Sun set with a twist…
One of my all time favorite places to be…photo taken with my iPhone
Remember when…I used to enjoy making sand castles as a child. Found this abandoned one on the beach!
It is a bit cooler here today, the wind strong and cold…this reminds me the warmer days are on the way!
Date Palm…
This was an interesting trip, I learned new, interesting info while away…no I didn’t know these were Date Palms!
Screen…
while this photo leaves much to be desired, I liked the way the screen from the lanai was visible…
barnacles…
These fellows are from the arthropod family, apparently there are 1,220 species of barnacles…this particular one is related to the lobster and crab…who knew?
North & South
We didn’t stay on South Beach this year, but managed to visit…have to say I missed not staying along the coast.
North…
South…
Chinese Hibiscus
I’ve simply called this flower a hibiscus but apparently it has a grander name…”Chinese Hibiscus”…the leaf of this plant is lovely in it’s own right!
washed up…
Saw many pieces of coral like this washed up on the shoreline. It was windy & wavey for the first few days, which meant the beach was covered in sea shells. A bit farther down the beach from our location it was soft sand, so our area is a bit of a catch all when windy…we knew this from last year.
tranquility…
I was looking through the hundreds of photos I took while away and realized 95% of them are of my granddaughter! The other 4% are of family with her and 1% is of sites while away! I didn’t realize I did this…was always taking a photo so thought there would be many to post but it turns out there isn’t…
Here is a simplistic one, but one that speaks to my heart!!! While I don’t/can’t sail, I love the water…
dramatized!
I didn’t care for colors in this photo, they were very dull, but I really loved the cloud formations. Someone told me never to delete a photo that I didn’t like…to work with it, there might be something that can be done to it to improve the appearance…so I gave it a bit of color to dramatize it! I don’t usually do that to photos but I like it much better…
treasures of the sea???
It all depends on how you look at things, what you see…right? I’m sure many see these as nothing of importance or worthy of a second look. To me these are interesting finds…especially the beautiful empty intact shell! Just look at the Nacre, or Mother of Pearl as it is known in the jewelry world… it is smooth, an even color, without damage. For those who aren’t familiar, Nacre is the white inner lining of the shell, the outer layer of pearls is also Nacre. This would make a beautiful piece of jewelry if you were into making something from raw materials such as this…
look what was washed up on shore after a windy day…
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after the sunset II…
when your condo is facing west it is difficult not to be obsessed with sunsets or the after glow…here are two more photos…I particularly liked the contrast between the dark wispy cloud and the colorful one!
close up…
It is great when I’m able to get close…there is so much detail to see! This fellow along with a few friends was at a Marina on the North East side of Marco.
I got the feeling food tossed their way at this Marina, there were a few people fishing from the dock & something smelled tasty!
gray scale sunset…
when I take a photo of the sunset, sometimes the colors look right to me and sometimes they don’t…when they don’t I try the grayscale…I rather like it!
would you give it a try?
This is something I would like to do but won’t…my body would rebel! I always thought it looked like fun though. We saw boat drawn para-gliders each day, but only this motorized para-glider …as in the second photo, during the two weeks there.
fascinating clouds…
Our condo in Marco Island faced west, so of course I saw my share of sunsets…I do have to say the most beautiful sunsets were when there was some interesting cloud formations! The Gulf of Mexico sky does seem to offer strikingly beautiful clouds!
Family outing…
On the beach, Marco Island…not sure but I think these are Willets? If anyone thinks differently let me know…
surfer dude…
the first couple of days it was windy…one of those days we saw a few fellows out catching a few waves…this fellow did well, I managed to capture one attempt.
I don’t know anything about surfing but I wouldn’t have thought the waves large enough for a descent ride?
He seemed to enjoy himself and make the best of it managing a few rides!
All be it short rides…
different…
this vacation was much different from what I’ve done for the past eight or so years…I’ve not stayed at the ocean for two weeks, nor in a anything higher than the first floor, for that long…we generally rent a condo in Key West in a complex which is only two stories, and always choose the ground floor. Last year in Marco we rented a house, so being on the 5th floor was different…it was so awesome to sit on the deck and look around, watch the people, the water and the sky. So much to see from one view point. I do have to say I’m not a fan of highrises…but that was the only option if we wanted to be on the beach…
this is looking right/north off the balcony, it looks like a short walk, but in reality it is much longer than it appears…
this was our first day, a bit cooler for some, around 18c I think, but for us it was fabulous
this is looking left/south of our balcony…the beach ends there as a rock formation which would make it difficult to walk on.
Photos weren’t taken on the same day as you can tell from the sky…
fishin buddies…
From my balcony I watched a man fishing, he stopped by a few times, never saw him catch anything but I’m sure he enjoyed himself…it really wasn’t the gentleman that caught my eye but these two fellows…his fishin buddies! These two weren’t concerned about people walking by, I’m sure they were just hoping the man would leave something…the man completely ignored them, I’m sure he was used to them hanging around.
sunset…
Boring name I know, but I don’t really have a way with words! I had a difficult time while away trying to capture the sunsets…our condo faced west so I saw one most evenings, but was rarely happy with the photos. Not sure why, someone said I should have used a tripod and a longer exposure and I’m sure he was correct, I honestly don’t know enough about my camera, at this point, I’m enjoying taking photos but not yet feeling like I want to jump head first into the workings of the camera. I couldn’t bring my tripod on the plane, too much to carry…I was with my daughter so I wasn’t about to take the time to begin reading to find out what to do!
These are the same photos of course…but the colors in the colored are not accurate! I’m showing one B & W along with its color counterpart simply because even though the color isn’t accurate I like the photo!!!
I may not be around…
I’m leaving today for Florida for two weeks…I’m not bringing my laptop so I may not have the opportunity to post or visit until I return. I intend to take as many photos as I can so should have lots to work with when I return…
sand and sun…
I decided it is time for a bit of sand and sun…since I can’t photograph the sand here I will rely on photos I took in the last few winters…when I go to Florida I generally don’t stay in a condo/house on the beach, for one far to expensive for my liking and Key west generally doesn’t have condos on the beach…across the street or close by but we like to be able to walk everywhere so find it better to stay close to Duval Street…as a result I don’t have a great many beach photos…should have many this winter as my daughter and I will be staying in Marco Islands in a condo on the beach in January…the first for me in many years.
Marco Island, Florida – 2012
Naples, Florida, 2012
Fort Zachary State Park Beach – 2012
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…
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…
Heather Cote... 