Category Archives: Orlando

Cracker Christmas at Fort Christmas, Florida

December 3, 2012Cameras and Photography, Fort Christmas, INSIDE FLORIDA, Orlando, VARIOUSblack and white, Civil War, Fort Christmas, people, view cameraEd Rosack

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: 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!

Mead Gardens: Yellow-rumped Warbler

November 25, 2012Downtown Orlando, INSIDE FLORIDA, Mead Gardens, Winter Parkbirds, Mead Gardens, Yellow-rumped WarblerEd Rosack

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 – 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!

Sandhill Cranes at the airport

November 4, 2012INSIDE FLORIDA, Orlandobirds, Orlando Airport, Sandhill CraneEd Rosack

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 profile

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!

Wide, wide weekend

July 29, 2012INSIDE FLORIDA, Maitland, Orlando, TechniqueCarl Langford Park, Dickson Azalea Park, equipment, fisheye, infrared, Lake Lily, landscape, panorama, reviewsEd Rosack

I was in Colonial Photo and Hobby and saw a Rokinon micro four thirds 7.5mm f/3.5 manual focus fish-eye lens on the shelf. I’ve never had a fish-eye lens before although I’ve always liked wide-angle. I couldn’t resist and ended up taking it home.

Fish-eye lenses are not rectilinear – meaning they sacrifice keeping perspective lines straight to make the field of view big. This one has a full 180° field of view and covers the sensor without any vignetting. 180° is really, really wide – keep your fingers and toes out of the composition! They also tend to have a huge depth of field, which is even greater on a micro four thirds camera than on a full frame 35mm equivalent.

I tried it first on my infrared modified camera – I call these IRFE (infrared, fish eye) photos. In this one, I wanted to take advantage of the distortion introduced by the lens to make the support structure for the bridge look more interesting. So I put the beams as close to the edges of the frame as I could get them.

Suspension bridge: Carl Langford Park, Orlando

In this next one, I saw the tree branch above and wanted to try to capture the complexity against the sky. I’ve found it hard to make photos like this with a regular wide-angle lens. I end up not having a wide enough view and then taking multiple photos and trying to stitch them together as a panorama. Stitching software just doesn’t hold up too well when the angle of view is too large.

Tree branches: Dickson Azalea Park, Orlando

Of course, you can use a fish-eye lens in a more normal way. If you keep things that you want to appear straight toward the center of the frame, the image will look a lot more like a regular wide-angle photo.

Curve ahead: Behind Lake Lily Park, Maitland.

I’m really happy with the lens. It seems sharp, doesn’t vignette and the manual focus aspects aren’t a big bother because of depth of field. It seems to handle flare pretty well and I’m not noticing any pronounced chromatic aberrations or other problems. On my camera, it exposes correctly in aperture priority mode, even though there’s no electronic coupling. And… it’s fun! Isn’t photography supposed to be fun?

You can click on the images above to get to larger versions on Flickr. You can also see some of my other infrared photos here on Flickr.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!
©2012, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Queen Extravaganza at the Plaza

June 19, 2012INSIDE FLORIDA, Orlando, Plaza Theatre, Techniqueband, concert, music, people, Queen, reviewsEd Rosack

Queen Extravaganza performed at Orlando’s Plaza Theater on Fathers Day to a sold out, enthusiastic crowd.

Queen Extravaganza at the Plaza: Yvan Pedneault, Francois-Olivier Doyon, Tyler Warren, Brian Gresh, Tristan Avakian

QE as we’ll call them, is a tribute band backed by Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. The show ‘celebrates the music and live experience of Queen’. They’re on their summer tour and stopped for one night in Orlando.

Brian Gresh solo

This very talented group of musicians put on a wonderful show and performed many of Queen’s greatest hits. I’m not a proper Queen super fan, but to my uninitiated ears, QE were really good. The very loud sound mix and very annoying lighting (which occasionally flashed strobes directly into the eyes of the audience) bothered me a bit. I suspect that the sound level and lights are purposeful and similar to a live Queen show, but I have to admit I never saw them live, so I don’t know.

Brandon Ethridge, Brian Gresh, Tristan Avakian, Francois-Olivier Doyon and Yvan Pedneault

The Plaza has been one of my favorite venues for concert photography. I think their policy used to be “no professional cameras”, but at this show their sign said “no interchangeable lens cameras” and “no flash or video”. They didn’t give me any hassle at all, but they were stopping people making videos with their phones. I’m not sure if this is a permanent change or was specific to this event. It would be a shame if it’s permanent. I really enjoy the acts at the Plaza, but one of the key draws for me is the opportunity to make some photos. If it becomes too hard to carry my camera in, I’ll probably go there less.

