Daily Image - Dec 2018 Archive

13 Dec 18 Today's Theatrical Thursday submission isn't, but rather a set of two documentary images side by side. Never done such before and I'm not sure I'll ever do it again, but I took both of these images recently and they showcase a couple moods of our large salt water pond, as Puget Sound is frequently called for fun. The mass of land in the background of both frames is Whidbey Island and the two commercial vessels are the Victoria Clipper in the left hand frame and a Washington State ferry in the right hand frame. Both frames were taken in approximately the same time of day about four weeks apart. One obviously in the fog and the other on a stormy morning when a single shaft of light was striking the vessel. The perspectives are different but I did line up the horizon in both frames. I've done a fair amount of cropping to get both images the same size and horizons situated as they are. As such there isn't a lot of detail remaining but if you were viewing the full frame capture you could read the name of each vessel. Probably not the type of weather most of you would select for a cruise, but the area can be beautiful even in this kind of weather. And when it is cold and clear, as I've shown in a few other images, it can be spectacular. Plus, if you are the kind who likes the "Silent World" this areas offers some of the best diving in the world, but you will definitely need a 3/8 inch wet suit! Other than what I described above, the two images are basically right out of the camera. Two Trips Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; LH frame ISO 320; 1/1000 sec @ f / 9; RH frame ISO 250; 1/1250 sec @ f / 8.

04 Dec 18 An all time first for me today in that I'm not only featuring a human, but one I don't know thus the soft focus image. The shot was taken in Vienna city center and is of a little girl who is very unhappy with her situation. I'll come back to this little cherub after a brief diversion. December is upon us and I've always associated the entire month of December with Christmas. Growing up Christmas was always a time of mixed emotions. There was both joy and pain associated with it as a child which I won't discuss but I will address it as both a teenager and young adult. By the time I had reached high school the commercialization of the Christmas story had really turned me off and I still remember Stan Freebreg's "Green Christmas" as my all time favorite Christmas musical production. It is still fully applicable today. If you've never heard it you can find it on line. At the same time the music associated with Christmas, especially the classical stuff, made Christmas very special, and at least once a week - Sunday - I was guaranteed to hear it. Between high school graduation and our marriage a classical station came on line that played the best classical stuff I ever heard, and especially so at Christmas. That station is no longer and another classical station replaced it for us. Over the years they have done a wonderful job of filling the hole left by that other station especially with their Christmas Classical offerings. This year that is no longer available as they've gone smart phone crazy leaving us "normal" people behind. So once again I find myself less than enchanted with this Christmas season. And with frustrations such as this, even more so with all the tensions that seem to always raise their ugly heads this time of year, affecting friends and family, emotions that somehow seem universal - I guess because we are all human- I am reminded of that young cherub in downtown Vienna who was not very happy with how things were going, a feeling that I'm fully feeling with her this Christmas season. Other than the creative aspect, this is what the camera saw. It Was Very Scary Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 500; 1/40 sec @ f / 9.

05 Dec 18 Looking through some of the trip images I came upon one that brought back to mind the joke of what is the difference between a neurotic, a psychotic, and a psychiatrist. The answer being a neurotic builds castles in the air, a psychotic lives in them, and a psychiatrist collects the rent. What brought this to mind is today's submission. You are looking across the "Blue" Danube from the Pest side where our cruise ship was moored to the Buda side. Although I took this shot from a bridge directly in front of the bow of the ship, virtually the same view was available from the ship's decks. This was taken during one of the few sun breaks during our last two days of the cruise. I had wanted to visit it in person but never found a way to get there that was open. As a result I have no information about it but still found it an interesting curiosity I thought I'd share. Perhaps on my next visit I'll be able to explore it some. For now I'll just have to imagine it as some middle ages castle built to protect the purity of the local maidens. Other than some small straightening this is what the camera recorded. IF you stretch your imagination a bit you will see that the river really is "blue." Missing Rapunzel Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/200 sec @ f / 9.

