South Carolina

I took a little trip to South Carolina and we encountered a rare event for the state, snow.  The snow usually doesn't stick when it does show up, but this time it did, causing a winter weather advisory, all for 3 inches.  Amusing to us, being from New Jersey and having an accumulation of 47 inches from the 2 massive storms the week before.  Here are some photos from the trip.

Greenville Falls.  A waterfall in the middle of the city.

people enjoying the view of the falls, from the observation bridge

Here's some Poetry

Red

by Craig Trainer

Red is, 

     The color we first see

          Traveling back to our memory.

Red is,

     The color of the blood

          Traveling through my heart.

Red is,

     The color of intensity

          Traveling through my veins.

Red is,

     The color of rage

          Traveling to my fists.

Red is,

     The color of fire

          Traveling to spark my desire.

Red is,

     The color of love

          Traveling through my brain.

Red is,

     The color of you

          Here to remind me that you exist.

Some Animal Shots

My goal is to become a wild life photographer/ photojournalist, however being from South Jersey, gives a limit to the wild life that one can shoot.  I think the most exciting thing I have ever seen in the wild in South Jersey was a fox.  So anyway, below are just some photos I snapped of some wild, and some captive animals.

This is a Black Bear cub playing in the tall grass in Yellowstone National Park.  None of us saw Momma Bear, which made taking this very nerve-racking, yet exciting.  Approx distance - 160 yards.

Spring time, and love is in the air.  This goose is strutting his stuff to the female in front of him, and offer in which she declined, for the time being.
Glassboro, NJ.  Approx distance- 30 yards.

Camden Aquarium.  I love the color of the Jellyfish against the black light. They are such a unique life form, and very interesting, and annoying in the ocean, haha.

Camden Aquarium.  This is a Lionfish, and he was just hanging out floating there perfectly still.  I would love to be an underwater photographer.

Camden Aquarium.  This Octopus was extremely camera shy, but I did eventually get this shot of him, and look, he is even looking at the camera.  I am fascinated by the way they, and squids, move around.  It was a shame that all this guy did was stay suctioned to the glass.

Camden Aquarium.  Sea Turtles!  Beautiful, graceful, easy-going, these animals are amazing.  The thing that I love about the aquarium is that they mix predator and prey in the same tank, and it runs almost flawlessly.  Take this "young" lady for example, her species is a regular menu choice for this animal pictured below.

The Tiger Shark (Camden Aquarium).  My favorite animal, yet I hope to never meet one unexpectedly.  A Tiger Shark will eat anything, but Albatross and Sea Turtles are staples in their diets.

Camden Aquarium.  A Great Hammerhead Shark.  Possibly one of the weirdest shaped creatures ever, but a skillful predator none the less.  This guy likes to hang out by the large viewing glass, he's a people person, err, fish.

Camden Aquarium.  Going for a dip, this little penguin dove off of his little rock island and was just cruising around in the water, not a care in the world.  Until the keepers brought the bucket of fish.

This is Echo, my Lop Eared Bunny.

Mallard.  I thought it was funny when he cocked his head to the side like this.

Ducks is a row.  Not exactly your flying V, but these ducks waited to get into proper formation to start moving toward the lake.

 

This goose is standing on the ice with his head submerged in the freezing water, searching for some food.

This moth is one of the strangest looking things I have ever seen.  It camped out on my back door for a few days, before one of my cats got to it.

South Beach- Approx distance, 15 feet.  This Pelican is taking a break from diving into the water and feeding on fish.

Two Perspectives

-Both of these images were taken from the exact same spot, the only difference was the focal point.


    In the top image, I decided to take the picture showing the Holly leaf as the main subject.  I blurred out the background so it wasn't distracting to the viewers.

   The bottom image was taken less than a minute after of the same Holly leaf, but instead I wanted to show the fountain and pond as the focal point.  I blurred out the foreground, but it's still recognizable as the Holly bush.