The closing of independent camera stores is no different than the closing of many other types of privately owned stores. Think of the reduction/elimination of small gun stores, book stores, hardware stores, food stores, etc.

We all gravitate to the most convenient (quickest) way to satisfy our desires. Consequently, we all bear some responsibility for the loss of the traditional marketplace.

You still can...it's called "Auto"!

Yep, two will be plenty. Remember that much of your shooting will be on board (icebergs, bears, shipboard shots, etc.) so you won't be far from your charger if you need to top one off.

Spot, a tuxedo cat named for the black spot in his nose, is one of our feral cats. Spot and his sister were dropped off in our yard years ago by their mother. His sis is long gone but Spot persists. In fact, Spot is far beyond the speculated 9 lives. Physically, he is a small cat. but the old saw that “it isn’t the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog” is equally true for cats. Spot is pure feral and, to my knowledge, has never been touched by human hands. He will come to feed and patiently await about two feet away and discuss the menu with me but "don’t approach me any closer!”

Spot has been seen over a good 1/2 mile radius of our home and he may disappear for weeks or even a month and then reappear daily for several days…he moves around. Somewhere in his escapades he has had his right eye gouged out, had two fractures of the foreleg (one a compound fracture), a spine/pelvis injury that caused him to drag his hind legs, and more large lacerations and missing hunks of hide than I can count. He has never been to the doctor but depends on mother nature for his healing. His travels also take him across some very heavily trafficked streets.

Last night, about sundown, Spot arrived for his buffet. As I set the bowl down I became aware of just wherein his super powers reside. (I have no idea where the BatCat Cave is.)

Bob

Interesting village and nice pictures. I like the colors also.

I'm having a hard time reconciling an inconsistency in the last picture...a fascinating abandoned building...but with a recent well trimmed hedge. What gives with that?

Bob

Now, there are three happy animals! I love the composition and the position of all three subjects.

Bob

Be sure that you aren't confusing the difference between a brain and a mind.

mind |mīnd|
noun
1 the element of a person that enables them to be aware of the world and their experiences, to think, and to feel; the faculty of consciousness and thought.

brain |brān|
noun
1 an organ of soft nervous tissue contained in the skull of vertebrates

Bob

Don't dispare. With the divorce rate what it is half of the people will get another chance to get some good shots with their "beloved".

An assassin bug (Reduviidae family). I wouldn't mess with it. They can do a painful bite (stab) with that proboscis and they can spread disease.

Bob

A little "spit and polish" and that'll clean right up!

Your post processing adds to the sense of abandonment of the subject.

Bob

Thanks for some incredible pictures that brought back my youth in west Texas. Sadly, they are one of the things that I miss in the city. As a young boy it was interesting to watch the life cycle from year to year and the relationship between the prevalence of the rabbits, deer, and quail on the lower end of the food chain and the coyotes, bobcats and winged predators at the other end.

Thanks again for the great shots with detail that isn't often seen close enough to be appreciated.

Bob

I believe that it is impossible to definitively tell who the hand belongs to from the photograph. It could be the full face woman who is shaking her finger at the photographer or it could belong to the lady in profile who is shaking her finger at the subject of her angst off camera to the left. In either case, neither the subject to the left nor the photographer is going to win that discussion!

Your decision depends upon which woman you focus your gaze upon. It is very much like the classic "faces in profile or wine glass" puzzle.


Bob

I've always found them to use the middle finger...guess it's different in Mississippi...

Bob

Another vote here for you to consider the 70-200 f4. Less expense, less weight, at the cost of one stop less. With modern cameras that one stop is easily compensated for in most cases with an ISO adjustment. As proof, I urge you to download, magnify, and look at Ira's Wood Stork portrait. About as good as it gets! Look at the catchlight in that eye!

Bob

Nice catch.

Apparently this Osprey has no respect for owl decoys...in fact, used the owl's smooth head to defeat the "don't perch" devices on the piers.

Bob