Christmas Spent some time today thinking about what I might send. Eventually decided on sharing the same image as yesterday but in color with a couple of additions. It took me almost 4 hours to composite, then Jan looked at it and didn't like it, so it was back to the drawing board for another period of time. I wasn't able to composite as well as I wanted, as you will immediately recognize, but it was the best I could do. Obviously I need to put in a lot more time to get this right, but at least I gave it my best. Lest we not forget the reason for which we celebrate this holiday. ""In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.”" A very Merry Christmas to you all!! Christmas Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority;ISO 200; 1/1000 sec @ f / 9.

Christmas Eve I've been debating with myself about how to go with the mailings for Christmas Eve and Christmas. Which also has implications for what image or images I share. I had hoped to have a very special image ready for Christmas but this December was not my best with far too many things on my plate, so I've not yet created that image. Not sure I'll be able to do so tomorrow and so I still find myself in a quandary. The image I'm sharing today might have worked as the base for that special image but time today didn't allow for anything more than I did; I may play some more with it and use the color version for Christmas. If you were to walk down our county road to the corner stop sign where the other piece of my Grandparents property sits and what was know for decades as Johanson's corner, and then continue down the road to where it makes a 90 degree turn, this piece of property is what you would encounter. It is highly unlikely that this is what you would see, in particular B&W, but it was what we saw in color one morning last year in the middle of December. There was a bit of fog remaining from earlier in the morning and the sunlight was striking the trees such that we were being treated to large bands of the fog being illuminated by the sun all along the farm road. One of those sights I just had to photograph. There is a power pole to the left of the image that I've cropped out but wasn't able to remove the power lines to my liking so they are something of a distraction; perhaps tomorrow. This is close to what the camera recorded although as I mentioned a did some cropping and a little work to share the fog as we saw it. Shadow Lands Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 250; 1/ 2500 sec @ f / 6.3.

31 Dec 18 Here we are at the last day of the month and year. It seems to have gone by fast. And it marks the end of the 13th year of these mailings. A favorite program of ours is called "The Organ Loft" and at the end of each weekly program the host gives you the number of the show counted in weeks. He began his show a few months after I started sending out the Daily Image so while his show number for tonight is something above 650, this mailing will be image number 3,121. So for those of you keeping them you likely have need of a small portable drive. Just for fun I keep a listing of the name of each image, the day it was sent, and the narrative that accompanied it. The narratives now fill a space of roughly 6" totaling over 1300 pages of single spaced text. Of course this stuff is basically meaningless, but it is fun to do and at least keeps the brain functioning at a basic level, hopefully anyway. Most of this happens simply because I tend to keep a camera with the majority of the time. Without that tool none of this would happen so I think we need to give it most of the credit. But together we make a reasonable team and have lots of fun trying to come up with something of interest 5 days a week. Some weeks of course are better than others, but I do believe that holds true for most everything. To close out the year I've picked a shot from an area from which I've shared many images, the beach at Hansville,WA, and this time we have a slightly rough sea, a great depiction of the homes on the opposing shore, and a mountain - Baker - with some rather unusual shadows playing on it from some very high clouds. In the course of less than 15 minutes I watched as the mountain was visible, shrouded in clouds, in the shadows, out of the shadows, and combinations of each. On such days patience is a virtue but also allows for some rather interesting shows. All worth watching! I've cropped this for best presentation and lightened the waters some as they were so dark as to make the sky look fake. Giving them a little brightness made for a better balance. Shadows Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 250; 1/1000 sec @ f /10. With this image we close out year 13; I'll pick it back up on Wednesday with the start of year 14.

