Stuart Air Show - 2014

A record crowd of 50,000 spectators attended this year's 25th anniversary air show at Witham Field. The clear and cool weather was perfect for a spectacular display of aerial prowess by daring pilots in modern as well as vintage aircraft. A lot of excitement was generated this year with the return of high performance jet aircraft after last year's absence due to the federal governments sequestration. The stealth tactical fighter F-22 Raptor and the AV-8B Harrier jump jet, capable of vertical/short takeoff and landings, were the highlight of the show.

Click for more photos:

https://plus.google.com/photos/104461058718739695077/albums/6078269534366416577

Florida Wildlife Tour

We recently took a tour of the J&R Outfitters Ranch and Wildlife Tours in Indantown, Florida.

The swamp buggy tour, of the 4000 acre ranch which is both the largest native and exotic game preserve east of the Mississippi River and a working Florida cattle ranch. The ranch is teeming with exotic wildlife; including alligator, ibis, wild boar, water buffalo, crested cara cara, gopher tortoise, barasingha, eagle, Pere’ David’s deer, heron, red deer, sand hill crane, black buck antelope, wild turkey, Sika deer,  Nilgai antelope, quail, axis deer, sitatunga antelope, fallow deer.

While we did not see all the species that inhabit the ranch, our knowledgeable guide deftly maneuvered the high riding swamp buggy through the rough terrain ensuring the opportunity to photograph a variety of animals. Despite the bumpy ride we managed to capture some good shots with a 200 mm lens on my Nikon D5200.

Click for more photos:
https://plus.google.com/photos/104461058718739695077/albums/6073472725351963409

Out & About in Stuart

When not golfing or at the shooting range, I spent some of the summer working on my photograpy skills. Resulting in my second book of selected photographs.

Click on the link and preview the contents (best viewed in full screen).
http://blur.by/1tlPzpz

Enjoy

Holy Redeemer Church

I was privileged to be given the opportunity to photograph one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen. Holy Redeemer Catholic Church is just across the river from Stuart in Palm City, Florida. Built in 1992, Holy Redeemer is a magnificent place of worship, the design by John D. Colburn of Mathers Engineering, is a wonderful architectural design, highlighted by the amazingly beautiful interior and stained glass designed by Agelo Gheradi.

Click for more photos:        

https://plus.google.com/photos/104461058718739695077/albums/6031982585358752929

Stuart Sailfish Regatta - May 17th -18th

Despite the high winds on Saturday, we had a great weekend of power boat racing on the Indian River. The race sanctioned by the American Power Boat Association is open  to ten classes of inboards, four classes of outboards and the Powerboat P1 SuperStock Series, as well as some of the nation's top racers and a powerful team from Canada with their Grand Prix race boats.

The only boats that could compete in Saturdays high wind and waves were the P1 superstocks but they provided a great day of exciting racing, with the No. 17 National Guard boat capsizing in the rough waters (father & son crew were OK and the boat raced again on Sunday). On my way across the bridge I was fortunate to be offered a shuttle ride with the Bad Influence Team owner/driver. He was very disappointed as he had four boats that would have to wait till Sunday to race.

On Sunday the winds had died down to a light breeze with sunny skies. A great day for racing! The marine observers in a helicopter, delayed races 3 times on both Sat. and Sun., to wait for either manatees, sea turtles and dolphins to clear the 1.1 mile race course area. Over 70 boats participated in the 3rd Annual Stuart Regatta, with about 20 thousand spectators viewing the action from the Stuart Causeway Bridge and the beach below. From my perspective both days presented an exciting photo opportunity with beautiful boats going all out in tough competition.

Click for more photos of the excitement. (double click a photo and select Slide Show at top for best viewing):
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/104461058718739695077/albums/6016320990262717441

Publishing My Photographs

Like most people, all my life I have been taking pictures of friends and activities, with an occasional exceptional landscape or sunset, using point and shoot cameras.  A few years ago, with a more functional digital (fixed lens DSLR) camera, I began capturing some pretty amazing shots, so last year I took the plunge and purchased a true DSLR (Nikon D5200 with a couple of lenses). While learning to use the new-found flexibility of the Nikon, I accumulated on my computer some pretty interesting photographs that I wanted to see in high quality prints. I can now share my favorites in my first printed book of photographs, which can be previewed here. If you have an interest, the book can be purchased at cost. 
Click: http://blur.by/1fJ1zJL

Please enjoy - comments are welcome.