I'm moving!!!

Arizona sunset

I have wanted to expand my blogging for quite some time and have finally found a vehicle that should give me the opportunity to be a little more creative.  Still trying to do things "on the cheap". I will be posting my travels and other photographic projects along with other occasional  commentary, and hopefully will enjoy feedback from those who care to comment on my musings.

I have been experimenting with the content to make a smooth transition and am now anxiously awaiting the next trip (to Italy, the Adriatic and Canada) this June & July>  If you are a follower of this blog, you can find my new address by clicking - http://photosbymotib.weebly.com/ to view "Photos and more by Moti B".  Watch for the first post and let me know your thoughts.

April 10, 2013

Lens creep!  The bane of most if not all zoom lens.   After going the "asparagus" rubber band route, I read about 'LENSBAND'.

Navigating the LENSBAND web site - http://lensband.com/ - is a snap, and after ordering, (and within days) receiving a Black LENSBAND for my Tamron 18-270mm telephoto lens, I slipped in on the lens as illustrated, and - WOW - instant cure.  The band isn't soft and pliable like a regular elastic band, but the  firmer tension and close to 1/2" width make it the ideal solution, and since I ordered the black band - on my black lens, it is  just about invisible.

                               

When not in use

No more lens creep!

                                                

April 7, 2013

Where does the time go?

As I mentioned in my last post, I visited the Phoenix Desert Botanical Gardens Butterfly exhibit with a group from our Photo Club.  A fun day beginning with the butterfly exhibit which allowed us to enter the enclosure before the official opening time so that we could move around without bumping into the daily hordes of visitors. 

After a short while, we wondered around the gardens looking for that 'special' image. Tiring of the beautiful flowers, I was lucky to find a Gila woodpecker feeding on the flowers of the cactus.

TGIF

March is gone and here we are finishing the first week of April.  Where does the time go?

This week I travelled (with a group from my Photo club) to the Phoenix Desert Botanical Gardens Butterfly exhibit, but haven't had time to look at the results as yet.   Another club project was to try and be a little creative using water, oil, colored backdrops and light.  The experiment was very interesting and the results, although not to everyone's tastes, does expand on what can be done with a little imagination.

Have a safe weekend and enjoy my following offerings.

       

             

Flowers, Flowers, everywhere

Spring in Arizona - unbridled beauty - a plethora of color.

I travelled with a group of fellow photographers to Peridot Mesa on the Apache reservation near Globe Arizona, where we found a carpet of Mexican poppies, and the opportunity to crank up our creative juices to capture our vision of the scenery.  While there, atop the 3000 foot mesa, I received a phone call from my son who was flying to Duluth, MN on his way home after visiting here with our grandchildren, stating that the plane had to make an alternative landing site as a blizzard was preventing a landing there.  Being assured that all was well, the contrast between our locales increased my appreciation of where I was standing.

     

A Monet or a Mort?

On our way to returning home, we stopped at Boyce Arboretum in Superior to add more images to our days' portfolio.

Abandoned cabin

Hopefully in the next few weeks more varieties of flowers will carpet Arizona.

Where has the week gone?

I was on a photo shoot on Monday near Globe, AZ, to capture the wild flowers on the Apache reservation, but haven't had the time to process them as yet.  

In the meantime I got distracted by the blooming of an Argentine Giant cactus in our backyard, so I decided to practice my time-lapse photography skills (practice, practice, practice).  The result is not perfect, but I think I might be getting closer to an acceptable skill level.

Take a look @ - http://youtu.be/fBE8AVDUF7A

Have a great weekend, and come back soon.

A time to brag (a little). 

 A photography web site that I post to, has just notified me that I have received an award for one of my favorite pictures .

(quote) - My photo The  Faithful©MortBerman was selected by the judges as one of their favorite photos - (unquote)          

On my last trip to China, I was walking on a narrow side street in a river town near Shanghai when I looked into a courtyard and saw many people entranced, listening intently to an elderly man.  Unfortunately, not speaking the language, and having no one close by who could translate, I have to leave it up to my imagination the reason for the gathering.  Regardless, it has remained one of my favorite images. 

The  Faithful©MortBerman 

Costa Rica - February, 2013

Following a short (5 hour) non-stop flight from Phoenix to San Jose, we began our Caravan Tours journey with an evening briefing and dinner at the Hotel Real Intercontinental.  The following morning, up bright and early,  we spend the day exploring the cloud covered Poas volcano and hiking in the cloud forest - all to no avail as the the crater remained invisible (the picture in the slide show is from a previous trip made in 1999 - obviously a better day for visibility).  We also toured the Cafe Britt coffee plantation (where I was a co-star in the coffee tasting presentation), bringing back memories of  our first visit to Costa Rica those many years ago. 

   

We then travelled to La Pavona on Costa Rica's northern Caribbean coast, where we boarded a boat on the Rio Suerte river to cruise to Tortuguero National Park, accessible only by plane or water, our home for the next 2 days where we cruised the scenic rivers and canals, looking for crocodiles, caimans, many varieties of birds and monkeys.  This jungle paradise is truly one of natures' most beautiful offerings.

As we said farewell to Tortuguero National Park, our heaven in the Costa Rican jungle, cruising back to the mainland, and our motor coach, we head for our next stop in the San Carlos valley - Fortuna, stopping along the way to visit an organic pineapple plantation and taste the fruit - always a favorite, but being this fresh, we are now spoiled for life.  Fortuna is in the shadow of an active, but now sleeping volcano - Arenal.  Unfortunately while we are there, it is continually shrouded in rain clouds.  While in this area, we cruise the Rio Frio to see many birds and monkeys, and before turning and returning to the dock, briefly enter Nicaraguan waters for a photo op.

                         

           

         

We are past the halfway point of our trip and although exhausted with the early morning awakenings and the fact that our trip is sadly nearing its end, we board our motor coach and stop for walk on hanging suspension bridges though the forest canopy, then a circuitous drive around Lake Arenal,  and enter Guanacaste province on the Pacific Ocean and our next 2 nights at JW Marriott luxury resort for a little R & R.

              

                                           

Our last day of our tour, we drive towards San Jose, stopping for a bird and crocodile spotting cruise on the Tarcoles River.  Upon arrival, we pack for our return flight home and after farewell dinner, we await an early morning departure back to Phoenix. While this trip is coming to an end the talk is all about what future points of the compass will we soon visit.

                                             

With the constant moving of motor coach and boats, focussing on the wildlife was all but impossible.  The fact that a poor quality picture is better than no picture at all, I hope you enjoy the beauty of Costa Rica that my eyes have witnessed.

Costa Rica in many ways, still a diamond in the rough, has made amazing strides  economically and politically in contrast to the other countries of Central America.  Perhaps with such small population, many obstacles cannot be overcome, but with the gift of fertile soil, plentiful rainfall, and the ability and willingness to learn from others, Costa Ricans are moving forward with education and healthcare. 

To view many of the pictures of this trip, click the following

http://youtu.be/zLZsC-T9GB0

Another trip to distant lands is looming soon on the horizon, but until then, another photo shoot will have to suffice.  Last week a group of 15 photo club members ventured to Congress, AZ to practice composition (to quote Bryan Peterson, ".....every successful image is first and foremost about the arrangement of the content and not about the content itself.")