10 Dec 18 Now that December is fully in swing it is time to start thinking about the annual Skagit trip to shoot either Snow Geese or Bald Eagles, maybe both. The Snow Geese will be with us until the March time frame, sometimes longer, and the Bald Eagles hang out until the fish supply is depleted. In the past several years the number of these large birds that we have seen in the Skagit has been anything but rewarding but with an abundance of them within a 45 minute drive year round the number we see in the Skagit isn't all that important. The geese on the other hand aren't available down here - not quite true as supposedly there are a few hundred at most not too far from here - but are always available at their winter staging grounds and with their numbers constantly increasing a lot of fun to find and shoot. If you are patient and take the time to just wait for the action, they always put on a great show. From watching them move across the ground like a giant wave nibbling on the grasses, to launching en mass as a coordinated flight to confuse aerial predators, to formation landing they present multiple photographic opportunities. Armed with your camera and a normal to short telephoto lens, your lunch, something warm to drink, and perhaps something to sit on the geese can be a delightful way to spend a day, or even more time if you are so inclined. Today we get to see two sets of two geese on final about 30 feet above the ground. About 20 more seconds of flight and the feet drop down, the tail feathers bend down about 90 degrees, and with a few hard flaps they will be on the deck. This what the camera saw. Clean Approach Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/1000 sec @ f / 9.

26 Dec 18 Hope you had a wonderful First Day of Christmas. As I write this it is coming to an end here on the secular side and I am thinking it was a nice break between the 3 months of shopping frenzy approaching it and the day of hell returning items and looking for the best values to immediately follow it on The Second Day of Christmas. Not totally sure what the remaining 10 days will bring but New Years day and all the preceding festivities for certain. Day Two will likely see Jan out looking for a few bargains in the cards and wrap departments and the cherubs returning home for the rest of the holidays. For some of you there will also be a DVD arriving after finally being able to get it mailed; the local big storm having kept the P.O. closed for the Thursday - Saturday preceding Christmas. Normally I'd be sharing a poinsettia shot about this time but as I haven't yet shot any for this year, and as I have a creative dahlia shot I think appropriate for The Second Day of Christmas, I'm going with it instead. When I made it I was thinking of imitating the flames of a fire so I named it as such. After returning from your battles in the malls, see if I called it appropriately. Just three more to go and we call an end to Daily Image year 13. Hard to believe we're about to begin year 14! This is straight from the camera with obvious manipulation. In Hades Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 320; 1/320 sec @ f /11.

12 Dec 18 This was one of those days when I spent most of the day chasing my tail. I had set out to try and put together a DVD of the Christmas shows - just working with one as a trial - wherein I could put three versions of each show on the disc with a menu allowing for selecting the file of choice, choice meaning the correct one for the available device. In the process I asked all those interested in the shows whether or not their player was Blue Ray capable and got back a split bag. In the process I determined that I needed new software to accomplish what I wanted and that the recipients were pretty much split 50 - 50 as to Blue Ray capability. So by day's end I found I was back to square one with the only realistic option being the purchase of an upgrade to some currently owned software. But I'll count that as a win because the new software will allow for more capability including burning a DVD that will play on both types of players with greatly increased resolution. Maybe even some time saving which I could have used today as I didn't get the image created I wanted to share, a two pane panel of weather effects over our big salt water pond. Maybe I'll finish by tomorrow. So instead we'll jump back to MT for a look at a stand of Aspens that are being hit by a band of light giving the effect of many strands of silvery hair. This is the same stand I wrote about earlier when I was talking about running back and forth on Hwy - 287 chasing the light. For a change this time I caught it. This is straight from the camera. Struck by Light Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 400; 1/500 sec @ f / 9.

06 Dec 18 I believe I written before about our first tour in the Navy wherein the wives club arranged for an annual art auction hosted by a New York art house. We'd have a wonderful pot luck - you can only imagine what these are like if you've not been in an organization with members from all parts of the country and well as from other nations - followed by the auction. It was always a lot of fun and even more so when two or three individuals really wanted a certain piece. All-in-all there were some really good deals unless of course you got caught up in competing with another for that "must have" piece. We have several pieces hanging on our walls that range from acrylic to water color to oils. All nice to have but there are a couple which are very special in my mind. One of those is of a set of two birch like trees on the edge of a river bank with a set of hills - or mountains - depending on where you live in the background. The frame is square and the matte oval. It is comprised of white and hues of brown only. VERY simple while also being VERY dramatic. The moment I saw it I knew it had to hang on our walls. Fortunately nobody else apparently felt that way. Today's submission is of a solitary aspen, and like the two trees in the painting, it's leafless. Being Theatrical Thursday I've attempted to create something similar to that painting but with a different tonal composition. I've cropped the capture tightly, and then converted it to this creative look. An Eastern Approach Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 400; 1/500 sec @ f / 9.

