April Cat of the Month

Just as soon as Fluff was appointed "Cat of the Month" at the North County Humane Society, he was adopted.  So a second COTM was selected - this month it is Monty - a rascally 3 year old who loves to wrestle and play.

Fluff - recently found a new home

Monty - still looking for a new home

Morro Photo Expo - Winning Photos

My Hummingbird at the SLO Botanical Gardens photo took 2nd place in the Morro Photo Expo photo contest.  You can see the other winning pictures at

http://www.morrophotoexpo.com/?p=1848

Storm Clouds Over Morro Rock

I took this time-lapse sequence of storms moving over Morro Rock on Friday April 13th.

Kitten Photos

Kitten are starting to arrive at the North County Humane Society shelter in Atascadero.  Some are so young as to require bottle feeding - every 2 hours around the clock.  Thanks to Sherri for her lessons on the care and feeding of young kittens!

Others are just the right age to start romping around, and much more difficult to photograph - he was just there a moment ago - stay still for a split second so I can get you in focus, you rascally kitten!!

Atascadero Egg-Mazing Race

Atascadero held the annual Easter egg race in the Sunken Garden Park on Saturday April 7.  Called The Egg-Mazing Race, the event was organized by the Atascadero First Assembly of God, and lots of kids, young and old, turned out for the fun.  I was taking photos, but pulled out the video camera to catch some of the action.  Watch the movie below - it's my first try at putting video clips together - lots of work, but fun, and good learning, too.

Atascadero Egg-Mazing Race Video - by Tom Lott

Morro Photo Expo

Last weekend was "for the birds" at the (almost) annual Morro Photo Expo in Morro Bay.  The theme was nature photography, but workshops covered everything from time-lapse video to butterfly photography.

http://www.morrophotoexpo.com

See some of the photos from the workshops:
 http://www.flickr.com/groups/morrophotoexpo2012/

I attended workshops on flower photography and time-lapse video.  But with birds everywhere in Morro Bay, I couldn't leave without a few bird pictures.

Snowy Egret, Morro Creek

Another session, titled Photographing Critters, gave us a chance to get up close with a variety of lizards, snakes, frogs and bugs.  The photos below were taken with available light using a Pentax 645 medium format 120mm macro lens mounted on a Pentax K-x body.  Exposure was about 1 second at f20; distance was 1 to 2 feet.  These critters were quite still to allow longer time exposure, and quite tolerant of many photographers pointing cameras and flashes into their cute little faces.