All we are is dust in the wind – Count your blessings – Go take more photos
Do You See What I See… © PC PHOTO 2018 All rights reserved
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A few of my favorite moments from last year
Breaking the rules…
Unlike laws rules are guidelines established as starting points they are meant to be bent or broken. On a recent outing I made the decision to shoot landscapes with a macro lens and I shot macros with a super zoom.
Do you break the rules or bend them?
All we are is dust in the wind so count your blessings and go take more photos.
Do You See What I See… © PC PHOTO 2017 All rights reserved
Taking a knife to a gun fight
Having a landscape lens when you come up on wildlife is like taking a knife to a gun fight. I chose a landscape lens on a river boat ride knowing full well there would be wildlife while using internal reasoning that I didn’t want to lug around heavy equipment – after all this was a leisure trip.
Guess what… yup, entering a cove there was a troop of monkeys 😂
What did I do? What any gunfighter would I took the shots knowing I’d gone to a gunfight with a knife.
All we are is dust in the wind so count your blessings and go take more photos.
Do You See What I See… © PC PHOTO 2017 All rights reserved
Love is in the air…
Birds are like people when it comes to looking for a mate they use pretty eye coloring and put on fancy feathers with hopes to fine the love of their life (at least for 1 season).
Great Egret
Cattle Egret
Tri-color Heron
Purple Gallinule
Snowy Egret
Great Blue Heron
All we are is dust in the wind so count your blessings and go take more photos.
Do You See What I See… © PC PHOTO 2017 All rights reserved
Photo Retrospective part 2
Finishing up the photo retrospective from pics I took in 2016 I managed to whittle the list down to 12 for this post. I hope you enjoy the views.
All we are is dust in the wind so count your blessings and go take more photos.
Do You See What I See… © PC PHOTO 2017 All rights reserved
A photo retrospective
Each year is filled with challenges and 2016 was no exception. Without faith family friends and photography I don’t know how I would have gotten through this one. The original thought for this post was to share twelve of my favorite pics from 2016 on this poor neglected blog of mine. By the time I got to May I was bogged down with so many favorites that the plan was revised (😂). So today I will share a bunch of my favs in no particular order or size and at some point in the future I will share some more.
Thanks for stopping by I hope you enjoy the views. Cheers to all, we will see what 2017 has to offer. Keep in mind that all we are is dust in the wind so count your blessings and go take more photos.
Do You See What I See… © PC PHOTO 2017 All rights reserved
It’s about PERSPECTIVE
I felt one image was not enough to convey my perspective regarding this old mill.
Do You See What I See… © PC PHOTO 2016 All rights reserved
We’re just dust in the wind count your blessings …now go take more photos!
I’ve been Explored
Recently two of my photos have been selected by Flickr Explore. What is Explore and what does it mean to me? Approximately 2 million photos are uploaded daily to Flickr photo sharing site so the chances of people viewing your photos other than friends and family that follow you are slim. Flickr has an algorithm that selects 500 interesting photographs every day that go into a special stream giving them an higher than average chance of being viewed, fav’d or even commented on by more people. You may be wondering why I’m writing about Flickr in my blog post. Well, because it’s been fun having my photos selected and seeing how many thousands of views they have gotten after all I post them there to share with others, plus it’s been a little bonus to my ego 😊.
These are my photo’s that have been Explored I hope you enjoy and can view them on a large monitor:
I’ve been working on longer term projects that tell a story rather than posting random pics which is why there are fewer posts here. It’s easier to do the shooting than to put together a story that has taken weeks or months to compile into an editorial manner. I’d much rather be out in nature rather than sitting in front of the computer culling pictures and writing cohesive blurbs to add to the post. For those that have stuck with me here over the years I say thank you and many thanks for continuing along on my photographic journey as it unfolds.
We’re just dust in the wind count your blessings …now go take more photos!
Do You See What I See… © PC PHOTO 2016 All rights reserved
A birds eye view
Photographers often visit and revisit certain locations. One of my favorite places to photograph again and again is Circle B Bar Reserve. After hiking countless miles over many years photographing the landscape and wildlife I took to the sky for a birds view.
The Discovery Nature Center complex is where visitors begin their experience at the reserve. The lake looks close by the center and it is as the crow flies but when walking the trails you discover it is quite a trek.
