Chimpin' the Blues

Meet the Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias).  I'm spending a couple of weeks at Warm Mineral Springs in Southwest Florida.  In nearby Venice is a bird sanctuary with a rookery pond.

I took these with a  200mm telephoto.  Note the couple of chicks in the lower photo.
 

Snow Day

Most people with a lick of sense are staying home.

Pussy-in-a-Box

This is "Lacy," sleeping in a Pilgrim's Chicken Breast Tenderloin box. 

Shot with Lensbaby Composer.

Dam humidifier

It's around ten degrees Fahrenheit this morning.  Clouds of steam are rising from the Monongahela river near the Morgantown Lock & Dam.

This was shot through the 5th floor window -- no polarizing filter.  I haven't had much luck shooting through glass in the past.  

Hyacinth in Black and White

Here's a re-worked Black & White art print version of the hyacinth from the previous posting.

This was rendered with Silver Efex Pro.

What are they doing in the Hyacinth house?

Wife forced some hyacinth bulbs a few weeks before Christmas.  Some of them are starting to make a fragrant appearance.

The people on Google+ don't get their kicks from hyacinth macros.  At least mine.  The above shot didn't get so much as a single "like."

And I'll say it again, I need a brand new friend

I draped a black cloth behind the spikes and used a ring flash at fairly low power to get this shot.  You can just barely see another spike in the background on the left.

Here's a full-frame closeup:

And I'll say it again, I need a brand new friend
And I'll say it again, I need a brand new friend, the end

Pet Cemetery

Imagine if Schrödinger buried his beloved cat in a pet cemetery.  Here's the monument stone that I created:

Should I point out to you that the departure date disappears and reappears in this animated GIF?

I lifted the upper part from the web.  The bottom part is mine.  I wish I could make the engraving look more natural.  This needs a Photoshopper's expert touch.