Wandering Dawgs

Lens Artists Photo Challenge # 210 – Picking Favorites

August 3, 2022Posted in Birds, Flowers, Nature, PhotographyTagged coneflowers, garden, Lens-Artists, Orcas, Photo Challenge, Picking Favorites, ruby throated hummingbird24 Comments

In this challenge guest host Sarah asks us to pick three favorite photos and describe why they are favorites. I had a difficult time coming up with just three images but here they are.

My first image is one one I took earlier this summer while I was sitting in my back yard. I was hoping to capture birds at the feeder or butterflies on the flowers. The birds and butterflies didn’t cooperate so instead I took a few shots of the coneflowers using my telephoto lens. I’m happy with the effect and like the purplecone flower in the background.

I couldn’t pick three favorites without including a bird image. This next image is my favorite hummingbird image. I captured him from above as I was sitting on my deck above the flowers.

My final image is of two Orcas I captured on a wildlife cruise from Valdez, Alaska. Valdez was near the end of our nearly two months of traveling by RV through Alaska. We saw plenty of humpback whales on two other wildlife cruises but we had not yet seen any Orcas. This wildlife cruise would be our last chance to see them before we headed south for home. I was thrilled when a pod surfaced close to our boat and I was finally able to capture a few shots. This one is one of my favorite photos from the trip.

A pair of Orcas on Columbia Glacier tour from Valdez

Many thanks to guest host Sarah for this Lens-Artists Challenge #210 – Picking Favorites

Lens Artists Photo Challenge # 207 – Seeing Double

July 12, 2022Posted in Birds, Nature, PhotographyTagged Lens-Artists, Okefenokee Swamp, Photo Challenge, Reflections, seeing double30 Comments

In this challenge guest host Jez tells us that “seeing double is all about reflections.” The best opportunities for me to capture reflections occur when I am photographing landscapes and wildlife close to a body of water.

One of my favorite places to see reflections is in the Okefenokee Swamp in south Georgia. The header image and this next gallery were all taken while exploring the Okefenokee.

The next gallery shows some of my favorite bird reflections. The trio of Roseate Spoonbills was taken in Texas, the other three images were taken in Florida.

One of my favorite reflection images is this final image taken at Crescent Lake, Washington.

Many thanks to guest host Jez of Photos by Jez for this Lens-Artists Challenge #107 – Seeing Double

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

July 5, 2022Posted in Sporting EventsTagged Baseball, Coastal Plain League, Dancing Bananas, Jesse Cole, Savannah Bananas18 Comments

What do you get when you combine a historic baseball stadium, dancing baseball players, a team who has sold out every home game since 2016, a team who’s motto is “We make baseball fun”, a dancing first base coach, a team owner dressed in a yellow tuxedo who also is the Master of Ceremonies at the game and who puts fans first? The Savannah Bananas!

Attending a Bananas game is like no other baseball game you’ve ever seen. The fun starts when the Banana Pep Band, the players, the Banana Nanas cheerleaders (grandmas) , the young dance team Banana Splits, and the owner Jesse Cole march between the two lines of fans waiting to enter the stadium.

There are no assigned seats and all of the tickets include free food – hot dogs, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, chips, a cookie, and water or soft drink. Of course beer and cocktails are available for purchase.

The fun continued after the game started. The owner and players walked through the stands, the dancing first base coach break danced, and each time the teams switched sides at the bottom or top of an inning there was some kind of fun 60 second event. Most of the entertainment involved kids from the stands and dancing and singing.

Did they play real baseball? Yes, nine full innings. There were celebrations whenever the Bananas scored and when it was over the Bananas won 8-0.

The Bananas play their home games at the Historic Grayson Stadium which was built in 1926. Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, and Jackie Robinson are some of the baseball legends who have played ball here.