Author: Bill

Up a hellva lot earlier than I wanted this morning after a most pitiful nights sleep….. weirdly – I did not have to get up even once to whizz but my subconscious brain decided to try and figure out what all different ‘shots‘ I needed to get the next day – that I guess it felt sleep could wait…… pitiful nights sleep, but I did manage a little rest out of it, so when I finally rolled out at 05:45 – I didn’t feel as bad as I thought I would……. but it sure makes for a long/short night. I loaded all my gear, made me a small bite to eat and was gone….. leaving my Queen to her own devices this time. Got to the Marina, loaded my gear and got everything set up and for an hour or so while the boat was slapped around by some fairly intense Seas….. I held onto whatever I could and talked my model through various poses I thought my client was after. We commandeered the boat for all of the pictures we wanted as well as part of the group diving for ‘set up’ shots I needed.

The first dive was a good one….. I got my big green eel that I like so much plus sharks and other fun underwater stuff. The second dive mostly sucked [for me]. I couldn’t keep my mask cleared, my strobe [flash] died and just all around was a sucky dive [again, for me], but I made the most of it. After all, I was in [reasonably] warm water (79°) and tons of sea life – so it wasn’t all bad……… Finally back in harbor – shared a couple of icy cold beers with some dive buddy’s, got to watch another grossly proportioned Lobster get butchered and shared a couple of laughs before loading up and heading back West. Those kind of times (after the dives) is what makes them special…….

Back at the house, gear rinsed, me showered, two or seven drinks before we headed for another dinner out. This was kind of a working dinner as my model joined us and I got another couple dozen shots during the evening. I am going to get ALL shots loaded and sent to the client tomorrow and hope he is happy with them….. As it turns out – I’m gonna ‘lose my ass’ on this job – but hope the client is happy enough to book another shoot – at which point I will start making up my losses  😉   Until then – it’s gonna be hurry up and wait~~~~

Several offers to dive, work and help out for next week…… (really leaning toward the ‘dive’ part) – so interesting to see what happens. We have been asked to  work at Blues again tomorrow night for another round of “Mama’s Black Sheep” – a big draw that usually requires a bar back and a helper. We have agreed to do that — so probably no blog or anything tomorrow night……………………

Good Night Ya’ll * * * * * * * * * * * * Thankx for stopping in~!

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Up a smidge early to spend some time with my Bride before she ventured off for her day of labor at Blues. Once she was on her way – I made me a most righteous breakfast – suited for an old fat boy that was going to spend the next several hours running around looking at ‘rooms to let’ for his Lil Sister. The place she was most interested required heading to mid-island and a quick boat ride. Out to Hotel on the Cay (Cay is pronounced Key). Quaint little place situated on an island just barely big enough for the building, a dandy little beach bar, a couple of small out buildings and one of the most [arguably] beautiful beaches around here. I can’t say on our island, because it is not ‘technically’ on our island. Lil Sis and friend had a really good time on that beach and I’m fairly sure that is one of the attractions for her. Part of the hotel is shut down to COVID restrictions, but I did manage to worm my way into one of the sections I wanted and looked around. I chatted with the front desk lady and asked just enough questions to be pesky before climbing aboard the small ferry and heading back to ‘my’ island…… Stopped at a small local store to pick up a couple of items for my FB Music Trivia prize winner (Sorry Carijuan [if you read this] – the island briefly ran out of one of your prizes… but I have them now and should get them in the mail in the next couple of days or so) before jumping back into the truck and heading back to the West end of the island. Large gray clouds started forming as I headed West and I ran in and out of ‘sprinkles’ several times. I headed out to a gorgeous stretch of beach to look at a couple of other places I thought Lil Sis might like (and they are much closer to me and my Bride). I got a VIP tour through one place….. the other I could not find anybody to talk to – so that is a tour for another day. I also cruised “beach options” to take Lil Sis and company if they make it…. pictures provided…. they are not quite as gorgeous because the clouds were persistent….. but I think you’ll get the idea. So Lil Sis….. I’m workin’ hard to find a spot I think will appropriately accommodate you and your ‘damn‘ neighbors…… just not 100% sure the island will be ready for all 6 of us~!  😉

Diving tomorrow to finish up my ‘big photo shoot’ – plus hopefully score some fun underwater pictures for you all~!!

