Just a Walk in the Park

Wow this week got away from me! I can’t believe it’s Friday already! Other than having a busy work week there was only one other notable thing that happened. I finally got a harness big enough to go around my fat cat Buddy!

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So with harness and leash attached we tried a little afternoon jaunt on the grass in front of the condo. Everything went well except my neighbor’s cat hated Buddy on sight and by extension, me.

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Poor Moochie. He’s my “little Buddy” so I didn’t like him being upset.

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He’s so tiny next to my big guy but they could almost be twins with the black and white markings.

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The first trip outside went so well that we tried it again last night. Buddy was in his element. He really loves it. In fact he was having so much fun that he did not want to come in when the time was up.

He had rolled in the dirt and run down hill and sniffed the plants and flowers but all good things must come to an end and time was up.

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I carried him back up to the front door but put him down to open it. Stubbornly he refused to go in so I picked him up again and lifted him into the entry. Now I had to put him down again to unlock the inside door. To my surprise he trotted right in.

But success was short lived. He plopped himself down next to the stairwell and refused to go any further. I didn’t want to “take him for a drag” because I was afraid the velcro fastener would let go and then the chase would be on so I bent over to pick him up again.

Sometimes I think Buddy is part Rag Doll because he turns into a limp noodle when he doesn’t want you to hold him. And that’s what he did now. As I tried to get my hands under him so he wouldn’t slip  he decided he’d had enough of this man handling.

He chose that moment to grab onto my head with his paws, claws out to get a grip and that’s how I carried him into the unit! As I bent over to release the harness I saw little blood drops fall. He got me good!

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Now if I’m asked who beat me up I can say, my cat!

Top 10 2015

I was just sitting here at the computer trying to learn the ins and outs of editing raw photos. One expert suggested going through the previous year’s photos and picking your top 10. He stressed it had to be the top 10 photos that you, the photographer, like not your friend, spouse, neighbor and so on.

That was a challenge! I took over 4000 photos last year. Still once I got into it I found that a lot of them were of the snap shot variety. I love having my prints enlarged, called gallery prints so that was the criteria I used to narrow down my selections. It had to be good enough that I would spend the “Big Bucks” to make a super large print.

To my surprise no people or pets made the cut. Here are my Top Ten Pictures of 2015.

The top 3 are from Orlando Florida when I was there with Nancy, her children and my friend Joe. I did have 2 of the egrets enlarged and framed as a set. They hang proudly in my office at work.

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The Hot Dog picture is on Nat Geo’s site in the  “My Shot” section.

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Sticking with the Bird theme I caught a shot of a Great Blue Heron doing something besides standing still. These birds can stand like statues for hours. This was taken in June at the Herring Run in Middleboro, MA. This one also made it to Gallery print and is framed and hanging in my home. Why buy prints when I can use my own photos?

Great Blue Heron

The next photos I chose were from New Orleans in October.

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The one I call Rain Forest was actually taken in the New Orleans Aquarium where I struggled with lens fog but turns out the effect was really pretty cool.

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The last New Orleans pic almost didn’t make the cut. It’s a shot taken of one of the cemeteries in New Orleans. Something about the dark atmosphere kept drawing me back to it. In the end I felt it captured the “spooky” atmosphere New Orleans is known for.

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The last 3 photos came from my trip back to Orlando in December. The purpose of that trip was to take photos of the Holiday decorations at Disney World. Although I got great shots they wouldn’t make it to gallery size.

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Mr. Lion is a resident of Animal Kingdom. He’d just given us a roar and was settling back down. I wish I’d caught the roar but the safari vehicle hadn’t pulled around the corner far enough.

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This shot of Germany at Epcot was a spur of the moment shot. Joe and I were walking around the lake and it just caught my eye.  I love the way it came out.

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And of course what is a trip to Disney in December without Cinderella’s Castle all covered in Ice? I thought this night shot was a fitting choice for the final picture on my top 10 list.

So what do you think? Maybe I’ll get some pets or people in 2016. The goal is, of course, to improve in 2016.

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That’s a Wrap, Jack!

That about sums up this trip to Las Vegas. Nothing too crazy but still fun and a nice break from reality. The rumor is that our next company convention in January will be in Vegas. I may just have to add a couple of days and stay at Polo Towers again. Maybe I’ll make it to Mandalay Bay and the Shark Tank!

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I think I forgot to mention that we did stop by the Bellagio so I could show Sandy the dancing fountains. I really think I got a better feel for Vegas this trip; traveled around more.

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So now what do I do and where do I go next?

My next scheduled time off is for a short trip in July to Maine but I think I need to find some things to share before then.

This weekend is supposed to be nice but my car is going in for “surgery”. Like me it needs a new  “rear end”.

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They said to expect to have the car tied up all day but maybe I can squeeze in a short trip to the pond in Plymouth to see if there are any baby ducks or swans.

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Another project is to learn to shoot in “raw”. (That’s photography speak to anyone who isn’t into cameras.) Well, actually it’s not the photo taking that’s hard, it’s the editing. I’ll have to learn how to edit “raw” photos. That means new software etc. Kind of boring topic unless you’re a photography buff.

But I’m sure I can find something to babble mindlessly about until the next trip. Feel free to share your thoughts and comments. I love getting dialog going.

 

Madam Tussaud’s Las Vegas

We finally made it to Madam Tussaud’s. I was anxious to see how it compared to Orlando’s location.

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There’s not a lot to say about it so I invite you to join us on a visual tour!

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I’ve always wanted to be a Talk Show Hostess

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We all Love Lucy!

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I had no idea Michael was so tall or maybe I’m just short!

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Viva Las Vegas

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Donny and Marie are still headlining.

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Mr. Las Vegas, Liberace and the Rat Pack!

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Then it was on to the super heroes!

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My Super Hero Pose!

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Remember what they say…What happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas.

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Bye Bye!

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The Venetian, Las Vegas

Its our last day in Vegas. In the morning we’ll check out and head for the airport. No time for any last minute sightseeing. We still need to use our tickets to Madam Tussaud’s and we want to do a quick load of laundry so we don’t have to carry dirty clothes home. Polo Towers as a time share, has coin operated washers and dryers throughout the building. Too bad a lot of them didn’t work. Eventually we found a floor with working machines. Then with clean clothes packed into our suitcases we could head out to explore knowing that task was behind us.

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The first thing we did was head for the bus stop at the Hawaiian Marketplace. Instead of buying a ticket for the Big Bus, we bought the less expensive ticket for the city bus line. Known as the Deuce /SDX it runs frequently up and down the strip 24 hours a day.

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I wanted to show Sandy the Venetian so that was our first stop.

DSC_2513 copyOf course with our late start we arrived around lunchtime. It was such a beautiful day we decided to eat at Burgers and Beer. Turns out this is a Mario Batali restaurant. I wouldn’t have guessed as I always think of him as an Italian Chef. We managed to get a table with a sun umbrella because we were willing to wait. It was a good thing because it was very hot in the sun. We passed our time watching the Gondolas cruise the exterior canal.

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When I was here in 2015 the outdoor canal was closed but it makes a beautiful setting with crystal clear water now that it is open again. I was disappointed to learn that the exterior canal and the one Joe and I  rode inside  the Grand Canal Shoppes do not connect. I was hoping for one long ride.

After lunch we headed inside for our Gondola ride. We lingered a bit at the entrance to admire the waterfall and huge glass butterflies.

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Then it was into the little boats to be serenaded by our gondolier, a lovely young woman with an amazing voice. She had an accent and told us she was from the “real” Venice and that we really needed to go to her country to experience the Real Thing.

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As we headed back to the dock we passed another gondola and I recognized our gondolier from last year.

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Nice to know there is some longevity to these jobs.