Above the treeline where Alligator Alley and Shady Oak trails meet was disorienting because at ground level the tree canopy is so dense not much light gets through. It took a couple passes overhead before I was orientated to where we were on the property.
Soaring over Lake Hancock the observation platform is below, it was at this very moment I felt I was seeing the view as a bird does.
Heading into the Banana River marsh area is the intersection of Heron Hideout, Alligator Alley and Marsh Rabbit Run trails one of the easiest locations to recognize and most traveled on if you are a regular visitor to the reserve. 
This is one of my favorite views on that day even with the hazy sky because it shows the expansiveness of the marsh area and this is only a partial view of it.
Eagle Roost trail reveals a landscape of upland habitat that is so different from the lake and marsh areas with its long leaf pines, sand and grasses it’s a no wonder why National Geographic wrote about Circle B’s diversity.
In a flash it was time to head back to the base so I took one final look back at the fabulous vista from an unseen vantage point unless you are in the air. 
Back at the base landing on water is much softer than tarmac landings in a 2 seater plane. Many thanks to my pilot Luke who without his skill I would not have viewed this wilderness area from the sky.
This wraps up a glimpse from my adventure into a birds eye view at my happy place. If you are a regular visitor to Circle B you will recognize familiar sights and if you have not been this is an overview of the lay of the land that is teaming with wildlife.
Now a little well deserved free advertising, if you ever considered a sightseeing flight in central Florida I highly recommend Brown’s Seaplane in Auburndale, their staff is friendly, knowledgeable and accommodating.
Special thanks to my husband for his thoughtfulness to arrange this outing for me on our anniversary.
Do You See What I See… © PC PHOTO 2016 All rights reserved
A Limpkin family chronicle
Limpkins are found in swamps and marshes in Florida they feed primarily on apple snails. The photo below shows an apple snail on the trunk of a bald cypress tree. The pink clusters on the tree trunk and the reed are eggs that the snail has already deposited.
Limpkins nest on floating vegetation or in trees, this nest is in a tree. Incubation time for their eggs is approximately 27 days.
8 chicks hatched from this nest, getting a family portrait was impossible with the chicks exploring their new world. 
This chick stood a away from the family pensively watching and learning.
Meanwhile theses three amigos formed a close knit bond that endured up to the time they matured.
Adults hunted apple snails and fed the insatiable appetite of the chicks for weeks.
When it was time to move from one location to another the adults would carry a snail shell knowing that the chicks would follow.
One by one the chicks entered the marsh waters following the adult.
Is this where the saying “keeping your ducks in a row” comes from? (Yes, I’m aware these are not ducks 😀)
Once on the other side of the marsh this little Limpkin takes its iconic place close to the adults mouth waiting for food.
At 2 weeks the parents continued to bring the brood to the same area to feed, the water level hadn’t receded after a heavy rain and neither the adults nor chicks were happy to have wet feet all day long.
Note the downy feathers fading giving way to pin feathers at 2 weeks. 
At 3 weeks of age the chicks have more than doubled in size and the pin feathers continue to fill in on their wings. A couple of the chicks have disappeared from the family however, the dynamic bond continues with the amigo siblings sticking close by one another while the chick in the foreground remains a solitary creature.
At 6 weeks the Limpkin chicks are nearly the size of the adults and they are learning to find food for themselves yet they don’t pass an opportunity to slip under a parent that is hunting in hopes for a bit to eat.
By the time 7 weeks passed only four chicks had survived. I wondered what happened had an alligator or snake or bird of prey taken them… I choose not to dwell on the loss because it is the other side of wildlife and nature the cycle of life and my main focus is on the beauty and wonder side of the cycle.
I observed this Limpkin family for 2 months watching how the parents cared for their young and taught them how to survive. It was interesting that when the chicks were displaying signs of sibling rivalry the parents didn’t intervene they let the youngsters work it out on their own. During the chicks growth there were moments that I felt a personal pride watching their accomplishments it was they were a part of my own family. But as all good things come to an end so did the chronicling of this feathered family, they grew up and went off in their own separate directions. I hope you have enjoyed the chronicle of this Limpkin family and are encouraged to discover nature for yourself. Now go take more photos!📷📷
Do You See What I See… © PC PHOTO 2016 All rights reserved
