End Of Days

I'm pretty sure my cat is dying. She had a cold back before Christmas. She'd sneeze every once in a while, and slowed down on her eating a lot. A few days into her being sick, I got sick, too, so we were sick together. I got better, but she didn't. She finally stopped sneezing, and I waited for her appetite to pick back up. It never did. She quit eating her dry food completely, but she would still take a soft treat. So I got her some wet food, which she ate for a while, but then ate less and less until all she would do was lick off the gravy. Then she quit doing even that. She's drinking, but not very much. I finally took her to the vet earlier this week, and he thinks it could be a number of things, liver, kidneys, thyroid, cancer, etc. But the tests didn't come back and show anything definitive. She's lost almost half her body weight so far, and tonight I realized that she's gone deaf. She used to meet me at the door when I got home in the evenings, but lately she's not noticed I was home until she could see me. I finally realized that tonight when I actually had to touch her before she realized I was home. I tried to get a response out of her with a loud clap or a yell, but she didn't notice. I suspect all of these things add up to something terribly wrong. I've had her for about ten years now, and she was a stray before I got her, so I don't know how old she is. It could just be her time to go. I've recently seen her sitting there, looking at an empty wall, paying no attention to anything, looking completely in the wrong direction. That's out of character for someone who makes sure to lay down in the spot most likely to be underfoot. I'm not going to spend a fortune at the vet to extend her life for another short period of time. We'll see what he says tomorrow, and then it may be time to let her live out her last few days in peace.  She's still got a lot of spunk in her for someone who hasn't eaten much in a while, though.  I learned that when I tried to get a syringe of vitamins down her throat.  So she may stick around for a while yet. I'll let you know what happens.

London Fashion Week SS 2011....Rowie

Ms Rowan Lewis.

Who has waited so patiently for these photos.

Who now has a kick-ar*e internship with Matthew Williamson.

Who just looks beautiful in everything she wears.

Who has a crazy good smile and laugh.

Thank you Rowie for letting me take these photos of you :)

Milan Fashion Week SS 2011.....Alejandra

Alejandra Alonso after Just Cavalli....soooooooooooo hooootttt!

Milan Fashion Week SS 2011...Ada

Ada Kokosar, stylist.

Milan Fashion Week SS 2011...Zanna

Zanna Roberts Rassi, senior fashion editor, Marie Claire (US)

Milan Fashion Week SS 2011...Aurora and Viviana

London Fashion Week SS 2011

Milan Fashion Week SS 2011....After Missoni

Still beautiful. Still elegant. Still stylish. Still great legs.
She was French...but of course!

New York Fashion Week SS 2011

Like her Outfit. Love her hair :)

London Fashion Week SS 2011....Geneva

Gorgeous Aussie, Geneva, the girl behind A Pair& A Spare DIY fashion directory. You want to know how to DIY something fashion related? Geneva shows you how. Check it out here*.

Geneva was living in London but has just moved to a much, much warmer part of the world :)

*I still think Geneva would struggle trying to teach me to DIY. Give me a pair of scissors and wonky hems ensue ;)

Circle B Bar Eagles

Before I quit posting for the night and hit the hay, here are a couple of bald eagles at the Circle B Bar Preserve in Lakeland. They have at least two eagles nests there, and somehow I got shots of eagles flying out of both nests in the same day. Trust me, I didn't flush 'em, I was way too far away. They just happened to take off while I had the camera on them. You can't actually see the nest of the one above, I cropped it out of the picture so you could see the eagle a little better. I was much farther away from that one when I took the picture. The one below I at first mistook for an osprey, but that impression didn't take long to correct once I trained my lens on him. Then all of a sudden he took to the sky and left no doubt that he was something a lot bigger and badder than any old osprey.

Fine Feathered Friend

I saw something flying by during my recent trip to Circle B Bar Preserve in Lakeland. It was too fast and too far away for me to tell what it was, but I was able to train the camera on it and hold down the button. It wasn't until I got the photos home and out of the camera, then do some enhancement that I realized it was an owl! Click on the shot above to see a larger version and you'll see an eye that leaves no doubt in my mind. I can't tell you what kind of owl for sure, but it's an owl. He's also got a twig or a piece of string stuck in his tail. Perhaps that's why he was flying around during the day, trying to shake it off because it was keeping him awake worrying about it. Or maybe not...