You can read my earlier blog entries about the Plaza here Keb’ Mo’ at the Plaza and here Hot Tuna at the Plaza. You can view more Queen Extravaganza photos in this set on Flickr, and other photos from the Plaza in this collection on Flickr.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!
©2012, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Return to Animal Kingdom

May 13, 2012INSIDE FLORIDA, Orlando, Theme ParksAnimal Kingdom, birds, Crow, Disney, Flowers, Gorilla, Hibiscus, wildlifeEd Rosack

We had family in town last weekend and they invited Lynn and I along on their visit to Disney’s Animal Kingdom. I’ve blogged about this place before (here and here) and this was a chance to return and see if I still liked it as much as last time.

Yes, I did. I can confirm that Animal Kingdom is still the nicest zoo I’ve ever been too. It’s enhanced by the rides and shows, and seeing it with our young nieces and nephew makes it an even more wonderful experience.

Here are a few scenes from the trip. You can see more photos (and larger versions of these) in this set on Flickr.

Male Silverback Gorilla holding grass. In the gorilla enclosure on Pangani Trail at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

An American Crow enjoys a stolen onion ring

Hibiscus

Thanks for stopping by and visiting my blog. Now, go make some photos!

Orlando’s Leu Gardens

March 25, 2012Downtown Orlando, INSIDE FLORIDA, Leu Gardens, OrlandoFlowers, infrared, insects, landscapeEd Rosack

Intro / Description

Do you enjoy gardening? Flower or landscape photography? Historical sites? Then Leu Gardens in downtown Orlando, is a place you should check out. It’s a 50 acre park on the grounds of the former home of Harry P. Leu, who donated the property to the city in 1961.

Hibiscus and sky

There are about 40 different plant collections in the park including aroids, azaleas, bamboo, bananas, bromeliads, camellias, citrus, conifers, crepe myrtles, conifers, cycads, ferns, flowering shrubs, flowering trees, gingers, heliconias, hibiscus and mallows,magnolias, ornamental grasses, palms,perennials, roses, trees, and vines. Many are labeled to help you figure out what you’re looking at. Various pieces of sculpture are also located around the garden as well as some interesting planters.

Pot Heads: Heads full of flowers: A Leu Gardens Planter

The gardens are arranged in sometimes geometrical layouts which can lead to interesting photos. These include the butterfly, kitchen, rose, and palm gardens along with many others. And don’t forget to see the fairly famous floral clock!

The Leu House Museum has been restored and is on the National Historical Register. It’s open for tours on the half hour starting at 10am (except in July when it’s closed for refurbishment).

Info for Photographers

Leu Gardens is very photo friendly. Photography and video is permitted for personal, non-commercial use, but commercial photography requires approval in advance.

The house at the end of the lane on one end of the gardens. False color IR photograph.

Photo hints:

A leisurely stroll through the grounds is the best way to find photo opportunities and will take you an hour or two. Make sure you carry your gear with you. The parking lot is too far to go back to if you want to switch lenses or grab a flash. Speaking of flash – some of the flowers are located in very shaded areas. I found myself making photos with my camera in my right hand and a flash in my left to help light my subjects.

Busy Bee gathers pollen at Leu Gardens

Tripod/Monopod:

Tripods are allowed and would be good for all the normal reasons. I didn’t bring one either time I visited. I know, I know – I should have, but I was just carrying too much already.

Lenses:

You’ll want to have your macro and wide-angle lenses with you. A longer macro will be most helpful. Not all the blooms and interesting plants are right next to the paths. And a longer distance to your subject will scare fewer insects away.

Best time to visit:

They’re open all year except Christmas day. Hours are 9am to 5pm. There are different plants blooming year round. Here’s a partial list by season (info from the Leu Gardens Map and Visitors Guide):

Spring	roses, hibiscus, day lilies, gardenias, trumpet trees, azaleas, citrus
Summer	roses, hibiscus, ginger, heliconias, canna, magnolia, crepe myrtle, banana, cassia, bird of paradise
Autumn	roses, floss silk tree, cassia, hibiscus, ginger, helconia, bottlebrush tree
Winter	camellia, pink trumpet tree, azaleas, orchid tree

They occasionally host flower shows. If you can catch one of those, you’ll be in for some extra treats.

Leu Gardens can be a very popular place, especially on weekends and during wedding season. I visited once when two weddings were taking place and almost got knocked over by two photographers running backwards photographing a wedding party. The weddings can sometimes block off areas in the park too. Another time I visited was on a Friday morning and I had most of the place to myself. So I’d suggest you try to avoid the weekends and weddings if you can.

Other:

Adult admission is $7.00, children in grades K – 12 are $2.00. If you can visit on the first Monday of the month, admission is free.

