Sparkle Like Sunshine
Sparkle Like Sunshine and leave glitter in your wake.
Sparkle Like Sunshine
If Mushrooms Grow
If mushrooms grow above the soil, that hints at the abundance of fungal life you do not see under your soil.
A great time to find them is after a rain and some warmer, humid type weather.
Oceans Blue
Oceans Blue – I could do a series and title it Oceans 12 from the movie.
I like this first shot, the cloud patterns and the shimmering water. Nothing but the horizon. Peaceful.
Oceans Blue
Little Birds Taking Cover
Little Birds Taking Cover where ever they can find it on the beach before a storm. As these little guys try and hide behind this rock as the winds blow sand and debris across the beach. They hover together and hide their faces in their feathers to protect their eyes.
They learn to adapt. Amazing birds. Have a great weekend.
Video below of birds braving the stormy winds. Or click here; Little Birds in High Winds
Little Birds Taking Cover
Brother and Sister Pups
Brother and Sister Pups – These two pups are so pretty with their long flowing hair. It was really fun taking their photos and making prints for their people.
I have talked before about one thing that I like to have in my pet portraits, and that is Specular Highlights in the eyes.
The specular highlight appears on shiny objects. It normally appears on a mirror-like surface. Its appearance is often found on the top of a rounded surface. The incident light hits the object and creates the specular highlight and the light is reflected off the object toward the viewers eye.
Some people think the light reflection in the eye can be distracting in a photo. But, I find it necessary to have to give the eye more life. A bright spot that draws the viewer to the eyes. Eyes are always my focal point with pet and people photography.
Example. The photo on the left, I have removed the specular highlight. I find the eye looks less cheery, darker, lifeless to be more accurate. But the photo on the right, when the light spot is visible gives a much better overall photo for me.
It is much harder to achieve specular highlights in bird photography, because the birds movements can put them in the shadows at times. But it makes a big difference with birds as well.
Brother and Sister Pups
Water and Light
Water and Light – I found this Blue Heron doing some fishing the other morning. I found the light reflecting off of the water onto the bird was quite cool looking. Almost like strobe lights dancing across its feathers.
Water and Light
Southern Trees
Southern Trees – I love looking at trees and plants. Just so many different kinds from state to state. Southern trees are just so unique compared to where I live in the north country.
From beautiful palm trees reaching high into the air.
To twisted and bumpy, branches going every which way.
Oh, the lemon trees. The fragrance alone is quite a nice addition to any garden.
Bamboo, I have never seen a grove of bamboo until we found these at a botanical garden.
Last but not least, the trees found on beaches. Parts and pieces, worn and weathered. But still standing for years to come.
Have a Great Weekend.
Southern Trees
St. Simons Island Light
St. Simons Island Light – Now this little island was just across the bridge from Jykell island. A wonderful festive little town surrounding this light house. Plenty of shops, board walks along the coast and plenty to see.
The beach community of St. Simon’s Island is home to the St. Simon’s Island Lighthouse, which was first built in 1810. It is one of five in the state with its restored Fresnel lens and still operates in guiding ships.
The island is an easy day trip from Savannah and other islands like Jekyll. Visitors can climb the 129 cast iron steps to the top. It’s also rumored to be haunted.
I just love porches on homes. They are so inviting I think. We have a porch on our cabin, nothing like these, but it is my favorite place to sit at home and enjoy the views.
We did not go into this museum, but I love the architecture and the gardens around the building.
St. Simons Island Light
Sydney Lanier Bridge
Sydney Lanier Bridge – the longest bridge in Georgia. We crossed this bridge heading to Jykell Island.
Its outstretched arms linking Brunswick to the rest of the Golden Isles, the Sidney Lanier Bridge soars over the Brunswick River. This, the longest-spanning bridge in Georgia, stretches 7,779 feet across and reaches 480 feet at its highest point. The sleek design creates a sense of lightness that belies the 95,283 cubic yards of concrete and 14,810,095 pounds of reinforcing steel used to construct the massive structure.
Sydney Lanier Bridge
Leaving Jykell Island
Leaving Jykell Island – a unique place we visited and yet never to return. But my photographs are a way for us to remember this place, a place in passing, as we stood on this beach looking at the eerie shadows of the trees with no life. There lies our shadows as well, a moment in time, an eerie feeling that we left something behind.
Video below of drift wood beach. Or click here; Drift Wood Beach
Leaving Jykell Island
Gus the Pup
Gus the Pup – another campground pup. A never ending array of colors and sizes of dogs to photograph. The little ones are fun to do, as long as I drop to one knee to get down to their level to take their photo.
