Spring in west central Florida

Yes, the blog has been quiet for March. I love this time of year, our weather warmed and so has the pool with the help of the solar heater. Our family from the northern states, tired of the never ending winter of this year, have visited over the past several weeks. We love having houseguests, and love entertaining, but the photography turns from artistic pursuits to shots of all of us in the pool, visiting local attractions, and just enjoying ourselves. In other words, family snapshots that make memories but not art. And those memories are so important.

The blog will be back next week. In the meantime, here is a memory from this past Christmas. The two stray kittens we adopted loved the Christmas tree...a little too much.

Who, us?

Photo Story: Ribbon Snake

This lovely little snake seemed as curious about me as I about him. He leisurely checked me out, then slowly continued on his way, most likely scouting around for his next meal.

I shot this with a telephoto lens, which is why the depth of field is so shallow. While not a venomous snake, I saw no need to disturb him by getting closer.

The Prairie at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park

The scene from the observation tower at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park early one recent morning. The morning light lit it perfectly, and the horses, absent during a hike the day before, grazed in the foreground.

Three robins feeding in the sunlight. The American Robins are on their way north now, the large flocks of a month or two ago aren't seen here now, but there are still smaller flocks enjoying the last of Florida before heading north.

Photo Gallery: The Barrel

Karl works in black and white quite a bit. I often see him studying a subject, not only working the light and the angles but determining if certain angles and shadows work better in black and white than color. This old barrel, left to fall apart, is the result of one of those shoots.