Good Night Ya’ll + + + + + + + + + + + Thankx for stopping in~!

Hotel on the Cay

Quite the view~!

IMG_4841 <=== Video

Slept in a little bitty bit this morning enjoying the firmness of our new mattress, but still has a little softening up to do yet. The day today, was to be [mostly] spent with my photoshoot model. I met him at the local eatery for a breakfast sammich and discussion on what I wanted to get done today. We got to know each other a little bit and took off for a day of pictures.  I have never done this kind of photography and it was interesting to work with a live model…. add the fact he had not done much of this kind of work, so we were both trying to figure out what to do. As the day wore on, it got a little bit easier, as we both got into our respective roles. I started saying things like “turn your head a little to the left”, cross your arms”, “stare out at the horizon”, “looked bored”, “walk away from me and look back”……. that kinda thing and it only took about 3 hours before it didn’t seem overly weird. When I had him strip down to just his swimming trunks and I started positioning him in various poses – the weirdness came back for a little bit, but I was soon posing him easily again. Nice kid, young, good lookin’…. I can see why my client picked him. I had a punch list of items/poses the client is looking for and by a little after lunch, we had knocked out about half the list.  We stopped by the house, so he could meet my bride [and vice versa], change into dry clothes and me to restock (seems as though I managed to wade out into the water for some beach shots, with my cigarettes, lighter and keys still in my pockets)  🙁  He got into dry fresh clothes and we loaded up and took off for more pictures. We covered a lot of ground to get the pictures my client was after, and after reviewing them – I think my client will be more than pleased. I still need to get ‘boat/diving’ pictures, so me and the model will be on the boat Thursday morning to hopefully wrap up our photo shoot. Sadly, I will not be able to share many [if any] of those pictures with you.

Update on having my barnacles removed…. I got a note back from ‘Doc’….. one of them was benign…… the other one was cancer…BUT… he got it completely removed and the surrounding area is clear and safe. So the next time your bestest good friend that is a medical professional points something out and says you need to have that looked at…….. by God, go have it looked at~! Thankx again Michael~

Just now decided instead of playing around underwater at the pier tomorrow…. I’m gonna do some traveling [around the island] and check out 3 or 4 places to put folks up at…. see what I can do about getting some ‘island prices for locals’. Doing this also for Lil Sis – but also for my own curiosity and information….. I should be able to get some fun pictures doing it…… yay~!

Good Night Ya’ll @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Thankx for stopping in~!

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P1250049 <===  Video

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Some days you just struggle to come up with a catchy title…… not  sure how effective ‘catchy‘ titles are – but it is fun trying to come up with them. I mean, seriously, have you ever logged onto my page and saw the title of the blog and thought…..  nah….. ain’t worth reading ? I am truly interested if this has ever happened to you – – – – – maybe I’m putting too much effort into my titles….. please let me know.

Up and out the door [sans breakfast this time] headed for mid-island to catch my most favorite dive boat at Salt River…… I slept in a little bit and weirdly, awoken by the alarm I had set. It was a tough night as we both were breaking in a brand spankin new mattress. We finally got our old one swapped out for a new one, courtesy of my Bride – I had already given up on the broke di*ks and thought we were stuck with the $ 1500 piece of crap we had leaning against the guest bedroom wall. A new mattress delivered and in place — this one was labeled as ‘firm’ – Wooo – boy howdy, they weren’t kiddin’~! This was like sleeping on a piece of 1″ plywood with carpet on it…… but [thankfully], by the end of of the night it had softened up a little bit. I figure it will take at least a week before we understand if we like it or not.

