Frozen rain

Altamonte FLORIDA

On thanksgiving week we packed up and headed for Orlando. Our eldest son had been asking us forever when he could go back to Disneyland. Well, Cali is far and Orlando is just a drive away. So early morning on friday at 5 we left our quiet neighborhood and headed for Florida through VA, NC, SC and GA. We stopped at Savannah for the night and toured around but it was a great disappointment nothing much there. After doing all the necessary theme park at Disneyworld for a pre school kid we visited our friend who lives in Apopka. His wife is a nurse who duties at night so when we came she was asleep. To keep the kids screams and laughter from waking her up we took them to this lovely community place in Altamonte to feed the birds, fish and some turtles. The kids had fun and we did too. Have you ever tried feeding seagulls and blackbirds in the air? It was cool the way the can catch the bread crumbs being thrown in the mid space. The sunset was beautiful too. It was cold then, apparently quite unsual for Florida that time of the year. We were surprise too we thought we get some warmth a break from cold Maryland.

Woolly Moth

Fern

Wintery Wooly

It has been a while. I have been very busy.

We went camping last weekend at West Virginia hoping to see the autumn leaves. We did but they were all on the ground. We were two weeks late it seemed. I was hoping to take pictures of mushroom but we saw heaps of caterpillar instead. This is a moth caterpillar. I don't know which one but they do look pretty and prepared for winter.

This could be the Tussock Moth Caterpillar but I could be wrong.

Coprinus micaceus (Mica Cap)

I am not 100% sure with description but it is pretty close. I took this shot today during my walk through the woods.

Devil's Snuff-Box

Lycoperdon Perlatum

I am pretty sure this is the Devil's Snuff box according to the description I found in my research unless anybody proves me otherwise.

'Shrooms Amanita

I took this shot in RED Creek Campground at Dolly Sods (Monongahela National Forest) West Virginia during our camping trip last weekend.

"Bwisita"

"Bwisita" is a composite word from "Bisita" (visitor) & "Bwisit" (Badluck). Here this squirrel has become a menace to our veranda, knocking several of my spice potted plants, killing some. I hid behind the blinds for almost an hour waiting for a good shot. I used my Macro lense as it gets me a little closer. I am saving up for a telephoto lense.

"Itay"

Nag bibigay ligaya ang bahagyang makasama ang ama.

Photo taken at Centennial Park Columbia Maryland. Pictured here is of father and son in the afternoon. Perhaps afterwork.

HPPAY FATHER'S DAY Y'ALL!

"Kalayaan"

Kalayaan (Freedom).

Sa murang kaisipan nga mga batang eto sila ay sa kasalukuyang malaya sa mga problema ng ating mundo.

(Kids seen playing at the beach at Sandy Point Maryland)

Chameleon

This chameleon is a local resident at the Washington DC's Smithsonian Zoo. It took me about 20 shots I guess to get a few good ones.

Ang Serena bow!

She was getting married. I wonder what she was thinking. She didn't mind me taking her photo. I am not very good with people photo and I only share photos of people when their faces are not obvious to protect their privacy and I also don't want to get sued.

Her Teva

A young surfer!

I took this photo the last time I was in Philippines. I have posted this one here but I think in color. I tried BW it seems to work as well. The young surfer made do with a tiny little surf in one of the local beaches in Central Philippines. There a few of them that was showing off especially when I started taking photos. I just had my point and shoot camera which is what I carry now most of the times.

H. Majordomo

Borderland

These are one of the last hobby photos I took while in Nepal. Taken during the early hours of the morning. A flower with due drop makes it look more dramatic. Not all of content in this pictures are in focus but together they created an eye pleasing piece.

Borderland Resort is where this picture in taken. We went off with friends for a weekend getaway from the hustle and bustle of the polluted city in Kathmandu. The resort is only a few miles away from the Tiber Border hence the name Borderland. It sits near a class 5 rapids.

Nepali Dinghy

This is one of the few dinghies available for tourist to use if they want to enjoy the lake in Phokara. I took this photo just after I went off myself for winding back after a long trek in the Lower Mustang in the Himalayas in Nepal. I don't know much about paddling and all but I was fine made out and back. It was one of the best time in my life. It is amazing how nice "quiet" is. I took off very early in the morning before everyone else in my company woke up.

