Stilt Sandpiper birds at ImageKind

We are off now to photograph on Siesta Key, Florida.  Today is the first warm day after a week of cold and wind.

Celery Fields park, east of I-75 and south of Bee Ridge Road, in Sarasota used to be a celery farm. There is a gazebo on a small hill near the road with room to park about 10 cars. There are several species of very small water birds in the ponds, red wing blackbirds in the low shrubs, a hawk can often be seen in distant trees, and turkey vultures sometimes circle overhead. But, the big attraction for bird watchers are the sandhill cranes that fly into the pond just before sunset each night. They fly in groups of 2-5 and eventually there are 15-25 cranes in the shallow ponds.

Turtle beach has the usual pelicans and several varieties of gulls. Sometimes a big Louisiana Blue Heron is seen shadowing a fisherman and hoping for a handout. There are lots of stilt birds walking in and out of the waves looking for a meal. The largest number of birds appear in flocks of 40 or more in the late afternoon. Sometimes there are more gulls than one can count.

The Venice rookery is a small collection of trees on a small island in a pond off Route 41 near Jacaranda Blvd. in Venice, Florida. Blue herons, night herons, ibis, anhinga, and other birds fly in just before sunset to spend the night in the trees.

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.

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

Fortunately there was no rain and the waters above the coral reefs were not riled up so visibility was wonderful. We took the snorkel tour from John Pennekamp and photographed at White Banks. We swam with many, many more fish than when at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia!

We also photographed dolphin/human encounters and should have great film from there. Lighting might be a problem as ambient light was low due to approaching storm clouds. The film is being developed now.

While on the dolphin property we photographed ibis birds exhibiting unusual behavior. A large group- 15 or more – were standing in a huge puddle, maybe 1/2 foot deep, some were bathing while others appeared to be drinking. We’ve never seen them bathe before.

“Congratulations! You have been selected as a Featured Artist of the Week at Imagekind!

We have selected an image from your gallery to be placed on the homepage of Imagekind.com, along with a short artist’s bio, which links to your Imagekind profile. This will stay in place for at least a week and sometimes, dependent on its popularity, may continue in place for another week. This cycle usually takes place on each Wednesday. You don’t need to do anything, you’re already on the homepage! However, this is a great time to update your galleries with any new work and to ensure that all your relevant details are in place.

It is our privilege to showcase your work as being outstanding amidst a field of so many other great artists and photographers. Our success is entirely about you, our creative community. Please tell your colleagues, friends and family about the #1 place on the web to discover and purchase original art.

Have a great day and we wish you continued success!

Cheers,

Travis Young”

Currently we have Animals, Birds, Butterflies, Flowers, Tropical Fish, Washington DC, San Diego, San Francisco, New Orleans picture galleries.

Alligator, tiger, orangutan, elephant, and giant panda have joined eagle, macaw, camel, bull dog, ferret, parrot, giraffe, tropical fish, lizard, lion, and raccoon. Each hanging ornament picture is on high quality porcelain with a ribbon for hanging included.

Hanging ornaments make fun favors for holiday parties, add a special touch to gift-wrapped packages, cool overhead fan pulls, and make unique Christmas tree ornaments.

Come and visit our Wall Clocks section of Photo Accents! The best selling Night Owl wall clock and Penguins wall clocks are below.

And there is a sale, too.  Save $$ …$5 off orders of $40 or more … Coupon Code:SEP540…Expires September 30, 2006.