the hand…
I love old gnarly naked trees, they have such amazing texture and detail…if you look closely there is so much to see. Key West has some of the most wonderful trees, old, very gnarly, bent in unusual shapes for who knows why, not to forget the lush colours…this one is one of my favourites,I call it the “hand”…the second photo gives you a better idea of why…
a vision…
today we are having what amounts to a mini snow storm…I know it won’t last long and the snow won’t stay, but it is one of those beach photo days folks…here is a long shot of Cocoa Beach…stopped there on the way back from Key West before going to my Mother’s place in Leesburge…I liked it, there, it reminded me of a mini Daytona Beach when it was thriving…I didn’t realize that Cocoa Beach was a surfing destination, in fact there was some kind of tournament happening during my stay…didn’t venture there but managed to get a few photos from the beach…
US Navy…
at the end of Southard St., Key West, is a docking area, used by both the US Coast Guard and the US Navy…
the building below has been in disrepair for the last three years I’ve been in that area…
I have no idea of what it was used for or why it was abandoned like this…but it is a very large piece of
property that could be put to good use on on the waters edge like this…below shows the front of the build,
along with what looks like some kind of old artillery, past its prime? The only protection is the blue/grey
tarps and the yellow caution tape…both of which have seen better days…
beauty & gnarly…
here is one of my favourite bushes…Bougainvillea……so vibrantly colourful
before, during & after…
on any given night you will see many boats off the coast of Key West waiting for the sunset…it is definitly a favourite pastime for anyone visiting…the first two boats are heading out to wait for the sun to set, the third photo is as the sun is setting, I thought the gray scale added an interesting touch to the sunset and the final one is sometime after the sunset..
sap is running…Mr. Woodpecker has visited!
last week on my walk I spotted a couple of things that I’d not see before…keep in mind this is a residential street I’m walking on and generally I walk down the street in one direction, no special reason other than I’m a creature of habit…this particular day I decided to be “wild & crazy” and walk from the opposite direction…pays to change directions…below is a photo of maple trees with pails hanging from them collecting sap…something I’ve never seen before in this location…but coming from the opposite direction I wouldn’t…in this photo you can only see two pails, look closely…but there had to be at least 8…
something else I spotted was this tree above, where Mr. Woodpecker has been very busy for sometime now…
because it snowed!
When I looked out the window this morning it was snowing…I wasn’t happy as most of our snow was gone…I know it won’t last long, in fact a great deal of it is gone already…to counter act the snow affect, I thought I’d post things that make me happy…pretty flowers and part of the side garden path to condos in Truman Annex, Key West…
experimenting with filters…
I was looking through photos for a post and began playing with the different filters available in Photoscape…while this isn’t an extensive software it does offer a few interesting filters…the original photo is below, then in order, water painting, two different swirl filters, reflection filter, embossing filter, with colour added and one of my favourite filters the reverse black & white
duval street & a rooster
Duval Street is always busy, more so when cruise ships are in, which is almost every day…I think this year there was only one day out of seven without a ship…that makes for lots of people scurrying around trying to see everything in a few hours…below is Duval Street facing north, not terribly busy when I took this…the second one is facing south…
anyone who has been to Key West knows there are chickens & roosters everywhere…not usually on Duval Street as it is too busy but, on most side streets you will find them…I think the fellow below is a resident of Truman Annex…he isn’t as colourful or shiny as some I’ve seen, but attractive just the same…not the friendliest fellow though…he let me take a few photos, never looking at me…then decided that was enough and let me know…
sunrise…sunset!
for the most part I don’t see the sunrise…I don’t have a clear view so I don’t bother…besides, for the most part I’m not up then! this sunrise was captured through the vehicle window as we were driving home…between Windsor & London…I rather like the silhouette of the trees…
the next two are sunsets from Key West…a bit dark…I had trouble with the first one in particular…couldn’t get it right! 
this one is somewhat better…
full moon rising…
the sky was beautiful last night…crystal clear, no clouds that I could see and a huge bright, full moon…I took a few photos from my yard, at dusk, as the moon was rising, before it got dark. while these aren’t great photos they are ok…better than my first attempt at shooting the moon a couple of months ago…I deleted those ones!
