Monthly Archives: May 2017

Memorial Day, 2017

OUTSIDE FLORIDA, VARIOUS, , , , , ,

Decorating soldiers’ graves with flowers is an ancient custom.  We’ve done this in the United States since before the Civil War.

Decoration Day was officially established soon after the Civil War ended and observed on May 30 because flowers would be in bloom all over the country.  Memorial Day became a national holiday in 1971 and  moved to the last Monday in May.

It's hard see the end of these graves, and more difficult to imagine the suffering.A gray, cold day – It’s hard see the end of these graves, and more difficult to imagine the suffering.   Arlington National Cemetery is the final resting place for more than 400,000 active duty service members, veterans and their families.

The USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii – The resting place of 1,102 of the 1,177 sailors and Marines killed on USS Arizona (BB-39) during the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.  It commemorates the events of that day.  This photo ©MK Rosack, 2017, used with permission.
USS Bowfin (SS-287) Memorial, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  The Bowfin made WW II patrols and supported the Korean War. It’s open to the public as a museum and park and became a National Historic Landmark in 1986.  This photo ©MK Rosack, 2017, used with permission.

More information:

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog.  Please, take a few moments tomorrow to remember those who perished, and those they left behind.  Heroes all.

©2017, MK and Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

 

Northern Cardinal Chick

INSIDE FLORIDA, , ,

Cardinals have been nesting in and around our back yard for many years.

Cardinal chickCardinal chick

This is the second time that a pair of Northern Cardinals have made a nest under the roof of our neighbor’s patio. This little one was waiting patiently for Mom or Dad to return.

They grow extremely fast.  Not long after I made this photo, it had fledged and was gone.  Now, less than a month later, there’s another clutch of eggs being tended there.  It’s a popular place!

I featured this good-looking couple from our back yard in a blog post early last year (https://edrosack.com/2016/03/13/backyard-visitors/):

Cardinal pairCardinal pair

Perhaps they’re the parents.  Wouldn’t that be nice?

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!

©2017, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Gatorland – May 11, 2017

Gatorland, INSIDE FLORIDA, Orlando, , , , ,

I didn’t go to Gatorland last Thursday with Kevin K.  intending to make images for a Mother’s Day blog post.  It happened anyway – it’s pretty hard to avoid this time of year.

The nesting season has moved along and there are more species active now and raising their young.  This tricolored Heron is hoping her mate gets back soon with some food for the kids!

Bawling, big mouth babiesBawling, big mouth babies

Even with the chicks making all that noise, the Mom is sitting quietly, protecting them in case they’ve attracted any predators with their squawking.

In the next photo, an adult Great Egret is feeding an almost mature young one.  I watched one nest where there were three juveniles this size, all competing for food from one adult.  They were squawking and wildly grabbing for the adult’s beak.  The adults are very careful and  fortunately seem to avoid eye injuries.

Feeding timeFeeding time

Cattle Egrets are on the nest too and although I think some have already hatched, I couldn’t see them – they’re way back in the bushes.

Checking her eggsCattle Egret checking on her eggs

There are also some Dads around.  This guy was preening – trying to look good for his mate.  He impressed me!

Showy AnhingaShowy Anhinga

And the alligators were getting in on the act too.  Here’s a video of a bull gator bellowing a mating call.  I like the sound track, the standing wave ripples over his back, and the steam (mist) coming out of his nose!

Gator Bellow

All of these animal behaviors are fascinating to watch.  They’re exciting to photograph too!

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!

Oh, and happy Mother’s Day!!

©2017, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Ten years? How'd that happen?

VARIOUS

On May 4th 2007, I wrote this blog’s first post:

A wonderful trip!!! San Francisco and Muir Woods

I don’t remember why I decided to start.  I think I was just playing around – excited about the trip and wanting to share.  There was no plan to continue, much less for 482 more posts!

The blog’s evolved over time – and I developed a purpose that I try to fulfill (described in the introduction on the Contents / Index page).  I hope people do find some  photographically useful info in each entry.  Although today might be an exception 🙂

You may not realize that this isn’t the most popular site on the internet.  There are 218 email subscribers, 21 more via WordPress.com, and an unknown number of regular readers via RSS.  About 30 – 60 more views per day come in outside of the subscriptions.  If I were selling adds or something else, I’d worry about increasing views, but I’m not.  So it’s a tiny corner of the web – and I’m very grateful for my regular readers and visitors and their interest.

Here’s a list of the posts / pages people viewed the most over the last year:

And here’s a list of the most common search terms leading to the blog over the past year:

  • photo opportunities in orlando fl
  • port orange camera club
  • sunflower field central florida
  • images of great blue heron in flight
  • animal kingdom florida
  • infrared post processing e-pl1
  • places to take pictures in st augustine fl
  • nikon d7000 vs d90 image samples
  • rectaflex
  • sunflower field near ocala florida
  • marl bed flats florida
  • oviedo camera club
  • central florida photo ops
  • photo oportunities in florida
  • lake jesup wildflowers
  • viera wetlands park update november 2016
  • wildlife photo opportuniites in floroda
  • blue cypress lake swallowtailed kites
  • infrared photography post processing
  • photographic areas in florida

Both of these seem to show that I’m coming close to meeting the blog’s purpose.

I enjoy the photography and writing.  And the weekly posts motivate me to keep going out and exploring. I also enjoy occasionally reading old posts.  I have no plans to retire Central Florida Photo Ops, although I don’t have any idea how much longer I’ll continue – I never imagined it would last this long!   I think it does probably need some refreshing.  If you have any ideas on that, let me know.

And just so we don’t have a post without a photo, here’s one from the archives.  Is it a metaphor?  A subtle message?  Only the blog knows.

Road Narrows?Road Narrows – On the way up to Mt. Evans, Colorado. July 2007.

As a reminder, you can use the “Archives” pulldown on the right (or in the menu on the mobile version) to browse older posts.  You can use the “Categories” pulldown to filter on specific locations.  And you can use the search box to find posts on any given subject.

Thank you so, so much for stopping by and reading my blog.  Now – go make some photos!

©2007 – 2017, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved