Categories
Environment

Binoculars As Digital Camera Telephoto Lens

Here’s how to use your binoculars to take excellent distant photos without an expensive camera and telephoto lens.

I have an aging Canon PowerShot Digital ELPH camera which takes great pictures but has only a 2X optical zoom and 6X digital zoom. Sometimes I just can’t zoom in close enough to get a good shot.

Binocular as telephoto lens

But even without fine digital photography equipment, I get hundreds of great photos of the wildlife of Anna Maria Island, thanks to a clever technique. I’m not aiming to take professional quality photos to display in art shows or to market and sell. I simply want to have digital photos to capture the amazing wildlife I see on this beautiful island. Sometimes I email my photos to friends, or even to local wildlife and environmental officials.

Categories
Real Estate

How To Save On Home Owners Insurance

A month ago I got the renewal notice for my home owners insurance premium. Although it had actually gone down a little after the policy was sold from Citizens Insurance, the Florida-run insurer of last resort, to another carrier, I still thought that it was a lot of money.

But how can I save any more on the cost of home owners insurance? The last thing I needed was being underinsured with inadequate coverage.

Hurricane anchors on truss and framesOne mistake that was made on the Citizens  policy was the description of the roof type. It was marked ‘gable’ when it was actually ‘hip’. I had asked for a correction to the policy but from the renewal notice I found out that the correction had not been made a year ago.

But I also requested a discount for having hurricane clips or anchors on the roof trusses and framing. It is easy to see from the outside what a roof shape is, but not so easy to prove there are anchors in the walls and rafters. I needed a certified inspector’s declaration to satisfy the insurance company.

Categories
Community News

Anna Maria Bridge Closes

Anna Maria Island bridge will close from early morning, Monday, September 29th, to allow planned repairs.

The closure is for 45 days, but may be shorter if the work progresses ahead of schedule, or longer if there are delays.

Anna Maria Island bridge

Traffic to and from the island will be detoured to the Cortez bridge to the south. Increased traffic flows at the Bradenton Beach end of Cortez Bridge will be accommodated by a lengthened turn lane.

Categories
Environment News Sports

Holmes Beach Surfs Hurricane Ike Surge

Anna Maria Island beaches felt the effects of Hurricane Ike this week with several days of high surf and high water.

Every day this past week brought a good swell and copious waves as Ike passed 300 miles away to the south west of Anna Maria Island.

Hurricane Ike waves Anna Maria Island

The storm emerged off the coast of Cuba into the Gulf of Mexico with Tropical Storm strength winds and soon intensified into a Category 2-3 hurricane heading northwest.

Categories
Sports

Surfing Hurricane Gustav At Holmes Beach

Gustav sent a few waves to Anna Maria Island, Sunday, and brought out a crowd of surfers and onlookers. A high tide and offshore wind meant the waves broke close to shore but some good rides were possible.

Some gusty showers were about the only impact Gustav had on Anna Maria Island but the rain and possibly a raised sea level from the effects of surge caused an above average high tide.