We normally see mostly birds on Phillippi Creek (which runs right by our backyard), but occasionally Raccoons come down to the waters edge. This short video was made early in the morning (their usual time for a visit), hence the grainy look to the video.

From 1970 to 2000 I was photographing and printing in the darkroom constantly. Around 2000 two things happened: 1. I began a business with my brother and 2. The digital revolution hit photography. The business relationship with my brother did not work out (I am still running the internet based business). The digital revolution forced me to reconsider photography and I stopped using my darkroom and started exploring the computer.

The business took a great deal of my time so I put photography on hold, but I kept up-to-date on the latest advances in cameras. Unfortunately I was use to the high quality images large format film cameras produced and to achieve similar quality I would have had to spend 10s of thousands of dollars. That was not going to happen.

Through the years I have digitized some of my film based photographs and this slideshow is a sample of some of the work I created during a 30 year period. There are many more negatives I would love to transfer to the digital format, but in the meantime I continue to explore the new digital world (for me) with my DSLR

This is a video of a 11:11:11 ceremony that was held on Lido Beach in Sarasota. I photographed this event with my Panasonic GH2 which is able to record both video and stills. The beauty of this camera is that as I am recording video, I am also able to make stills at the same time which is quite a trip. Enjoy

Mari has been attending a workshop with Linda Maree for a few months. Recently we met Linda and her partner David Gittens on Siesta Key beach and had a wonderful connection with both of the them. This video is from a performance that David and Linda gave at the Unity Church of Sarasota. David’s guitar is a 23 string guitar of his own creation and Linda is playing a Tambura. I took the audio portion of their performance and ran it through iTunes and did a video screen capture of the Visualizer which was responding to the music David and Linda played. Sit back and relax, but don’t close your eyes.

I met Russell when he came to my house to have his portrait taken. We connected on many levels, with one being music. I went down to the Sarasota Farmers Market to make video and photographs of Russell and this video is the result of that time. I wanted to have Russell’s music in the background as I photographed people’s reaction to him. Russell is at the Farmers Market about once a month and if you are in Sarasota, you can see and hear him at The Cottage in Siesta Village on Wednesday and Sunday Evenings. More about Russell Donnellon.

Phillippi Creek runs right through our backyard and occasionally we see Alligators cruising the creek. It seems that this one was looking for a mate because it was calling to another gator. You can hear it’s call in the beginning of this short video.

To me Ibis are the Jimmy Durante of birds with their long beak. They are grazers, often moving across our lawn in groups of 6 or more. I hope you enjoy this brief video. My homage to Ibis or is it Ibii.

There are times when a still photograph just does not capture the feeling of what is in front of me. This sunset video is a good example. Not a lot is happening, but the waves, birds and people moving through the frame along with the sounds, capture the glory of a Siesta Key sunset.
Click the photo to the right to view the video. I recommend you view the video in full screen mode for the best experience.

One morning I was having my second cup of coffee when a pod of Manatees showed up. I had heard that they like fresh water, so I had Mari hold the hose while I took some photographs. This Manatee was no more than ten feet from us.

#4 – Great Egrets

Great Egrets are very commonly seen in the creek. They appear very tame and will walk right by with no concern. We also see Snowy Egrets and Cattle Egrets.

#5 – Manatees

We do see Manatees quite often in creek off our backyard, but all we usually see is their nose coming up for air and a little bit of wake. On this day there was a lot of action happening because they were maiting.

#6 – Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Herons are a very common presence here. Sometimes they will stand for hours in the same place doing nothing but standing and preening. As you will see, one of the Great Blue Herons had some kind of mouthful. ]]> http://sarasotasam.com/blog/2011/06/25/mineola-journal-4-great-egrets/feed/ 1