Roadside Sanctuary

03 Dec 18 Back to Hwy - 191 inside Yellowstone National Park for today's submission. This location is 10 feet to the right of the photo "watering hole" I shared a few days back. As I was walking along the edge of the water I startled a couple of ducks who until I arrived were likely enjoying a peaceful afternoon. The drake launched first before I had any idea they were even there followed by the hen about 30 seconds later. Fortunately I was able to grab a few shots of her and this I believe is the best of that group. Hard to tell whether she is launching or landing by looking at just her but the tell tale circles of water on the left tell the answer. Always fun to get off the road and just walk along the edge of the ponds, streams, and river; you never know what you'll find but almost always, if you are both patient and quiet, you'll find something both interesting and beautiful. This is what the camera recorded. Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 400; 1/320 sec @ f / 9.

18 Dec 18 Our morning began a bit shaky weather-wise but by noon we had decided to brave it and see what might happen. It was all good photographically although as I've repeatedly mentioned, a few more - meaning LOTS more - animals would have been appreciated. Our first elk encounter of two was shortly after we ventured into the park where we came upon about three cows having lunch along the banks of the Madison River. No other herd members were around and these three lovely ladies were separated from each by some distance just kicking back and ignoring everything - mostly people - around them, and sad to say, many of the humans were anything but respectful of the animals. If I had been one of those critters I'd have beckoned a couple of the idiots to get closer and then given them a swift kick!! We watched and photographed these gals for perhaps 30 minutes - easy to lose track of time - before heading south to see parts of the park we hadn't visited for 11 years and some unexpected amazing sights. Stay tuned. This is what the camera recorded plus a bit of selective dodging and burning to provide a better sense of the scene as we were seeing it. Lunch Break Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 800; 1/640 sec @ f / 9.

19 Dec 18 From the West Yellowstone entrance you drive 14 miles east to Madison Junction. At this juncture you can go south toward Old Faithful and the South entrance or northeast another 14 miles to Norris Junction where you can turn north to the North entrance or east to Canyon Village and the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone where you find the two big falls. Among the more interesting rivers and falls in the park is Firehole Falls and it is the closest one to the West Entrance. Upon reaching Madison Junction you select the southern route and within about a mile you encounter Firehole Canyon Drive. This is roughly a 1 mile one way loop road and it is here that you can find the Firehole Falls, IF, the road is open. More times than not when we visit in May it is not yet open but it is always open when we visit in the fall. The spring runoff however is when you really want to see it as when the winter snows melt it is a rather spectacular fall and very noisy. Downstream from the main falls is a 45 degree sloping "trail" in the side of a cliff that the more adventurous can traverse to get down to the water level for a bit more adventure than just shooting the falls from above. You are looking at the Firehole river from that water level perspective in today's submission. Directly above the last boulder in the middle of the river where the water appears to disappear is the outlet of the falls and the really adventurous can make their way there to shoot the falls from its base in the autumn, but it would be foolhardy to try that during the spring runoff. Still . . . . . . . . . . I know someone who would like to try it. This is a shot from last fall's trip and while I was shooting there was an individual who had made it along the rocks to a location directly across from the boulder I mentioned above. I was seriously thinking of going there myself but as my shooting companion elected not to accompany me down to the water I decided I could do it another time. This is what the camera recorded. From Water Level Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture priority; ISO 800; 1/500 sec @ f / 9.

