[fall color tour] day 3

(more from my quick trip in October)

Lots of driving. Some if it very scary.

Cades Cove in Tennessee. We got up early and drove 3 hours to meet Norm and his brother. But no one called until we got there and there was no cell service. We did manage to see them by chance. Cades Cove was crowded.















We left Cades Cove and stopped at Cracker Barrel for lunch. Then we went to Elk River falls. There are few signs and we weren't sure if we were going the right way. The site is not protected with railings which is probably why it is not marked.

Elk River Falls in North Carolina



Then on to Grandfather Mountain. We had hoped to get there for sunset but the weather was not cooperating. Fog rolled in and we could not see the mountain. Allen was driving up and at one point, we all thought he was going over the edge. No guard rails!

Grandfather Mountain







I needed a drink, or 6 after that. We went to Stonewalls and I had margaritas. Yum.

[photo walk] fort desoto

Allan and Mike were complaining about the lack of good locations for Friday photo walks. They prefer natural sights with lots of birds. Jeff plans those kind of walks on Sunday mornings. I scheduled a Friday walk for Fort DeSoto.





I hadn't been to the park since we first moved to Florida. Gail took us but the boys were too young to enjoy it much. The waves are too strong. We didn't even visit the fort. I probably would not have appreciated it then as I was not doing much photography but snapshots of the boys.



There isn't much left but the the shell of the building. There are 3 guns left of the original 8. They are fixed in various positions and the cannons are empty. I played with Chip in the barrel and Doyle said it looked like I was being executed. Jason offered his bandana as a blind fold. Doyle told me to wait until everyone was done shooting. I peeked and saw them leaving. Ha ha.





Ryan's teacher called and I was on the phone when Doyle climbed into window to pose for me. I had to shoot one handed and didn't even get a chance to check my settings. Luckily I was sitting on a bench at the time.







There aren't too many choices for lunch in the park. There is a concession stand in the gift shop but... We decided to leave the park and headed to Billy's Crab. Now I know it is because they serve beer. Jeff only drinks coffee or beer. I took Chip along and he had fun posing for me.

new appliances

I'm sure I blogged about my dryer woes from last year. On Saturday, the dryer stopped working again. I knew it was time to look for a new unit.

Thanks to Stephanie, I was able to check out Consumer Reports. I was shocked at the cost of new dryers. When and why did they get so expensive? I picked out 5 middle of the road unit to look at. I planned on checking them out and purchasing a new dryer on Sunday.

I went to Famous Tate first. I still had not heard from them regarding Andy's bed. I told them that and Ricardo said it would be taken of.

We looked at dryers. We looked at scratch & dent but the only dryers they had were basic units. Very basic. Ricardo showed me some LG units. I hadn't heard of steam units and he explained the benefits. We don't have dry cleaning nor use bleach so the benefits would be wasted on us.

Gas dryers are not popular in Florida. It would cost about $100 more for the unit, $75 more for installation since a certified gasman needs to do the work, and take a week linger because they don't stock them. The new washers are supposed to cut the drying time by about 30%. Famous Tate had a good deal on the pair. I bought the pair with the electric dryer.

As we sat writing up the order, we talked about detergent. I told them I used Charlie's Soap. Another person looked it up. We then talked about hard water and phosphates being removed from detergents. The phosphates are what helped the detergent to clean and removed the calcium from the hard water. They recommend Lemi Shine. I had never heard of it but looked it up when I got home.

I found Lemi Shine at amazon.com for 4 times the msrp. What? But the reviews were good. I found some at Target and bought a jar. I tried it last night and am sold! When I emptied the dishwasher this morning, there was no more grit, not more white deposits left on the nylon spatula, not fog left on the mixing cup.

Today I stayed at home waiting for delivery. I cleaned up the boxes littering the entry, moved an old printer to my car for donation and vacuumed the carpet. Dad capped the gas and I cleaned up the years of dust and grime behind the washer and dryer. Gross.

The installation was uneventful. It took Andy awhile before he would actually get near the washer & dryer. Now, he is sitting in front watching them spin. And he has his recorder on top to record the new sounds and tones.

[photo walk] ybor market

(I am trying to catch up on blog posts I drafted and have not posted. Most of the delay is my delay in processing the photos.)


The last Saturday of the month is reserved for a photo walk. Some of these are more outings than photo walks. This month we met at the Ybor Saturday Market. I was looking forward to it thinking it would be much larger than the Friday Market in Lykes Gaslight Park. It wasn't bigger, it was smaller. It was mostly art and craft items. And since I hate asking for permission, (fear of rejection) I would rather shoot produce. But there was none probably because nothing is in season yet. I sat and talked with Theresa and Betty. Then I got Chip out and Betty and I took some shots.

fall color tour

(click to enlarge)


I went on a vacation. Really, I did. It wasn't meant to be a relaxing trip. There was little time to relax about with all the driving and Chinese photo drills, and driving and hiking and driving and shooting and driving and searching for waterfalls. Did I mention the driving?

