Jaguar

Flamingo

Savannah Sideneck Turtle

Enough said …

I finally did some research on taking great photos of fireworks and it paid off.  It turns out that it’s as simple as f/8 to f/16 with a remote shutter control at a low ISO.  Okay, so there’s a little more to it than that … but not much.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything to this site.  I’ll update it with some of my photos from my 365 Day Project shortly, including snapshots of March, April, May, and (dear me) June.  And, I should note, I have officially uploaded a photo everyday (with some exceptions and a few catch-up uploads) for six months now.  Only another six to go!  Woohoo!

A little behind but proud nonetheless …

Fort Garland in the San Luis Valley of Southern Colorado was established in 1858 and was once commanded by Kit Carson.  The Museum had a number of dioramas, including this one, which showcased life in the Wild West in the 1800’s and the role that Fort Garland played during its era.  This photo was retouched in Lightroom, adding a colored split tone to give it the look of an antique photo.

I took this shot at an amazing little retro-diner in Phoenix, Arizona called MacAlpine’s Soda Fountain.  They had a quaint little menu, an infinite number of ice cream floats and cream sodas, weird little 1950’s-Americana paraphernalia everywhere, and even a waitress in period uniform.

The Cottontop Tamarin (Saguinus oedipus), also known as the Pinché Tamarin, is a small New World monkey. It is found in tropical forest edges and secondary forests where it is arboreal and diurnal and only in Northern Columbia.  They are also found at zoos … this photo was taken at the San Antonio Zoo.  They number less than 6000 worldwide, 1800 of which are in captivity.  A critically endangered animal protected by International Conservation Law, their numbers are rapidly declining, primarily as a result of habitat loss.  Conservation International has information on how each of us can take action to stem habitat loss, reduce carbon footprints, and provide financial assistance to conservationists in the lab and in the field.

Unveiling my New Year’s Resolution … to post one photo per day on my Flickr page in 2009.  It should be noted that this is my only resolution in 2009.  One month down, eleven more to go.  Or … 31 days down, 334 days to go!

Earlier this year, McDonald’s Happy Meals contained, for inexplicable reasons, Madame Alexander dolls in the likeness of characters from the Wizard of Oz.  I simply could not pass up an opportunity to grab a few of these to photograph.  Eventually I gathered, in addition to the Winkie Guard, the Wicked Witch, the Scarecrow, and the Lion.  One of my colleagues became equally fascinated in these and picked up a few additional characters.  I’ll have to ask her if I can borrow Dorothy for a weekend.