All posts by Ed Rosack

The year in review – My favorite photos from 2012

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Happy Holidays!  Once again the season has snuck up on us.  I hope that all of you, your families, and your friends have a joyful and happy season!

Photographer Jim Goldstein has an annual tradition of organizing a “best photos of the year” listing.   I’m very glad he started this, since it’s a good reminder for each of us to take time to review results and contemplate how to improve our photography.  And also to put together an annual “Favorite photos of the year” post.

2012 was another good year for me photographically.  The 2012 folder on my hard drive takes up about 284 GB of space – almost double 2011.  There are 80 folders, and each one represents a separate “photo-op”, with a total of  over 6200 photos, so it does look like I’m trying!  I had a lot of opportunity to make good images this year, and I’m pleased with the results I achieved.  But it doesn’t seem like my ability and skills have grown as much this year as in the past.  Perhaps I’ve plateaued.  Maybe I don’t know what I don’t know about getting better.  Maybe I’m just getting more picky and critical.  Regardless, I think I need to make a stronger effort in 2013.

I’m still using the following system to rate my photos.  The numbers in parentheses are the counts for 2012.

  • 1 star   – The photo is interesting (174)
  • 2 stars – The photo is worth showing to others (396)
  • 3 stars – The photo is the best of (or one of the best of ) any given photo shoot (68)
  • 4 stars – My favorite photo of a year (1)
  • 5 stars – My favorite photo ever (still none, I’m not finished making photos yet!)

The rest of the photos don’t have stars and are seconds or not so good versions. I usually keep them, but they probably won’t get any more attention. This system seems to work for me and I’ve reviewed my 2012 photos and selected my favorites.  This is a hard process for any photographer.  It’s difficult to separate my opinion about a photograph from any emotional connections that I might have with the scene or situation.  But making this effort is important and part of the learning process.  Still, at the end of the day, I don’t claim to be objective about my photography.  These photos are the ones that I like best, so feel free to disagree – but I hope you’ll enjoy looking at the ones I’ve picked.

You can click on each of these to go to Flickr and see a larger version.  Or you can click on this link to go to the complete set on Flickr.

I have 1 miscellaneous subject, 1 mammal, 1 bird, 3 people photos, 7 landscapes, 3 sunrises, 0 sunsets, 6 color, 4 Black and White, and 4 Infra-Red photos.  Definitely a trend away from wildlife and toward landscapes and infra-red.  Here we go…

My number 1 favorite photo of 2012:

Many cypress trees
 Many cypress trees, Blue Cypress Lake, near Vero Beach, Florida, June.  

I have a thing for Cypress trees anyway and when I made my first and only visit to Blue Cypress Lake this year, the natural beauty of this place overwhelmed me.  I’m planning to return early next year when I can also see many nesting Ospreys and other birds.  See this post for more info.

My number 2 favorite photo of 2012:

Pre-dawn Jetty
 Pre-dawn Jetty, Jetty Park, Cocoa, Florida, October.  

When I saw this scene, I really liked the way the light on the walk drew my eye to the bottom left and then the rail and the jetty lead to the sun rays coming up from below the horizon.  So I straddled the rail with my tripod and made this photo.  See this post for more info.

My number 3 favorite photo of 2012:

Keb' Mo'
 Keb’ Mo’ in concert, Plaza Theatre, Orlando, Florida, February.

I like The Plaza and they often bring in acts that I like too.  We were lucky to get seats up front and when the spotlights lit up the smoke, I made this photo.  See this post for more info.

My number 4 favorite photo of 2012:

Water Dragon Sunrise
Water Dragon Sunrise, on board the Carnival Paridise in the Gulf of Mexico, April.  

I stalked this sunrise for about 45 minutes before this scene developed.  I’m happy I waited for it – sometimes patience pays off!  See this post for more info.

My number 5 favorite photo of 2012:

Submarine sunrise
 Submarine sunrise: The British Trident ballistic missile submarine HMS Vigilant leaving Port Canaveral, Florida just after dawn, October.

