Transformed

Stark

As I was organizing my photos of the small towns of D'Iberville and St. Martin, Mississippi, I came across some that I had taken in black and white. I'll be creating an online album of Hurricane Katrina's devastation of these two small towns.

Below, is behind a building that was having rebar put in place to put up higher and stronger walls.


Sunset St.


Both of these were taken in D'Iberville Mississippi. If I remember correctly, they were both taken in December 2005, 4 months after Hurricane Katrina hit. I keep putting Mississippi in because it's almost like many in the US, (or more accurately, the news media) don't even realize that Katrina hit Mississippi and caused catastrophic damage that will take years if not a decade or two to recover from. I think the last straw was last week when one of the news organizations said Bay St. Louis Louisiana instead of the correct name, Bay St. Louis Mississippi. Even Discovery Channel in it's documentary about Hurricane Katrina used footage from Mississippi and said it was from New Orleans. It's a losing battle but to all the volunteers out there who know what it's like, I can't say it enough, thank you for helping us in Mississippi.

Subtle Fall

Fall in south Mississippi can be very subtle. You might see a stand of popcorn trees (Chinese tallow):



Or the burnt orange of a cypress tree:



But my favorite is seeing a yaupon holly tree laden with bright red berries:

A Note of Thanks

Thank you Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit for linking my photoblog in your three part Digital Camera Review.

There's a lot of great links.

Hermit Crab

I saw this shy fellow on the beach in Biloxi.

Negatives

I was experimenting with the settings on my Nikon D50 last night and found the best settings to take night pictures. Usually my night pictures are infused with a red glow but by changing the white balance, the ISO settings, and by changing the aperture, I was successful in doing away with the red haze.

The first photo is of my house's back door. By using Photostudio 5, I converted it to black and white.


I was still playing around with Photostudio 5 and wanted to see what the negative would look like.




While I would prefer PhotoShop, Photostudio 5 is fun to play with. I've used the watercolor setting on other photos. I may post some of those but I'm still learning how to use that effectively.

Goddess of the Sea

Eel-Grass
Edna St. Vincent Millay

No matter what I say,
All that I really love
Is the rain that flattens on the bay,
And the eel-grass in the cove;
The jingle-shells that lie and bleach
At the tide-line, and the trace
Of higher tides along the beach:
Nothing in this place.

Still Life

After the bulldozers and cranes had cleared the crumpled metal, concrete, and machinery that could not be salvaged, these cups and glasses from the employees breakroom were found intact. Over 50% of the small town of D'Iberville Mississippi was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. But it's 5,000 residents and the businesses located there are rebuilding. The plant where I took this shot will, hopefully, open the doors of the new plant by January. Around 100 employees will be very happy.

Golden Tones

I took this yesterday afternoon. It's the pier that follows the curve of the I-110 loop in Biloxi.

Night Trumpets

I like to experiment with the settings on my camera. Night pictures can have interesting results.

Open House

This house in Bay St Louis Mississippi had the front half ripped off during Hurricane Katrina.

Flycatcher

I've been trying for several months to get a shot of one of these little rascals. They are tiny and they are fast. No bigger than 4 inches, they hover. In going after their prey, they flit. They catch insects such as flies, mosquitoes, etc.

Osprey

Osprey seen March 2006 in D'Iberville Mississippi.

Trumpet Vine

Monarch

This monarch butterfly was trying to keep warm in D'Iberville Mississippi. The tempature was in 50's and a strong 25mph wind was blowing.

Oystering

The oyster boat Susie C. docked in D'Iberville Mississippi.



Oyster tongs on the the Biloxi Clipper I.

Nuts and Bolts

Seen at the Ken Combs Pier in Gulfport. It is being repaired but compared to other piers: it didn't suffer too badly in Hurricane Katrina.

Moses Pier

Mose Pier at the Gulfport Small Craft Harbor

This shot was taken in November 2005, 2 1/2 months after Hurricane Katrina. Most of my photos will have something to do with the aftermath of Katrina. Taking all the photographs helped me and is still helping me get through these most trying of times.

Cinder

This ivy was growing through a wall of salvaged cinder blocks. The D'Iberville Mississippi home was demolished by Hurricane Katrina.

Traffic View

I was stuck behind this for 15 minutes during my commute home Thursday.

Tangled Lines

The fishing was good at the Biloxi Small Craft Harbor. The lines kept becoming tangled as the fish were reeled in.