In the blacksmith shop we looked through the open door where the smithy was working.  Our photograph caught sparks flying off the hammer as a glowing iron rod was beaten.  The hot furnace can be seen in the background.

The most unusual work we encountered in Veracruz was a man who chiseled salsa bowls out of rock.  He proudly lifted a finished bowl. We photographed it through his barred window.

In the cities people walking the streets all became photo ops. We photographed a meat market,  shoe store, churches and more. It was surprising to see a Nintendo store. And homes with barred windows close to the sidewalk gave glimpses of daily life. All are available on ImageKind as posters, prints or framed  prints.

We had a nice sale last week at ImageKind. Eight pictures in all bought by an unknown buyer. The picture above is one of the two pictures purchased. The buyer took 4 each of 2 water pictures. The images were made in San Diego harbor. An artist friend suggested the images are so peaceful and soothing they will probably be hung in a spa. The order was originally made for framed and matted prints, but two days later changed to only the prints, no frames or mats. With frames it would have cost 5x more than only prints. Shipping would have cost more too due to the weight of wood frames. We are doing well at ImageKind with 804 fans, too. Unfortunately, although I made the first cut for their last contest, I did not win it.. But, you can’t have everything, can you?

Here’s a sample of the new travel mug.

Our inventory is now full of fresh Florida images including anhinga, ibis, sea hawks, dolphin, boats, and palm trees.

A cat show was quite interesting.  The prizes were just baskets of cat care products.  One cat breeder said she traveled across the state to attend the show, just for the pride of winning.  She also said it does not help stud fees much even if you have a blue ribbon winner.

I went to lunch in Punta Gorda, Florida, with some friends and stumbled  upon a great shop featuring every imaginable product with dog designs.  There were night lights, floor mats, key rings, socks, t-shirts, and more.  A bakery counter held treats for dogs.  The owner allowed photography so I came home with increased picture inventory.  Never leave home without your camera!
We drove to Lakeland, Florida, to work in a reptile store and in a store selling birds and tropical fish. Both store owners were present and both were very cooperative. We made hard to get pictures of birds being hand fed from what looked like a baster.

We spent a week working in Tucson, Arizona, too. While there we photographed in 2 large pet stores with all kinds of animals, an aquarium store with large zero edge tanks, and a reptile shop. Birds and lizards were also photographed at Tohono Chul Park, Saguro West National Park, and at Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.

No photography was allowed inside the show ring. That is understandable because it certainly would distract the dogs, handlers and judges. The show, itself, had 1 photographer with a digital set-up who photographed the winning dog at each judging.

The yorkshire terrier below was photographed with Derk’s digital Nikon.

Last month we photographed at a non-AKC event at LakeWood Ranch, the Annual Pug Parade. We made some cute pug dog pictures and will upload one below.  The dog has been dressed up like a rabbit.

Good pictures were made of lizards, birds, turtles, hamsters, and gerbils. The African Grey Timneh is one of the parrots photographed.