20 Dec 18 It will likely come as no surprise that the Firehole Falls is situated somewhere along the Firehole River as one would expect. Similarly one might expect the Firehole River Drive would follow the Firehole River and it does. Which sets one up to expect that the Firehole Lake Drive would follow the Firehole Lake which it doesn't nor does the lake exist for the better part of every year. It's a bit of a strange situation but the drive is a permanent fixture even though it often isn't open, sometimes for no apparent reason. When it is you have access to a couple interesting geysers and some eerily lovely landscape, a landscape that is apparently constantly in transition and which presents very different faces depending on the time of year. This is a fall shot of the area looking back to the geyser area on your return to the main road. I took it shooting through a combination of geyser steam, fog, and snow shower clouds. It was late afternoon, the weather setting in, and the sun - bright area top center - trying its best to make a showing for the day; it didn't succeed. There were several vehicles driving with us but I saw no one try to shoot in this weather excepting me. Somehow I have difficulty convincing folks that this kind of weather can produce nice images. This isn't exactly what the camera recorded. The atmospheric conditions washed the scene out some so I did a little dodging and burning to bring it back to how I saw it. In Between Flurries Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 400; 1/100 @ f /11.

17 Dec 18 Our weather in Yellowstone was a mixed bag as I've mentioned several times, but when it was good it was great!! Having played tag all day Friday with Sol, Saturday turned out to be one of potential with the clouds not quite so threatening but never letting us forget they were there while offering some lovely landscapes with varying amounts of fresh snow. What was missing were the animals, so we worked with what we were given. We played with the light until there was no more and shortly before that occurred we were at the SW corner of the park looking across Lake Yellowstone to the Absoraka Range of mountains outside the eastern edge of the park. More accurately we were looking through very small sections of trees that when we visited in 2007 were just saplings but are now almost totally blocking one of the loveliest views in the park in my estimation. The Rangers really need to remove a stand of perhaps 30 trees to bring back the view. Certainly wouldn't hurt the park and would return a wonderful viewing location for which there is an "official" parking area but which is now almost useless. The shot was taken while playing hide and seek with what little light was available coupled with the clouds moving between us and the setting sun. Although it was barely 1730, after a day in the weather it felt much more like 2100. We finished our shooting, packed up, and headed back thinking our day was over only to meet the only lone bull elk we saw during the entire trip about 45 minutes later. That's a story for another day. I've done a little cropping to get rid of a couple poorly framing trees, straightened it a tiny bit, and done a little selective dodging and burning to get this as I experienced it. A Break in the Storm Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 400; 1/200 sec @ f / 9.

07 Dec 18 One of this year's Christmas shows is, or will be when completed, comprised of just dahlias taken in four locations, one of which is Jan's garden. I've made 6 versions of each flower, a straight color, a B&W, a sketch, and 3 creative color versions. The image size is set to the same for each slide and they slowly dissolve into one another against a classical musical selection as the supporting soundtrack. Generally the music is from a well know composer from either the Baroque, Classical, or Romantic time periods. I started doing these back in 1984 during the slide time period and they used to run upwards of 30 minutes. As my audience (and me) have matured (gotten older) I've been shortening them so that now nothing runs in excess of 20 minutes and most shows are between 5 and 15 minutes leaning unequally on the shorter times. Once, a couple years back, just to get a feel for audience likes, I let the software compile one show. The polite response from the audience - you - was PLEASE don't do that again. Not desiring to be hit in the head repeated times, I tossed that idea where it belonged. Like a good sermon, it takes about one hour preparation for each minute of the show(s), so the automation seemed like it might have some promise. I guess we all make mistakes. Creating three master shows, burning, and mailing combined occupy almost a full weeks time. But I enjoy making them as much as I do sharing them, so all-in-all it is time well spent in this bustling Christmas season. Today's submission is one of the slides from this year's show. This is straight from the camera save for the creative application. The black background was create by having the flower in front of an empty area which was not receiving any appreciable amount of light. The creative effect was achieved with Topaz Glow 2. Glowing Nikon D500; 105 macro; ISO640; 1/800 sec @ f / 7.1.

