Barter Lives On!

I really like the old-fashioned barter system and we do it a lot here in the country. I’m guessing barter started when trades and equipment became so specialized that folks just couldn’t do everything themselves any more. I suspect the government hates it, since there’s nothing to regulate or tax. Now don’t get me wrong,  I’d be happy to barter with the government and in these tough economic times, you would think they’d jump at the chance. So, far I haven’t had any inquiries from state or local officials, but I’m putting the offer out there.

A good friend and neighbor – Dan – builds racing cars, and his son drives them. I stopped by his place one day to admire this year’s car, and to repeat my offer to take some photos for him before the season started. We chatted for a few minutes by his neatly stacked pile of firewood, while I admired his new log splitter. “That thing puts out over a ton of pressure, Dan offered. It will split any chunk of wood you can throw up onto it – he continued.” We made a date to do the car shoot, and I went on my way.

A few days later, Dan and the crew (wife Penny and son Colin) showed up at my place and we spent a beautiful late afternoon shooting the new car, and catching up on local news. As Dan scowled at my not-so-neat pile of logs from some recent tree clearing he said – “You know I could bring the splitter over and we could take care of that wood he said. Seems like a good way to pay you back”! He didn’t have to ask twice.

So there you have it. Dan got sone good photograhpy, a DVD slide show to share with the relatives, and a nifty poster (see above); and I’m going to get my firewood split. I love barter!

The Return of Blackie and Little Patches

It must have been quite a journey for Blackie and Little Patches! But, I’m getting ahead of the story already.

Much has happened since the last post featuring these two. It turns out that Blackie and Little Patches are “barn cats” living in that grey area between pet and wild. In the rural equivalent of “downsizing” these two were to be taken away to the farm of a relative. In a flash of awareness, the downside of becoming attached to a couple of wandering cats became crystal clear. On the one hand there’s no litter box to clean, on the other you have no say in what happens to them. Sure enough, a few days after hearing the news, the two disappeared. After a bout with denial, we collected their food dishes, and packed away their covered outdoor bed.

More than a week passed, and then suddenly one night – tired and hungry – Little Patches showed up looking for dinner. She was so distraught that she wasn’t sure whether to meow, growl, or hiss – so she did all three! For days, every time we took out food or water, we were greeted with a meow-growl-hiss  in quick succession. Blackie appeared the next morning – I suspect he had just been hiding nearby. We quickly became worried about Little Patches. For two days she seemed lethargic – not eating much and sleeping almost constantly. Blackie stayed close by visiting her frequently his body language seeming to echo our concern.

Gladly after three days Little Patches started to act like her old self. This morning started with a good breakfast, grooming, and the kind of play that typified their old routine.  

 

As they paused in the driveway before heading off to the day’s adventure I couldn’t help but wonder how far away they had been taken, how they found their way back, or for that matter why they came back. It is said that animals live in the moment, neither reliving the past, or pondering the future. Personally, I’ve become skeptical of that pont of view. I believe many are more self-aware and have a broader world view than we know. If they seem otherwise it is simply because they are more stoic and accepting of circumstance than we are. 

 

Do these two now consider our place to be their home? I don’t know.  I can say with certainty that we’re grateful for the safe return of them both.

Florida 2010

If I could only go to one place for bird photography it would have to be Florida. The variety of species and size of the populations virtually insures a host of opportunities. Most of Florida’s birds are so well acclimated to humans that approaching nesting birds produces much less stress than it would elsewhere. The best time is the spring nesting season which rougly lasts from mid-April until late May in most years. during that time a variety of courting, mating, nest-building, and chick raising behaviors can be observed.

We were fortunate this year to catch the peak activity of the burrowing owls. I’m indebted to fellow photographer Tammy Wolfe for sharing the location of a wonderful nest site. Thank you Tammy.

We also visited two “alligator farms” one on each coast. Gatorland, located near Orlando and the Saint Augustine Alligator Farm located near St. Augustine. Both are photographer-friendly in different ways. Gatorland has an option to upgrade a day pass (for a minimal fee) to allow early access and a later stay than the general public. St. Augustine has an option to purchase an annual photo pass which allows photographers early access to the location and unlimited visits during the year. St. Augustine has the edge for photographers with only shorter lenses; also the boardwalk is a little higher allowing a good angle into the nests. Gatorland is a larger facility with a little more variety. Both are excellent stops for bird photographer. Both alligator farms are essentially mangrove swamp environments. The alligators patrol the waters, but show little interest in the birds. The birds can nest safely because the alligators keep the area clear of pesky predators like raccoons and fox which can decimate the egg and chick population. It is a perfect partnership. The only casualties are the few hapless chicks that fall from nests before fledging.

Below is a slide show containing some of my images from 2010. Enjoy!

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Transporting Mounted Panoramas

The Albany Tulip Festival – one of the city’s signature events – is coming up this weekend (May 8-9). I’ve been photographing the tulips for ten years, and PAWS-Photo has been set up each year on “artist row” offering note cards and prints for sale for almost as long.

Having been hooked on panoramic photography for some time now, and more recently printing on canvas, I decided to offer a couple of stretched canvas panoramas for sale this year. That decision begs the question – how do you safely transport prints that could be 5-6 feet in length and 2 feel tall? The solution – wooden slip cases. 

I first saw some of these cases done by masterful panoramic photographer David Jeffery. Mine are made from scrap pieces of 1/2 inch plywood and 1×4 common lumber left over from other projects. Glued and stapled together, it took only a few hours to finish a few prototypes. Refinements include covering various exposed edges with that universal building material – duct tape.

The cases don’t replace carefully wrapping each mounted image, but should nicely protect the fragile corners and surfaces. 

If you are in Washington Park this weekend, be sure and stop by our booth and say hello.