I did the one below in grey scale for something different
I also tried it out in reverse black & white…
a gift to myself…
I love flowers, I usually have a bouquet of some kind in the house all the time, I love white flowers almost as much as I do shades of purple, while I enjoy all colours of flowers I prefer to stay with white for in the house, and ad accents, such as mauve & purple, or lime green, love lime green with white…I find those colours soothing to look at…I had a large bouquet this time so I put four in a tall bud vase…I know some would say there should be three or five, but four worked for me that day…
this isn’t were they generally sit but I was trying to find a good light…this was the best I came up with at that time of the day, I see if I have time to experiment with the light before these flowers wilt. this wasn’t the right angle either for the vase but that’s fine for now…I know something is wrong with brightness of this one as well but not sure what to do to change it, is missing something??? hmmm…not my favourite photo
again a different background and different light…I also used the bloom setting on this one, which I’ve not used before…gives an interesting look.
fishing…
fishing used to be a favourite thing to do at one time…not anymore…I spotted these people on Cocoa Beach…enjoying the sun, and a day of fishing! doesn’t this look relaxing?
that same day I spotted a number of small birds…not sure what they are…they wouldn’t let me get close enough to them to get a good close up, there were a couple of different types…they never flew away just ran…it was rather funny to watch their tiny legs go…
this photo was taken on the way to Key West…I didn’t like the colour so I did it in grey scale not sure what they were fishing for…most likely just doing manoeuvres…7 mile bridge…
some of you will know Key West is a place where I like to spend some time in the winter. to get there you have to travel the Overseas Highway U.S.1 from Homestead, Florida, through the individual Keys…an amazing drive. I love being so close to the water on the highway…of course I’ve been fortunate to travel during good weather…I don’t know if I would enjoy it as much in rainy/windy weather. the old Seven Mile Bridge was considered one of the 7 wonders of the world back in 1912…
this bridge links Marathon, Florida, Middle Keys to Little Duck Key, Lower Keys…beginning at mile marker 47 on U.S. 1. the original bridge was closed to traffic in 1982… locals & travellers us it now to fish from, bike ride, or simply walk along it, which I’ve done.
the old and the new…
it was originally used as a rail road…after the hurricane in 1935 it was widened and the tracks were cemented over…it became part of the Overseas Highway U.S. 1 in 1938
the old bridge is in need of repairs…in order to continue to allow it to be used in the same manner work will have to done on it in the coming years…
it truly was an amazing display of architecture for the time!
oranges & grapefruit…
my mother has a huge grapefruit tree and a much smaller orange tree on her property in Florida, she has enjoyed an abundance of grapefruit in the last 7 years. the orange tree is only a couple of years old so not much fruit from it, 9 oranges I think she said…
I don’t eat grapefruit, but apparently these are delicious! she gives them away by the bag full every year…
below is the lovely flower on the tree along with the tiny green grapefruit…
below are the tiny new oranges…it is interesting when they are this tiny they look exactly like the grapefruit…even the flowers do!
land & ocean…
this fellow is in a bush (approx. 5.5feet high) on my Mother’s property were she lives in Florida for 6 months of the year…we spotted him scurrying along the ground to get under the tree where he obviously felt safe to observe us on the patio, from the top of the tree…it has rather funny as it appeared he was watching us…he stayed there for about 15 min…
the fellow below we saw from a dock on Lake Dora, he didn’t move…just enjoyed sunning himself…as u can see he was considerably larger than the fellow above…
I’ve never seen a Manatee before so this was rather cool for me…he was at the Marina in Key West…he/she seemed very docile until someone attempted to get its attention then he swam away…
cactus & sunrise…
when I was a way I liked to take a walk every morning…I spotted this gigantic cactus plant on my first walk…it is huge…Marco Island
it was so spread out I the photo above is the left side and below is the right…
this photo was taken on Sunday, the last day of the drive home…between Windsor, Ontario and London, Ontario…a nice beginning to the day…again taken through the windshield of my vehicle.
