ve never seen fog at the beach during the day.  (I know it’s existed, but I’ve never seen it.)

There should be a BIG Pink hotel in the distance, but you can’t see a thing!

This almost looks like smoke in the street, but it isn’t, it’s fog!

Windy Beach Day

It was very windy at the Fort DeSoto Beaches this day.   I took the camera and walked around a bit, but didn’t see a soul;  as this pile of unused beach rental equipment and the empty shoreline shows.

As I was leaving it occured to me that on Windy Days, all the action is on the other side of the Park!  Here the Kite Surfers are out in force!

I spent quite awhile watching the surfers and more and more kept arriving.  Fort DeSoto is such a wonderful place with lots to do and something for everyone, no matter what the weather.

Bad Day

Two days ago, this Osprey had a gigantic nest built on the top of this power pole at Fort DeSoto Park near St. Petersburg, FL.  Today I drove by and saw this sad scene.

Apparently the Park Rangers didn’t think his nest was a tourist attraction.  Perhaps they thought it would be dangerous for the Osprey or Park Visitors gawking from the road below.  Either way, he’s trying to figure out what to do now!

Building 82’s last bow

Back in the day it was a hub of business and social interaction in the Kanawha Valley.  But on March 28, 2009 the eleven story brick building took it’s final bow.   The former regional headquarters for Union Carbide fell to the ground with two loud blasts in about 12 seconds. 

Buidling 82 takes a final bow

Night Photo Shoot

Last week our photography group did a night time photo shoot at the South Charleston Fire Department. We used external hand held flash units to “paint” the building and firetruck with light. We set our cameras on a 20 second exposure at F8.

Several members took positions around the truck and building and when the word was given, they began to fire the flashes until the 20 seconds was up.

A fireman was inside the truck and turned on the lights for a few seconds at the beginning of the exposure.

Here are a few of my images and a shot of the group.

Art from Photos

As I mentioned in my first post, my Mom paints my photographs. Here are a few of her newest works.

Blackwater River at Blackwater Falls State Park

Sail Boat at Pass-A-Grille Beach; St. Pete Beach, FL

Walkersville Covered Bridge, Lewis County, WV

Not a Food Blog

I am not going to start a Food Blog, there are too many excellent food blogs published. Dave and I do like to cook though, so I thought why not start taking photos of our creations.

Last summer we tried Alton Brown’s fried chicken recipe. As with all of Alton’s dishes, it’s quite a process. We went out and bought all the required ingredients, cookware and utensils; like oil thermometer, holding racks, cast iron skillet, buttermilk and the herbs and spices for Alton’s special seasoning shake (including a shaker to store it in!) We laid things out all over the kitchen counters but before we began the process… We went to the video tape. Yes, we taped the episode and studied it!! Losers, yes, but it was fun.

We managed all the dips and drops in and out of the buttermilk and seasonings. When the oil was at the required temperature we laid the chicken in just as instructed on the video.

Dave insisted the chicken stay in the hot oil for every second that Alton recommended and when we turned it, here was the result!

 

I took over at that point and took the chicken out after only a few more minutes on the other side. The final presentation wasn’t too bad and the chicken was delicious!!