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01 18 2022 – Featuring Dave Cesari and Rattle Snakes and birds – and my thoughts on the greatness of the young folks who will develop understanding – Oh My, read on!

Dave wrote:  Hi Jim, Here are some pictures. Kind of a mixed bag of pictures. A big rattle snake. a Blue gray Gnat Catcher. The rocket launch last week, a Little Blue Heron at sunset and a White Ibis. It is getting harder to find birds to shoot with the drastic lack of birds everywhere.  Dave

Jim Wrote:  Dave made me think about how can we address global issues like the “drastic lack of birds” and other many global issues like sustainable food supply, over population, working together globally, – who is developing the understanding and technology – I did one brain dump on this topic after Dave’s photos:

01 18 2022 Dave Cesari

01 18 2022 Dave Cesari

01 18 2022 Dave Cesari

01 18 2022 Dave Cesari

01 18 2022 Dave Cesari

Read on – My brain dump:

I love our The Great Outdoors (TGO) community  We have great nature, great weather, great people.  There are more clubs and activities for us retired people than any place I have ever lived.

My words might sound like an advertisement for TGO but, today, I want to highlight to you one other aspect of our TGO life. We live next door to the United States space coast.  Our neighbors work the space exploration efforts that have a very large impact on our daily lives. 

These neighboring space scientists and other space coast employees impact our daily Life.   Understanding space helps us understand our origins. The human race’s origin transcends gender, race, ethnicity, and religion. In understanding these things, we are really designing the future for the whole human race that is technologically advanced.   This understanding helps solve the problems associated with resource sustainability, overpopulation, working together, national defense, and global warming for the whole world as one race of people.

Furthermore, without the space program would we, today, have cell phones, MRI scans, GPS traffic management, and the weather forecasts or would they be years in the future if at all?

Our neighbors in the Titusville area are the problem solvers and the analysts that filled a myriad of jobs in a myriad of industries, all dedicated to the exploration and innovation of our Space Programs that change the world.  

As I socialize with our neighbors, it is great to be associated with  men and women who retired from the space industry or spent their careers supporting those families that worked in the space exploration industry.  

So, you see, my message is to ask you to enjoy and appreciate the United States space coast when you visit – even if you do not live here.  The people here of the space exploration industries impact our daily lives now and in the future to a degree you may not have thought about.  They maybe giving us the answers to resource sustainability, overpopulation, working together, national defense, and global warming for the whole world as one race of people – and, yes, “drastic lack of birds.”

I want to be an artist – Just a piece of surreal art representing one of my brain’s views of outer-space made up of about 10 of my photos of clouds, moons, stars, and even the sun and electric-power lines.

As you swing thru life say thanks to those young people coming along who will understand and address our global issues

January 8, 2022 Happy New Year – Featuring Dave Cesari and my reading “The i-Phone Photography Book” by Scott Kelby

Dave wrote:

Hi Jim, Here are some pictures for the blog. Some typical Florida birds. Dave

01 07 2022 Dave Cesari

01 07 2022 Dave Cesari

01 07 2022 Dave Cesari

01 07 2022 Dave Cesari

01 07 2022 Dave Cesari

01 07 2022 Dave Cesari

Jim wrote:  In the book I am reading, Scott Kelby wrote “Getting Great iPhone Photos Starts Here”  Well, I am not sure you can ever get “great” photos with an iPhone, but I only shoot with an iPhone anyway.  The reason is clear to me.  I generally do what is called street photography.  I love to be out and about at least 1/2 my waking hours.  And I love to record seeing people doing what people do (that is street photography).  I want to do that street photography so that I can enjoy seeing them do it again and again during the other 1/2 of my waking hours – Most of the time I am  sitting  in front of my iPad.

So, you see, I could only do that with an iPhone.   A camera would be too much work to carry around and and furthermore, people would notice me photographing them if pointed a big camera at them – I like to sneak my shots without disturbing the people – sort of like doing wildlife photography without disturbing the wildlife.

Here are some recent shots  – Maybe with just a little PhotoShop help to record the Street Photography story I saw:

Started to get drizzly and cold.  I handed my iPhone to someone to shoot me doing this – Putting on the new wind-breaker jacket I got for Christmas from my daughter, Heather.

Started to get drizzle and cold AND foggy – easy weather to loose sight of ones Radio Controlled airplane, so only one experience pilot dared to go out. I photographed him doing just that – I am not an experienced pilot so I did not go out.   I am sure I would have lost my plane!.

Doing what most of us do not do on a daily basis – or at all – flying a powered hang glider and hiring a helicopter to fly along side us to photograph us doing the hang-gliding- So I photographed them doing that!

