Monthly Archives: August 2017

Moon Shadows – August 21, 2017

August 25, 2017VARIOUSastronomy, corona, eclipse, moon, sunEd Rosack

Did any of you notice the solar eclipse in the US last week? Here at Central Florida Photo Ops HQ we certainly did! And even though the full moon covered “only” ~85% of the sun, it was still an awe-inspiring show.

Our experience in Winter Springs started with heavy rain and thick cloud cover, but the sky quickly cleared and from then on we had an amazing view. I put together this time-lapse movie with ten photos I made at about ten minutes intervals :

To set up my camera, I first focused manually on a very distant tree and taped down the focus ring. Then I spent some time figuring out exposure so detail on the sun’s surface would show. The sun is really bright! I put two stacked neutral density filters in front of my lens to cut the light by about 11 stops. I ended up shooting in manual exposure mode at ISO 64, f/16, and 1/1000 sec at 800mm equivalent focal length. For insurance, I also bracketed around that base exposure. Luckily there were a few sunspots to see:

Sunspots on the surface

We had two other roving photographers on assignment to help document the eclipse. Kevin McKinney was in Orlando south of us. He noticed the sun shining through a tree and made the photo below. Small openings between the leaves were acting as pinhole lenses and focusing multiple images of the crescent sun on the ground. I’m glad he noticed this, I didn’t think to look:

Howard Thomas (our other roving photographer) braved scarce hotels and huge traffic jams to report from Santee, South Carolina along the path of totality. He made these next three photos:

Baily’s beads, or the Diamond ring effect, is visible during a total solar eclipse. The rough terrain on the edge of the moon allow beads of sunlight to shine through in some places. ©Howard Thomas, 2017, all rights reserved. Used with permission.

Eclipses are fun to think about. They’re such a huge coincidence! The Moon is 400 times smaller than the Sun, and the Sun is 400 times farther way. So they’re the same apparent size in the sky – that can’t be very common in the universe. We don’t see one very often because the Moon’s orbit tilts with respect to Earth’s orbit around the sun. And since the moon is slowly moving away from the earth, the geometry will be ruined after another billion years.

You can click on any of these photos to look at larger versions. I hope you were able to see this stunning event and get some photos of your own. If not, the next one in the US is in 2024.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go be amazed by rare natural phenomenon. And make some photos!

Wonderful Wisconsin Vacation Visit

August 20, 2017OUTSIDE FLORIDA, Wisconsinblack and white, buildings, Flowers, landscape, panorama, Sunflowers, travel, windmillEd Rosack

It’s been a while since our last trip to Wisconsin to see Mike and Sara (April of 2015!), so Lynn and I were excited to spend a week with them at the beginning of August. We were also quite happy to finally get to meet Avon – who is (probably) a mountain cur that they adopted from a rescue society. He’s a real sweet dog!

I didn’t realize how big of a crop Sunflowers are in Wisconsin. And fortunately for us, the beginning of August is peak bloom time. In fact, Bergsbaken Farms near Cecil Wisconsin was having a Sunflower Fest while we were there so we stopped by.

Riding in the rain through the sunflower fields

Even though it was a bit rainy that day, there was still a large crowd and we enjoyed seeing the seemingly endless fields of flowers. We also saw a few strange creatures:

Strange creature seen in Wisconsin field

There were several of these tall, happy looking beings along one of the paths through the field. Authorities didn’t respond to questions on where they came from or why they wore sunglasses in the rain. One of my Flickr friends commented: “A nice guy no doubt, but a little seedy, wouldn’t you agree?” Yes, I do agree!

These cultivated sunflowers are different than our wild Florida swamp sunflower variety, which by the way will start blooming in late September or early October.

Field of sunflowers

We had also planned to stop by the Wisconsin State Fair, but the weather forecast was iffy and we didn’t make it – maybe next time! However we did do a few other touristy things in the area.

Wisconsin Windmill in downtown Little Chute. This is an authentic design, working mill built to celebrate the region’s Dutch heritage (see www.littlechutewindmill.org//)

Lake Winnebago – At High Cliff State Park, Wisconsin; IR, B&W, panorama

Among other gourmet treats, we also stopped by Wilmar Chocolates for yummy custom chocolate bars (mine had gummy bears in it!).

Our Wisconsin stay was delightful, but ended way too quickly!

You can read other blog posts about Wisconsin at this link: https://edrosack.com/category/photo-ops-categorized-by-place/photo-ops-outside-florida/wisconsin/. And I’ve collected some of my Wisconsin photos in this album on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/albums/72157628253961205

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go spend time with your family. And make some photos too!

Any Micro 4/3 Camera Regrets?

August 12, 2017Cameras and Photography, INSIDE FLORIDA, VARIOUSbirds, cameras, equipment, landscape, micro four thirds, Nikon, OlympusEd Rosack

The short answer is “Nope, not really”. For the longer answer, read on…

Sometimes I’ll take a camera by Bear Creek Nature Trail in our neighborhood (the middle of Tuscawilla, along the north side of Winter Springs Boulevard). On this particular day back in January of 2017, sunlight was filtering down through the trees and hitting the water at a bend in the creek. The light refracting through ripples in the surface created interesting patterns and colors I thought were worth a shutter click.

