Nocatee paddle launch

Dramatic clouds

Trout River from the Jacksonville zoo

Stormy weather

Just like much of the country, we have had some active weather over the last few weeks. Clouds and rain every afternoon after sun and blue skies in the morning.

Science fiction

Unusual because those are obviously not accurate colors. 

I shot this on my recent cruise on the top deck. I liked the white radar domes (I guess) against the pale blue sky with the subtile clouds on the horizon. But... I shot this with my iPhone and I had been messing with controls and did not realize in the bright morning light that the photos were taken in black & white, and not in RAW so I was disappointed to find the attractiveness of that sky was lost.

And so, frustrated, I started fiddling with the photo and created masks and added colors to create this otherworldly image. I was planning to do this in Photoshop but found I was able to achieve the look using only LightRoom.

So it is a gimmick, but a unique image nonetheless.

Margarita

We did a short cruise on the Margaritaville line, and of course the lime/tequila drink was the star of the show (but no FREE margaritas!). This statue was on one of the decks proudly toasting the passengers.

To the beach

Fjords

No trip to Norway is complete without a cruise on the Fjords. We were fortunate that the dense clouds broke to reveal a picturesque sky just as we boarded our battery powered cruise ship. Norway has an abundance of hydropower making electric vehicles (and even some ships) common. 

Morning on the water

Strange clouds

Look more like waves than clouds. Anyone know what type of clouds these are?

Storm brewing over the ocean

And rain on the horizon as the seemingly tiny watercraft heads for mooring.

Clouds

I have always been fascinated by clouds. The clouds in the Great Lakes area were not nearly as interesting with most days gray and overcast. Northern Florida is quite different. Sure we have overcast days, but generally we see much more blue and a great variety of puffy white mixed with dramatic contrast and shapes.

The dark cloud over retail

Cloudy beach

Looking up

Cresent

Tug on the St. Johns

Orange clouds

Just in case?

I spotted this US Air Force plane at the Buffalo airport the day of the Vice President's visit... and it is not Air Force Two... Pence had not arrived yet. So perhaps it is a support operation, or a part of a "if-all-else-fails" plan?

Wild turkeys

I don't expect you to see them, but they are there. If you click to enlarge you might see them in the blur of the iPhone jpeg. Also not so easy to see because I needed to boost blacks and shadows, resulting in more blur.

I was drawn to the landscape scene and lined up the shot before noticing the birds.

I thought it would be fun to name the post for what is not easily seen.