My New Toy

Mrs. Claus brought me a new lens for Christmas, a Lensbaby.

I first got to play with an original model back in Santa Fe a number of years ago and have wanted one ever since. The whole point of the lens is the blur and the way you can tilt the point of sharpness and focus. It will take some practice and getting used to because I don't see so well and it is a manual focus lens.

Here are a few of my photos from today. I walked through a local cemetery that has a number of graves from the mid-late 1800's. I figured that was only fitting since the Santa Fe National Cemetery was where I was first introduced to this type lens.

St. Andrews Cemetery - Milford, OH





St. Andrews Cemetery - Milford, OH




This is the same tree as in this previous post.
Sycamore Tree - Milford, OH





King on the Game Table

Winter Continues...

and it isn't even here yet.....spring seems a long time away

Pine With Snow

Baltimore's Inner Harbor

I spent a late afternoon walking around Baltimore's Inner Harbor last week. It was a beautiful, if a bit cold day with bright deep blue skies. It was amazing to see how much the harbor area has changed in the past 26 years or so. What used to be home to a lot abandoned docks and warehouses is now home to posh condos, hotels, and fancy shops and restaurants...

I'm not too good at merging photos into a panoramic shot, I don't have the time and I'm on my rather slow and old computer....so excuse the obvious merging skies etc in the first shot.

Baltimore and Inner Harbor from Federal Hill



Mooring Pylons with Seven Foot Knoll in the distance - Inner Harbor



Hard Rock's Guitar Towers Above Inner Harbor



Cannon and Flag on Federal Hill

Longwood Gardens

We visited Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania earlier this week and saw their Christmas display. We didn't have the energy to stay around late enough to see the lights once it got dark (we arrived at 10 am. and it was a pretty cold and blustery day). Walking through the grounds made me really like to see the gardens and fountains in late spring or late summer. This time, we spent most of our time inside the conservatory. It is something like 4 acres undercover and it was beautifully decorated for Christmas (and it was warm:). The various Christmas trees were especially nicely decorated.

The Longwood Gardens is one of Pierre Samuel du Pont's lasting legacies. Walking around the grounds made me wonder if any of the present day robber bankers will leave a legacy beyond their current blatant pillaging of damn near anything they can get their hands on (only with government approval of course).

Christmas Ornaments on Tree - Longwood Gardens, PA



Decorated Christmas Tree - Longwood Gardens, PA




"Silver" Plants as a Theme - Longwood Gardens, PA




Succulent in the Cactus Room - Longwood Gardens, PA

Winter is Here

A little earlier than I'd prefer. I took this on my snowy walk yesterday.

Cold Pumpkin

Man of War

Hopefully I'm back to posting more photos. I'm definitely getting the chance to take more again...a bunch of Portuguese Man-of-War were washed up on the beach at Destin last week. Most were the size of about a quarter, but some were bigger like this one, about the size of a small cantaloupe.

Man Of War