flowers, fruit & a rooster…
taken on the grounds of the house we stayed in…Marco Island…
don’t know what the fruit is but the tree was weighed down with them…Marco Island
this is at “Blue Heaven Restaurant” Key West…it is and out door restaurant and as you can see they have Roosters who I think live there… as I’ve never been to the restaurant with out seeing these fellows…this time there were moms and their chicks as well…I’ll post photos of them later…this wouldn’t fly here in Canada…
home…
well…I’m home…so I will be back posting and visiting again regularly! I took many photos, some I like and some I don’t, but for today I’m going to show you three of one of my favourite things to capture…”naked trees” as I like to call them. they are beautiful with their leaves, but there is so much more detail and character to them, when they are scraggly looking, bent in some of the most interesting ways…
love this scene…as you can see it was a rather dreary looking day, but warm, which cancels out the dreary! on the ride home somewhere in Kentucky…
same day and drive… but I’m fine with the colours…
I don’t mind a dreary day once in a while, especially if it is warm…
PS…all photos were taken from my moving vehicle, on the drive home from Florida…
I’m using my camera as much as possible while I’m away…taking photos of everything that catches my eye…trying to figure it out as I go…
this little fellow is very tiny, I don’t think he would be any larger than an inch…he just sat there while I snapped away, I zoomed in as much as I could…taken in Leesburg, Florida
the pilot and crew managed to find a parking spot so the could go for lunch…taken in Traveres, Florida
there actually were about seven of these fellows, but they wouldn’t cooperate so I could get them all at once…taken in Marco Island, Florida
visions from my walks…
while I’m away I’ve gotten back into my walks…had to stop for awhile at home due to the terribly cold weather…here are three lovely flowers, unfortunately I don’t know their names…if anyone does please let me know! a blogging friend of mine who takes many gorgeous photos of flowers said the first is a bougainville, the the 2nd, and 3rd are hibiscus…
I’m around…
I thought I should do a post to let anyone who happens to stop by that I’m away…left February 15th returning March 17th. with the exception of answering emails, I’ve not been online…I will visit and post when I have the time…below are photos from Florida…
this fellow is having breakfast in Dunedin…
Lake Dora, Tavares, 
part of the Clearwater Beach skyline…
these are the first photos taken with my “new to me” Nikon DSLR camera…I’m having fun experimenting with it…after only a few days I realize already I need a macro lens, possibly a stronger zoom lens? will see after a bit more working with it…
looking west…
I wanted to play a bit with this photo as I thought it had great potential…as you may have noticed I’m a huge fan of contrasts…so that is what you will see today…below is the original photo…this was taken last Saturday before I went the the Radar Runs…
this is threshold adjusted…
sepia of course…I’m becoming a fan of sepia, it adds interesting colour to the photo, giving an aged appearance to the photo…
up close and personal…
I hunted for these two photos last week and I couldn’t find them…I found one similiar but not the right one…then yesterday when I was looking for something completely different, of course I found these two…the one below is a terrible photo, I was inside the house and there is a very large over hang, like a huge wooden umbrella so it didn’t allow for a great shot, terribly dark and I tried many things to do something with it…but it shows how close the deer came to my house on the lake…
on his way home…as you can see the water is not up to full levels.
Sunset Park…
I took a few photos yesterday at Sunset Park, before venturing over to the Radar Runs…it was such a beautiful day yesterday…today is pretty good as well…sunny and relative warm for a winter day! -2C but 28F for those using Fahrenheit. the photo below is looking out onto Lake Nipissing…to the west. I rather like this one below, something about the trees that always appeals to me…think I’ll do a bit of experimenting with it in a few days…
the next two photos are looking north west along the Lake Nipissing shore line….
radar run…
today was a beautiful day…sunny, no wind to speak of and not terribly cold! I saw in the paper the snowmobile Radar Runs were taking place today at Sunset Park,Lake Nipissing, so I decided to take a few minutes and take a look…I used to love going to these events when I was younger…driving a snowmobile was very high on my list of a good time…I managed to get a few photos, but I have to say the lack of attendance surprised me…there were a large number of participants but very few spectators…years ago when I attended it was wall to wall people, it was difficult to get a good viewing spot for each event…
the photo below should be to the left of the photo above…didn’t know how to pan with the camera so did it in two shots…regardless of the lack of spectators the participants to enjoyed themselves…if you look very closely at the top photo you can see the track just left of centre in the photo…
just finished his races…
favourites…
I’d decided to show you a few of my favourite photos today…but…I’ve been having an issue with the photos showing up on the page properly…anyone else having a problem with this?