This was a bonus photo when the sub turned south after leaving the inlet and posed for us under the rising sun.  See this post for more info.

My number 6 favorite photo of 2012:

Cocoa Sunrise
 Cocoa Sunrise, North of the Hubert Humphrey Causeway in Cocoa, Florida, August.

This is an infra-red, fish-eye photo (an “IRFE”).  It’s a really good combination to shake up your photography and inspire some creativity.

My number 7 favorite photo of 2012:

Play time at Union Station
Play time at Union Station, Cincinnati, Ohio, December 2011

This photo missed the deadline for last year’s favorites – so I included it here.  I usually wait for people to clear out when I’m trying to make a photo. This time I went ahead and made it while these two girls played around the fountain. Since this is a stitched panorama, they show up multiple times, which I think adds to the image.  See this post for more info.

My number 8 favorite photo of 2012:

Cruising White Pelican
 Cruising White Pelican, Black Point Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, December.

White Pelicans are winter migrants to our area, so we don’t get to see them very often.  This one cruised right in and posed in the middle of my viewfinder.  I couldn’t have arranged it better!  See this post for more info.

My number 9 favorite photo of 2012:

On the beach
 On the beach, Venice Beach, Florida, September.

We were wandering around exploring the area near the Venice Pier. Since it was close to mid-day, I didn’t expect the light to be good, but I took my IR camera in case something came up. I think the IR characteristics add a lot of interest to the photo. And it makes a great example of how “playing around” can lead to good things.  See this post for more info.

My number 10 favorite photo of 2012:

Late night?
Late night?, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Orlando, Florida, May.

This photo was difficult to make since the lighting was challenging and I had to photograph the Gorilla through glass.  But it’s a great pose and expression and I was able to clean the image up considerably in post processing.  He looks like I’ve felt a few times.  See this post for more info.

And here is one last photo that I care a lot about:

The Senator
The “Senator” – a 3500 year old Bald Cypress tree, Big Tree Park, Longwood, Florida.

I made this image in September of 2011, so it doesn’t officially qualify for a 2012 favorite.  The reason I put it in this post is because in January of 2012, the tree caught fire, burned and collapsed. The fire was at first thought to have been caused by lightning, but later was determined to have been started by a woman inside the hollow tree so she could see the illegal drugs she was using. Now no one else will ever make a photo of this, so it became a lot more important to me in 2012.  What a crazy, sad event.  For more info see this post and this post.

If you’d like to see my favorite photos from earlier years, you can click on these links: 2009, 2010, and 2011.

I hope you’ve had a great photo 2012 too.  Thanks for stopping by and looking at my 2012 favorites.  Now – go make some favorites of your own!
©2011 – 2012, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Things are hoppin' at Black Point!

INSIDE FLORIDA, Merritt Island NWR, , , , , , ,

This is a truly great time of year to visit the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.  I’ve gone over for the last two weekends.  As I mentioned in my previous post, I took Lynn, Mary, and Monette there last Sunday – we had a great time and spotted lots of birds.  I told Kevin M. about it and he insisted we go back yesterday with Kevin K.

Why is it so good over there now?  I’m glad you asked!  The number and types of birds in and around Black Point Wildlife Drive are probably the greatest I’ve ever seen.  There are both regular species and winter visitors.  Ducks are there in huge numbers, both in the water and flying overhead in vast formations close enough that the sound of their beating wings is quite loud.  The larger wading and shorebirds are also there in force.  On both days, there were feeding frenzies going on in ponds along BPWD.  The water is full of minnows and the birds are feasting on them.

Black Point Wildlife Drive Feeding Frenzy Video

By the way, this situation is an ideal set up to practice your BIF (birds in flight) photography.  Here’s a photo I made at this same pond, showing an egret with one of the minnows.

Snowy Egret with minnow
Snowy Egret with minnow

And here’s a close-up of the minnows in the water.  No wonder the birds are going crazy!