Rocket launches here on the Space Coast are getting so common we hardly even notice them any more then we do any plane flying overhead.  I was out on my bike one afternoon I heard a rumble in the east – then I remembered there was a launch – Could not see the people doing it but I photographed what they were doing – the contrail is natural but I had to help show the rocket with PhotoShop.

No people here but I wanted to record and present my suggestion for using space coast photographs to decorate the walls of a banquet room in our community restaurant – the Blue Heron Restaurant

Finally, I love this one – I got invited to have an outdoor luncheon in Boca Raton with Gloria and one of her artist friends – What is she doing – she is watching an uninvited fourth person (creature) at our luncheon!

As you swing thru life please tolerate my street photographs – I could only do them with my iPhone – & – hopefully enjoy some of them as much as I enjoy taking them and showing some of them to you.

 

12 29 2021 Featuring Dave Cesari and Candis Cesari. But first, my research into Yellow Cardinals. There is such a thing or is there such a thing? Ha Ha!:

I wrote:  Yellow cardinals are rare, beautiful birds. Recent sightings of a yellow cardinal have been reported by birders in Illinois and Alabama. Via Chelsea Curry A rare yellow cardinal is visiting bird feeders in Rushville, Illinois. In 2018, a bright yellow cardinal bird in Alabama fascinated the internet.

Well, maybe they are a mutation, maybe a rare-breed, or maybe a regular Cardinal impacted by health or food???  We will let your decide.  One on-line place I researched  this yellow bird is:

https://www.audubon.org/news/why-northern-cardinal-yellow

Now on to our returning friends:  I met Dave and wife Candis in TGO this week. Great to see them back. They were using some new equipment – and of course using a lot of skill and dedication to see and show us some wonderful shots of birdlife in and around TGO.

Dave wrote:  Jim, Here are some owl shots we got after we saw you.

12 29 2021 Candis Cesari

12 29 2021 Dave Cesari

12 29 2021 Dave Cesari

12 29 2021 Dave Cesari

As you swing thru life, Enjoy those birds and animals you see in our GREAT OUTDOOR community!  Send me a photo to post!

12/25/2021 Christmas Morning 2021 – Featuring Dave Cesari and some beautiful TGO avian color for this special morning.

Dave wrote: Jim, We’re here at TGO and pretty well settled. Out doing our thing shooting pictures. Here are a few.  Dave

12 25 2021 Dave Cesari

12 25 2021 Dave Cesari

12 25 2021 Dave Cesari

12 25 2021 Dave Cesari

12 25 2021 Dave Cesari

12 25 2021 Dave Cesari

I wrote:  Good to have you folks back in TGO, Dave.

Heather sent me a photo of a dock in her New York lake.  It made me think of Christmas in the North Country of our country, so I used her photo and made a photo of my mind at that moment!

The photo Heather sent to me.

The photo of my mind:  Time passes by so quickly – A cool beer and a warm fire to roast hot dogs on.  Then in no-time at all, it is ice fishing on Christmas Morning – Yes, this is what I thought.

As you swing thru life, Enjoy those thoughts that just sneak into your mind. And say a thankful prayer on this Christmas day

12/8/2021 – Featuring Dave Cesari and my surreal photo-test to see if you can find what I added!

I wrote:  Really love these action shots by Dave – We humans all have a hunter and gather background in our evolving history.  

I have been reading of the millions of years evolution and of how we humans are dealing with the current rapid pace of that ongoing evolution:

One such book is:  “A hunter-gatherer’s guide to the 21st century : evolution and the challenges of modern life.  By Heather Heying and Bret Weinstein”.

Dave wrote:  Hi Jim, Here are some pictures for the blog. A beautiful adult male Sharp-shinned Hawk caught a male House Sparrow under our feeders. He hung around for 2 or 3 minutes then flew off with the sparrow. Dave

12 8 2021 Dave Cesari

12 8 2021 Dave Cesari

12 8 2021 Dave Cesari

12 8 2021 Dave Cesari

______________________________________________________________________________________

This is my fun test for you.  At least I had fun making it and then creating an abstract from it.

I love doing street photography in NYC – especially in Time Square where anything goes. This is the original untouched photo I used to create my test.

This is my test: Find the 8 items added to the original – as I said, “In Time Square, anything goes.”

 

Then, just for fun, I had to create an abstract “photo-art” image of Time Square titled:               “EQUINE,  HEAVY LOAD”

As you swing thru life, find a place where anything you approve of goes, sit back enjoy looking at it, then take a photo of it – In the future, use the photo to take you back to that enjoyment when you have nothing else to do – then smile.

