THe Hummingbirds can’t get to the feeders because the bees are taking over! Only two pictured here, sometimes they are stacked several bees thick!! I have numerous hummingbird feeders hanging in my backyard, and the bees seem to gather on them at this time of year.
The bees are also on the sunflowers.
Pictures taken with my Nikon 1 V1, never seem to get it to focus on what I want it to!!
Georgetown is the capital of Grand Cayman, the largest of the Cayman Islands, and known for its spectacular diving and snorkeling. The area is also know for exceptional clarity and color of the sea due to the fact that there are no natural rivers or freshwater draining into the ocean around the sea. We made a stop there on the way to the Panama Canal before heading down the West coast of South America. We did two one tank dives, and enjoyed our time in the water. Attached are some photos from under and over the water! Not the best underwater pictures, but perhaps you can get an idea of some of the beautiful fish and coral that takes me underwater every chance I get.
Click on the Welcome photo to see the gallery.
In 2004 over 80% of the buildings were either damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Ivan- the worst to hit the island in 86 years. However, because tourism accounts for the majority of the island’s economy, most business were quick to repair and re-open. Georgetown is home to to the Cayman’s financial industry and the town boasts over 600 banks! Points of interest for visitors include the turtle farm, and Stingray City, but the relaxed atmosphere and beautiful waters give Grand Cayman special allure.
Some of these photos were on my blog 2 years ago, now back by popular demand!
CLICK on the Sandia Peak to see the Enchantment of New Mexico
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I like to find time in my day to stop and smell the roses in my own back yard, and of course I have to take pictures of them and the other flowers blooming at this time. Gladioli (Gladiolus sp.
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Venice is such an interesting city and there is a picture with a story around every corner, and over every canal:
The original site of the ancient Olympics is an area well worth visiting. According to the accepted date the first Olympic Games were hels in 776 BC and continued until AD393. An institution with incredible longevity spanning 1,169 years, and 293 Olympiads
The Greco-Roman city of Corinth has some of the original Greek structures still visible, as well as the Roman influence including a “paved” road. The poppies in Corinth are a special vibrant red.
Pisa– what a collection of Beautiful buildings including the “leaning” Tower, now stabilized.
Lucca interesting city with a Huge earthen Wall surrounding the City
Will we have to evacuate again?
The Las Conchas Fire was a wildfire in New Mexico, USA, in 2011. The fire started in Santa Fe National Forest and burned more than 150,000 acres… Whikipedia
https://www.nps.gov/band/learn/…/lasconchas.
Have any of you ever had to evacuate your home? It is a scary proposition, and not fully understood until one has to do it. Many thoughts come to you when you can’t return to your home;
-Did I get all my pictures, my Grandmother’s Quilt?, Did I get all my jewelry? Do I have enough clothes since I don’t know how long I will have to stay away from home? etc., etc.
Meanwhile we watch the TV news and check out the internet for the latest news on the internet.
It is great living in the mountains, but the threat of forest fires is something we have to live with just like others live with the threat of floods and /or tornadoes, or anything Mother Nature throws at us.
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Smoke over my house from the fire Sunday evening
Las Conchas Wildfire – June 27 11:30 am – New Acreage Figures
Posted on June 27, 2011 by lmlujan
June 27, 2011 at 11 a.m.
LAS CONCHAS WILDFIRE UPDATE
Fire Name: Las Conchas
Time/Date Started: 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 26, 2011
Location: Jemez Ranger District, Santa Fe National Forest; approximately 3 miles south of Los Alamos. The fire started on private land off of NM 4 at mile marker 35.
Legal Description: T18N, R4E, SEC 4
Cause: Unknown, under investigation
Fuels: Mixed Conifer, Ponderosa Pine
Size: 43,624 acres (a map of the fire is attached).
The increase in size is due to extreme fire behavior associated with prolonged drought, red flag conditions and better mapping. Last night’s infrared flight confirmed the acreage this morning. The data from the infrared flight detects heat on the ground and that is how we determine fire size. Although the fire has moved through the area, the severity of the fire area has not been determined. Some areas may have burned hotter than others. Fires often have areas that lightly burn as well as areas where the fire burns more severely. The fire also moved east toward old fire scars.
% Contained: 0
Resources Committed: Joe S. Reinarz’ Type 1 Incident Management Team has been ordered. Seven Hotshot crews (Type 1 crews), 12 Type 2 Crews, 7 engines, and 20 aircraft (12 air tankers and 8 helicopters). Numerous resources on-scene and more are en route. In fire management we all work together. We are working with local, state and federal agencies.