I did see some birds there during my visit including Cardinals, Woodpeckers, and Northern Mockingbirds, among others. And the birdsong adds a nice soundtrack to your stroll.

Summary

Please visit my Leu Gardens set on Flickr to see more examples of the photo ops you might find there. I’m sure if you go, you come up with many others. If you do, let me know about it.

My Gallery / Flickr photo set:	http://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/sets/72157629660062855/with/7012298391/
Website:	http://www.leugardens.org/index.htm
Address / Phone:	1920 North Forest Avenue, Orlando, FL; Phone: 407-246-2620
Central Florida Photo Ops Rating:	Botanical beauty. A great place for a walk with many fine photo opportunities.

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

Black Swan

March 18, 2012INSIDE FLORIDA, Lake Eola, Orlandobirds, philosophy, SwanEd Rosack

The Black Swan is an interesting bird. Not only from an avian perspective, but also from a philosophy and ideas perspective. Wikipedia introduces the Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) as “a large water bird, a species of swan, which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia.”

Black Swan at Lake Eola in downtown Orlando

Australia? Then what is a photo of a Black Swan doing on the Central Florida Photo Ops blog?

All known swans were white until Black Swans were discovered in Australia. People would never expect to find a black Swan (even in Orlando). So this bird is often used as a metaphor for an unexpected event.

Nicholas Taleb wrote a book called The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable. His theory is that outlier events (which are essentially unpredictable) have an outsized impact, especially due to the human tendency to settle for simple solutions. This is called the Black Swan Theory.

If no one told, you’d never expect to find a Black Swan in Central Florida. But you can – at Lake Eola in downtown Orlando. So seeing a Black Swan there is a black swan event – highly unexpected. Or it was, until I just told you.

There are other Swan species there too. I saw Whooper Swans, Mute Swans, and Black Necked Swans last weekend.

You can see other photo’s I’ve made at Lake Eola in this set on Flickr.

Orlando Magic fall to the Atlanta Hawks

February 11, 2012Downtown Orlando, INSIDE FLORIDA, OrlandoBasketball, sportsEd Rosack

The Orlando Magic lost a tough game to the Atlanta Hawks last night by two points in overtime. The Hawks always seem to have our number even though they were missing some starters for this game. It also didn’t help that the Magic were a bit slow and sloppy in the first 3 quarters.

Dwight Howard dunks in traffic

We had very nice seats, which made for a good photo-op. I used a Micro 4/3 camera and had plenty of reach with a 40 – 150mm (80 – 300mm equivalent) lens. I did suffer a bit from the small aperture. I had to set the ISO as high as 1600 to stop action at around 1/500 sec and f/5.6. The Amway arena seems to have a pretty consistent lighting – I set the white balance to tungsten for these.

Jameer Nelson shoots a 3 over Jeff Teague

It was a nice night and Lynn and I had a good time, even though our team lost.

The Magic Dancers dance

You can see the other photos I made last night in this set on Flickr. And I have two other sets from previous games here and here.

Orlando Wetlands Park, 5 February 2012

February 7, 2012INSIDE FLORIDA, Orlando, Orlando Wetlandsbirds, infrared, landscape, panorama, Purple Gallinule, Vermilion Flycatcher, wildlifeEd Rosack

Orlando Wetlands Park has re-opened, and three of us from the Photography Interest Group met there before dawn last Sunday. I was hoping for a sunrise photo, but fog and lack of color in the sky made those efforts a challenge. Luckily I had my IR converted camera with me and made this 4 image panorama of the marsh. I think the colors in the scene are interesting so I left it as an IR false color image instead of converting to black and white. The IR sensor really brought out detail in the clouds that couldn’t be seen in visible light.

Misty marsh at dawn – Orlando Wetlands Park, just before dawn. False color IR image.

If you haven’t been to OWP lately, you’ll be surprised at the changes. There’s been extensive reclamation in cells 16A and 17, resulting in much more scenic views. Check it out!

While we were there, we ran into a tour led by the Friends of Orlando Wetlands group. Vermilion Flycatchers are rarely found in Florida, but two or more are being sighted regularly at OWP. The group let us know about these birds and even led us right to them.

Vermilion Flycatcher – not a great photo, but another life bird for me.

We also ran across a very pretty Purple Gallinule – my second life bird of the day.

Purple Gallinule

It was a good outing. Birds we sighted included various Herons, Egrets, Sand Hill Cranes, Limpkins, Coots, Moorhens, huge numbers of Black Vultures, and others.

You can see other photos I’ve made at Orlando Wetlands Park here on Flickr, and you can use the blog category pull down to locate other articles I’ve written that mention OWP.