November 25, 2021 – Happy Thanksgiving to ya’ll – I just had to show you what happens when I hike with iPhone in hand.

First I found this beautiful young bull protecting his herd.

Then I had to step around his plop.

Then I found this older plop with a mushroom growing right out of the center.

Then I had some time to kill with PhotoShop sitting right up front on my computer!

Do you believe everything you see when looking a cow plops.   Better yet.                                                                             Do you even look at cow plops?

On a rainy night, do you take your family to dinner under a cow plop mushroom?

Or wear a cowboy hat made of cow plops?

As you swing thru life, I hope my crazy cow plop photo art makes you laugh. ’cause a big laugh every day – or every hour – is good for your soul.

 

 

Nov 18, 2021 – 11/21 UPDATE- Change of Seasons by Dave Cesari, and I added some photos of my thoughts and Jim’s daily life.

***********  I ADDED ANOTHER TYPE OF PHOTOGRAPHY I LOVE TO DO AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE:                                                                                                                                           Photography type # 3:                                                                                                                                    “ABSTRACT PHOTOGRAPHY”  OR “SURREALISM PHOTOGRAPHY”

Dave wrote:  Hi Jim, This is what we had two days ago. It didn’t last and was gone by noon. Calling for more and heavier snow tonight and tomorrow. A Bluejay, a White-throated Sparrow and a Fox Sparrow at my  feeders. The feeders all  get active when it snows.  Dave

11 20 2021 Dave Cesari

11 20 2021 Dave Cesari

11 20 2021 Dave Cesari

11 20 2021 Dave Cesari

11 20 2021 Dave Cesari

11 20 2021 Dave Cesari

11 20 2021 Dave Cesari

Here are some iPhone photographs of my thoughts and Jim’s daily happening’s:

I was practicing left-hand pattern and I just turned off “base” and into “final”  to land my Radio Controlled model airplane.

Instructors took over ’cause they said my “final” was aimed for the tree

They were worried the tree might look like this if I were left on my own for a couple of flights!  But, I will get it right next time – You wait and see!

This photo started as a photo of my 92 year old brother and wife who farmed this homestead for 70 years. I searched my memory and added a few ghosts from the past.  The homestead was purchased in 1829 by our Great, Great, Great, Granddad and was farmed by Brubaker’s each generation since then – The ghost of the original house built in the 1830’s is floating in the sky.  The window in the upper left of the house is the room I was born in.  You can see the Brethren clothing in the other ghosts. The dress did change over time but it still is identifiable today.

A cemetery service in the Appalachia Mountains of Pennsylvania

Someone just ask me how many thousands of dollars they needed to spend to get into the joy of photography.  I said: “I spend zero dollars, ’cause I like the challenge of trying to do the kind of photography I enjoy with only my iphone (and it is 5 years old).”

Here are two kinds of photography I enjoy:  1. SKY CLOUDS:    2. PEOPLE WORKING – (I have identified 20-some other kinds of photography that I enjoy) — November 21 – JUST ADDED TYPE # 3:

Type #1.  iPhone – CLOUDS

Type #2.  iPhone – YOUNG PEOPLE  WORKING

Type # 2 iPhone – FAMILY TEAMS WORKING

Photography type # 3 Surrealism photography

As you swing thru life, enjoy your cell phone – not only as a phone but as a camera – then challenge yourself to photographing  different kinds of photographs with it.

 

Nov 18, 2021 – Change of Seasons by Dave Cesari, and I added some photos of my thoughts and Jim’s daily life.

Dave wrote:  Hi Jim, This is what we had two days ago. It didn’t last and was gone by noon. Calling for more and heavier snow tonight and tomorrow. A Bluejay, a White-throated Sparrow and a Fox Sparrow at my  feeders. The feeders all  get active when it snows.  Dave

11 20 2021 Dave Cesari

11 20 2021 Dave Cesari

11 20 2021 Dave Cesari

11 20 2021 Dave Cesari

11 20 2021 Dave Cesari

11 20 2021 Dave Cesari

11 20 2021 Dave Cesari

Here are some iPhone photographs of my thoughts and Jim’s daily happening’s:

I was practicing left-hand pattern and I just turned off “base” and into “final”  to land my Radio Controlled model airplane.

Instructors took over ’cause they said my “final” was aimed for the tree

They were worried the tree might look like this if I were left on my own for a couple of flights!  But, I will get it right next time – You wait and see!

This photo started as a photo of my 92 year old brother and wife who farmed this homestead for 70 years. I searched my memory and added a few ghosts from the past.  The homestead was purchased in 1829 by our Great, Great, Great, Granddad and was farmed by Brubaker’s each generation since then – The ghost of the original house built in the 1830’s is floating in the sky.  The window in the upper left of the house is the room I was born in.  You can see the Brethren clothing in the other ghosts. The dress did change over time but it still is identifiable today.