The reason for the festive gathering
The reason for the festive gathering (photo by Kevin McKinney)

On these two days, we saw close to 40 different types of wildlife.  And I’m sure there were others I either didn’t see, didn’t recognize or forgot.  Here’s a partial list:

  • Alligator, Cows, Deer, Manatee
  • American Avocets
  • Anhingas
  • Belted Kingfishers
  • Black vultures
  • Black Skimmers
  • Coots
  • Cormorants
  • Ducks:  American Wigeon, Blue Wing Teals, Hooded Merganser, Lesser Scaup, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler
  • Egrets:  Cattle, Great, Reddish, and Snowy
  • Grackles
  • Herons: Great Blue, Green, Little blue,  and Tri-color
  • Ibis:  Glossy, and White
  • Mourning Doves
  • Northern Mockingbird
  • Osprey
  • Pie billed grebe
  • Red Bellied woodpecker
  • Ring billed Gull
  • Roseate Spoonbills
  • White pelican
  • Wood storks
  • Yellow Rumped Warbler

Cruising White Pelican
Cruising White Pelican – a winter migrant to our area

So two wonderful visits, although we did have some disappointments.  We looked for Florida Scrub Jays and didn’t see them in the normal spot.  And the sunrise photos on both days were a challenge.  Here’s what it looked like yesterday:

Foggy mornin'
Foggy mornin’

 

As usual, you can see larger versions of these images on Flickr by clicking on them. And I have more photos from MINWR in this set and BPWD in this set.

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

©2012, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.

Cracker Christmas at Fort Christmas, Florida

Cameras and Photography, Fort Christmas, INSIDE FLORIDA, Orlando, VARIOUS, , , ,

Sorry this week’s post is a little late – we were pretty busy all weekend. So just a short entry this morning. Yesterday I went over to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge with Lynn, Mary, and Mary’s friend Monette. Lots and lots of birds (a story for another day).

On the way home, we stopped by the Fort Christmas Historical Park in Christmas, Florida. They were having their 35th annual “Cracker Christmas” event. Along with tours of the permanent structures at the park, there were demonstrations of early settler life in Florida and many booths selling crafts. There were also some Civil War reenactments going on. When I saw this group posing in front of an old view camera, I just had to make a photo.

Civil War group portrait
Civil War group portrait: A group of Civil War reenactors pose in front of a view camera during the 2012 annual “Cracker Christmas” event at the Fort Christmas Historical Park and Museum.

It was quite crowded, but definitely worth the time to stop by. To satisfy your photographic curiosity, here’s the “before” version of this photo:

Civil War group portrait: Straight out of the camera, before a few tweaks in Lightroom and Photoshop

I cloned out some distractions, leveled and cropped, tweaked the color, contrast, sharpening, and then converted to a sepia toned B&W. I like the “after” version better. How about you?

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

©2012, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.

Mead Gardens: Yellow-rumped Warbler

Downtown Orlando, INSIDE FLORIDA, Mead Gardens, Winter Park, ,

I met Kevin M. at Mead Gardens Saturday morning for a quick stroll through this downtown Orlando park.  Since the weather was cool and clear, we didn’t think the sunrise would be very good, so we slept in a bit.  It was a relatively short trip, but very pleasant.

We sighted Yellow-rumped Warblers, Palm Warblers, an Eastern Phoebe, an American Goldfinch, American Robins and others.  The smaller ones sure can be difficult to photograph – they’re in constant motion and when they’re still for a moment, it’s always behind a branch.  Here’s one image I did manage to get:

Yellow-rumped Warbler?
Yellow-rumped Warbler – this one was out in the open and still for a moment.

We didn’t see any hummingbirds, although other people have recently sighted both Ruby-throated and Rufous varieties by the feeder.

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

©2012, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.

Thanksgiving 2012

Blue Cypress Lake, INSIDE FLORIDA, VARIOUS,

Happy Thanksgiving!

Many places in the world celebrate a thanksgiving holiday. In the United States, we pause on the fourth Thursday of November to commemorate our founders and give thanks. The “first Thanksgiving” took place in 1621 at Plymouth, Massachusetts to celebrate a good harvest. In 1789, President George Washington declared it a national holiday. The date shifted over time until December 26, 1941, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a joint resolution of Congress moving it  from the last Thursday in November to the fourth Thursday.

