Animals

One of the days at Walt Disney World we met up with family at Animal Kingdom.
This is one park where you need your camera and if possible a longer lens.
It doesn't take long to see animals as you can see them entering the park. You
also have to keep your eyes open and look around as there is wildlife everywhere.
The young man in the group likes dinosaurs, so we headed there. I believe he is three years old, but knew the names of all the dinosaurs. That part of the park was neat and there was even an old Coke cooler in the gift shop, of course stocked with Coke.
Next was a walk through Africa which offered more animals along with the feeling one was on the African continent. The heat and humidity also made you feel like you were there.
We took the trip on the safari ride while in Africa, which was the highlight of the day. I highly recommend the ride for anyone visiting the park.
We saw all the animals but the lions. We even have problems seeing the king of the jungle when we attend the Maryland Zoo. Anyways it was a great ride for a photographer and it was fun to see how the kids enjoyed it.
There seemed to be animals around every corner. A few of my images can be seen here.
I will definitely stop by Animal Kingdom on my next visit to Walt Disney World.

Nature

We stayed at one of the Disney sites during our trip to Disney World.
I was taking pictures of nature as we were checking in. There had been a shower and water droplets were on the flowers and plants.
Fort Wildness was great. We parked at the cabin and didn't drive again until we left for Jacksonville, three days later.
The bus picked us up and took us to the dock for the ferry that dropped us at the front gate of the Magic Kingdom.
I like the outdoors, so the cabin was perfect. As a photographer the area was picture perfect.
The campgrounds were laid out around trees and water. There was Spanish Moss hanging from the trees.
I was able to shoot nature as soon as we got unpacked. The frogs in the area had a concert going. A walk around the drive brought me to a spot that offered a few images. First to catch my eye were the frogs. I thought I was looking for one or two frogs like at home, there were hundreds.
Next I pointed my camera at a lizard that was watching me work.
The plants in the water got my attention next.
There were birds everywhere and the crane-type white birds liked the lizards that seemed to be everywhere.
I checked out the spot the next three morning, but nothing topped the first day.

Vacation

Well, the past week was fun.
I took my first vacation in a long while and made my first trip to Florida at the same time.
The first part of the week in the Sunshine state was spent at Disney World. It's fun to see the attraction through the eyes of children.
I am not much on rides so the grandchildren kept me busy with my camera.
How busy? I am glad you asked. Between Disney World and a family reunion I took over 13,000 images. Yes, you read that right. I gave my Nikon quite a workout.
I will share a few of my shoots from the Magic Kingdom. We also took in Animal Kingdom and Epcot which I will explore in future entries.
I visited Disneyland in the 1960's. So there were a few items I wanted to see. Mainly the Magic Castle, fireworks and "It's A Small World". I also saw small world at the 1964 World's Fair in New York. It is possible that Shirley and I rode the same bus back then.
There were many photographs to take, no matter what time of day. Disney World is one place you definitely have to take a camera, so the memories can last forever.

Camera Meter

I was in Westminster early in the morning recently. How early? The sun wasn't up yet.
Anyways, it reminded me of two items. The first is when you get a picture in your head, don't give up when it's not there. There could be something better.
The other lesson is not to always trust the camera meter. Take some chances.
I saw the first light of day and the shade of color in the sky and reached for my camera.
I always have gotten up early and there are a lot of photographs in morning and make it worth getting out of bed.
In my mind I saw the sun rising over Westminster. Well there were clouds where the sun would come up.
My disappointment turned into joy real fast. There were many birds perched on utility wires against the morning sky.
So I set to framing my shot and took a meter reading with the camera.
It read a f/stop of 5.6 at the speed of 1/100. All the photographs above were shot at ISO 200.
I knew that the reading was off, as I didn't need the detail in the birds. So I shot the scene with numerous speeds, so I could show the difference here. I could have changed f/stops also.
This is an important point to remember when shooting sunrise and sunset. The camera captures more color than your eye sees.
Also remember a card in the camera holds many images, unlike film which had a maximum of 36 shots. Plus you had to pay for the prints.

Funny

The great thing about always carrying a camera with you, is when you see something funny, well, they were funny to me.
I know what the folks at Pizza Hut were trying to say, but I thought it was funny. So do people normally come in naked? I know when we eat there, people are always dressed. I know they want you to come dressed in your Oriole clothes.
I saw the road worker sign yesterday. I guess it's my sense of humor, but I couldn't wait to see if the flag man was laying down. As you can see in the image, he is upright. I guess he had a rough night, as there have been times when I felt like that in the morning.

Williamsburg Animals

We established in an earlier post that I like Williamsburg.
There are many things to photograph in the Colonial Capital. One of the objects I enjoy are the animals.
There are horses pulling carriages and oxen pulling carts through the streets. In the Spring, you get to watch lambs in the fields.
An animal that has the run of the city are squirrels. They don't seem to mind posing for the camera.
On one visit I was standing by a tree looking around for a photograph. There was a lot of noise coming out of a trash barrel.
Out popped a squirrel with something in his mouth. Up a tree he scampered. I focused on him as he sat in a tree and ate an ice cream cone that was thrown away.
Keep your camera handy in Williamsburg as images to photograph can pop up anywhere and at any time.