Not A Bird

Perhaps you're tired of the bird pictures tonight. If so, then here's a fellow that's most certainly not a bird. I spotted this 6-7' alligator out at Myakka River State Park this afternoon. He was one of three biggies sunning himself along the Powerline Trail. He was also the only one who was out in the open, so his are the only pictures I'm sharing with you. The others were bigger, but if I can't get a clear shot of them, what's the point?  The water level out there is really low, since it's the middle of the dry season around here.  Each of the three gators had staked out a deep hole that was no doubt his and only his.  I guess they just hope it lasts until the rains come.  I think I've read that they'll get down in the hole and wallow around to make it deeper and hold more water, but I don't know if that's true.  Sounds good, though.

Pair Of Kings

I sure do take a lot of bird pictures, don't I? Not sure why that is. (I blame Meredith, but you don't know who that is...) Anyhow, what you've got here are a couple of kingfishers. They're tiny and skittish, which makes them really hard to photograph, but I've gotten both these pictures in the past two weeks, so I figured they were worth sharing. The one above is from Robinson Preserve last weekend. There were several of them out there, but this is the one that let me get the closest. The one below I show today out at Myakka River State Park, and he was the second one I saw during the day. He seems to have a little more color to him. I need to do some research to see if maybe that's breeding plumage, or if the different coloration is a boy/girl thing. Or I could just not worry about it.

Pink-tacular

One of my favorite birds hereabouts is the roseate spoonbill. But they're pretty few and far between, so it's rare I get to shoot them. I was up at Cockroach Bay a couple of weeks ago, or at least the road that dead ends into Cockroach Bay, and I stopped to shoot some birds near a fence. They turned out to not be very interesting, but way out in the flooded fields were a few spoonbills, just chilling out. As I watched them, they decided to fly from one spot to another, one at a time. I shot and shot and shot, and I got this when the very last one finally joined the rest of the flock. They were pretty far away, so it's not the best shot, but I thought it was nice to get one of them with wings outstretched like this. Now if I could just get a similar picture where he's close enough to fill the frame...

A Better Bird

A year ago, I showed you a picture of one of these tiny yellow birds, but I didn't know what it was called. Thanks to a commenter, I can tell you it's a, oh, wait, he didn't identify this one, he identified one that I referenced in that old post. So I still don't know what this is. Anyhow, there were a bunch of these in the rushes at the Celery Fields today, so I was able to get a decent shot when one decided to hold still for a few seconds in some decent light. He only stayed put for about 5 seconds, but I was able to get a decent shot to share with you. Hopefully someone will leave a comment and tell us who this little guy is.

On The Wing

Here's a slightly better photo of some glossy ibis in the air than the one I showed you a couple of weeks ago. Granted, it's fewer birds, but it's in focus, and that's important. I think I need to practice my manual focus, but that comes right after I practice my manual exposure and my tracking ability. There's a lot required to take a picture, trust me. I shot this foursome out at the Celery Fields, some reclaimed farm land here in Sarasota that's renowned locally as a great bird habitat. I didn't think it was all that impressive compared to some of the places I've seen, but I guess because it's here in town, it's got a certain charm. More to come, if I don't get all lazy on you.

The Next Full Moon

Last time we had a full moon, there was an eclipse, and I was all excited about shooting it. Then I got sick and missed it. Sad, that. But here's the full moon this evening, just after moonrise, when it's still orange from the sunset. I need to check and see when the next eclipse is...

Everywhere

I see hawks all the time, every where I go. Do why do I still stop to take their picture? I don't know...

Black Hole

I'd hoped to find something interesting inside this rather craggy hole in a tree at Mom and Dad's house, but it was empty. Oh, well, a boy can dream, can't he?

Go Away!

This osprey was a little bit upset that I interrupted his seafood dinner. Sorry, sir.