Have a great weekend.
Gus the Pup
Beach Bird Art
Beach Bird Art – all my art work starts with a photograph. I use my own photos that I have taken when I decide to make a piece of art work for a composite or a digital painting.
This first photo is a composite of 3 different photos that I have taken. Blending them all in so that the colors are similar is the trick. Not always easy to find, but fun to make none the less.
Beach Bird Art
Hidden Gems in the Background
Hidden Gems in the Background – guess what. One cannot be on the pacific ocean without finding one Light House.
Look past the tree to the other shore line, there stands a light house on One of four barrier islands comprising the Golden Isles of Georgia,
St. Simons Island, the largest of the Golden Isles, captivates visitors with its fascinating blend of history and natural beauty. Steeped in a rich heritage, the island is home to historical sites like the St. Simons Lighthouse,
Have a wonderful weekend.
Hidden Gems in the Background
So Many Photo Opts
So Many Photo Opts – the driftwood itself is very interesting and artistic all on its own. But here at drift wood beach, you have so many different compositions you can pick for your photo.
The waves are never very big and the clouds can add some dramatic movement to your photo.
But the best thing to capture are the shadows of the trees on the beach. I will show that next week from the drone photos. Kind of eerie with the long limbs of the branches reaching out like they are arms moving in the shadows.
So Many Photo Opts
Silhouette of Life and Death
Silhouette of Life and Death
A photograph of now and then. They tell me life is a journey, that which we must all take. Moments like this is where I am in awe of creation.
As I stand before this vastness of water, where it seems like I can see forever into the unknown, it reminds me of the light of the future ahead of me, yet behind me is my past of many roads resembled by this tree. All of which brought me to this place in time, a teaching moment that only creation can explain.
Our paths take so many different twist and turns, but the light that shines before us is calling us to continue, even though the past is always right behind us, it slowly disappears and gets lost in time and buried by the sands of creation.
Amazing this thing called life.
Silhouette of Life and Death
Jykell Island
Jykell Island – the one thing the gentleman told us to see when visiting this island, is drift wood beach. I looked on the satellite image from google maps and it looks like a few branches and such scattered along the beach. So I thought, maybe it will look better when walking on the beach. So off we went.
Jykell island has a lot of history of who founded the island and how it has changed over the years. It is known for the secret meeting of 6 men who decided they needed to change the federal reserve system.
The Meeting at Jekyll Island
November 20, 1910–November 30, 1910
The state of Georgia purchased Jekyll Island from the Jekyll Island Club through condemnation proceedings for $675,000. Then it was opened to the public as a State Park
Now one must pay a daily fee to enter the island. It is $10.00 a day now.
Drift wood beach is at the far end of the island and we drove there first. Parking all along the main stretch of road. We chose a spot with a short walk to the beach. At first glance as we got closer to the beach, it was beginning to look very interesting.
According to my research, photographers love showing up here at sunrise or sunset and you will see why on my next couple of post. We arrived mid morning as it was a long drive from our campground.
Scattered with the sun-bleached remains of gnarled and weathered trees, stepping onto Driftwood Beach in Jekyll Island, is like stepping into an alternate reality. It feels like what you’d imagine a post-apocalyptic world to feel like – signs of a life that once was intertwined with a life that now is, all under the watchful and commanding eye of Mother Nature.
Over the last 120+ years, erosion has claimed more than 1,000 feet (305 meters) of Jekyll Island’s coastline, the consequences of which are no more evident or more visually dramatic than they are on Driftwood Beach.
Due to the effects of decades of erosion, what was once a lush, maritime forest has become a boneyard for ancient oak trees and pine trees that have fallen victim to Mother Nature. Over time, as the ocean crept its way into the forest and strong winds and saltwater ate away at tree roots, the soil cover needed to keep it alive became stripped away.
This caused the trees to uproot or to die, some of which miraculously remain standing while others lay half-buried in the sand. And because the tides along this part of the coastline aren’t strong enough to sweep them out to sea, the trees remain. Together forming the hauntingly beautiful landscape that Driftwood Beach is known for today.
Jykell Island
A New Place
A New Place – Happy New Year to everyone. May this year be bountiful and full of adventure and joy, I wish everyone a wonderful new year ahead of us. Full of opportunities, love, and a giving heart for all those we meet on our journey’s of this thing called life. A gift beyond all gifts.
