After ignoring this blog for several years, I have decided to start using it again. I leave on Saturday for my third trip to Cuba. It's always interesting and and the people are absolutely fantastic to meet and interact with (yes, ending a sentence with a preposition is now OK).  Cuba has about 90% of the population fully vaccinated against Covid-19. But Cuba is not about Covid-19, it is about the culture and the people. More later. 

On June 1, 2017, it will be one year that I have lived in Costa Rica, more or less. I say "more or less"because I still have ties to south Texas and return there periodically. I love the Rio Grande Valley and intend to have it as a second home. Living in Costa Rica has opened new worlds for photography and a plethora of new friends, experiences, and challenges. Th biggest challenge is learning the language, but that's a different matter. My website has been around for awhile but I've never been satisfied with it. So I made some revisions and have some new and some old photographs on it. It's still a hobby and I will never make it a business. Enjoy! Comments welcome.  

Within the past six months, I've been on two instructional photo tours with professional photographer, Larry Ditto. Last November we went to the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge near Lawton Oklahoma. Normally, November is a very pleasant time with moderate Fall weather in southwestern Oklahoma. However, in Nov 2014, the entire middle part of the country was on the receiving end of a polar vortex which dropped the temperatures into the mid 20s with winds 15-20. We still got some decent photos but damn it was cold.  

2014 was a very good year and I intend to make 2015 even better.  In November, I went on an interesting photography tour/workshop to the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Oklahoma. This refuge is the oldest refuge in the country and was established at the behest of President Theodore Roosevelt in an effort to save the American bison, which were in danger of extinction. The day that we arrived at the refuge, the polar vortex made its way into Oklahoma so we endured several days of subfreezing temps chasing wildlife. Nobody complained, though and we got some good shots. I will be going to Big Bend National Park in late March and am planning on spending some time in Costa Rica which has never experienced the kind of temperatures that we had in Oklahoma.    

Last Saturday, I went on a Tex-NEP field trip to the Martin Refuge and a photo session at the raptor blind. My goal was to get some birds in flight. I got some good ones plus some black vultures. The black vultures do not go much further north than the Rio Grande Valley so most of the country hasn't seen them although almost everyone has seen their cousins, the turkey vultures.  I'm sad to hear that the Martin Refuge will close at the end of the year.

I was on a three-day photo shoot last weekend at Laguna Seca Ranch, near Edinburg, Texas. It's migration time in the Rio Grande Valley so there was a huge variety of birds. The shoot was organized by professional photographer, Larry Ditto, who gave us his usual wonderful photography tips along with interesting stories from many years of wildlife photography.

Next week, I will be on a photo tour/workshop for three days with nationally recognized wildlife photographer, Larry Ditto at Laguna Seca Ranch near Edinburg, Texas. Larry  only takes four people at a time  so that he can work with each of us individually. Two of the great advantages of living in the Rio Grande Valley are access to outstanding photographers  like Larry Ditto, and access to some of the best photography sites in the country.    

Friend Hector Astorga has opened an  awesome new studio in the arts district in McAllen to showcase and sell his photography. The studio is in the Art by Design building at Main and Hackberry. Check out some of his work at http://www.hectorastorga.com/.

 

While on break from my classes this winter, I re-created and updated this website and will continue to change out the content from time to time. Mostly I photograph the things and people that interest me at any one time, always subject to change. Winter in the Rio Grande Valley is a time for the migratory birds so I'll concentrate on those for the time being.