Little Blue

After I was through shooting the funeral procession, I wandered back towards my car, taking the long way around, which involved going under the 41/301 bridge. On the far side, there's a little park that celebrates the restoration of a small area of estuary, and it was there that I found this little blue heron. Little blue's are usually pretty skittish, but this guy let me get some nice closeups before he flew off. I know he's not really blue, but he's not exactly black, either. I think the people who got to name some of these birds often went in rather fanciful directions.

Fare Thee Well

I often find myself stumbling onto photo opportunities by accident. As I drove through downtown Bradenton this afternoon, I noticed that there were cops blocking some of the side streets. When I came back around, I realized they'd blocked off the whole bridge, so I knew something was up. I parked the car, grabbed the camera, and started heading in the direction of the action. I asked a Channel 8 photographer what was going on, and it turned out to be the funeral procession of the Bradenton Fire Chief who recently passed away from a heart attack. I believe that half the police in the city, and more than half of the fire trucks were part of the procession, convoying across the Manatee River bridge from Bradenton to Palmetto, heading for the Manatee Civic Center.

The remains of Mark Souders were transported in this 1926 fire truck. You can see a better view of the truck below.

The route was lined with a few well-wishers, many of which had brought their own flags.

And here's a nicer view of that old fire truck after it delivered it's precious cargo. Always keep your camera with you, and if you see something that looks interesting, stop and take some pictures! That's your lesson for the day.

Ye Olde Publix

I have been remiss in not stopping and taking this picture before, but I have to take it in the morning for the light to be on the building, and that means I have to get up early in the morning, and I rarely do that if I don't have to work. But Saturday I got up and got out, so here you go. It may not look like much more than another Publix Supermarket in a strip mall, but this store is special. This is the oldest Publix that's still in existence. First opened in 1955, this is the only store left from those days. Those of you who aren't from Florida (or a little bit of Georgia now) may not be familiar with Publix, but it's king of all the grocery stores down here. So I figure it's just a little bit special that we happen to have the oldest one right here in Sarasota. The very first Publix was in Winter Haven, I believe, and they are headquartered in Lakeland, but any of the early ones there are long gone. I just wish this one looked like some of the Publix's I remember seeing when I was little. Or like this rebuilt one in Orlando.

Comparison Shopping

On Christmas Day, there was a discussion regarding what the difference was between yams and sweet potatoes. As the signs above indicate, the answer is about $0.70 per pound. Case closed.

The Green Flash

I want you to look really close at the picture above. I snapped this last year on Memorial Day, then forgot to post it. It's the sun setting, just moments before it sinks below the horizon. It's that little spot just to the left of center. It should be orange, but if you look closely, it's not. Here, let me blow it up for you.

Here's a way-zoomed in view of the picture above, way bigger than I should blow it up, but I want you to see what's there. The sunset has actually turned green. It's called a green flash, and it's a rare by-product of some interesting atmospheric phenomena. Some people claim to see it all the time, some folks claim it doesn't exist, but here's the photographic proof that I shot with my own camera.  Note how the image of the sun seems to hover above the waters' surface, not actually touching it.  That has something to do with a temperature inversion near the surface of the water.  It's causing an optical illusion, channeling the light in odd ways, and scattering all the yellow, orange and red light, leaving only the green.

This is a detail from the next frame I shot, showing it's still green, only there's less of it.

The frame after that, still green, but nearly gone. There was nothing at all in the following frame.  These photos all show a timestamp within one second of each other, and my camera can take about 8 frames per second, so I suspect this series of pictures runs less than a second.  I don't recall if I had it on high-speed capture or regular.  I usually leave it on regular because it gets touchy on high-speed and I end up with a dozen picture of the same thing.

And this is the frame that precedes all of them, before the sun reached that critical spot where all but the green colored light is scattered into the atmosphere and lost. If I were just throwing a green filter on it, then this shot would be green, too.  For the technical minded, I shot these handheld with a 7D and a 400mm lens (626mm it says, with the EF-S sensor).  Whenever I've been at the beach hoping to catch a green flash with tripod and all, it never happens...