An Ocean View Sunset

We spent a week on the Big Island of Hawaii with our two sons, grandson and daughter-in-law.  Most of the sunsets were hazy, if we could see any sun at all.  Our last evening, though, we went out at dusk on a snorkel cruise to view the manta rays.  It was a great experience and gave us our best sunset.

A Walk Through Sun City Lincoln Hills

Often, I don't feel like carrying my DSLR when we go for a walk, so I miss a lot of interesting shots.  I decided it was time for a point-and-shoot.

I found a nice little Powershot at Costco, not too expensive, just right I thought.

But then I saw a waterproof Nikon Coolpix.  Twice as expensive but it also had a built in GPS.

No viewfinder, though, and I do find it hard to frame a good image with the LCD, especially in sunlight.

And it even takes video!

I had visions of taking pictures beside a raging waterfall, while snorkeling and  while kayaking, so I bought it and you can see the results above.  I am amazed at the quality of that little camera.  I'll keep my Canon 50D, though.
Now all I have to do is find some waterfalls, snorkeling and kayaking.

Aloha!

This is what the wold looks like through the lens of my new camera, check out other views of our world at

Our World, Tuesday.

Cleaning the Sensor

So what, you are asking, does cleaning the sensor have to do with macro images?  Well, I have been Photoshopping out a nasty artifact in my images for several months.  I finally got up the nerve to clean the the sensor, (actually, it is a filter over the sensor that gets cleaned).  A picture of a grey sky showed me that the artifact was gone, but had I damaged the sensor?

To check, I pulled out my macro lens which is also my best lens and took a shot of some moss growing with one of Hubby's bonsais.

I think there was no harm done, other than to my nerves!

The Canon 50D is supposed to be self cleaning but somehow the dust still gets in.

More macro images can be found at Macro Monday, hosted for us by Lisa

It's Turkey Time

I've been lax in my blogging, too preoccupied with the upcoming Holidays.  But this recent sighting was just too appropriate for the season to let slide by.

  Does this bird look nervous?

Actually, they seem remarkably nonchalant as they move out into the sun after hunting acorns under the oaks.  A few months ago it was easy to tell the hens from the chicks, now they are all about the same size.

See more critters at Camera Critters, hosted for us by Misty Dawn.