Thanksgiving dinner can be quite elaborate.  Turkey is the most common main dish, and Thanksgiving is sometimes called “Turkey Day”.  Bread stuffing, gravy, cranberries, and pumpkin pie are also traditional.

Wild Turkey

Wild Turkey – This Tom Turkey was posing in a field next to the road into Blue Cypress Lake. He was initially so still that we thought he might be a decoy. There were several more on the other side of the road.

Wild Turkeys were endangered in the early 1900s, but are common now throughout the US and in Florida.  I’ve even seen some in my neighborhood (in Central Winds Park).  They’re native to North America and the largest game bird on the continent.  In the 16th Century, the major trade route from the Americas went through Constantinople in Turkey before going on to Britain. They associated the birds with the country Turkey and the name stuck.

I’m a very fortunate person and have much to be thankful for.  I realize this and sometimes worry about the odds catching up with me.  At the top of the list, of course are my family and my friends.  What are you thankful for?

You can read more about Blue Cypress Lake in this post, and see more photos from there in this set on Flickr.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – be thankful, have a great day, and go make some photos!

©2012, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.

Forster's Tern

INSIDE FLORIDA, Merritt Island NWR, , , , , , ,

I think I’ve confessed here before that I’m just a beginning birder.  I enjoy identifying the birds I see, although sometimes it’s tough for me to figure out ones that I don’t see very often. Gulls and Terns seem especially hard.

Anyway, I photographed this bird last weekend at MINWR and it took me a while to sit down and research what it is.  I was pretty sure it’s a Tern, but didn’t know which one.  The red / orange legs were a big clue, although the lack of a black head cap and the dark bill initially confused me.  It turns out (Terns out?) that Forster’s Terns lose their black cap in the winter and their bills turn from orange to grey / black.  Mystery solved!

Forster's Tern
Forster’s Tern

They’re here in Florida only in the winter months – we saw a group of them along BPWD.  They were flying above the water and then plunging in to feed on fish.

In looking back through the rest of my photos from last weekend, the trip was quite productive.  I’ve a number of images that I’m pleased with.  Here’s a couple more:

VAB sunrise. Merritt Island, Florida
VAB sunrise. Merritt Island, Florida.  A four image panorama at 150mm: not my normal landscape focal length

Roseate Spoonbill landing
Roseate Spoonbill landing

You can see larger versions of these photos on Flickr by clicking on them. And I have more photos from MINWR in this set and BPWD in this set.

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

©2012, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.

U.S. Veterans Day

OUTSIDE FLORIDA, VARIOUS, Washington D.C., , , ,

Germany and the Allied nations signed the armistice ending World War I  in 1918 on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. Armistice Day (later renamed Veterans Day after World War II) was commemorated for the first time on November 11, 1919.

Now every year in the United States, we pause on Veteran’s Day to honor the service and sacrifice of all men and women who answer the call of freedom. To all of our veterans and to those serving today – you have our deepest gratitude. We honor you for your service and sacrifices “in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.”

Statues of GIs crossing a field
Statues of GIs crossing a field – Korean War Memorial, Washington, DC – Black and White Infrared

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. And if you’re a veteran, thank you for your service.
©2011, 2012 Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

MINWR – November 10, 2012

INSIDE FLORIDA, Merritt Island NWR, , , , , , , , ,

Yuck – the time changed again.  Sunrise is an hour earlier than it used to be.  An hour earlier than it’s supposed to be – for normal people anyway.  I guess that’s so crazy, get up too early photographers can make images other people can’t.

I was pretty tired on Friday night and really didn’t feel like getting out of bed, but get up I did (at 0430!) and drove over to meet Kevin M. at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.  We ended up at a bend in East Gator Creek road where the low tide had uncovered a tree stump.  Muddy tripod legs in the dark are awesome!

Low tide, before dawn
Low tide, before dawn – Looking east from East Gator Creek Road in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida

Except for the early sunrise, this is a wonderful time of year to visit MINWR.  There are lots of birds around, including many winter visitors and if you’re lucky you can see other wildlife too.