"Ihip ng Hangin"

Eto ay kuha no'ng nakaraang linggo sa Boston (Cambridge to be specific) at Charles River. habang lulan kami sa tinawag na Duck Boat (Duck Toars). Eto ay isang Amphibious Vehicle, originally from WW II. Habang pinag pa drive ng tour guide ang anak kung limang taong gulang ang sailboat na eto ay muntik ng bumangga sa likuran ng Duck Boat namin, sila yung sumalubong nalang bigla. Medyo malakas ang hangin kaya maraming sailboat ang naki agaw sa Duck Tours sa kahabaan ng Charles River. I wish I was able to take a better photo peru yakap yakap kung aking bunso na medyo pagud na at aburido kasi gumagabi na at buong araw na kaming. namamasyal. Nalibang naman ang aking panganay at naka pag drive daw sya ng Amphibious Truck. Below is a photo of the Duck Boats.

Look no head!

Taken at the Smithsonian Zoo in downtown DC. Petty about the vine spoiling the scene but anyway I thought it looked cool. I couldn't find where the head was and the snake wasn't giving any indication that it was going to say hello soon so I took the shot. About a few minutes later my husband to a photo of the same snake with his head out. He got the best shot of that day. Below is the photo he took. I was kicking myself a little bit for being impatient.

He loves me he loves me not!

If you want to do this game this is a perfect flower for you, easy to pick and only a few, you'd get it over and done with in a jiffy, hopefully the odds are on your side but why use a flower why not ask him instead . . .

This shot I took at the Smithsonian Zoo in Washington DC one Saturday afternoon last year. Using our new macro lense.

"Tubig"

Medyo nahuli sya peru heto na ang lahok ko. Mga butil ng tubig nag papahaba ng buhay sa mga halaman.

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I 've been always fascinated with macro shots ever since I held a camera. Since I am not really creative on composition macro shot seems the best focus. This before I bought my Sigma Macro lens.

"Umaapoy"

Ito ay isa sa mga pinaka unang litratong kinuha ko ng mag simula akung mag ka interesado sa pagiging litratista. Kuha noong taong Jan 2001 sa Lijiang China sa isang kainan.

This photo was taken during my holiday in Lijiang China, one of the UNESCO's World Heritage Site. In a restaurant having dinner. The first few photos I took when I started photography. I had an SLR but it was too complicated for me to really start enjoying photography so I got a digital camera. I now have a DSLR but still complicated to use but I am trying to learn.


Replies:

You are perhaps right. I remember playing with the new camera a lot

Buge said...

Napakaganda naman ng iyong larawan. Very dramatic ang dating!

Karaniwan nga yata sa mga litratista ay kumukuha ng larawan ng apoy kapag bago pa lamang sila. Sigruo at tinetesting nila ang exposure :)

Magandang Huwebes sa yo!

I started photography back in college using SLR, didn't learn much but sparked an interest, 2nd chance was an SLR, started an interest in Macro shots, bought a digital point and shoot with strong macro feature, the candle and few other photos were the first macro shots attempt . . . yes baby step. . .

meeya said...

di bale, chrys. practice makes perfect. :) i'm using my husband's dslr too ang there are still so many things i need to learn. :) baby steps!

"Mahal Na Ina"

Ang larawan sa itaas ay kuha sa Kathmandu Nepal. Ipinasyal namin minsan ang isang bisita sa Hindu Temple kung saan ginagawa ang pag sunog ng kanilang mga yumao. Ang matsing na ito ay isa sa mga residente sa nasabing lugar at sagrado. Ang larawan sa ibaba ay actual na seremonya habang inihahanda ang pagsunog ng kanilang mga yumao. Just to show you guys what I am talking about.




Note: I lived in Nepal for almost 3 years and this is one of the places we take our guest to visit. Something where most of our friends have never seen before. I didn't normally go here only when there is a guest who wished to come and observe. Foreigners and tourist are allowed to observe but only on the other side of the holy river (where I took the photo). The other side is considered sacred and only Hindus are allowed in. Notice a body wrapped in white garment covered with marigold flower on the left is the pyre where later they will put the body on to burn. There are two sides of this area. The one you are looking at is for Royal families and for Government People , the other side which is not shown here is for common people. Most days you'll see about 3 to 4 burning ceremonies. It is a bit morbid for me so I avoided coming here. There are a huge number of free range monkeys that live off people's discarded food. Since they are considered as sacred they don't have natural prey except for ocassional vehicular run over and sickness so they are kind of prolific. They generally stay a good distance to people. These mother and baby was on the side of the walk path. The mother was scowling at someone, warning them while I was taking photos.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL!

