Picture Of The Day - "Dragonflies by the Dozens"

The last many weeks have been very challenging ones. I finally got my hard drive straightened out. With all the back and forth and transferring folder by folder and/or file by file, I got all of my images back. I am truly grateful that out of 215gb, I did not lose one single file! Thank God!

Then, this past weekend began another test for me. Apparently some sort of virus found its way into my computer. Did all that I was comfortable doing to fix the problem, but after two days battling with it gave it over to Norton. After about three hours (and a decent little monetary exchange), they were able to remotely clean out all traces of the infection. I'll have to say that I have been blessed. This has been my primary computer for about three years, and this was the first time I have been "invaded" by a virus like this. I've heard nightmare stories from others who didn't fare so well.

So, hopefully, now that all the computer issues are resolved, I'll be able to get back to paying attention to my blog and get back to the Picture of the Day. I haven't been out shooting very much for the last several weeks, so my new material was running a little dry. But I was able to go to the Hillsborough State Park and another local County park one day. Also made another trip last week to one of my very favorite local parks called Eureka Springs Park here in Tampa. They were closed for renovations for several months, so I was excited to be able to go back and see all the new growth since my last visit. I'll be putting some of those up through the next few weeks.

But to get back into the swing of things, I will start with an image I took while on a walk around the property where I live. This property abuts a natural mangrove swamp preserve next to the Bay. Although not very smart (because it was a gazillion degrees outside!), I took my walk around 3 p.m. Once I got out on the boardwalk, I started noticing dragonflies everywhere. They were zipping in and out on all the bushes and landing on the water. Some of the growth was covered with them like butterflies cover freshly blooming trees. I got really excited shooting them. Although I couldn't get as close as I would have liked to, my Nikon 70-300 lens did a pretty decent job. The other problem was that they were so active, it was hard to get focused on them before they were moving again. It was a lot of fun, though. Here's just a sample of what was out there. This is a Carolina Saddlebags - Tramea carolina.

Thank You Veterans

I know they've been around for a little while, but I just found Animoto. What a GREAT program! They have several options you can choose from to create your videos with music including unlimited free 30-second, All-Access Pass, and Business. Since I just found them, I am using the 30-second to create some quick videos. However, I do plan to upgrade to the business. With the All-Access Pass you can create an unlimited amount of videos for $30 per year. Plus you are not restricted to the 30-second time frame. You can't sell them, but you can use them on your computer, your TV or project them on a screen or wall for weddings, parties, meetings, etc. With the business account, you can do just about anything with them. You also have the option to remove all Animoto branding, and you can sell your videos, too. I'm excited about this new find. If you click on the Animoto link on the side of my page, you can get a $5 savings on an All-Access Pass or one extra month of commercial use for free with the business account. You can also just use my referral code of fwruvtdn where it asks for Promo Code and receive the same discount.

Veterans have been on my mind quite a bit lately, so I decided to create my first 30-second video with some images that are dear to my heart. Hope you enjoy this.