Months ago, Allen planned a fall color trip to North Carolina. He found a cheap cabin and he and Mike planned to go. The cabin sleeps four so Sherry & Susan joined. But the Susan found out that the cabin would be too primitive for her. OP has a friend with a condo not far away and he planned on meeting them. Mike cancelled and the trip moved to the condo.

Plans were talked about on Tuesdays at the photo meet-ups. It sounded like fun but I knew I couldn't go for a week. That is just too much for dad and the boys. Then OP had to get back early so the trip was shortened to 4 days. Hmm...

I mentioned it to my dad and he started mapping out the drive. I hadn't even committed to going and he was waving good-bye. Then as I was leaving, he said "Enjoy yourself but don't do anything I wouldn't do." That equates to "Enjoy the trip but don't go."

I went. I had a good time. I'll be posting more. Hopefully soon. You can see more photos at my potd blog.

[photo walk] tampa riverwalk

Another Friday means another Friday morning photo walk. The night before I had some odd dream about the photo walk and Jeff and bubblegum machines. I have weird dreams.



Bridget, Sherry & I carpooled. We met at Starbuck's rather than drive to different houses. I think it saves time in the long run.



I had a few people call saying they were lost. google maps failed me and showed me the wrong address for the location. Oops. The ones who called were new members and not familiar with the area or our group.



I was glad to see that Doyle made it with his kids. He brought me back a gift from Spain. It was an oblong shaped packaged and I asked if it was cigars. He said no but close. Tampons? He laughed but his son was most likely embarrassed. He is 13 years old. It was a paper fan. It is very pretty and we took a shot of it with my woodling. I brought the small woodlings along for props. They make a dull area more interesting and fun. I need to bring the glue dots next time to help with posing.



We ended up being the end of the group. Jeff seemed happy to lead the other especially those new with camera questions. We spent a long time around the convention center. Doyle got talking to some people about what we were doing there. The kids found some jellyfish and stingrays swimming in the water.







Doyle had to leave early. We barely got around the convention center when he had to go. At least he left us laughing at his silly antics.







We caught up with the group at the next park. Then lost them again soon after that. They walked along the river but we made a short cut through a bank with air conditioning. It was very hot. The bank had a very cool vault with a round door but we couldn't take photos inside. The vault was not in use.





At Cutis Hixson park, there were kids playing in the water. It looks so fun and cool. I was tempted except that even my waterproof sandals take too long to dry. We went to Five Guys for lunch.





After lunch, some people went back to the park. Bridget, Jason and I walked along Ashley street. I turned because I wanted to take some shots of the sculpture in front of the Bank of America building. The last time I was there, I only had my 50 mm and couldn't get the whole thing in one shot. A security guard came out to make sure were weren't taking pictures of the ATM. We didn't want shots of the ATM. He stayed out there watching us until we were off the block.



Jason said we should go to One City Center. I said they wouldn't allow photos because Doyle and Sherry got in trouble at an earlier walk. He said it was OK so we went. Jason works security for another building. One City Center has a large water fountain with sunken waterfalls. I wish I had my tripod. No one did bother us. I learned later from sherry that they got in trouble when they went inside to shoot.



Jason left and we walked back to the car. The heat just sucks the energy.

[photo walk] scott kelby's worldwide photo walk

Last year I went on the second annual walk in Dunedin lead by RC Concepcion. I had a blast. Who knew photography could be so fun? I knew I could not wait year for another photo walk. Through RC, I found meet-up and joined Tampa Photography Forum. You can see my previous posts for all the walks I been on in the past year.





Around May, I started wondering about this year's walk. I was eager to see what walks would be available and was hoping to join 2 or 3 walks. Scott announced the date and his walk to Tarpon Springs filled up quickly. I didn't want to go to Tarpon Springs during the day since we had just had a photo walk there and it was hot and not very exciting. The consensus is that night time shoots are better. RC announced his walk in Ybor City, also near noon. We just had several walks in Ybor and I wasn't keen to go back though there are some areas I wanted to visit.





Jeff, from Tampa Photography Forum, announced his walks. The first was a morning walk to Palm Harbor. I have never been and knew I wanted to check it out. Jeff's second walk was a TeCo Trolley Ride and Car Barn Tour. Hmm... we just did that too. But I knew I could basically do what I wanted to do and not tag around with the group.





Jeff had tried to set up a third walk to Clearwater Beach at sunset. But he was beat by Scott Kelly from the west coast who wanted a sunrise and a sunset walk. Kelly's walk took a long time to fill up so Jeff never got a chance for a second walk in the area. He decided his third walk would actually be led by Jeff Davis, a member of NPPF.





I wasn't sure what to sign up for. I was waiting to see if Jeff could get another walk. Then I found out my dad would not be here to watch the boys. Luckily, Savi was available. I decided to limit myself to just 2 walks. Ryan just doesn't like me to gone for bed time routines.





Tropical Depression Bonnie went to the west of us but brought a lot of rain. We weren't sure if any of the walks would go on. All walks had a rain date of Sunday. Since I could not be flexible like that, I had intended on going out even if it rained. It was gray Saturday morning but eventually cleared up. It was hot and humid with heat indexes over 100.