A cemetery service in the Appalachia Mountains of Pennsylvania

Someone just ask me how many thousands of dollars they needed to spend to get into the joy of photography.  I said: “I spend zero dollars, ’cause I like the challenge of trying to do the kind of photography I enjoy with only my iphone (and it is 5 years old).”

Here are two kinds of photography I enjoy:  1. SKY CLOUDS:    2. PEOPLE WORKING – (I have identified 20-some other kinds of photography that I enjoy)

iPhone – CLOUDS

iPhone – YOUNG PEOPLE  WORKING

iPhone – FAMILY TEAMS WORKING

As you swing thru life, enjoy your cell phone – not only as a phone but as a camera – then challenge yourself to photographing  different kinds of photographs with it.

 

11 10 2021 – Featuring Dave Cesari. Then, some photos showing thoughts of mine about “Hey, whatcha doin?”

Dave wrote: Hi Jim, Here are some pictures for the blog. All take at my feeder setups here in our yard in upstate NY. Blue Jays, a male Rd-bellied Woodpecker and a White-throated Sparrow. Cold here this morning 20 degrees F. No snow here as of yet.  Dave

11 09 2021 Dave Cesari

11 09 2021 Dave Cesari

11 09 2021 Dave Cesari

11 09 2021 Dave Cesari

11 09 2021 Dave Cesari

11 09 2021 Dave Cesari

Jim wrote:   One could be a portrait photographer, or a landscape photographer, or a bird photographer, or just a great photographer.  Well, I am not one of those. I am what I call a “Hey, whatcha doin?” photographer.

Half my time I am outside doing stuff or I am on the computer doing stuff like this blog.  I took this photo to show you what I was doin right now – writing is blog!

We sold my facility for horses, llamas, cows, etc.   So, I no longer do what I did.  But, when I had those animals, I was out and about a 7:00 am. Like this nose, looking for breakfast. If you ask in those days “Whatcha doin?” ,  this photo tells you what I was doin.  I was feeding the horses breakfast!

No animals or farm equipment now, but I  have a few different toys here in Florida.

This one is brand new – only a day or two old. Great riding bike – The problems is, it is so easy to ride I may not be getting the exercise I need.   Anyway, this photo answers the question “Whatcha doin” quite often.

Most of my photos are taken while riding my bike and looking for interesting things like this baby alligator. “Whatcha doin?” – Just riding around, the community of The  Great Outdoors where we live.

Here is an interesting one. That skinny snake was sneaking up on that little frog. I watched him for 15 minutes, positioning himself for the attack. But a car came along and ended that pursuit. I would not have answered the phone if you called during that 15 minutes to ask me “Whatcha doin?”  But this poor quality snap-shot still answers the question.

“Whatcha doin?” – I am out and about at 7:00 am (at least this morning I was) with a group of men – they fly model RC (Radio Controlled) airplanes. The fellow in the back ground is tuning a very large gasoline engine-powered plane getting it ready to take off. Moments later he enjoyed flying this plane and put on a professional quality air show.   The Blue Angles and professional stunt flyers could do no better!  He is great. He is one of the men trying to teach me to not crash my plane  when flying a simple pattern over the run-way. I took this “Whatcha doin?”photo to help answer the question “Whatcha doin?” around 8:00 this morning.

That is my airplane being taxied in by the instructor – “Whatcha doin?” – I was watching him and listening to him explain how I should do it!

You know me – when it is windy, cold , and raining like it was Saturday, there is no flying – So, I played with PhotoShop making photo art. – Now you know my answer to the question “Whatcha doin?” on such a rainy day.

As you swing thru life, set it as a goal to always have fun answer’s to the question “Whatcha doin?”  And take some photos to show others “Whatcha doin?”

November 1, 2021 – Featuring Gloria Brubaker, my wife the artist.

I enjoy Gloria’s art on our walls every day – it makes me happy.  

She updated her Gallery, she wrote her first Book featuring her paintings, and she  joined five other women in a special Holiday Exhibition.   This special posting is to announce these three events. 

Just to get you thinking, let me say, paintings make perfect holiday gifts for your friends & family, for stocking stuffers, for party gifts, or to keep in your “gift closet” for spur of the moment gift opportunities.  

So, click to gloriabrubaker.com – It is the place to find a gift to give or a painting for your own walls.

As you swing thru life, enjoy the art on your walls. Smile when you give a gift of art or as you sip your coffee and stare at the art on your walls.

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