Weather: Today’s weather: mostly sunny in the morning then partly cloudy with a slight chance of dry thunderstorms in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation: 10 percent. Max temperatures: 80-84 degrees. Relative humidity: 10-15 percent. North winds 6 to 10 mph with gusts up to 16 mph diminishing through sunrise. Winds will shift to the southwest by late morning and increase to 12 to 18 mph with gusts up to 25 mph by late afternoon. Gusty and erratic winds expected near thunderstorms in the afternoon.
Structures/threats: Structures, powerlines, natural gas lines, Bandelier National Monument and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The fire has not entered lab property.
Evacuations: Cochiti Mesa, Las Conchas, Bandelier National Monument, and campgrounds near the fire were evacuated yesterday.
National Association of Phototshop Profressionals is a great organization for those of us who use Phototoshop, Lightroom and other of the Adobe software. NAPP provides help with all areas of the software, with Tutorials, videos and even a “New to Photoshop” section, just to name a few!
Check it out
kelbytv.com/thegrid/
The Grid with Scott Kelby & Matt Kloskowski is a live talk-show about photography, Photoshop & other industry-related topics.
Each week features a new guest on the show like Terry White, Moose Petterson, Dave Black, Scott Bourne etc.
The discussions get rather heated and Scott doesn’t mince words in telling it like it is, and when replying to the Twitter comments that stream in during the show.
One doesn’t need to agree with everything that is said to learn a lot about Cameras (Nikon vs Canon!!), Digital darkroom Software (Lightroom vs Aperature), What is “cheating” in regards to using Photoshop for the finished photograph etc. Great Conversations!
I enjoy the show, and watch the replays when I am unable to watch it live.
kelbytv.com/thegrid/
There is an article reviewing the Top HDR Software in the April issue of Outdoor Photographer.
But the latest HDR news!
HDR is the latest craze in Photography and now it will even be on the ipad!
The newest how-to app for the iPad is now available: Rick Sammon’s HDR Portfolio (soon to be renamed – Rick Sammpn’s iHDR). This app is packed with HDR photos (his latest), info and movies. A great way to learn and experience HDR. Same great content, but when the new version is release, it will feature a Favorites section, which is very cool.
When one takes photos to be used for HDR a tripod in a necessary item. What about a tripod on a moving ship? That is how I took this picture, on a sail-away from the Island of Moorea on a cruise in the South Pacific, but I thought it turned out to be an interesting picture! What do you think?
Click on the picture to enlarge.
Colorful Crocea Clams plus other beauties of Pacific Ocean
One of my favorite things to do is Scuba Dive. This trip I was unable to dive, so snorkeled instead. Here are some pictures from underwater Bora Bora in a beautiful area called The Coral Garden.
Its ancient name of Vava’u suggests that the original inhabitants of this seven-million-year-old island arrived from Tonga.
And interestingly, in the local Tahitian language there is no “B,” so its actual name is then Pora Pora, meaning “first born.”
Bora Bora’s fabled blue lagoon is, according to novelist James A. Michener, “so stunning, that there are really no adequate words to describe it.”
Volcanic in origin, Bora Bora’s rugged main island, and a few smaller islands, are completely surrounded by coral reefs.
Made famous by books, movies, and its stunning beauty, the island is now besieged by tourism and overcrowding. Regardless, if you must visit a South Pacific island (and you should), Bora Bora would be an excellent choice.
Here’s to you Evelyn!
I’ll miss you.
Doris
Great Free Learning sites
NIK software
Check their Calendar for Daily classes and occasional Educational Webinars
http://www.niksoftware.com
CreativeTechs now Creative Live Check their Calendar for upcoming classes
http://creativelive.com/courses/psd2html/
Hello World; Welcome to Doris Ford Photography;
Ford’s Fotos Blog and Photo Gallery; https://fordsfotos.net and Gallery on FordsFotos.com in Adobe Profile, I also have a Smugmug site; http://FordsFotos.smugmug.com, and can be found on Viewbug, 500px, Twitter,and Instagram. Travel photography is my focus and I plan to show you award winning photos from all 7 Continents. Sometimes the photos will just be in a travel log vein, or reflect a current project on which I am interested. I want to tell you a story in pictures! All photos are for sale so Please view them and I hope you enjoy the photos and the text to further explain the pictures.
Uluru Australia