So I start the year with crossing a new bridge. Literally and physically, as I get another year older and hopefully wiser as I make my way to that final chapter in life. My elder years makes me more aware of where I have been and where I am going. It is so much more clear than any other time in my life. Now is a time of adventure and wonderment as I seek to find all the beauty in this world that has been given to us, as I continue my path taking photos and sharing what I find for as long as I can, it starts with this trip across a new bridge. A wonderful way to start the new year.
We went to visit a new place, because of another camper that told us about this island not far from where we were staying. I really need to explore the maps more when we are visiting an area. I would never have thought to go here if they had not mentioned it.
First you have to cross the Sidney Lanier Bridge to get to this location.
The Sidney Lanier Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge that spans the Brunswick River in Brunswick, Georgia, carrying four lanes of U.S. Route 17. The current bridge was built as a replacement to the original vertical-lift bridge, which was twice struck by ships. It is currently the longest-spanning bridge in Georgia and is 480 feet (150 m) tall. It was named for poet Sidney Lanier.
I will have some better photos of the bridge as we leave the island
We are visiting Jekyll Island in Georgia. A place I have never heard of, except for the name Jekyll from that scary movie. This week I will be sharing what we found on this island and the beauty and history that it holds.
A New Place
How Many Doodles in a Poodle
How Many Doodles in a Poodle – So cute, I was out for a walk and here comes this long legged beautiful black and white dog with his owner. So one has to ask what kind of dog it is and how old and may I take his picture.
Well, come to find out the owner was telling me that this Poodle Doodle has 4 or 5 different doodles in it. They did a DNA test to find out what exactly kind of dog it is.
It has Labradoodle of course, and some Doodleman, Golden Doodle and just a poodle doodle and one other doodle they were not sure of. Whew, that is a lot of doodles, but wait.
Come to find out there are as of now over 52 different kinds of doodle dogs.
Poodles are one of the most popular breeds in the world, coming in as the seventh most popular dog in the United States. These fantastically fluffy friends are known for often being best in show across all categories. And it’s no wonder why– Poodles are super dang cute with their curly low-shedding coats, sparkling eyes, and animated expressions. This is one of the reasons breeders started crossbreeding them for some of these awesome hybrid pups!
Here are just a few of the names they have; Foodle, Sheepadoodles, Bernedoodle, Ausiedoodles, Irish doodle, Yorkie Poo Doodle. That last one is a good one.
No this one is a great name, Schnoodles
Have yourselves a fun doodle day. 🙂 and a great weekend.
Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts Pet Portraits
How Many Doodles in a Poodle
A Beautiful Setting
A Beautiful Setting – Southern Charm. I can just picture back in the day with this barn full of horses and lush pastures in the background with moss hanging on the trees as the horses stand in the shade on the hot summer days.
This is quite the horse barn for sure.
A horse persons dream to have stalls and a hay loft with a nice center walk way to bring your horses through the barn.
But, it is no longer a horse farm but a city park and the public restrooms are in this building. The city has grown up around this farm and the nice thing about it all is that the owners made it into a park instead of letting the city demolish it and put stores here instead. I like that and lots of people use this park.
This place is in Hinesville Georgia, a military town that we visited for awhile. It is about the only green space left in this town and we went here a lot as well to walk the dogs and enjoy the greenery.
A Beautiful Setting
Her Name is Cindy
Her Name is Cindy and she has what they call the brindle color. Her person’s name is Hunter, yes that is right. Seems like the names should be switched around, I thought I heard her wrong when she introduced herself to me. But I asked again, just to make sure. Hunter is the person and Cindy is her dog.
Brindle is caused by the accumulation of melanin in the hair shafts, which give the fur a reddish hue. Brindle can occur anywhere on the body, but is most commonly found on the head and hindquarters. The gene responsible for this color change is recessive, so it needs two copies of the mutant gene to be expressed for a dog to develop brindle.
It is a very unique and beautiful color pattern I think.
Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas
Her Name is Cindy
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas from our home to yours. Have a wonderful weekend and may He bless us with love, family and friends on this beautiful weekend. 🙂
Merry Christmas
Love Live Oak Trees
Love Live Oak Trees – every year I take new photos of these beautiful trees. Amazing how the branches grow horizontal to the ground. Some branches touch the ground and keep growing, these trees you will mostly find in the warmer climate areas.
The moss is like tinsel hangin on a Christmas tree. I don’t know if they make tinsel anymore, but my grandfather loved covering our Christmas tree with lots of tinsel after the other decorations were put on.
Our trees back in the day looked just like this.
