FTF 11.5.17

There are challenges to making pixtures of giraffes.

Especially when you are the fill the frame kind of shooter that I like to be.

Even with my long lense.... they present a challenge for getting close. A challenge that can only be solved with some cropping help in Lightroom.

And then, there is still just too much "up" and not enough "wide".... in the whole pixture.

This is one of my better efforts.... largely because I picked a different spot to shoot from and got a better background.

If you look very closely you can see the particles that are falling from the basket.... as he gets his next bite of food.

FTF 11.4.17

My preferred route to the gym takes me along the edge of Margaret's Pond.

One of the trees that I see there, is pretty common to our part of the world.... Cottonwoods.

I am not very knowledgeable at all about trees.... but I like this one, a lot.

It doesn't have the stately grace of the mighty Oak or the prolific whimsy of the Russian Olive. But it does have character.... lots of it. 

They often grow to be very large and always provide  many gnarly twists, turns and branches.

It seems that at a certain size and/or age they get too big and split in the next wind storm.

Somehow that doesn't strike me as a sign of weakness.... but instead just seems to add to their character.
 

FTF 11.3.17

Despite their reputation as a kitchy and elegant beauty.... these are one tough bird.

Flora Lichtman is on a mission to tell their story on the her podcast.... Every Little Thing.

Here are a few of the facts that I learned listening to her.

They are capable of standing all night in a frozen lake.... and then carrying on as per usual when it thaws in the morning.

They can drink, without harm, an.boiling water.l

And, then can thrive in water, so toxic that it would peel the skin off a human.

None of that lessens their visual appeal.... or makes them less stinky.

FTF 11.2.17

There is a lot of stress and unrest in our country at the moment. 

It would be easy to lay the blame for that solely at the feet of Donald Trump. 

I would really like to do that because I don't like him at all. I see him as a liar, bigot and bully, who lacks the character and the competence to lead our country. 

I love how the universe teaches me the things I need to know.... for the last couple of weeks Facebook has been sending me "memories". The posts that I have made in the past. 

Those have reminded me that as far back as 2010.... I was posting my opinions about the very poor job that the leadership of our country was doing. So, in fairness that is a problem that existed long before The Donald.

Lydia and I talk about this a lot and one of the things that she often points out is the tremendous fortune that we have.... in spite of any complaints we might mount.

We talk when we walk, so the phrase that she likes to use is.... "just look around at all that we have and the great place that we live."

This particular pixture is dedicated to that thought. 

This is just one of the streets that I walk on, pretty much every day, to get to the gym. 

It is not noteworthy for any reason beyond that.... but it is a great example of Lydia's reminder.

FTF 11.1.17

One of the things on my "pixtures to do list" is water drops.

I have long admired the pictures that I see of dew and other small droplets.... and have wanted to take a shot at those kind of pixtures.

But I have not had a lot of opportunity in that realm.

I mostly attribute it to living in dry old Colorado.... but it might have something to do with not being a fan of wet weather and rain in particular.

One day on my walk this week, they day we had some overnight snow.... I came across some tall grasses with droplets of water still frozen in place.

Here is what I got.... using the camera in my cellphone.