Aside from the plywood like mattress – I was up and out the door for for more diving off of my favorite boat…… a pretty decent collection of divers on board, so I didn’t have to worry so much about being climbed on or kicked during the dive. The seas were agitated and there were respectable waves we had to to deal with. The dives, however, once underwater, panned out to our favor…… visibility was good, we had a nice selection of sea critters show up for our viewing pleasure and just two good dives over all. Getting back on board the boat turned into a challenge – as the Sea decided not to cooperate any at all – but we finally all got on board and were nonetheless for wear. There were Lobster, Sharks, Eels [both varieties] and tons of fishes……. can’t hardly ask for more. Jump into edited version – back at the house, gear rinsed….. me showered, my bride made my day by accepting an invite to dinner [out]. Dinner left a LOT to be desired – but the company and the view were to die for – so – it’s all good~!

Back here – trying to keep it together enough to finish this….. how’m I doing ???  😉  pictures from dinner and [maybe] dive pictueres  (ya gotta see the sting ray picture)….. but for now…..

Good Night Ya’ll + + + + + + + + + + + + Thankx for stopping in~!

Slept in [actually] a little bit after a mostly pitiful nights sleep….. not sure what has changed, but I am waking up every 2 hours to whizz…. that also includes right after I first go to bed……. aggravating as hell, but until I figure out what’s causing it – but my options are thin. Anyway – up, caught up on world events and taking it easy starting the day. Somewhere around 10:00, the island ‘kids‘ showed up for a Sunday breakfast of Biscuits and gravy…. which included, scrambled eggs, sausage and bacon~! What a great way to start a day~! The kids hung out and chatted for a while before my Bride decided to drag out a card game….. kinda…. the game is Cards Against Humanity….. not your regular card game, by any means…… but with the right people it is hilarious and and lot of fun. Our ‘kids’ are the right people……. Today was supposed to be my day to gorge myself on a big breakfast [√] and plop my big nash on the couch for the rest of the day and watch football. Something I haven’t done in almost 4 years. A long story about why I was going to today, but not really relevant to the story. Instead we played cards….. and laughed and had a wonderful time. Game time came up and I did turn the channel – but we continued to play cards while we listened to the game. It got to be late enough and booze was flowing by then (go figure) that we needed something else to eat — chips came out and shortly after pizza and ham sammiches (from a local bar). Both games progressed – we all took turns winning our card game while the Buccaneer’s actually messed around and beat the Packers………

The kids have since packed up and headed back to the mountain top while I sit and wait for the next game to start……… very fun, very relaxed, very much enjoyed kinda day. Got a couple of dives scheduled for tomorrow morning and what looks to be a fairly busy week to follow as I try and get my paid photo shoot done for my FL client….. should be a interesting fun week to say the least.

Good Night Ya’ll * ** * * * * ** * * * * * Thankx for stopping in~!

The dive shop I most frequent sponsored a “Dive with your Jr” today. I managed to work my way on board as the ‘unofficial‘ official photographer for the dive and so very happy I did…………………………………………

Slept ‘in’ again this morning as I didn’t have anything ‘early’ planned, but still up by 06:35…… my obligatory cup of coffee with my Queen while I read the circus that is the news in today’s world before moving on to the bigger circus world of Facebook. My Queen made us a nice small breakfast and we ate that while catching another episode or two of The 100. I did get off my lazy duff and do dishes before setting down with a fist full of paper towels, windex, Q~tips, pledge and a couple of small tubes of silicone lubricant and doing some much needed maintenance on my camera set up. I spent an easy 1.5+ hours on that – but it was overdue and today’s photo shoot was important enough to me that I wanted to make sure it got done.

I took off a little before 1:00 and showed up plenty early to get my dive gear set up and situated, before breaking out my camera and going to ‘work‘. Just a 1 tank dive today – so my opportunity for getting the shots I wanted was a little more limited…. but I was up for it. I got in the water well before everyone else so  I could get some ‘boat’ shots and exit shots. Not sure why I like exit shots so much – but I do. The next 45 minutes went by like that [snapping fingers]…. and I had an absolute ball swimming around getting pictures. Both Dive Masters on the load worked with me to ensure I got pictures of everyone which helped immensely. I had a bit of a challenge in that one group could only go so deep – so they stayed shallow while the other group dropped down over ‘the wall’ going considerably deeper – so I spent a lot of time going up and down to keep up with everyone….. a fun challenge~! I think I got enough decent pictures – everyone will be happy with them……. part of the challenge, but I like it~! Finally back in port – unloaded, back at home, gear rinsed, me washed and a belly full of stuffed peppers and corn on the cob….. I was really wanting pizza, but what I got was pretty durn tasty~! I put ALL of today’s pictures up on Cane Bays FB page – so you can see them all there – or see below for the ‘better’ shots of the day.

