Adios 2013 !

The Last Day of the Year!

Well folks, I think we have just about used up all the miles, hopes, and wishes of  2013! From the looks of the bus, I do believe we need a new one! Seems all my blogger friends and fellow posters took full advantage of the year and celebrated in pictures and words. I wonder how they can top this past year? Guess we will know soon enough. The new bus boards tomorrow. Expect 2014 to be a wild ride. Dibs on a window seat!

New Year! New Wishes!

I haven't made resolutions in years. Wishes seem to have a more realistic ring! So as Father Time is ushered out the door, and the Baby 2014 makes it's entrance; I wish you the best of the New Year!

Note

The above photos were taken

at the OKC Arts Festival.

Cropped from large posters on display.

Sunrise Ghost Train

Yes, I was actually up before the sun!

 

Wet sand...

Wet sand makes for a good reflective surface or at least it did the day I took these pictures.

Kickin' around Las Vegas Part II

The fountains at the Bellagio.

I'm not sure what they were selling in this store, I can't even pronounce the name so I guess I didn't need anything in there.

Just about everything is over the top in Las Vegas.

Swimming the Maui reefs

 

These are from last January. They were taken near Black Rock on Ka'anapali Beach. If you ever find yourself on Maui, this is a great spot to go snorkeling, one of the best on the island.

Merry Christmas !

Me and Santa wish everyone a very Merry Christmas from Oklahoma!

Mele Kalikimaka everyone!

Here's hoping everyone has a wonderful Christmas!

Watching for Santa

Mele Kalikimaka!

 

or

Merry Christmas!

 

We hope everyone has a safe and warm Christmas.

The weather outside is frightful...

...let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

 

I have found out there is a big learning curve to photographing snow flakes. The first thing you want is some really big snow flakes so you can get more detail. Unfortunately these snow flakes were very tiny. They were all about 1/16th of an inch with a couple about 1/8th of an inch in size.

 

I tried to illuminate them with a small LED flashlight to bring out more detail. This only worked when they were turned just right. These still aren't the best photos that I think I can get. Hopefully I can get some larger snowflakes soon.

 

I can't believe I actually want it to stay cold and snow but I guess you can't photograph snowflakes without it being cold.

 

For anybody that is wondering, these were shot using a Nikon 28-300mm lens at 300mm with three extension tubes connected to the lens and all of the photos were focused manually. 

Many of you have seen these pictures before, please allow me to take you back to the West Coast again.  

The Day After!

Let Me Out!

Chilled Bones!

Almost 5 O'clock pm this Sunday afternoon and the world outside is still a cold place to be! What sun we had was sparse and the thaw was limited. Such is the day after the Winter Solstice; Frozen in Ice! 

First day of Winter...

And some nice Quatse Lake reflections on a foggy morning.

Ice Storm for Winter Solstice

Ice Fountain

Seems the Winter Solstice brought a nice little ice storm with it this year. How about that for timing?

Ice Coated

The foliage was insulated in the clear frozen liquid. It's a wonder the added weight from the ice did not have this ivy on the ground.

Ice Box

The mail box was frozen shut. No bills today! Guess the postman left his little hammer at home? He usually pecks around the door when it is frozen.

Icy Perch

Not much entertainment happening at the gazebo today. Rain checks were given!

Swizzle Sticks of Ice

By noon the icicles had reached a good foot or more as the moisture kept falling. Even the Christmas lights were coated with a layer of the frozen stuff! Thankfully about a half hour ago the back side of the storm passed to the east. A day or two of sunshine and this will all be a memory. Feel free to break off a swizzle stick for the beverage of your choice. Give a toast to celebrate the Winter Solstice of 2013! 

Poor me...

Poor me I'm all tied up and no one loves me. 

So I'm going to howl and make a big fuss 

and everyone will feel sorry for me...

Arouuuuuuu!

Is is working, Did anyone notice?

Kickin' around Las Vegas

These are all from last year.

 

I don't have any photos of buckets of money pouring out of a slot machine. Things like that just don't happen to me. LOL

Standing knee deep in the water somewhere...

I'm still digging through the old files again. Unfortunately for Tex, most of my digging has been in the Hawaii files. LOL

 

I was actually standing knee deep in the water using a tripod to get this HDR image.

I'm feeling tropical today

 I have been unusually busy for this time of the year and haven't had any time to take new photos so I am digging into the old files again. The fact that it's been very cold the last few weeks hasn't helped much either. The older I get the less I like going out in the cold.

These were all taken with the Nikon P7700 back when it was still my camera.

Red sky in the morning...

Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning or so the old adage goes. Woke up to an amazing red sky several mornings ago and took a few pictures from the lanai. Fortunately the old adage isn't always correct and nothing much came of it, just more cool and overcast weather.

Thru the Window

Sunny-side!

Nothing like sitting on the warm side of a window while capturing the local wildlife!

Caught You Looking!

Be careful of sudden movements, or you might be caught looking by your subject that is sitting on the cold side!

Fly me to the moon!

Out taking pictures of the Wintery sunset the other very cold night, it was quite spectacular to say the least! 

Out of the blue this helicopter flies overhead and right past the moon! Fortunately I was able to get off several high ISO shots, this being about a 50% crop of the best one.