Wildlife

Whales in Lower Bay

2023-05-162023-05-11Sherry Felix1 Comment

On a gloriously nice day we set sail from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York to look for whales in the Lower Bay on a Whale Watching & Dolphin Adventure Cruise in New York City aboard the American Princess (americanprincesscruises.com). One young humpback put on a show by reputedly leaping out of the water like a skipping stone. Some whales slapped the water to move the fish to lower depths. The 5 young humpbacks were feeding on the large schools of Menhaden – Wikipedia. So were cormorants, osprey, loons and other predators. The first image is a composite.

Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) and Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus), Lower Bay, NY 5/6/2023

Greenbrook Edits

2023-01-242023-01-24Sherry Felix8 Comments

I downloaded a trial version of Boris FX Optics to see if it is worth purchasing to take my photographs to the next level. I will not buy it. I can do all that Optics offers in Photoshop. If on occasion I want some other presets I have On1 Effects, Luminar Neo and AI, and Topaz Photo AI. What I use the most are Blake Rudis’ F64 Elite panels in Photoshop Zone System Express and Palette Effects Bundle – f.64 Elite (f64elite.com). These buttons in the panels are basically shortcuts to what can be done in Photoshop without the panels. These addons make it faster to get what I want done. Blake’s tutorials explain how they work in detail.

After enhancing my edits and before photographs.

Greenbrook

2023-01-232023-01-24Sherry Felix12 Comments

After shopping for food in New Jersey we drove to Greenbrook Sanctuary | Palisades Interstate Park in New Jersey (njpalisades.org), a private nature sanctuary in Tenafly. The feeders behind the office were full of birds. We had a lovely walk to Green Brook Pond and to an overlook of the Hudson River on the Palisades. Photographs labeled Felix are by Marc.

After that we drove a couple of miles north to my favorite restaurant near Greenbrook, Kiku Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi. Kikurestaurantsnj.com, on 9W.

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), Greenbrook 1/22/2023

Kanaha and Wailuku

2022-12-282022-12-28Sherry Felix4 Comments

We went shopping on Market Street in Wailuku and I found a lovely little shop, Lily on Market Street, where I bought a hand painted limited edition 107/130 linen blouse from Paris. I wanted a Hawaiian style shirt with long sleaves. This one reminded me of Gaugin. I love the old style architecture on Market Street.

After shopping we drove to Kanaha Pond in Kahului then to Kanaha Beach. Before dinner we stopped at the expensive but lovely Makai Glass Maui across the street from the restaurant, the Hali’imaile General Store – Makawao, Maui Restaurant (hgsmaui.com). I had a marvelous steak there. Unfortunately, the waiter informed me that it was not Maui beef, which is what I wanted. Hali’imaile General Store responded to my inquiry saying that they can no longer obtrain local beef and will soon be updating their website. The rest of their food is locally sourced. The food, overseen by Chef Beverly Gannon, whom we briefly met, was terrific.

Old movie theater on Market St, Wailuku, Maui 11/25/2022

Molokini Crater

2022-12-222022-12-12Sherry Felix9 Comments

I booked us an early mourning snorkel dive at Molokini Crater led by Maui Adventure Sunrise Snorkel | Hawaii Holidays in Wailea, HI (kaikanani.com). We used my new Olympus Tough underwater. I missed taking pictures the crater because I couldn’t get the camera out of the holster underwater. The numbers of colorful fish were amazing. The water was delightfully warm. I swam in my shorts because of the lost bathing suit.

On the next dive at Turtle Town I let Marc take the camera. I didn’t go in the water for that swim because the first one tired me out. Marc dropped the camera because the strap was loose. Subsequently, I purchased a floating wrist strap at B&H. Fortunately, the camera landed right next to the boat on sand and a staff member was able to retrieve it for us. All the pictures of the turtles are by Marc.

They kept stuffing us full of drinks and food and the staff was very entertaining and knowledgeable. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip. Marc was surprised at how easy snorkeling was.

After the dive we went to the parking lot and while putting things in the trunk I said, “Are you ready?” and Marc said “yes” so I shut the trunk. Unfortunately, the car key was inside the trunk. 4 hours later Hertz sent someone to unlock the car.

I also took some pictures while at Maluaka Beach where the boat leaves from and in the parking lot.

Kai Kanini snorkel trip to Molokini Crater, Maui 11/22/2022

Maui Ocean Center

2022-12-142022-12-10Sherry Felix4 Comments

It took a day to see everything at the Maui Ocean Center | Aquarium of Hawai‘i | Encounter Hawai‘i’s Marine Life. Plus we booked a gourmet meal for lunch at their Seascape restaurant Dine With Us | Maui Ocean Center. I booked ahead. The 3D theater was amazing. The whale’s nose was inches from my face Humpbacks of Hawaiʻi Exhibit & Sphere – Maui Ocean Center. I only wish there was an adults only day. The screaming children are too much for me. Gone are the days when parents made their children behave in museums and zoos.