An osprey is flying, searching for prey

Angry (?) Osprey

I tracked one for about 40 minutes, as he went fishing. He had no luck, and eventually flew off away from the lake, perhaps to sulk…

An osprey, seconds after diving into the water for a fish.

The highlight of the day was definitely watching an Atlas V rocket launch from nearby Playalinda Beach. This just might be the best place outside of Kennedy Space Center to see a launch, or at least a launch from Launchpad 39A.

Currently, they are doing a series to help photographers create better websites. Since they make really good photography websites (not to mention photographs!) I’m keeping a close eye on it…

Going to the Merrit Island Wildlife Refuge this Friday. Hoping to get some nice wildlife pics, and (hopefully) a rocket launch.

One reason I have confidence that this site will improve is the creators of the template I am using, Photocrati, are always updating their product. Also, they always have quickly responded to any question I have had. When first building this site, I tried a couple of free templates. They were difficult to implement, and help was nonexistent. “Free” solutions are sometimes worth what you pay for them. I then bought one of the cheaper templates available. Found out too late that the makers wanted to charge me for tech support. I finally bought the Photocrati template, and while it was more expensive than other templates, it has fantastic support, is very customizable, and included a shopping cart module, which I would have had to buy separately. They are highly recommended.

Also highly recommended is my webhost, Dreamhost. They are affordable, and are very proactive in providing me services. They notify me when there are hacking attempts against my site, and give me lists of things to do to improve security. They even write me back on a Sunday afternoon if I have a question. They make it easy to install a number of programs with a single click. Without their help this webpage wouldn’t be here.

I am amazed at how friendly these animals are. Two of them were taken among the crowd of people at the racetrack, and both were as friendly as can be. Fellow photographer Chris Haber owns two rescued greyhounds himself, and the first time over at his house my only danger was being slobbered to death…

According to Dennis Tyler, the local chapter president of GPoA, greyhounds typically retire at the age of 2 – 6 years, depending on injuries and racing success. These dogs are then spayed or neutered, and given all of their shots. This chapter supplies dogs for people from Miami Florida, all the way up to New Jersey.

For more information on greyhound adoption, or to make a donation, you can go to either “www.greyhoundpets.org” or the central Florida chapter, “www.floridagreyhounds.com“. If you wish me to work with your nonprofit group, please don’t hesitate to send me a message through my “Contact” link at the top of this post

We’ll see how this goes.  I learned about this service from the Twitter feed of “photopreneur”.

But there were other, friendlier signs too…