Dolphin
Sunlight glints off water drops in a dolphin’s breath

After sunrise, we drove through Black Point Wildlife Drive and then went by the Visitor Center.  In addition to the Dolphin, we saw a River Otter, White pelicans, Roseate Spoonbills, many Palm Warblers, Ospreys, European Starlings, Willets, Green Wing Teals, Northern Shovelers, Bald Eagles on the nest platform near the rest area, a Grey Catbird, a flock of American Avocets, Terns, Gulls, Great Blue Herons, Reddish Egrets, Ibis, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Tri-colored Herons, Little Blue Herons, Red-winged Blackbirds, many Belted Kingfishers, Wood Storks, Cormorants, Anhingas, Coots, Pie-billed Grebes, Black Vultures, a Ruby Throated Hummingbird at the Visitor Center, and several other species too.  The birds are definitely back!

Palm Warbler
Palm Warbler on matching flowers.

We had good light early, but a lot of clouds moved in later, which made for some nice IR photos.  I had to leave early and get home to help with errands, but Kevin M. had an “all day kitchen pass”, so he stayed and visited several other places at the refuge.  He photographed a Scissor Tailed Flycatcher, that’s been hanging around about 3/4 of a mile from the gravel lot on Shiloh Marsh Rd. as well as a Florida Scrub Jay.

Clouds move in
Clouds move in

All in all, a great day for photography!  You can see larger versions of these photos on Flickr by clicking on them. And I have more photos from MINWR in this set and BPWD in this set.

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

©2012, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.

 

Sandhill Cranes at the airport

INSIDE FLORIDA, Orlando, ,

The Orlando Airport has a very convenient cell phone lot where you can wait for arriving flights. We often see a family of Sandhill Cranes hanging out there.  Another reason to always have your camera with you!

Sandhill Crane Portrait
Sandhill Crane profile

Sandhill Crane
Sandhill Crane

The birds are obviously used to having people around them.  But if you’re photographing them (or  other birds or animals) – please be respectful and don’t harass or stress them.

By the way, I’ve finished a first pass through the Blog Categories and Tags.  I think they’re better organized now.

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

©2012, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.

Blog Maintenance (and another camera)

Cameras and Photography, VARIOUS, , ,

Just a short entry to let you know that I’m working behind the scenes to re-organize Categories and Tags used on the blog.  Since I started writing “Central Florida Photo Ops” in May of 2007 they’ve grown a bit too haphazardly, and now it’s time for me to get organized and efficient.

So I’m restructuring the Categories to serve as a Table of Contents.  The main ones are location-based so that a visitor can quickly see all the entries about a given place.  You can reach the Categories from the pull down widget on the right.

The tags will function like the index in a book.  For instance, when I’m done, you’ll be able to click on “Bird” in the tag cloud on the right and see a listing of all posts that mention various kinds of birds.

I’ve already started working on this, although it’ll take me a while to go through all 236 published posts and update / correct each one.  But as I work on it, it’ll gradually improve and when I’m finished it’ll be better than it was.  As always, comments and suggestions are welcome.

And just so we don’t have a blog entry without a photo, here’s a couple of images of another camera acquisition.  It’s a somewhat well used, Leica IIIc 35mm camera made in the late 1940s.  I need to clean it up a bit, but I’ve already run some film through it and it works pretty well.

Leica IIIc 35mm rangefinder camera
Leica IIIc 35mm rangefinder camera: front view

Leica IIIc 35mm rangefinder camera
Leica IIIc 35mm rangefinder camera: top view

NOTE: Added in Jan. 2021 (and Dec. 2023). This site has a serial number reference for these cameras: https://www.cameraquest.com/ltmnum.htm and shows this one was made in 1946/7. You can find other sites with serial number lookups for both camera and lenses if you search the web (e.g https://reddotcamera.net/leica/serial-number-tool/). My lens is a Summar 50mm f/2, built in  1937.

You can see other photos of collectible cameras in this set on Flickr.

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

©2012, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.