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My beautiful (and dangerous) wife and I took our yearly trip to Cape May. Cape May is comfort food for us. It's an old pair of shoes that fit just right. This is our 11th year going down to the Jersey Shore.
I wanted to start out with this shot because I love it.
THIS WAS the actual color of the sky. We took a late afternoon walk on the beach and this storm skirted by offshore. I was chatting with a crazy beach man who was building Aztec temples in the sand and even he said in all his years he has never seen a sky like that.
Geek Speak: I was playing around with HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography. HDR requires that you take multiple photos with varying degrees of exposure (bracketed shooting) . You then use the areas that best suit the tonal background. It's not a new process. Ansel Adams dicked around with it in the darkroom years ago. It's now gaining popularity because it's so dynamic. I was giving it a try with the above post photo.
Beach shot.
Beach,bird shot. . . .birdshot?
The beach debris seems to be screaming "don't leave me!" to the outgoing tide. .. .
In a macabre moment I took this - I call it "Dead Horseshoe Crab" .
We always walk around Cape May after dinner. Since we went late this year the crowd is sparse.
This is the Cape May Congress Hall. It's where the important Cape May legislature is conducted. The price of beach tags and saltwater toffee output decisions are discussed within these hallowed halls.
Geek Speak: Playing with high ISO for night shots.
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We spent a little time by the pool. The weather was beautiful and hot. I tried the popular photo project of shooting a series of your immediate surroundings.
Do you see how I put a positive spin on my laziness there?
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THE ZOO
Every time we travel here we pass the the Cape May Zoo sign on the Garden State and say "we should check out the zoo sometime". This time we made good on our arbitrary comments.
My bird photos came out the best. The problem with zoo photography is the layer of cages they have around the more interesting animals, it plays havoc with your lens.
I would jeopardize my safety for a better photo shot of the snow leopard, and I'm sure these ladies with the baby strollers would agree. . .are you with me ladies!?. . .. . .ladies?
The Albino Alligator (which would be a great name for a trendy bar).
Geek Speak: I found using an IR filter worked great for the zebras. When you think about it they're pretty monochromatic in their color scheme.
I was going for the heart shape formed by two goose necks (awwww). But this couple was just not feeling it that morning. The girl goose was probably irked and the guy goose was probably oblivious.
Hey, I've been married 19 years. I know these things.
And the hotrod of the bird world. .. the Toucan.
The Zoo was actually beautiful. They did a great job and it was free. I'm glad we went.
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And you thought I was kidding about the crazy man building Aztec Temples on the beach.
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