looking for heat…
today is one of those days when I’m thinking of Florida…so I’m posting three photos from there…
this is one of the beaches at Naples, at the end of 5th Avenue…there was a person laying on the sand that was rather close so I used the cloning brush and brushed him out…kind of a cool process…this was my first attempt…I think it is rather visible but I’m sure my technique will improve over time…
this is the same beach but if you look way down on the right you will see the white of the condos/high rises farther down…again I used the cloning tool to eliminate a body I didn’t want in the photo…very nice beach and not busy at all!!!
a US Navel ship docked at Fort Zachary, Key West…
more experimentation…or playing if you will!
I’m enjoying experimenting with the settings in PhotoScape…it is a free program that is basically for beginners like myself…it does have a few advanced settings, at least to me they are… of which I’m trying to understand but for the most part it is very simple to work with!
below is the original photo…love this area of Leesburge, Florida…
grey scale…I would like to figure out how to do the grey scale, but adding a punch of color…for instance in this photo the bird or some of the docks could be coloured…that look appeals to me.
worked with the saturation on this one…
and of course the reverse black and white…I love contrasts…
I’ve been playing around a bit more…rather like the results, especially with the luminance and the reverse black & white…
original
snow day photo…luminance
original photo
experimenting with the levels…
yesterday I took this photo of the gnarly birch tree…I love trees with limbs like this one so interesting, always makes me wonder why the limb grew the way it did? I took the photo of the whole tree but it is in front of what I think is one of the City yards and there are work buildings etc., which doesn’t contribute to an interesting photo…too much going on when I wanted to concentrate on just the tree, so as you can tell it is cropped…
then I decided to play a little with the tools in PhotoScape as I’ve not done a great deal with it yet…this one is colour enhanced slightly.
this one is of course grayscale…
on this one I adjusted the luminance curve…
and finally…this one is reverse black and white…
very interesting to see what can be done with a relatively simple program…for the time being PhotoScape works for me…I know there is so much more that can be done with PhotoShop, but I don’t have the time to learn the ins and outs before I begin using it…this works for now!
low visibility or bright & sunny…
yesterday was bitterly cold, more important the wind was very strong & raw, it was a north west wind so it came of the lake, whipping up the snow and blowing it around…I took two photos yesterday of ice huts on the lake to show you what kind of day it was…today I took photos of the same ice huts to compare…
above is yesterday…visibility was very low…below is today, still very cold but nice!
again above is yesterday and below is today…the wind is still cold today but nothing like yesterday…
there was a time when I enjoyed ice fishing, snowmobiling…I’m passed that now! 🙂
more snow photos…
the weather here has been so strange…tons of snow…bitter cold, warm and rain, now back to bitter cold today…makes it difficult to walk! which I miss, can’t take photos…the photos below were taken back on Feb. 13th…
I liked the snow on the pole like this, with the blue sky and branches in the back ground…
the next two photos are of the same bush/hedge, the first is of course head on… 
it amazes me how these branches can hold up with all the snow on them, as they look very delicate, as branches go… 
moody skies…
I love a moody sky…something about them that has so much character…now don’t get me wrong, I love the clear blue sky with soft, fluffy white clouds as well…each has their appeal to me…
this is of the same island I’ve been showing on and off…this view is south west of where I lived, I would be standing at the far end of the break wall to take this photo…this is of course before the water has been drawn down…some years it is later than others.
another almost naked tree…this tree still has leaves on it today…I can see it out my window…
what a differnce a season makes!
the photos below are of the same tree, take frnm slightly different angels & of course taken at different times of the year…I added the double photo below as it was something I was trying with PhotoScape…turned out alright but it cuts off the original photo…would have to take the time to crop the photos to fit…the individual photos are below this one…
this tree is in Champlain Park, in North Bay…we are very fortunate here to have such a beautiful lake…the sad thing is this park has very little use…when I was a teenager I used to visit this park all the time…it was crazy busy then.
now the park sees very few visitors, except a few people walking their dogs or people bringing children to play, or those who use the boat ramp off of Lavasse River…rather sad when you think of such a beautiful area not being used to its potential…
do you know why?