Bear Creek Ripples 1a (28mm eq. focal length, f/8, 0.5 seconds, ISO 64)

This was a month or so after I started using the Olympus E-M1 Mark II camera. I’d sold my Nikon D-800 and lenses so I could afford to upgrade my Olympus kit and I was still getting used to the new gear. I’d had the D-800 for over four years and it’d worked extremely well for me. It was the very best camera I’d ever used so getting rid of it was a big step and I was still second guessing my decision.

Why did I sell the Nikon gear and move exclusively to Olympus? And how is it working out? Glad you asked!

It seems that discovering micro four thirds cameras is a big thing on the web, lately. Here are a few links with a lot of information you can investigate:

https://photofocus.com/2017/05/11/mirrorless-camera-maniac-switching-from-full-frame-to-micro-four-thirds/
http://www.jacquescornell.photography/blog/2014/10/switching-from-full-frame-to-micro-four-thirds-mirrorless-cameras
~~https://www.christography.com/blog/from-full-frame-to-micro-four-thirds~~ (link no longer available)
https://improvephotography.com/12465/dslr-vs-micro-four-thirds-cameras/
http://www.sulasula.com/en/olympus-for-wildlife-photography-one-month-in-the-rainforest/

I won’t repeat these discussions. Everyone will have their own opinion and reasoning for the camera equipment they use. I’ll just summarize by saying that for me, no regrets. The smaller and more modern design has many advantages with few real issues. For what I shoot, I haven’t seen much downside.

I can carry much more camera capability with far less weight. And the new gear does things the older Nikon equipment doesn’t. Really, the only thing that concerns me even a bit is star / astro photography with the smaller sensor. I haven’t had much of a chance to test this yet and hopefully ease my concerns, but even if the Olympus isn’t as good at this type of photography, I’m not very worried. I don’t do it all that often and if I need to, I can always rent / borrow a different camera with a larger sensor or use something like the iOptron SkyTracker^TM to make really long exposures. Your mileage may vary of course, and you should investigate thoroughly before you make such a significant change.

If you have questions, feel free to ask in the comments. I’ll be more than glad to try to answer. And you can click on the image below to go to Flickr and browse through an album of the images I’ve made with the new camera:

Great Egret head shot

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – no matter the camera you have, go make some photos!

Hawaii Five-Oh (Top 5 Photos from Hawaii)

August 6, 2017Hawaii, OUTSIDE FLORIDADolphin, landscape, sea turtle, travel, wildlifeMaryKate

Editors note: Today we have another post from our roving correspondent MaryKate. This time from the middle of the Pacific Ocean – enjoy!

Back in May, I (willingly) kidnapped my youngest cousin Annie and took her to one of my bucket-list destinations and remaining states to visit: Hawaii! We were there for 5 days and 4 nights, so we stayed on Oahu the entire time (vs. island hopping) – which was a different and enjoyable experience for me since I’m usually on the go! We shared amazing outdoor experiences like snorkeling, reflected at somber memorials like Pearl Harbor, and discovered captivating views while exploring the island on the drive of a lifetime.

Lāʻie Point State Wayside

The most memorable experience was snorkeling off of Waianae. If you’ve read any of my past blog posts, you know I have a passion for wildlife, especially dolphins and whales. While we visited at the wrong time of the year to see humpback whales, I was really excited to see Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins in the wild.

Hawaiian Spinner Dolphin

While snorkeling, we saw five Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins, green sea turtles, and even a baby hammerhead shark. The tour company was respectful about keeping our distance, being quiet and still, and not harassing the wildlife.

Green Turtle

However, while in Hawaii, I found the book The Lives of Hawaii’s Dolphins and Whales by Robin W. Baird, and was saddened to read that “because spinners do all of their feeding at night and all of their resting during the day…exposure to vessel traffic and swimmers may disrupt their resting patterns or cause them to leave the relative safety of their traditional resting areas. A recent study off Kona showed that spinner dolphins were exposed to humans, boaters, and/or swimmers within 100 yards of them about 82 percent of their time during the day.” Because of this, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is considering new regulations “to prohibit swimming with and approaching a Hawaiian spinner dolphin within 50 yards.” Knowledge is power, so I will cherish the memories I have from this experience and instead watch them from afar in the future – even if the rules don’t change. Pacific Whale Foundation has a great PDF with more information on how to Be Dolphin Wise.

Hawaiian Spinner Dolphin

If you make it to Oahu, definitely follow my brother Mike’s advice to rent a car and drive the island. We got a better feel for the place by seeing so much more of it. From Waikiki, we drove north up the middle of the island (stopping at the obligatory tourist stop: Dole Plantation), then to the north shore for some shave ice, lunch at the famous Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck, scenic views, and a tour at the Kualoa Ranch where movies like Jurassic Park and TV shows like Lost were filmed (can’t you just imagine a T-Rex popping out of the shot below?). The drive and the views are the destination, so take your time and enjoy the ride!

Kualoa Ranch – Home of Jurassic Park (if it’s a good photo you’re raptor, come here!)

Editors note 2:
Thanks so much MK – it was wonderful to read about your trip. Hawaii is still on my bucket list!
Also readers, if you’re going to visit, you might want to take a look at the Hawaii category on my on-line friend Jeff Stamer’s blog. He’s been to there several times and has some amazing photos and tips.

You can click on any of these photos to see a much higher res version on Flickr. Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go be amazed by wildlife and make some photos!