21 Dec 18 It being just days before Christmas I thought I'd go with a flower I've shared before, a Christmas Cactus, but this time a soft focus version which I think renders it more romantic. As I've written before my Grandmother loved these plants and grew them in a southern window three blocks from here. Jan has followed suit and has many of them in various colors blooming for a better part of the year, but especially so in the fall. This shot was taken in October of a variety that leans toward a purplish magenta and I really like how it looks. Jan's plants are a bit challenging to shoot where she grows them as they are either cluttered together or up against a wall or window and I don't like carrying them upstairs to shoot as they are somewhat fragile. So I wind up contorting myself to get the blossoms as unencumbered as possible which sometimes works well, as in this shot, and often doesn't. Other than my manipulation this is what the camera recorded. An O'Keeffe Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 640 1/60 sec @ f / 9 with fill flash.

11 Dec 18 As I mentioned on Friday I've begun work on the Christmas shows and over the weekend I completed the first one, called The Dahlia. It features just 12 different dahlia blossoms but is comprised of 70 slides and a 7 minute musical background. Stepped a bit out of my comfort zone this time and went with a more contemporary composer, Leos Janacek (1854 - 1928) who is considered among the most important Czech composers. I've shown the show to a few folks and the image I'm sharing today is from the show and the most liked B&W slide in it. And since it is B&W Tuesday I thought, why . . . . not. So, one show down - the easy one - and two more to go, one specifically covering the trip last year to Europe of maybe 10 minutes duration, and the other a general show comprised of all the images I've shared throughout 2018 which will be the longest of the shows with perhaps an intermission for a soda, popcorn, and a candy bar. Plus some images I didn't share in the mailings. If any of this jabber has given some of you pause to rethink my offer of the Christmas shows gift feel welcome to respond to that 20 August mailing with the offer. Other than conversion to B&W, this is what the camera recorded. Burst of White Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture priority; ISO 640; 1/80 sec @ f / 9.

14 Dec 18 A close up for today and one with a little adjustment having been added. This is the leaf of a plant that Jan refers to as the peanut butter plant that grows in our garden. She gives it that moniker from the smell on your hands after rubbing the plant's leaves. It is a rather large plant growing several feet in height. I can't remember ever seeing it blossom but Jan does which she describes as a cluster of brown and yellow small flowers; flower or no, the leaves are rather attractive in themselves. I shot this following a late morning drizzle so the beads of water were still on the leaves as opposed to having run off as they do when the rain is heavy. I was shooting for a combination of leaf shape, in particular the serrated edges, and the droplets of water. It came our rather nicely but I thought a bit of creativity would go well giving it an enhanced 3-D feeling. Other than the creative aspect this is what the camera recorded. Glowing Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 400; 1/60 sec @ f / 8.

28 Dec 18 In searching around for something suitable for both close up Friday and the fourth Day of Christmas I realized that I had grabbed a couple shots of a poinsettia a couple weeks back and thought one such would work appropriately. Since I shot it at a church function I did a slight manipulation to convert it to something that might be in a church window. Not much more to say about. Just one to go and 2018 will be in the history books. Other than the manipulation this is straight from the camera. Church Window Fare Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 320; 1/60 sec with fill flash @ f / 9.

27 Dec 18 For this Third Day of Christmas, a very rare photograph! While I'm rather certain all of you are aware of Nessie, some of you may even have seen her, I'm wagering none of you knew that we have a relative of her residing in Puget Sound. She is very shy, and only makes an occasional appearance in late December and only then in the Port of Kingston although some have claimed to have seen her off our MW coast. She times her visits for the annual Port of Kingston Christmas Lights display and only for a few hours when she does show. I've seen her a couple of times but only when visiting very late because she prefers to make her appearance when the park is virtually empty. Apparently her diet consists of bio-luminescent marine life as she appears to be lit up when she makes her presence known, but due to her diet, most folks who do on occasion see her, think she is just part of the light display. Should you ever visit our area during Christmas, and are of a patient nature, go see the lights. Perhaps she will grace you with her presence. This is what the camera recorded. Serpent Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/2 sec @ f / 9.