Buttons

These fungi I found in the woods of Catoctin National Park. The trees had almost no leaves, The color was yellow every where. The area looked a little desolate and I was very happy to find the color below. I would try to find what sort of mushroom this is but it takes a lot of energy to search on the net and often you don't really get just in one day. So I will do that later if I do not forget. In the meantime I'll have this on here.

I didn't do any alteration at all whatsoever. As I have mentioned before I don't have any photo editor except iPhoto in my iMac. The image is not as sharp as I would have liked it to be. If you notice closely the mushroom is not actually in focus but the part of the log it is on behind it.

I am really very happy with little Canon Ixuss, with a good light and the right functions I do get good photos. Most of my recent photos are taken with this little one because it is easy to carry around in my bag or in my pocket.

Don't Touch Me

These photo I took several years ago when I was on a holiday in Australia. The very first mushroom photo I have. Since then I am on the prowl to get shots of gorgeous mushrooms and the like around. It is not easy to find something that is different than the usual. I am still trying to find which mushroom this is.

"MALUNGKOT"

Libingan ng mga Bayani

Robert "Bob" Francis Kennedy

Ito ay kuha nung nakaraang taglamig sa Virginia Arlington Cemetery. Libingan ng mga nasawing sundalo at iba pang mga importanteng tao sa US. Sa di kalayuan ng unang litrato ay nakalibing ang pamilya Kennedy (JFK, dalawang anak at ang yumaong asawa na si Jackie O). Ang libingan ng kapatid na si Bob ay nahiwalay sa di masyadong magara na landmark (kompara sa kay JFK na may enternal flame). Base na rin eto mismo sa hiling ni Bob sa nabubuhay pa.

Note: JFK Jr. and his wife were cremated and his ashes were spread somewhere else.

Added (later):
The image above was taken using a Canon Ixuss. As of now I don't have a good Photo Editor, still saving some cash to get one so I am using what comes with Mac Os X Computer, iPhoto, there isn't much you can do really. The first image I under expose it one click to make the trees and the tombstones pop out a little bit. The second image I changed to BW but it doesn't look that way. ANYWAY, it was quite overwhelming being in that place. While I was there a funeral was in service of one casualty from Iraq. It made the visit even more desolate plus it was really cold, minus zero. JFK's grave (38 52'53.51"N 77 04'17.38"W) quite grand as it was on a hill almost overlooking the mall, the capitol and all those landmarks in DC. Then there is this eternal flame. His brother's grave (38 52' 52.13"N 77 04' 17.94"W), Bob, pictured here, is not too far from JFK's. JF Kennedy is one of the only US presidents buried in Arlintong, most of the US Presidents are buried in their home state.

"Ala ala"

"Ala ala"

Mga canyon ng alaala sa mga nasawi sa civil war. Kuha sa nakaraang taom (2007) sa Maryland.


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Looking at his canyons from the distance reminded of how many dies during the war for freedom. Like they said Freedom is not Free.

Got to "Litratong Pinoy"

War Memorial

Morchella

An edible mushroom called morel my son and I found on the side of the road during one of our walks in our area. At first I thought this is poisonous but after searching on the internet to know what it's called I discovered that this is actually an edible one and well sought after for that matter. These are prized by gourmet cooks. Commercial value aside, morels are hunted by thousands of people every year simply for their taste and the joy of the hunt. Morels contain small amounts of toxins that are removed by thorough cooking, and morel mushrooms should never be eaten raw. There are anecdotal reports that morel poisoning is more likely to occur if consumed alongside alcohol.

Frog of colors

This image above is taken by my husband at the National Aquarium in Baltimore

Cayman Crocodile Thru Glass

Not particularly a clear shot but I kind of like it.

Creepy Crawly in my backyard

I took this photo in my backyard when I lived in Kathmandu with my first Digital Camera, my last year in Nepal. I'm almost always happy with the result of this camera's shot. I do have to take hundreds of course. It's my old faithful macro gadget. Since I got the a small canon that fits in my pocket I have not carried the Sony around that much anymore.

That Tree

Taken at The Great Falls National Park on Virginian side.

Brothers' Hands

Assateague Natinal Park, MD

A Penny For Your Thought?

World War II Memorial

In Washington DC at the end of the reflection pool on the other side of Lincoln's Memorial

Creepy

Reflections

A reflection of trees on the paddle along the mall in Washington DC. It was a nice day with some clouds.

New York

Took this photo from the ferry on our way to Staten Island. It was overcast we didn't think we'd get some good shots but there was a bit of nice sunlight coming through the clouds.

Just with my little Canon Ixuss. I didn't have time to fix this photo, crop or adjust colors whatever, displayed here in its originality.