In this collection, you will find not just
photographs, but stories that tell tales behind the shots, for in many cases,
photos aren't just photos, but pieces of a quilt woven into a lifetime of
memories. They're in no particular order, each with its own prominent place in
my little world, each of its own little piece of the past, east with it's own
significance. As my "good buddy" Rod Stewart would say....."Every
Picture Tells A Story." Enjoy!
To download any of these photos, left click
on the thumbnail image to enlarge the photo, then right click on the larger
image. Click on the "save picture as" instructions from the drop down box,
decide where to store your image (I would recommend a separate folder in my
documents), and name the image.
I've decided to start with my favorite
collection of gem photos. Some of these you might see in the new gem wallpaper
section of the web site, but here they are enhanced by borders or frames or
perhaps even both.
This first one is a very, very close shot of
an agate geode with beautiful quartz crystals on the inside. They remind me of
ice.
The next one is a carnelian that I used some
special effects with to make it appear almost slippery when it was said and
done. It almost looks like its liquid.
This one in is a fluorite, one of my favorite of all gems, because it comes in
so many various color combinations. This one goes so well with the golden
tones that I decided to frame it.
This one is a grouping of three garnets, using
some special effects, a really sweet pink background, a red granite frame and
some spotlights to bring it to life.
Another of my absolute favorites: iolite. I was
fortunate enough to come across a pretty nice size piece of iolite rough at a
gem show and it is definitely deserving of a frame.
Do not miss this one. It is one of my favorite
pictures of all time, and fittingly enough, one of my favorite gems of all
times, the London blue topaz. The lighting and the colors and everything about
it is just perfect. A keeper and a must-have download.
I liked the way this creamy solitaire pearl
came out that I held a place for it here with both a border, and a picture
frame. Help yourself to both of them if you wish. The pearl looks so creamy
you could almost eat it. Almost.
This is actually from my wife's very large
collection of rings, an Oregon Opal surrounded by Tanzanites. Very hard to
come by, and very beautiful. Absolutely one of my favorite pieces.
Here's a gem that is not often seen, yet is a
member of a common group: quartz. Some just call it green-gold quartz, while
others know it as "Oro Verde." The colors came together very well here, and it
soon became one of my best works.
This one is called "staurolite," and in olden
days it scared people to death. Although some considered it a religious piece,
others considered it the cross of death. I thought it was interesting and
captured a reflection underneath with a "little magic." Kinda cool.
Another one from Linda's collection. This is a
tanzanite solitaire that I purchased for her many years ago. I actually sat it
on a quartz crystal geode when I first took the shot to achieve the icy effect
underneath.
More tanzanites, this time a sampling,
including some really ugly zoisite, which is the parent of the group. I
thought it was a kind of interesting contrast in all.
I enjoy fresh flowers and I always make sure
that my wife has fresh flowers in the house. Fortunately, I usually do the
food shopping, and our local Publix has a wonderful florist inside. Let's next
take a look at some of the pictures of flowers I've taken over time.
I call this one "A bee's-eye view of an azalea
flower," and I took it out back in our garden.
An Easter assortment, so loaded it filled the
screen. The blur effect is done on purpose, for something a little different.
This is an ivory-colored rose that I back-lit
with very soft lighting.
This one came right from our Gardenia tree that
we planted when we moved into our house together. The aroma can be detected
from a block away.
We have these beautiful hibiscus plants in pots
around our pool area, and the pinks (my favorite color) are so soft that I
just had to devote two photos to them, one with a pink border, the other with
a border and an aqua frame.
Purple orchids with a soft fade effect, taken
at Sunken Gardens, a lovely place to spend an afternoon, right here in St.
Petersburg, Florida.
This is a kind of cool flower or whatever you
might want to call it known around here as "Florida Straw." One look can tell
you why.
This picture was taken locally, in our
neighborhood. They are just some pretty wildflowers that I happened upon one
day. A good find, if I do say so myself!
A few years back, I had the opportunity to
go to Brazil and see first hand how gems are mined from the ground on up. It
was an invaluable lesson for me, and I will always be grateful to HSN for
sending me there. As we now move into all the random shots, I will lead in
with the pictures that I took in Brazil that I believe are classics. There are
some pictures in this collection that are, in my opinion anyway, definitely
suitable for framing.
The Brazilians are a devout group and there are
many churches throughout the land, each more beautiful than the next. I love
this picture not only for the beauty of the church, but for the mountains and
surroundings as well.
I could write a book about this experience.
While riding through some of the most remote areas of the countryside, we came
across a settlement of Brazilian Indians, and the way they live could break
your heart. This photo is of a "house" in which at least 10 or 12 people live
(men, women and lots of children), and believe me, this is one of the better
ones. I could go on and on about this experience, but that is something for
another time and another place.
This giant pit, believe it or not, is a golden
topaz mine in Brazil. It is every bit as big as it looks, making all the
construction equipment look like toys.
On the Sunday we arrived in Brazil, there was
this big market fair in the streets going on, and one thing I came across were
these darling little gemstone owls, all hand-carved, no more than 2 or 3
inches tall.
If you were to ask me what my favorite picture
of all those was, I would tell you it is this one. I was shooting and
following this guy for what seemed like an hour, just waiting for the proper
opportunity. Finally, I hit on one. This picture was taken at the cage-free
section of the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, Florida.
While I was waiting for the big guy to move
around for me, the baby chimp decided to get a little active, and I came up
with this shot, and some special borders to make the end product a lot more
fun!
I know from experience how difficult it is to
get solo shots of birds that look like these, particularly birds such as the
bald eagle. I took a bunch of pictures, decided which were the best, and did a
little enhancement for you. These photos were taken at Sunken Gardens in St.
Petersburg. God bless the USA!
Also in Sunken Gardens, they have an enclosed
area where butterflies roam, and if you are very quick, you can get a photo
like this every once and awhile.
One day I decided to take my bike down to the
St. Pete waterfront, and there was this cool old guy there with Buffett, his
parrotthead friend. Well, being a parrotthead myself for many years, I took
out my camera and shot away. This one was my favorite of all. "Wastin away
again in Margaritaville........"
This is a close-up of an orange tree, almost
ready to bear its fruit. What's neat about it, is it is right here in our
neighborhood. Now you southerners probably won't be impressed, but folks up
north might be.
What a fire hydrant looks like from the
Goodyear Blimp.
Another one of my favorite shots. It's easy to
see that this guy isn't very afraid of humans, and loves the spotlight of the
camera.
This is a mansion on the "rich side of the
water," (not the side I live on.) What is neat about this shot is that I used
some special effects before I took the picture so that it would look like a
watercolor when all was said and done.
A darling yellow and white house owned by a
friend of mine in our neighborhood. You can't get much cuter than this.
Saturday night, Super Bowl eve, before the big
game here in Tampa. Although the Bucs are my team now, I still hold a place in
my heart for the Giants, and have been to both Super Bowls, when they won, and
when they got clobbered.
Tortoise or turtle? You make the call. I looked
at this thing for five minutes before I realized that it wasn't real. Ok, so
some of us are slower than others.
Dan's Photo Gallery