Doyle, Bridget, OP and I formed a group and walked around Palm Harbor. We were disappointed in the size and lack of interesting things to photograph. The downtown was declared an Historic District but had no personality. Doyle got a shot of rather large woman shaving her tattooed legs at the bus stop. I got some good shots but nothing worthy of winning a contest.

first portrait session

My hairdresser talked me into taking portraits of her 14 month & family. I prefer taking candids of people. I am not comfortable giving direction and telling people how to pose. But I realized that the photography I like to do probably will not make a living for us. Portraiture is a better route. So I am going to practice on people I know until I feel confident with strangers.

We planned to meet at University of Tampa. They have a nice park and large porches for open shade. The only problem is the heat. My boys came with me and we got their early. We walked around and I practiced on them. We went inside Plant Hall to cool off.

D and her family arrived. I had not met her husband and son before. J was cute and responded well enough to my laugh. We started on the front porch and then moved inside. I am disappointed with the photos from inside. I think I had the flash too low and most of the images are too dark.



We tried some on the back porch but Jack was getting cranky. We moved to the grass and finished up there. I did take loads of shots. I have 200 that are good enough to process but will edit them down to about 30-40.

Shooting J makes me regret not taking better pictures of the boys when they were little. Then again, trying to pose one while watching the other or trying to pose them together was difficult at best. No wonder I prefer shooting architecture and landscapes.

[photo walk] phillipe park

This wasn't a regular photo walk. Well, it was for Jeff and the group as they have their Monday Morning Photo Walks in different parks around Pinellas County. I had never gone as they meet at 8 am.

I had been going through my mail and saw the reminder and asked Ryan if he wanted to go. To my surprise, he said yes. Phillipe Park is in Safety Harbor and I knew we wouldn't get there on time without rushing out the door so I didn't worry about it. We got there at 8:25 but took a while to find every one. We found their cars but didn't find any photographers about. We started walking on our own.

Phillipe Park is quite active with joggers, walkers and bicyclists. We saw a few birds but Ryan managed to scare them away. We walked to an area that is a beach. I asked Andy if he wanted to get his feet wet since he and I have sandals which can get wet. Ryan said his shoes could get wet and walked in the water. Converse really aren't meant to get wet. We squished and squeaked the rest of the way.

We did find Jeff and the rest of the group. They walked a bit then drove then walked some more. Phillipe park is not that big, we walked about a mile loop though there was some more to explore. Ryan was bored and wanted to go.

We had to stop for gas so I told Ryan to look out for Hess. He spotted one right away and it was $2.51 per gallon. Closer to us it was $2.57 per gallon.

We got to the clubhouse at 10:35. Ryan wouldn't swim because it was too "late." Andy I got in the water. It was almost too warm but after the walk this morning it felt good.

Then we went to lunch and Target for groceries.

[photo walk] dunedin

We limited our summer photo walks to every other week. Our photo walk to the cemetery was cancelled due to rain. So it had been a month since I had a real photo walk. (The train ride didn't seem like a real photo walk. It was mostly sitting on the train and watching Bob sleep.) I almost didn't get to go because Hank was up north and Savi had to go home to visit her dad. She had called to tell me she would be back in time. (I must have thought I wouldn't be going because I never put it on my calendar.) Savi emailed me on Wednesday asking me to pick her up from the airport. It would mean a lot of time in the car for the boys but I said yes. I really wanted to go out on Friday.








I got there just before 10 and there were already a fair number of people there. (Darn navigon, it took me to the wrong place.) Jeff was already giving his spiel and soon started the walk. Doyle and I were lagging behind and I realized everyone had walked on. It was only 10:15! I usually wait until 10:15 to start the walk because there is always someone who it late.







We walked around the marina onto the beach. There were 5 sunfish sailboats waiting for teens and their sailing lessons. The colorful sails were perfect. It was a hot day and I didn't mind hanging out by the water. Jeff and Theresa left for a meeting which is probably why Jeff was eager to start the walk. Others wanted to walk in town. Doyle's tripod fell over breaking his $10 flea market camera.





Mary lives in Dunedin and gave us the tour. She wanted to show us her favorite places. Doyle looked at old cameras at the coin shop. Mary explained the oranges we saw on various buildings.





Bridget and Deb had taken a class on learning to read the histograms. So they were a bit preoccupied and I did tease them a bit. Jeff believes in making sure the histogram is good. I prefer to just check the blinkies. Everyone has their own way of doing things and it is good to learn different ways so you can decide which path to follow.





We didn't get very far before it was time for lunch. We ate at Casa Tina's. Half of the group skipped lunch but Jeff and Theresa managed to meet us there.







It was too hot to do much more than shoot on our way back to the marina where we parked. I need to schedule this again when it cools down some. I am seriously thinking of suspended the Friday morning walks in the summer next year. No one likes the heat and I don't like having to worry about baby-sitters.