I found this photo of a Key West sunset and it is rather pretty but there is a very large halo above the sun…can anyone tell me why this happened? did I have the flash on? I’ve also had photos with circles in them…again not sure why this happens…
for those of you who enjoy the snow photos here is one of a tree that pretty much obliterates the house with the snow on it!
a mixture…
when I went for my walk yesterday I only managed to get one photo…didn’t see anything new and interesting, this is the only thing that caught my eye…happens that way sometimes…I’ve walked past this tree many times but always from the opposite direction so I’m assuming I didn’t notice the gnarly branches/trunk…I will have to walk that way again to see if I can get a better view of the one branch in particular…
I won’t tell you were I found this web… 😉 I will say spider webs are very interesting…the intricacy and designs always amaze me…
more warm weather shots…
Daytona Beach, 2008 or 09 not sure which…I used to enjoy visiting…was rather disappointed the last time I was there in 2011… 
Daytona Beach…found these two photos, figured they would make good warm weather shots 
PS…it is considerably warmer here today 9F, a balmy day… 🙂 so I’m going to walk today, will take photos but they will be snowy winter ones!
warm weather thoughts…
it is still very cold here…-24F with wind chill right now! it is expected to warm up in the next few days…I’m looking forward to it…but for today my photos will be “warm weather” shots…
this is a view from the vehicle on the way to Key West…although slow going the trip from the mainland to Key West is beautiful…so much to see along the way…so far, we’ve been fortunate to have perfect weather during the drive to and from…
below is a very small part of Shipyard Condominiums, Truman Annex, Key West Florida, it is a great complex of condos…all are individually owned many rented out to winter vacationers…by the week, month or season, which ever is preferred…this complex is beautifully landscaped with a pool in the centre…only two blocks from Ducal Street…what ever you are looking for is within walk distance…
this is a small shopping area to the south of Mallory Square…have visited it numerous times and never found it any busier than it is below…not sure why it is a pretty area, nice shops…the cruise ships dock just to the right and in front of this area maybe people don’t venture here as they think it will be terribly busy???
baby it’s cold outside!!!
enough said about the temperature! but it is freezing…
I’ve two photos of a gorgeous blue sky with white fluffy clouds, that I took the last day I was taking photos, the day I took all the snow photos…feels like a long time ago! these photos are soft, delicate and fluffy… 😉 I love to watch the sky/clouds, there is always something wonderful to see…
snow!
I’ve not been for a walk for a couple of days…way too cold for my liking…with wind chill -26F, over night with wind chill -38F…brrrr…I have to go to the post office today so I will take a walk around one of our Malls…that’s the best I can! 😉 One of my visitors told me she looked forward to seeing my snow photos so I’m going to show three more today…these were all taken on the same day last week…after one of our snow storms…
this poor little bush was weighed down with all the snow…
I thought this one was rather interesting with the red of the branches & white of the snow…nice contrast…rather heavy load on the delicate branches though…
the photo below is the kind of visual that appeal to me…I love the way the branches curve & bend every which way…they are their own abstract painting! 
colourize & colour enhanced…
I’ve down loaded a new photo software program, PhotoScape…it is simple to use, easy to find my way around, for the most part…especially when I take the time to play a bit…of course there are settings I’ve no idea of what they do but that will come with experimentation. I tried GIMP a couple of weeks ago, while I’m sure it is a great program I found it too complicated for me right now…I would have to learn the software before I could do any thing and didn’t want to take the time…PhotoScape I could jump right in and do things right away…so I did a bit of experimentation today to see what I could come up with.
this has been colour enhanced…I rather like the little sparkles all over the photo…and the blue is part of the enhancement…
I simply colourized this photo…”pretty in pink”
summer photos in honour of the snow!
