One of the three individuals that make up the Tingley Fountain memorial at Cave Hill Cemetery.

Experimenting with processing this deer photo as if it were a glamour portrait. I think she's ready for Hollywood!

You know, I swore, swore, swore that I would stick to still photography and not venture into videography. My reasons were many: too time consuming, can't use popular music due to licensing issues, don't want a second camera, editing software is too expensive and you need a master's degree in knob-twiddling to use it, files are too big, the process is slow and grueling, etc., etc., etc... Then along comes a $20 app for the iPad (and iPhone) that squashes every reason I had to stay away from videography except for the availability of popular music. Well, it turns out that nature videos don't really need popular music so, now I've gone and done it.. Dipped my toe in video.

Still very amateurish, but kinda has a Cinéma Vérité feel to it. I also have much to learn about the iPad app but, wow! talk about bang for the buck. LumaFusion, check it out on the iOS app store.

If you are not fortunate to live close to an area with forest creatures, I made this video for you...

One I have not run into before. A Gulf Fritillary with the sun shining through its wings. This is about as far north as they go.

The Passion Flower is one of the most exotic looking plants you will find in the woods, and along roadsides, in the south. “La Flor de las cinco Llagas" or the ‘The Flower With The Five Wounds,’ as it was known by seventeenth century Spanish missionaries in South America, was used by them to teach the story of the crucifixion (or Passion) of Christ to the South American indigenous peoples.

This one, like so many others, was along the path I took through Tom Sawyer Park yesterday and was being visited by an unknown bug while I was being mesmerized by it…

Spend enough time walking around in the woods and you eventually develop a sort of sixth sense about something that doesn't belong. This is especially true for me with colors.

Well, as I was walking along yesterday, I was struck by two brown leaves sticking up in the middle of what was very long dark green grass mixed with various green weeds. It just didn't make sense that a dried up old pair of brown leaves should be sticking up there. Well, it actually turned out to be two ears! One belonged to the little deer you see below, and the other to its sibling. They were just napping by themselves in this mass of greenery, their bodies completely invisible.

As soon as I realized what these leaves really were, the deer saw me and bolted. They stopped and turned to look at me about 50 yards away. I could only photograph one because the other was in shade that was too dark to pull anything out of. The broken tombstone you see is about 2 feet tall, so you can see how small this deer is. They must know that I will not walk inside the fence because there are thousands of people buried there. Some reports are there are as many as 5000 bodies of the dearly departed in this relatively tiny cemetery, many of them in mass graves. The deer don't seem to mind because I have frequently seen and photographed many of them there throughout the years.

I'm sure you can't see me hiding behind this tree!

Some birds I was observing from quite a distance.

Yeah, so there they were...

A young deer at Tom Sawyer Park.

A young buck spent some time posing for me at Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, KY.

A hummingbird moth drinks up at Tom Sawyer Park.

This day serves as our reminder that not everyone comes home…

I often wonder how those of “The Greatest Generation,” especially those who left this world prematurely because they sacrificed their lives so we could have the lives and lifestyles we have today, might view what we have done with their gift. I wonder what kinds of opinions they would hold about who we have become as a nation.

The most horrible thing I can imagine is that they might think their sacrifice was not worth it and that we have squandered the gift that they won for us. 

All it took was about 10 minutes of watching the cable news channels for me to pick out five  things that I think we need to change if we are to preserve the gift we received from them.

My five tenets to build a stronger nation:

1. Less “me,” more “we”.
2. Less interest in how rich our neighbors are and more gratitude for how rich our lives are.
3. Less focus on the lives of celebrities and more on the celebration of life.
4. Less focus on our individual differences and more on the different ways we are united.
5. Less concern with what we can get for free and more concern with ensuring we remain free.

In order that we may never forget the price that was paid on our behalf by those who gave all they had, and all they would ever have, so we could remain free. Today I dedicate this photo to those who remain, forever young…

When this guy sang, his entire body shook. I could hear him on the other side of the park!

Seems to have a bit of a tongue retention problem...

Three curious deer at Tom Sawyer Park crane their necks to figure out who this person with the camera is.

Sometimes "shooting" a photograph has its similarities with shooting a gun in that you have to be aware of what's downrange past your target. I had hoped that the big gnarly tree behind this actual piece of art, called "The Dance Of Life", would make for a suitable background. Turns out it does! I also think the patina on the inside of the woman's dress, if you squint a little, looks a lot like a shot of the night sky of the variety that you might see in the NASA photo of the day..

This is on the plaque below the the sculpture.

Another beauty from the outdoor art museum, that is Cave Hill Cemetery.

People often ask me, "What's the best camera?" Of course the correct answer is, "The one you have with you..."

Shot with an iPhone, through my car window, while stopped at a traffic light. I didn't even have time to roll the dirty window down!