Love Live Oak Trees
Pup Portraits
Pup Portraits – I have been taking a lot of photos of folks pets, mostly dogs. This is truly one of my favorite things to do. I can make a portrait out of any photo, some folks just send me one of their pets but when I can I like to take the photo myself and then make a portrait for the people that ask me to do this for them.
I take a lot of photos at a session just to get that right look. Any shots where the dog is looking up, like the second one. That is where the pup is looking at their person as they try to get them to sit or to get those ears to go forward. That makes for a great shot.
This ones name is Buda
Pup Portraits
Unique Semi Truck
Unique Semi Truck – You all may know that I mostly take photos of nature, animals, wildlife. But, on occasion I see something like this that catches my attention. Modern marvels in engineering and building. Plus I drove a semi for a couple of years and there are some pretty cool looking tractor trailers out there.
We were driving down the interstate and husbands says to me, ” Look what is about to pass us”. This beautiful truck rolled on by. But I did not get the best look because it was passing us. Well I watched it disappear up ahead and a rest stop was coming up, so I said lets pull over because the dogs needed to get out.
And what do I see but this truck parked at the rest stop, so I had to take a couple of photos.
Video below of truck passing or click this link – Cool Truck
Unique Semi Truck
Wide Angle Lens
Wide Angle Lens – I love shooting with my wide angle lens. It can give a landscape photo wonderful depth and if you have some fluffy clouds, it can give the appearance of movement.
I used the rule of thirds for this shot. I have the barn almost center and took the photo facing the corner of the barn. This allows for more depth, the barn angle makes my eye follow the line of the barn to the left of the photo and makes the barn look bigger then it is.
But I also left plenty of blank space on the right of the photo so you can see the clouds all the way back and gives the appearance of movement.
Blank space is important in many ways, if you are selling your work for commercial use, they want blank space for advertising.
Depending on the scene, it also gives you a glimpse of the background to the subject. This being farmland that goes with this old barn.
This photo below, I did not leave blank space on the right because I am on a hill taking this photo and with the corn field in the background, there is not enough open space to draw the eye to look all the way to the horizon. So the tree fits perfectly for this composition.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Wide Angle Lens
As the Light Shines
As the Light Shines – that simple head line I wrote sounds like a soap opera title. A beautiful orange butterfly enjoys the sweet nectar of a tiny flower in the morning light. But, little does it know, a camera lens keeps getting closer to it, trying to get that perfect shot.
Stay tuned to see what happens next, after this commercial break. dun, dun, dunnnnnn. 🙂
I am not sure how the ending music goes when it cuts to a commercial. We have not watched regular TV in many years. We gave up network television a long time ago, the only thing we have are DVD movies to watch on those rainy or cold days. It is so nice not to have to see commercials anymore.
As the Light Shines
Unique Round Barn
Unique Round Barn – This is Ryan’s Round Barn in Illinois, it is one of 42 round barns in existence. They have a great campground by this barn. We visited here quite a few years ago.
Nestled on a knoll near the entrance of the 1,361-acre Johnson Sauk Trail State Park, Ryan’s Round Barn was the brainstorm and pet project of a turn-of-the-century Chicago brain surgeon named Lawrence P. Ryan.
The industrious doctor deviated from the standard square barn design that dotted the countryside and built a round barn.
Ryan’s barn is a three-level, domed-ceiling structure built on a slope so that the first and second floors are easily accessible from the outside at ground level. Built by carpenters who specialized in round barn construction, it measures 80 feet tall and 85 feet in diameter.
Unique Round Barn
Rainy Day in August
Rainy Day in August – I almost missed this photo. It is such a picturesque spot and the leaves were just starting to turn color back in August up by Lake Superior.
It gives me the feeling of calmness and peace.
Video Below showing the light rain falling as I was standing there looking at this beautiful landscape in front of me.
Rainy Day in August
Speaking of Clouds
Speaking of Clouds – from yesterday’s post. It reminded me of this place called White Cloud NM. A beautiful place one should stop and see if in the New Mexico area. We were here a couple of years ago right after they had a nice snow fall.
Mountain views with snow are a beautiful sight to see. I still have not been to Colorado, that is on the agenda though.
Have a great weekend.
Speaking of Clouds
Clouds
Clouds – Cloud watching is something I never get tired of. Remember back when you were a child and would see what kind of animal or something the clouds looked like. Well I still do that to this day.
What a fun cloud formation this one is. I looked up and was so surprised as to what the opening in the clouds looks like to me. Can you guess? What state is it?
Clouds