I’m late again today…we had at least 10 inches of snow Friday over night and we are expected to have close to the same again tonight! Ok…I really think it is time for someone else to take a turn…seriously, I won’t mind… 😉
In honour of all that snow I’m posting summer photos…
above is a small view of a few of the great shops on 5th Ave., Naples, this was early in the morning when it wasn’t busy… 
this photo is of Callander Bay, east end of Lake Nipissing(approx. 3 kilometres in diameter) but something I’ve not shown before as I don’t have many photos of this area…I will have to take more as it really is very lovely, more so in the summer! 
above is on the drive to key west…coming up to a abridge, not sure if it is the long bridge or not…excuse the antenna…
this is one of the public accesses I like to stop at on my walks…this was taken November 13, 2012, on a blustery day…Lake Nipissing is famous for being calm one minute and gale force winds the next, which has led to some rather frightening times on the lake, when I was younger…not gale force this day but windy non the less…
this is the exact same location…a bit broader photo, you see more of the trees on the left. this exactly one month later…December 13, 2012…looks more calm and serene this day!
clear skies and ocean…except one!
I have many more snow photos but I thought maybe I should show you something else…we did get some snow last evening…not sure how much…enough to need to shovel!
this is in new town in Key West…it is not far from where you come on to the island…pretty but I prefer old town, it is much more quaint!
Key West marina…there is a nice boardwalk, with restaurants, in case you need to keep your strength up…
this is Lake Nipissing when the water has been drawn down, the left hand point is called Cheery Point…they draw down the water every fall to avoid flooding in the spring…I used to live to the right of the photo…we had a huge sand bar, often similiar to this, most falls…in the twenty years we lived there I remember a couple of times we had flooding in some areas along the shore line…we had damage done to our break wall and water came up very close to the house…I moved from this house in 2010…
more snow coming…maybe!
these photos were taken two days ago…I’ve a few more, but will wait awhile before I post more…as I don’t want to over do it with snow! Having said that we have a snow squall watch for later today with possible low visibility… I ‘d like a mild spell before more snow thanks 😉both the photo above and below is a house I walk past almost daily…the trees and shrubs are gorgeous any season of the year but extra specially pretty when laden with snow…
this tree is just up the street from the photo above…you see I take photos of what I see when I’m walking…my intention is to go for a drive and take photos of something other than where I live but I haven’t gotten around to it yet…one day! I must say the two photos above have only been re-sized/cropped nothing else…the one below was back-lit as I thought it brought out the branches more, while leaving the sky alone…
snow day!
the scenery today was amazing…we had fresh snow over night and this morning it looked like a “winter wonderland”…as much as I’m not a fan of winter I have to admit days like today are so beautiful, especially when it is sunny as it was today! today I used the Sony camera my son lent me and I think the shots turned out much nicer…the whites are much nicer, whiter and brighter!
this is my favourite photo I think…all I did with this photo was add the copyright symbol and resize it…
see how delicate these branches are, yet they are able to carry such a heavy load!
signs of the times…
I’ve visited this public beach access often during my walks this fall, always finding it clean…but…the other day when I stopped by to take photos I found these two signs, along with the full garbage can? we have such a beautiful water front, we should respect its beauty…it is such a sad state of affairs when it is necessary to post signs to remind people to clean up after their dog!!! never mind the logic of people who feel it is acceptable to throw their garbage around the access…as I mentioned I’d always found this access clean but on that day someone had walked their dog and didn’t clean up after it…were they snubbing their nose at the sign? truly sad…
by the way…there is the blue snow again…
went for my walker later today just in time for the beginning of what ended up being a stunning sunset, saw part of the final performance but wasn’t able to photograph it as I had an appointment but this is one of the photos I managed to get…the sky and sunset colouring is relatively accurate but as you can see the snow is blue…I managed to get the snow close to white in my photo program but then the sunset was way off…so I chose to leave the snow blue…as I’m sure I’ve mentioned before I’m a complete beginner so I did a bit of research and as most of you will know it has to do with the “white balance”…my son lent me his Sony camera to experiment with, his camera has a setting with one for a “whitish scene with high brightness” which I think should help? I’ll give it a try and see what happens…
Heather Cote... 
