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© Pamela Hartle Little did I know at the time that this tree would never be the same.  The Lone Cypress in Pebble Beach, California has and always will be a symbol of grit and tenacity, firmly entrenched in its curious base which is surprisingly impenetrable granite. Not only is this Monterey Cypress native to only one other place in the world, but this one has maintained its rocky rooting for about 250 years. It's been dubbed the most photographed tree in the world" but there will never again be a shot of it in later years that looks like this.  I took this photo January 2, 2013 at sunset to capture it at its best. The best way to do that was to partner with Mother Nature to show the sun enhanced fluctuating wave pattern of Carmel Bay and this unique trees rugged base to portray why it’s earned its name and reputation. Especially after the pandemic that touched all our lives, many of us are still reeling and are feeling the same as this precarious, rudely exposed and alone

I was recently invited to work with an upandcomer non-profit interested in securing funding.  So many people were interested, I was prompted to post the notes from my talk here, on my blog. This is just an outline and a brief overview, but I hope it will help educate and inspire you to reach out as far as is needed for you to pursue your dreams – no matter how overwhelming they may seem at the beginning of your journey. Basically, my experience encompassed two main scenarios in my quest to acquire funding through grants.    Sometimes, I would find money available, then match it to a relevant project I would design according to what one of my clients needed.   In most cases, they were heretofore unaware of even the availability or desirability of funding for a project.  Needless to say, a lot of projects fell by the wayside.  “Rails to Trails,” converting old, abandoned RR tracks to hiking and biking trails is a perfect example as 99% are happy to have them-for all of the obvious reason

 One of the surprising things they never taught me in college regarding my journalism and photojournalism career, is that the story you pursue is not always the story you will ultimately write. I learned to be open minded, never give up, and what surprises you, will end up surprising your readers. That actually happened several times to me, and it was a wake-up call. There's a couple that stick out as the ones that were a total surprise, and received a healthy number of hits, creating a win win for all.  Since it's mid November, it seems the perfect time to blog about my pursuing a Thanksgiving story about Native Americans. Those of you who know me a little better, know I am always interested in something unusual and out of the box, so putting the pilgrims and puritans aside for something different, sounded fun and intriguing for both my readers and myself.  For this particular story, I wanted to photograph Pueblo ruins and talk about Native Americans for a Thanksgiving piece.

  Obviously, this isn't a ghost, an orb, or even paranormal.  It's simply a skeleton-albeit a rather large one that I discovered and was impressed by its creative posers who placed it in an especially precarious and intriguing way to get us all in the spirit of Halloween. Not to mention, my admiration for the people who bravely climbed up this mast, to get skel' up so high! This curious photo however, wasn't staged nor even edited or tweaked, and begs more investigation into the question if we can capture paranormal activity with our cameras.  It was taken in an old mine and had the same low lighting around it as in the rest of this mine.  Although I'd snapped many photos throughout my tour of this mine, none looked like this.  There were small round lights installed throughout, to help people see where they were walking but all showed up as simply small, round lights and certainly with no reflection all the way around the walls and on the ceiling.  Some investigato

I chose this photo to post at my profile because -like so many of my friends and followers, and hopefully me, there's so much more to it than meets the eye.  Literally. This annual migration means tens of thousands of birds fly thousands of miles to stop over every year like clockwork to refuel at this very spot.  The mountain ranges seen in the distance to the East and the West will drain melted snow - or not, and thereby dictate the success or failing of the many species that rely on this stopover every year.  I deliberately didn't edit, tweak, or photoshop this photo so read on why it's so important.   You'll see Snow Geese and Ross's Geese, species of ducks, and sandhill cranes to name a few, enjoying their layover, swimming side by side while they rest and refuel with much needed water and nutrition. Each season brings in new and different species of waterfowl and land animals to this unique section of the Rio Grande, all dependent upon our fragile climate that

  To evolve to a better, kinder person in life, sometimes you simply have to change your perception  Pamela Hartle

During the Pandemic, I hunkered down and decided to expand my little outside corner of the planet into something that could keep my hands and mind occupied but away from the stresses plaguing us all. I dug in, literally and studied and perfected a wildlife garden that to this day provides a wonderful and rewarding respite. In my efforts, I discovered a rather surprising and heretofore unrecognized gem in the world of wildlife gardening.  Palm trees of all things, especially the flowering Jelly Palms add a lot more than beauty and atmosphere to your landscape. The stately palm remains beautiful but also stays the same through most of the year, including the cold months in the deep south.  Suddenly however, sometime in Spring or Summer-depending on the particular species, a long pod develops on this particular palm, and then slowly begins drooping toward the ground.  After a short time, this 3ish foot long pod will suddenly pop open to reveal this beautiful spray of intriguing tiny bloss

                                                                                                                 BINDING NUPTIALS Of the over 45,000 species of spiders, even if you're not a fan of arachnids, this one will blow your mind This week, I had the good fortune to be invited to exhibit my paintings and photographs in coastal South Carolina again.  Seacoast artists gallery is an impressive gallery located at 3032 Nevers Street in The Market Common, and where they will hang.   The Gallery is made up of over 70 talented artists who are juried and showcase their works there, which are in a wide variety of mediums. Market Common is a growing and up-and-coming area with a diverse composite of waterfront, unique homes, restaurants, and boutiques in the Myrtle Beach area, definitely worthy of a visit. While you’re there, I'd recommend a leisurely stroll to visit the remnants of the surrounding old Air Force base and military planes on display there as well. At first, choosin

The ice embellished seed pods on this Crepe Myrtle made a provocative and most unusual background for this January 22nd photo and surprised a year-round resident Bluebird in South Carolina Winter Storm Jasper was not "for the birds."  It was a serious storm that caused power outages, closed schools, and dropped record amounts of snow, sleet and freezing rain, as well as caused a record-breaking number of flight cancellations, as it barreled across the US this past week.  And it didn't stop when it plowed into the southeastern coast.   The ice it brought caused flight delays and hazardous road conditions in coastal South Carolina, a dilemma for residents, and resident and migrating birds as well.  The city's website and news stations issued frequent updates on the status of the storm, since these storms are rare and infrequent.  A statement on the city's website reported that, "Myrtle Beach and other southern cities are not as equipped as our northern states t

The Emerald Coast Open Lionfish Tournament organizers just announced their 2022 Lionfish Tourney in Destin, Florida, so now is a great time to reserve your spot and get in on the perks of early registration!                                Donnie Brzuska ridding the oceans of the invasives, one lionfish at a time.  Donnie Brzuska is the perfect example and proof positive how fun and easy it is to get hooked (pun intended) on this sport.  He and his wife, Milisa grew up in Florida so he said they “saw firsthand the destruction lionfish caused to our marine ecosystem.    They can decimate an entire reef, shipwreck or underwater habitat if left unchecked." Sous Chef, Brian Barber was one of the first to promote preparing the lionfish for adventurous foodies to eat, and let me get a really close shot of this one that he had in the cooler at Fleet Landing Restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina As soon as Brian educated me on how fast these fish were reproducing and how dangerous they