Sunset from Cypress Point Park

After meeting with a group of photographers last week, I rediscovered Cypress Point Park which is located just a few blocks from my office. The day that we went for the Photowalk was cloudy. Also, I got there when the sun was almost down. I returned to this park on a clear day to take better sunset pictures. The sunset that day was breathtaking!  

As soon as the Daylight Savings start I will go to this park to do cardio after work. This is a lot nicer than a treadmill. Last Thursday, there was a group doing a bootcamp class at the park. I checked and the class is at 5:15 PM. I normally work until 6:00 or 6:30 PM otherwise I would join them. 

Travel Dilemmas Solved

Last month, I was ready to book 2 tickets to Paris using our Delta miles. One of my good friends from childhood lives there and she offered to host us (again) for a few days. The plan was simple, we would just spend one week in Paris and enjoy the City at a slow pace spending as very little money as possible. We were already making plans and looking at places that were close for short day trips. We even extended this simple trip into a 2 week trip to go to Berlin, Prague, and Budapest with my parents. They will be in Germany celebrating my dad's 70th birthday in May. The perfect excuse to visit new places.

When I went online to book our tickets, there were no more seats available for 60,000 miles. The same flights were 75,000 or 90,000 miles each. Sadly, we only had 60,000 miles each. As much as I've complained about American Airlines, their award program is the best! I found tickets to Europe for the same dates for 40,000 miles!

I was frustrated and disappointed until I saw tickets to Santiago, Chile available in May. Andre and I have never been to Chile. We booked our tickets on Sunday night! I have been reading Emily's and Kyle's blogs for a while to know that Chile is a beautiful Country that I want to visit. After all of those pictures it is time to see the places in person. We will be there in May for 11 days. Actually, we will be in Santiago for a couple of days and then we will fly to Buenos Aires for a few days. We will probably also make a short trip to Uruguay!!

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

When I started traveling Buenos Aires was number 1 in my list of places that I wanted to go. I have 2 childhood friends in Buenos Aires. We might stay with them a few nights. Most of my best friends live far away!! It is almost a karma that I have. Thanks to the internet is easy to stay in touch. When I finally get to travel where they live and hug them is the best feeling in the world. I expect that most of this trip will involve many bottles of Chilean and Argentinean wine and great food. I just have to start counting days and try to wait (patiently?!) 

A different Kind of Sunday

Today I had my first photography class. It was great! I loved the instructor, the material, and the field practice after the class at Glen Oaks Park. We went over composition and basic camera functions. It was a lot to digest and it will take practice to figure out what works best for what situations. I will stop asking my photographer friends to give me basic guidelines for camera settings since I finally understand why every situation is different. 

The day was intense! We woke up at 8:00 AM!!! On a Sunday that is probably 4 hours before my normal wake up call. We got home after 6:00 PM. I really enjoyed the class and Andre did too. He didn't want to go at first, but he decided that he also wanted to take better pictures. I promise, I didn't force him. He likes doing these things, but he probably loves his lazy Sunday time more. He majored in Television in College, so I am sure that it is a lot easier for him since the concepts are very similar. 

These kids were posing for Andre as soon as we got to the park. It was funny to see them asking for pictures and then reviewing the pictures! I couldn't get a great picture of them, but I'm sure that Andre got several good pictures of his models. I will post his best pictures when he downloads them. 

A quick paparazzi shot

We didn't get to see the alligator 

Lots of birds

This park was not my favorite setting, but it was fun to go with a group of beginner (or wanna be) photographers and the instructor available to ask him questions. I really need a lens with more zoom. There were so many animals that I wanted to photograph and couldn't get close enough. Any recommendations on what kind of lens to get? Nothing too extravagant or expensive please. I need to start with the basics and if I do get better at this I will eventually invest more money. 

Cours de Photographie

A few of days ago, Groupon had a local deal for a photography class. I decided that if I want to get better at this I need some professional guidance. The class is an all day classroom "bootcamp" with a 3 hour field practice. I also got one Groupon for Andre. The class is offered in Clearwater by the Florida Center for Creative Photography which I never heard of before I purchased the Groupon. From their website, I found out that they have other interesting classes and several events for members. I'm very interested in their "Photowalks" when they go to local places to take pictures.

There was a meet up at the Cypress Point Park yesterday to take sunset pictures.  It was easy to get there since it is very close to where I work. This small beach park is close to the airport and directly under the flight path. I was able to take a few pictures of the sunset and the airplanes departing from TIA. I will definitely try to join the group again for other Photowalks around Tampa.

Sunset from Cypress Point Park

Last shot of the day

I've also been trying to practice the very little french that I know... just by listening to podcasts. I need to find a french class. This month might be a little difficult since I've been doing spinning and also signed up for a month of unlimited zumba classes with a friend.  Wish me luck this weekend with my first photography class. 

An Afternoon at the Florida State Fair

Last Saturday was the first time that I ever went to the Florida State Fair. The fair is in Tampa every February. My sister mentioned that it was nice because of the large petting zoo. She also mentioned that they saw a giraffe last year. I fed a giraffe at Busch Gardens years ago, and I've been wanting to do it again. 

At my first sight at the giraffe, I felt sad to see the red markings on her neck. She reaches over the rail and the paint has stained her neck. It was heartbreaking. I'm sure that she loves all the carrots that people feed her all day long. I did not get carrots to feed her.

After seeing the giraffe, we went to another petting zoo. My nephew was enjoying feeding the goats and the sheep. I grew up going to country houses and farms on the weekends. Most people in Colombia enjoy doing that. You don't have to be extremely rich to have a country house. Living in the US is completely different. People don't have a lot of places to interact with farm animals. This fair is probably the only place where kids can pet a cow or a goat. I felt sad to watch so many animals in so little space. The animals at the fair probably eat better than any other animal. What really made me get out was that there was a stage with a cow in it. I asked what was going on. Apparently this is where the cows give birth. I couldn't stay to watch her struggle.  I'm sure the purpose is educational, but I just felt bad for the cow. 

The center stage

A calf minutes after being born

Florida State Fair 2012