Island kids are supposed to be in for biscuits and gravy in the morning….. then I think I’m actually gonna try and watch a little football…… from what I can tell, they don’t even play the National Anthem anymore….. if they do – they don’t show it… don’t get me started on that~! @#$%^&*

Good Night Ya’ll – – – – – – – – – — – – – Thankx for stopping in~!

First day in about a week I haven’t had to get up for something early and I loved it. I was up by 07:00, but it was due to my own volition and the fact I had to pee again…… but mostly because I was ready to. Nothing outside the house planned or needed, so I settled in for a coff of cuppee and the news. News was depressing as ever but I finished it and moved on over to FB for the latest round of BS and funnies. Not even in the mood for a lot of that and soon left. Turns out I had a lot of things that needed to get done and I set about them. Somewhere in the middle of all that, my Bride cooked up a tasty little breakfast. I finished it and went right back into my chores. I stayed at that until about 1:00pm when I couldn’t think of anything else I could do….. besides, I was starting to get a headache from all of it. So I wrapped it up and retired to the couch to watch The 100 with my Bride. Just started the 3rd season…. still interesting but that nice warm sunshine beating down through the windows as we sat sprawled out under the fans, made for some mighty comfy viewing and I may have nodded off once for twice for a couple of little naps. Yes, ya gotta love retired life~~

Easy start to tomorrow – but I have a 1 tank dive scheduled off of the boat for tomorrow afternoon. The dive shop is sponsoring a “Dive with your Jr” day (bring your kid diving with you) and I’m going to be documenting all of it for the dive shop. It should be a lot of fun taking those pictures.

Another shorter one tonight – still lots of new pictures for you~~~~

Good Night Ya’ll & & & & & & & & & Thankx for stopping in~!

IMG_4763 <=== Feeding Frenzy Video

P1220198 <==== Stingray video

Used a little [more] common sense last night, mostly due to my Bride – and went to bed fairly early last night in anticipation of rising once again before I was ready for – to go diving. Up, a bite to eat and on the road again….. seas were much calmer, the sun was shining bright and it was a wonderful morning to go diving~! Two really good dive sites….. there were sharks, big green moray eels, sting rays and tons of fish. Sadly no turtles [that I saw]…. but still two great dives with a fairly decent group of divers. There were nine divers today (versus the 2 or 3 I’ve had the past couple of days) but still very agreeable dives. Got lots of good pictures and a video I think you’ll enjoy…..

Back at the house – gear rinsed and hung, me showered, pictures edited and uploaded and a good meal. Netflix is apparently on the blink, so we are watching Parking Wars on Amazon Prime while we wait for Netflix to come back on line. Tomorrow is a day off from diving and I’m looking forward to sleeping in a little bit. I have just started chatting a little bit with my model for my next photo-shoot. My client has a pretty specific ‘demand’ list for this shoot and I am beginning to think I didn’t charge near enough for it – but it is a learning experience and I’m kind of excited to have an expectation list and a model to work with to do it. It should be fun………. I hope~~~

I’m cutting it short tonight…… lots of [new] pictures to share with you for the next day or so – I’m not going to be able to share the photo-shoot pictures with you….. so I guess I’ll have to go diving again…..  🙂

Good Night Ya’ll > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Thankx for stopping in~!

