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Green Spaces

There is something about a stand of palm trees that begs to be photographed. These are from a nature preserve surrounded by urban sprawl.

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Green Spaces
A park that provides a refuge for nature in Bradenton

I have never been forward thinking enough to be passionate about green spaces and parks. But as I get a little wiser, I’m grateful to other people that are. This park is named after the late Tom Bennett who was a local resident. Apparently, he and his family were indeed passionate about green spaces, and I have them to thank for this photo.

more greenery from the gallery

I once had a colleague in Toronto who invested in land to be used as a wild preserve. She only wanted the property to be left to nature and not developed. That was a long time ago, and since then, Toronto has gone crazy with development. As I think back, I see that she was a visionary and, I wonder if she held out. For the sake of short-sighted folks like me, I hope she did.

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Mr. Wiggles Waiting

My dog is the most patient being on the planet. Even when we go to his favorite parks, he waits for me to take my photos. Here he’s waiting to go over the bridge, but I’m busy composing. If I could paraphrase the look, he was saying, “Seriously daddy?”. I’m just saying.

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Mr Wiggles Waiting
Mr. Wiggles waiting for me to finish taking a picture

Mr. Wiggles loves going to parks and exploring. I like the scenery. We have slightly different interests, but the excursion benefits us both. At the park, I have to be careful not to get too carried away. When taking photos, I need to be mindful of our surroundings. For instance, there was a small alligator in the lake on the left. It wouldn’t bother us, but the bigger ones love to snack on small pets.

more animals

The summer heat makes it difficult for Mr. Wiggles to get much exercise during daylight. Imagine walking around in ninety-percent humidity wearing a coat. So we either go out after dark or on overcast days when the sun is less harsh. When we get home, he has a long drink of water and collapses on the cold tiles. And no matter how hot it is, he still looks forward to it every single day.

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Close to Home

Due to some other priorities I’ve been staying close to home lately. That’s been nice because I get to visit all my favorite photo locations within a short drive. But I just realized I haven’t been back to this park in about two years. It just got put at the top of the list. I like it here because of the ponds and the reflections, so I just need to wait for some nice clouds and head over in the next few days.

Close to Home
Bennett Park in Bradenton Florida is close to home

They were going to put a water park here, that was over a year ago but I’ve not seen any construction when I drive past. Hopefully the natural beauty is preserved. I need to remember is to bring mosquito repellant, this is close to a swamp and bayou so there are plenty of biting things. Normally I get so engrossed in what I’m doing that I just ignore them.

Check out some of my favorite images at the gallery here

Now that we’re getting into summer weather again we’ll start getting afternoon thunderstorms. Those can be loud and dramatic, but the best part is after they pass the clouds can be spectacular. You can see some of those clouds way off in the distance here, but this image doesn’t really feature them. Clyde Butcher, a famous photographer from Florida says that the clouds are our mountains. That’s a reference to how they can play an important role in Florida landscape in the same way mountains do in other parts of the country. To me that makes perfect sense, and the bonus is that our mountains change every day. How cool is that?

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Morning Light in Tom Bennett Park

I'm posting this to remind myself to get outside after it stops raining. That's when we get great light and as everyone knows, photographers love unusual shades and hues of light. Right after a storm is one of those times. In any case, this was taken in the morning after an evening of rain and with any luck I'll get out again today or tomorrow morning for some similar shots. In the meantime, have a great day everyone.
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I’m posting this to remind myself to get outside after it stops raining. That’s when we get great light and as everyone knows, photographers love unusual shades and hues of light. Right after a storm is one of those times. In any case, this was taken in the morning after an evening of rain and with any luck I’ll get out again today or tomorrow morning for some similar shots. In the meantime, have a great day everyone.