Photography – Page 18 – Wandering Dawgs

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #346 – Cinematic

May 1, 2025Posted in PhotographyTagged Cinematic, Films, Lens-Artists, Movies, Photo Challenge22 Comments

Sofia has challenged us to feature cinematic photos. She tells us “There are a few things that give a photo that cinematic feel: camera angles, bold and high-contrast colors, light, locations, just to name a few. The main objective is to take a shot that is part of a story, there’s mood and a sense of location; our image is but a snapshot of a much wider situation.”

I love movies and I’m a big fan of old black and white films. My first two images are my attempts at getting a cinematic feel in the photos. The header image could be the opening scene in a horror movie. Will there be zombies, vampires, ghosts, or werewolves to terrorize the world? Will a corpse rise up from one of the graves? Perhaps we’ll see Bela Lugosi or Frankenstein in the next scene.

This reminds me of a scene from an old spy thriller. Is this person going to a secret meeting? What is waiting outside in the light?

I decided to have a little bit of fun with the rest of my images. These final images were taken at actual filming locations. Can you guess what movies they are from?

Many westerns were filmed in this western location in the United States. I can imagine riders on horseback, a stagecoach or a wagon train speeding along the road. Can you name a movie or a famous actor from one of the westerns that were filmed here?

In what movie does a feather float down around this church tower in the opening sequence. Hint: A famous line from the movie is “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get.”

The famous movie scene featuring the line “I’ll have what she’s having” is from what movie that was filmed in this New York City Deli?

Many thanks to Sofia for this challenge Lens-Artists #346 – Cinematic

Learn how to join the Len-Artists challenge by clicking here.

Cellpic Sunday – Kayaks at Lazaretto Creek

April 27, 2025Posted in PhotographyTagged Cellpic Sunday, Kayaks, Lazaretto Creek, Tybee Island8 Comments

Kayaks at Lazaretto Creek, Tybee Island, Georgia

Shared with John’s Cellpic Sunday

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #345 – My Go-To Places

April 24, 2025Posted in PhotographyTagged beach, Coastal Georgia, Lens-Artists, My Go To Places, ocean, Photo Challenge, salt marsh35 Comments

John of Journeys with JohnBo asks us to share the places we go when we are feeling down and need to take a break.

My favorite go-to place is at home. When I am home I like to see the sky at sunrise or just sit on my back porch overlooking my back yard and the salt marsh.

*My day gets off to a beautiful start when I catch the sunrise from my own backyard*.

*Sometimes I see birds like this Great Egret*

I like to take a walk in my neighborhood which is surrounded by salt marsh and salt water creeks with palm trees, palmettos, and Spanish Moss draped live oak trees creating a peaceful landscape.

The beach is my happy place. If I want to go to the beach there are four barrier islands in coastal Georgia that can be reached by car. There are numerous uninhabited small barrier islands that can be reached by small boats and others that can be reached by ferry.

*Sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean on Tybee Island, Georgia, the closest beach to my home.*

*In January we spent two nights on Jekyll Island where we enjoyed the quiet beaches.*

*Sapelo Island is one of the Georgia islands that can be reached by ferry.*

We no longer have a boat but I have fond memories of how peaceful it was to ride through the nearby creeks and rivers.

*Slow boat ride through the coastal Georgia salt water marsh*

Many thanks to John for this challenge Lens-Artists #345 – My Go To Places

Learn more about the Len-Artists challenges and how to participate by clicking here.

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #344 – Abandoned

April 13, 2025April 22, 2025Posted in Florida, Photography, TravelTagged Abandoned, Cedar Key, Florida Gulf Coast, Honeymoon Cottage, hurricanes, Lens-Artists, Photo Challenge, Photo Story, Stilt House33 Comments

Anne has challenged us to tell and show our thoughts on abandonment. I’ve seen many abandoned barns, homes and businesses when traveling along the back roads of the America. Each time I see one of these buildings I wonder what happened to the people that lived there or worked there. I wonder why no one wanted it anymore. Where did they go?

Honeymoon Cottage, Cedar Key, Florida

I have images of many abandoned buildings but I decided to focus on one of them that stands out in my mind. The Honeymoon Cottage in Cedar Key on the Gulf Coast of Florida was a stilt house that was built in 1959. It originally was connected to land by a narrow walkway over the water. I don’t have to wonder about why it was abandoned. Powerful hurricanes destroyed it.

We fell in love with Cedar Key when we first visited in 1997 and have returned several times since then. The abandoned wooden structure standing in the water always intrigued me. The header image shows the way the cottage looked when I first photographed it on a visit in 2003. I couldn’t help but think about how much fun it must have been to stay there and how sad it was that no one could use it anymore.

The rest of the images show how the the cottage continued to deteriorate over the years.

Sadly, in March, 2021 the only thing left of the Honeymoon Cottage was a place for the birds to perch.

We haven’t returned to Cedar Key since our last visit in 2021. Since then Hurricane Idalia caused significant damage to the area in August, 2023. Hurricanes Debby and Helene caused more damage in 2024. Some of the businesses are still closed and the community is working hard to rebuild.

Many thanks to Anne for this challenge Lens-Artists #344 – Abandoned

Lens Artists Photo Challenge #343 – Seen on Your Last Outing

April 10, 2025Posted in Historic Sites, PhotographyTagged Civil War Fort, Ft Pulaski, Lens-Artists, National Monument, Photo Challenge, Seen on your last outing19 Comments

For this challenge Ann-Christine asks “What happened on your last outing? Did you meet a friend or did you go shopping? Or maybe you just took a walk in the beautiful weather? What made you take out your camera? We’d love to find out!”

Henry and I have heard about sightings of an American Bald Eagle Nest at the Ft. Pulaski National Monument between Savannah and Tybee Island, Georgia. On a recent overcast Sunday afternoon we drove to the monument in search of the nest. I made sure I had my telephoto lens with me.

As the ranger at the gate was checking Henry’s National Park Senior Pass we asked her where the nest was. She gave us directions and we began our quest. We found what appeared to be a nest but there were no birds in sight so we began to explore around the Civil War era fort. We called it a day when it started raining a few minutes later.

Two days later on the spur of the moment I decided to go back to search for the eagle again. I grabbed my camera but left my telephoto lens at home. This time when I talked to the ranger she said one of the eagles had been flying around the fort. I almost turned around to go get my big lens but it was getting late and I decided to just wander around the fort instead.

I went straight to where the nest was and surprise! There was a big bird on the nest. I couldn’t get a good enough picture to tell if it is an eagle or not. In the following gallery the image on the left is the closest shot I could get of the bird on the nest. The image on the right is cropped for a closer look. I tried cropping even closer but it’s such a blur I didn’t want to include it here. I can’t tell if it’s a juvenile eagle, a vulture, or some other big bird. I learned my lesson – always bring the big lens!