Let It Fly

Last weekend Mr. Wonderful played in a football tournament. I decided to go all the way to Plant City and spend my day watching sweaty boys play football because that's what a good wife does (plus I figured it would be a great place for me to practice using my camera). The weather was beautiful- clear skys, a cool breeze and lots of sunshine. It felt so nice that I didn't realize that I got a little too much sun on my face until I got home and looked in the mirror. I'm a little frustrated with my lack of ability at the moment. There were so many moments I tried to capture, but just didn't come out right. Here's the best I got that day:

Mr. Wonderful's team lost their first game, but ended up winning 2 out of 3 games on Saturday and Played 2 more on Sunday. Team morale was definitely up at the end of the day.

I was having issues with Mr. Wonderful looking like a black shadow, so halfway through the day I decided to try to shoot in RAW format because I wanted to be able to adjust the levels more once the images were on my computer. Now that I have a ton of RAW images on my computer (I have tons from Sunday too) I'm completely overwhelmed with how to convert/edit them all. I have Elements and I'm pretty confident in my abilities using it. I downloaded the RAW file converter. It is just taking me for-ev-er to make all the adjustments. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Pete's Pier

Another day with the manatee. (I promise we are not obsessed) We got a Living Social deal for Florida Eco-Adventures. I totally recommend them if you're in the area. We spent a day kayaking around Crystal River. There were manatee everywhere. 

Since manatee are protected, you aren't allowed to chase them or bother them in any way- volunteers are on site enforcing the rules. You are allowed to pet them with one hand if they approach you though, and guess what, when we were visiting manatee would swim right up to the kayak and want to be rubbed. We've to crystal river a few times before, but have never seen them this active. 

One particular guy wanted a belly rub. He would swim next to the kayak and then flip onto his back eagerly waiting for your touch. They felt different than I had expected. There skin was tough feeling but not at all slimy. I didn't know they had "fin-nails" either.

It was too cold for me to get in the spring water, but Mr. Wonderful and my dad snorkeled with the manatee. One of the younger ones was infactuated with their swim shorts. He'd come rub, smell, even nibble on them! Not sure if he was hungry or just curious. We had a great time at Crystal River. Can't wait to do it again!