News of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands

Dolphins, Ahoy!

No, not Dolphin Market.  Dolphins.  Like fish.  The real things.

On his blog, Gerry Singer reports a pair of dolphins put on a show for kayakers, swimmers, and boaters near Maho Bay on Saturday. 

Gerry was there and, fortunately, had his camera.  See the photos and his post at http://seestjohn.com/st_john_life/life-on-st-john/st-john-virgin-islands-maho-bay-dolphin/

Amazing St. John photos

Jason St. Peter lives in Texas but part of his heart appears to be in St. John. 

A passionate photographer, he’s in the vanguard of the art using the HDR technique, aka high dynamic range. 

An HDR picture appears three-dimensional, the image is so clear and the colors so vivid.  In fact, it’s not just one picture. It's several taken with the lens opening progressively larger or smaller, so highlights and dark elements are photographed at different exposures.

This is a St. Peter photo at Cinnamon Bay.  It’s called All Alone at Sunset. 

He has several other HDRs of St. John here. A portrait, of Pirate Bill of Coral Bay, is priceless!  St. Peter's blog features many other HDRs of many other places. Amazing stuff.

Her favorite things: beers, beaches, and dogs

Dozens of people are saluting Lesley G for her just-posted Trip Report in the St. John forum at Virgin islands On-Line.

She was there during Festival and enjoyed the island from Cruz Bay to East End.  It was her fifth visit to the island in three years. “I just couldn't believe how quickly and easily I fell into the pace and the "feel" of the island. I was hook, line, and sinker within minutes,” she said in an e-mail.

She explained that the eight-minute project was her first encounter with the iMovie program, “So, here's a little Monday morning escape, or what can be better described as My First Ever Go At iMovie So Please Be Kind.”

It contains the usual as well as the unexpected. “There's beaches, people, dogs, food, and booze,” she said.  Also sunsets, dinner plates, and parasailing.

The video is really a slide show of stills.  To my taste it unfortunately uses the awful “Ken Burns” effect, made famous by his interminable PBS documentaries - pictures are forever sliding up and down and in and out.  But the simple fact is that Lesley took a lot of good pictures, met a lot of people,. and had a lot of fun.

“I guess that brings me to why I love it: the people,” Gallacher added. “While the beaches and water are stunning, the animals and driving amusing, the fact that I've made friends is the best part about each return. It truly is a place where I feel at home.”

Take a break and watch at http://vimeo.com/5465159.

Flight of the Bananquit

From YouTube, about 30 seconds of a bananquit taking a bath.

That's all it is.  Some wing flapping; some water splashing.  Nothin' special.  But I dare you not to smile when you watch this video, uploaded by MyLife3636.

 

Did you know that the bird on the Virgin islands seal is a bananquit? Details here.

USVI photo contest features St. John

A quartet of photographs focused on St. John are included in the finalists of the Department of Tourism’s “Share my USVI” competition.  DOT says it fielded more than a thousand submissions from locals, vying to take top prize of $2,000 and a new digital camera,.

The contest invited pictures from locals only.  They were grouped among five themes: Visiting for Business, Romance, From My View, Culture and Heritage and Activities and Adventures. 

 Lisa Etre, one of St. John’s best known painters showed she has multiple talents, by submitting “Keepin’ de Beat.” It is one of three finalists in the Culture and Heritage category. 

A photo of one of St. John’s beaches is also up for voting.  I Like My Tour Under water Please was taken by Max Schanfarber for From my View.

In the children’s competition, two St. John pictures are including in the final voting.  They include a picture of Bannaquits at feeding time (whenever you put sugar into a coconut) and a portrait of a man sitting on the porch of an abandoned Maho Bay building.

The photos can be seen at www.sharemyusvi.com.

Making a splash at Trunk Bay

While spring is taking its sweet, sweet time arriving on the east coast, Gerald Singer says the weather’s fine at Trunk Bay.

The author of several St. John guide books blogged that the waters around the island are now fine, too. To prove he wasn't dreaming he was at Trunk Bay, before the tourists arrived, he posted this video (and cool music) on YouTube.

As an official baby when it comes to complaining about cold water temperature, at least for swimming, I hereby declare the beaches of St. John to be warm enough to enjoy a little soak now and then.  (via Singer's St. John Life blog)

 

Is this the REAL 'Inquiring Iguana'?

After breakfast, Mrs,. Inquiring Iguana feeds her charges.  Bits of fruit, lettuce, even ChexMix, sometimes.  Here's what it looks like ... with Mrs. I.I. heard stage directing the photographer in the background. 

About 60 seconds of nothing really, but then, what the heck ... we're here and in shorts ... and you're there, cold.   

:)

Cruz Bay in Hi-Def

I’m always on the lookout for great photos of the island.  Came across this one from TrevinC, an experienced photographer in Seattle, Wa.  Odds are you have never seen a photo as vibrant and rich. 

Trevin used a technique called high dynamic range imaging (HDR).  There are more on his Virgin Islands Flickr page. 

The photo is actually a composite of a number of images of the scene, but which were exposed at different speeds and aperture settings.  You can forget about the technique - just enjoy the results.