For the first time in my life I saw newly hatched loggerhead turtles emerge on a Florida beach. What a privilege to see those wonderful creatures on their first day of life. The babies are so small they fit in the palm of your hand and grow to be bigger than you could lift. Here is the picture we made using the inexpensive zoom lens camera we keep in the car. No tripod or add on lenses. It is not too sharp focus because the baby turtle was covered with sand. We did not see if the turtle made it out into the Gulf of Mexico. It had a lot of beach to cover and there was a lot of wave action. 
December 19, 2008
Loggerhead turtles
October 16, 2008
ImageKind Update
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 The order was originally made for framed and matted prints, but two days later changed to only the prints, no frames or mats.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?
October 1, 2008
Photographing tropical fish
Recently we worked at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida. They have large, clean aquariums with many species of tropical fish. Tripods, which are essential when using slow 100 ISO film, are allowed. Only fish in sharp focus will be considered for publication, so, we always check before traveling to a photo location and make sure tripods are allowed. Here is a lionfish now on sale at Cafe Press.
July 10, 2008
Photographing Florida
We just returned from several days in and around Pine Island, Florida. While there, we stayed at the Bokeelia Tarpon Inn, a friendly bed and breakfast. We hired Captain Jim Welch and the “Lady Bokeelia” a 25 foot boat to take us on a hunt for dolphins and water birds.
Our inventory is now full of fresh Florida images including anhinga, ibis, sea hawks, dolphin, boats, and palm trees.
March 29, 2008
AKC Dog Show
We made lots of great pictures at the AKC dog show today. It was held indoors, but the area was well lit. Derk made digital pictures and I used a fill-flash for pictures on ISO 100 35mm slide film. We also photographed dogs in the exercise area outside.
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.
March 28, 2008
AKC Dog Show
If you are a photo buyer looking for dog pictures, please let us know. We are going to Palmetto, Florida, this Saturday and Sunday to photograph an AKC event.
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.
February 8, 2008
Photographing Marine Life
Derk had an interesting day at Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, Florida. He used his Nikon D200 digital camera, no flash, and no tripod. The pictures are great! We worked there on two earlier occasions using film, flash, and tripods. So, it came as a welcome surprise that the digital camera, alone, could do the job.
Mote has the usual aquarium type tanks for tropical fish. The biggest problem photographing in that area of the facility is the ever present hobby photographer or visiting school group.
Mote also has a huge aquarium tank for manatee. It is necessary to use wide lens because the manatee are big. The best perspective for a picture is from the lower viewing area where you make an underwater shot. Reflections on the aquarium glass can be a big problem there.
Here are a couple of Derk’s pictures. The Jellyfish is available at kphotos.imagekind.com/TropicalFish as poster or framed print and the clownfish is also available there.:
September 19, 2007
Little Italy John Travolta
Here is an example of the fascinating banners we photographed in San Diego’s Little Italy last week. John Travolta broods on his banner above the downtown neighborhood sidewalk. You can see the image in our ImageKind Gallery, too.
This image would spice up a travel brochure for San Diego, California. It exudes the Italian ethnic feeling of the area.
September 12, 2007
San Diego Little Italy
We started our work day up in the San Diego neighborhood known as Little Italy. The area has changed a lot since we photographed it three years ago. Many buildings have been re-painted in bold colors.
There are many more street murals. Almost every blank wall has a mural. They are not graffitti. There are also interesting banners or flags decorating each lamp post with pictures of famous Italians. They are more decorative than the usual “eat, drink, live in Little Italy” banner.
Later today we plan a trip to Ocean Beach, pier, and traditional Wednesday Farmer’s Market. Hopefuly we’ll get a good sunset over the Pacific Ocean, too. We have seen several sunsets, but, no clouds which add a lot of interest to a photo.
Last year my Ocean Beach sunset included a sailboat!
September 11, 2007
San Diego Photography
Today Derk photographed Petco Park, the commuter trains and other points of interest to the Convention Center. I photographed Civic Center Plaza, fountain, and everything of interest to Horton Plaza Mall. I stopped at Macy’s in the mall and was really tempted to do some shopping. Why do clothes always look better in California than at home? But, I stuck to our time schedule and resisted the temptation.
We met at the Marriott Marina and photographed boats moored there. Then we walked and photographed Embarcadero Marina Park with its beautiful bronze statues, Sea Port Village shops and fountains, the waterfront, and various means of transportation. A pedicab brought us back to the hotel. We arranged for the pedicab driver to pick us up tonight for a ride through the Gaslamp Quarter. I photographed it last year in the day time. Now we’ll add night images to our collection.