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A little better sleep last night after I finally got my Queen to bed…. I think the sleep came because of being tired from lack of sleep and some great SCUBA diving and being pooped…… Oh okay — booze probably had a little to contribute to it…..  😉  Up, a bite to eat, gear loaded and out the door. The North shore was ‘breezy’ today and the swells on the open water made for an intriguing ride to our first dive site……. we got there, moored up and was soon sliding beneath the waves…….. the site [North Star] usually a favorite was a little murky, but eventually produced all the sea life it is normally known for…. and more~! Sharks, albeit mildly uncooperative…… a gorgeous Hawksbill turtle, tons and tons of fish and……. an Eagle Ray~! I have yet to see one of these beauties since I’ve been here. I saw plenty at other islands….. but this was my first one here….. and she was gorgeous and HUGE~!! EASILY the biggest Ray I have ever seen….. she had a wingspan of I’m guesstimating an easy 8’~! Sadly, I only got a glance of her and she was gone before it occurred to me to put my camera to work……. Gliding effortlessly and rapidly through the water. I gave her a solid 6 second chase, before I accepted the fact – I didn’t stand a chance of catching her…… but I saw her with my own eyes~!!

The second dive site paled only in wildlife, as the fan corals and other growths at this site are amazing. No fun critters but still a great dive and I wrapped it up at an hour even though I still had a half a tank of air. I was cold and tired and ready for a beer……. yes cold. Looks like I may have to break down and look at getting a wetsuit…… Dammit Emmit~!

Back at the house, all quiet as my Bride was at Blues for her weekly day of labor…. I put on some music, rinsed my gear, took a shower and set down and edited pictures. I took 221 pictures and wound up saving 43. Picky, picky, picky.

My Bride is home, plied with hooch, fed and settling in on the couch while I finish this and get ready and go do my dishes……. heck of a life….. but we like it~! Two more dives tomorrow – supposed to be a rarely visited site and I am amped about it – – Hopefully, lots of good pictures for you all~!

Good Night Ya’ll + + + + + + + + + + + + + Thankx for stopping in~!

P1210217 <—– Video

After an absolutely pitiful, fitful night sleep…. and sleep is using the term loosely…. I finally faded into a really good sound sleep….. 15 minutes before I wanted to be up……. dammit Emmit~! I wound up waking up about 20 minutes later than I wanted… but figured I needed the sleep/rest. Up, bathroom stuff out of the way – I settled in to get ready for my day of diving~! A small bite to eat, batteries all bump charged, gear doubled checked and loaded into the truck and one last smoke with my Bride before I headed into town……. a last minute change moved the boat from mid-island to “our” end of the island, so my commute went from 30 minutes to 3 minutes….. it also means there was an above average chance the first dive site might be Armageddon~! Oh happy day~! Slid right into a legitimate parking spot [they’re rare] and made my way down to the boat to happily find out that there were only TWO other divers on the boat besides me. I hate it for the fact the dive shop, and boat crew, can’t be making any money on the load – but I do love an empty boat…… We loaded up and headed out and less than 10 minutes into our ride, the Captain shouted out – Dolphins~! Definitely music to my ears. I grabbed my phone and scrambled out into the slot on the nose of the boat (picture the scene in JAWS where they first start spearing the shark) and started rolling video. VERY happy with the footage I got [other maybe than that 5 seconds or so where I have my big fat finger over one of the lenses]~! SO Happy, that in a very rare moment – I posted it straight to FB from my phone~! I almost never do that….. the ensuing 2 dives were pretty lackluster in comparison to that start……. even though through both dives I did intermittent barrel rolls in case the Dolphins showed up on the dive. I took 162 pictures plus a couple of videos and saved 52 of the pictures…… getting pickier I guess. I’m hoping the dolphin video is small enough that I can load it on here…. if not, sorry~ you’ll have to go to FB to see it. (and we didn’t do Armageddon – but it’s all good)

Back at the house, gear rinsed, belly filled with some scrumptious meatloaf and a drink or six and here I sit chatting with you fine folks. Two more dives scheduled for tomorrow morning. Got an email from a client today (along with a check!) for work he needs done and I have also wormed my way into an event this weekend taking ‘business’ pictures, that could prove very beneficial for my ‘photography’ business…….. I like the direction this year is headed so far…. aside from the COVID crap……

Good Night Ya’ll > > > > > > > > > > > > > Thankx for stopping in~!

IMG_4751  <——–Dolphin video~!

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