National Night Out

Tuesday night was National Night Out Against Crime which is a chance for communities to come together against crime and drugs.
This national event has gone on for 25 years, but I have never attended. It think it is great when national events can happen at the local level.
Eldersburg was host for the event for the first time this year. I few other places in Carroll also held National Night Out events.
The Freedom Area Citizens Council and Carroll County Sheriff's Department put the event together which was a good attempt for the first time.
Eldersburg is home to many commuters. The two high schools, Century and Liberty have been picking up honors lately.
The event at Carrolltown Center brought out a lot of people together. Many county groups like Carroll Hospital Center, Sykesville Fire Department, Carroll County Sheriff Department, Lions Club and many others.
Many of the groups offered free items like pens, note pads and candy along with information. The younger crowd enjoyed the moon bounce, yo yo man and fire safety trailer.
It was a great event as folks had fun and were able to learn something also.

Jellyfish

The ads were on television and there was advertising around the Inner Harbor for a Baltimore Waterfront Invasion. Also known as the Jellies Invasion.
It seemed like an interesting exhibit to see during our visit. It's fun to watch them move through the water.
It was also interesting to note that the book I was reading over the weekend was `Medusa'. It is the latest from Clive Cussler (one of my favorite authors) and involves jellyfish.
The jellyfish come in different size and colors. I was used to seeing them in the Chesapeake Bay. The seas nettles hurt when you come in contact with them.
There were many people in the exhibit, but not the crowd like in other parts of the aquarium. So I was able to shoot some nice images of the jellies.

National Aquarium

Saturday saw us make a second trip to Baltimore in a week.
The focus of this journey was the National Aquarium. This was my first trip to the aquarium. I had visited one in North Carolina on a rainy day during a fishing trip.
We enjoyed the aquarium which was a family trip. There was one bad item about the trip. The place was packed as was the Inner Harbor.
The reason was that half of Boston was in town. The Red Sox was playing (no, make that sweeping) the Orioles. We saw a boat in the harbor flying a Boston flag. So they came by land and sea. I know that tourist are good for the local economy which was fine with me.
The aquarium is home to about 10,500 specimens, so I was looking forward to the trip. I am used to setting in a boat trying to get fish to bite. It was good to look at them eye to eye.
It's hard to shoot in the aquarium as the light changes from display to display. I love to shoot natural light and I knew flash and glass are not a good mix.
Some of the exhibits I couldn't get to see due to the crowd. But I was happy with the results of my shooting. I also know what to look for on a return trip.
It seems like the family liked the dolphin show and 4D movie. Both were good, but I think I liked the jellyfish best.
As I have said before, don't forget to take your camera.

Tornado

While I am no longer working for a newspaper, I still listen to a police/fire scanner. After 35 years it's hard habit to give up.
Today we hear them give a tornado warning and then said there was one near Mount Airy. We set off to give Ian Barry a ride. We thought we had time to get back home. Nice thought.
On the way back the storm hit. Boy, did the rain come down along with high winds. We headed back to the Barry's and got very wet running in.
After Ian got home, we heard the fire alert for storm damage from a tornado near Gamber. So, we all jumped in the truck and off we went. Ian knows Carroll roads as well as I do, so he drove. That left me to shot out the window.
We saw damage as he turned on Deer Park Road. As we turned right on to Constellation Way fire equipment blocked the road. It was easy to see the damage. Trees were down and siding was around the yards.
The equipment was between the two most damaged homes. Both lost part of their roofs. After taking a few shots, Ian drove around to the other side of the street.
More trees down and stripped of leaves and bark. A lady came out and said she saw the funnel cloud come down and do the damage. Ian and I got out of the truck and walked around. The garage on one house had a wall moved along with part of the roof missing.
The damage was hit and miss. Tornado damage always amazes me, how it is hit and miss along with how it snaps or strips trees.
This is the second tornado damage in the Gamber area I have shot in the last 12 years.

Orioles

What would a summer day in Baltimore be without taking in an Oriole game.
It has been another trying season for the home fans. It wasn't helped by losing the first two games of a four game set.
The Bird's have a lot of young players and are aiming toward the future.
Part of the future was on display Wednesday night as Chris Tillman took the mound for his major league debut.
We attended the game with my friend Paul and his girl friend Cathy. They were visiting from North Carolina. Paul and I had worked together on a newspaper and have kept in touch.
I haven't been to an O's game in about 10 years and it was with Paul. Shirley hadn't been in a while also. So, we were looking forward to the game.
As usual, I had my camera with me. It's a strange feeling shooting from the bleachers after shooting at field level from the dugout area.
After the Royals took batting practice, the ground crew covered the field. Not a good sign.
Following a shower, they uncovered the field and Tillman strolled toward the bullpen. He loosened up in center field which was fine for my Nikon. After shooting some images I watched him and he seemed nervous and why not, as over 19,000 folks were there to see part of the future.
Well, Tillman had to wait through a few more showers before taking the mound. I was very glad Shirley brought an umbrella with us. The game was about 45 minutes late getting started. He was hit hard in the first inning, but it was three up and three down.
He ended up giving up three home runs before getting pulled. But most importantly, the home fans didn't get down on him. Pitching is an important element at this level and Tillman is just part of it.
Even if he never lost a game, that would only be a win every fifth game and that's not going to happen. The Birds need four other starting pitchers to get back on top of the American League East.
The team they send to hit looks good for the future. They just need help at the corners (maybe they could teach Luke Scott to play first).
Even getting soaked, it was a fun time. The only bad thing about the game was not the rain, but two loud drunks at the end of the row.
I know you pay to come in and watch the game and yell at the opponent. But respect those around you. If not, they wouldn't return which is bad for the Oriole's and baseball. We will go back, it just will not take as long to return this time.
The selection of images include Chris Tillman looking at the scoreboard in center field and his first pitch in Camden Yards. Adam Jones warming up in center field, fans dancing in the bleachers and Camden Yards.