Category Archives: INSIDE FLORIDA

Hot Tuna at the Plaza

August 5, 2011INSIDE FLORIDA, Orlando, Plaza Theatreconcert, Hot Tuna, Jorma KaukonenEd Rosack

I’ve been a fan of Jorma Kaukonen for a long time. His band (Hot Tuna) was in town last night at the Plaza Theater and I went to see him. Here’s a couple of photos:

Hot Tuna: Jack Casady, Jorma Kaukonen, and Barry Mitterhoff at the Plaza Theater in Orlando, Florida. August 4th, 2011

Jorma Kaukonen, and Barry Mitterhoff at the Plaza Theater in Orlando, Florida. August 4th, 2011

If you live in Orlando and haven’t checked out the Plaza, do so. It’s a great venue: nice sound and maybe a photo op or two.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!
©2011, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Summer Blahs

July 31, 2011INSIDE FLORIDA, Lake Jesupbirds, Eagle, Lake Woodruff, landscape, storm, wildlifeEd Rosack

July in Central Florida is a tough time for photo-ops, especially nature and wildlife photo-ops. The bird breeding season is over, and the heat makes both human and animal activity brief and difficult.

A few of us did scout Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge last weekend. It’s supposed to have the largest summer gathering of Swallowtail Kites in the Southeast US. They spend July and August there while they prepare to migrate to Brazil. We didn’t see any. We’ll try again and I’ll put together a better scouting report.

Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge: Birdless, misty morning

I did manage to make a couple of photos around my neighborhood last week. This one is from Tuesday. I noticed these awesome rain clouds on my way home from work and stopped by a small park on the south shore of Lake Jesup to photograph them.

Might Rain: Looking north from the south shore of Lake Jesup

And this is a photo of one of our neighborhood eagles. We’ve seen it sitting in this tree on many mornings this year.

Neighborhood Bald Eagle: It always amazes me when I see one of these in the wild. What a remarkable comeback they’ve had from near extinction.

So there you have it. My photo life this week.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!
©2011, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Before and After, Again

July 24, 2011INSIDE FLORIDA, Ponce Inlet, Techniquebeach, landscape, lighthouse, Reprocessing, sunsetEd Rosack

This is another entry in my occasional series on reprocessing photos. You can see the other posts here, here, and here. You can also read the original blog post about this image here.

Post-processing skills as well as taste develop over time. New tools come out or get updated. Reviewing your image library for things you may want to change is a good idea. Just don’t spend too much time on post processing – leave enough to go out and make new images too!

This is one of my favorite photographs and one that I’ve even sold, but re-looking at it I saw several things I thought I could make a little better. Here’s the updated version after all my re-edits (which are described below):

After: Ponce Inlet lighthouse, sunset, bird, Final Edit

I started over from the RAW file (you do save your RAW files, don’t you?) and re-did the basic adjustments in Lightroom (color balance, initial exposure adjustments). Then I moved into Photoshop and cleaned up distracting elements (tire tracks, poles, the tip of the cloud just right of the lighthouse, …). I then added a duplicate layer and ran that through Topaz Adjust using the “Spicify” preset to bring up structure, detail, and color saturation. I don’t usually like applying this filter all over an image at 100%, so once back in Photoshop I added a hide all layer mask and partially painted in the effect, using a higher opacity brush for the sky to let more of the filter show and a lower one for the rocks and ocean to mute the filter effect. I then took the result back to Lightroom for final tweaks to color balance, sharpening and a crop to remove part of the sky. I thought that the colors of the sky and rocks were still a little off, so as one last tweak I added graduated filters to help adjust their tints.

For reference purposes, here’s the old edit of this photo:

Before: Ponce Inlet lighthouse, sunset, bird, Initial Edit

Note: you can click the two versions above to go to my Flickr account, where you can view larger versions.

And also for reference, I uploaded the original RAW file (with default development settings in Lightroom) below.

Ponce Inlet lighthouse, sunset, bird, RAW Capture

Would I go to this much effort for every image? No. But sometimes a photo really appeals to me and I want to get the absolute best I can from it. It helps that I enjoy working in Photoshop and learning about new techniques.

So what do you think? Quite a few changes, some more subtle than others – but overall I like the new version better.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!
©2011, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Viera Wetlands Reconnaissance

July 17, 2011INSIDE FLORIDA, Viera Wetlandsbirds, Click Ponds, OspreyEd Rosack

The woman I’m with is wonderful! I thought I used up all my husband points yesterday when she went to see Harry Potter with me. But this morning, she nudged me and asked if we were still going birding. So we did.

I’ve been to Viera Wetlands many times since first discovering it in January of 2010. It’s one of the most consistent places for birding in Central Florida. Today was no exception. We went by the Click Ponds first. The interesting thing was that the water level was very low. We saw a huge number of fish concentrated in small areas in the ponds. The birds gathered around the fish feasting on them. Many of the birds seemed sated and were too full to be interested in more.

We saw Black-necked Stilts, Roseate Spoonbills, Ospreys, Red-winged Blackbirds, Great Egrets, Limpkins, Wood Storks, Great Blue Herons, Tri-colored Herons, Little Blue Herons, Snowy Egrets, Little Egrets, Moorhens, Whistling Ducks, Anhingas, Cormorants, Coots, and other species. You can see a lot of them in this photo:

Click Pond Pano: The water level is low in the Click ponds at Viera Wetlands. This has concentrated the fish and the birds are feasting.

Osprey in flight

Lesson learned: Don’t ignore the Click ponds at Viera Wetlands. Especially at this time of year.

See my other posts about Viera Wetlands here. View my other photos from Viera Wetlands in this Flickr set.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!
©2011, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Comparing landscape and wildlife photography

July 2, 2011Cameras and Photography, Lake Jesup, Techniquebirds, Great Blue Heron, landscapeEd Rosack

I enjoy both nature/landscape photography and wildlife photography. I was thinking about this recently and it occurred to me that these can be quite different from an equipment, skills, and approach perspective.

Landscape: Lake Jesup flood waters after Tropical Storm Fay

Birding: Great Blue Heron profile

Here are some of the things I think are different about the two:

Landscapes	Birding / Wildlife
The quality of light is important (e.g. “Golden hour”). The amount of light isn’t too important: You can make long exposures from your tripod.	The amount of light is important. You need lots of light to get your shutter speed up.
You need to know the location, and figure out sun timing and position. May still be hit or miss depending on the weather.	You need to know about the animal and its habits, and where you might find them. May still be hit or miss depending on the animals (and maybe the weather).
1. Composition, 2. Exposure, 3. Focus	1. Focus, 2. Exposure, 3. Composition
Probably better by yourself: Your location, your vision.	Can be better in groups. Many eyes can help spot things one person will miss.
Good tripod with good ball head. Wide angle lens, small aperture for greater depth of field, long exposure. Frame rate not too important.	Very long lens, large aperture for a fast shutter speed. High frame rate body. Maybe a tripod with a gimbal head.
Not as expensive	Can be very expensive
HDR	no HDR

Have I missed anything? What else is different about these two types of photography?

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!
©2011, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

A summertime visit to MINWR – Black Point and Scrub Ridge Trail

June 19, 2011INSIDE FLORIDA, Merritt Island NWRbirds, BPWD, Florida Scrub Jay, Pig, Rabbit, Reddish Egret, Scrub Ridge Trail, wildlife, WilletEd Rosack

A few of us visited Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge yesterday for the first time in a while. We wanted to see what’s going on at Black Point Wildlife Drive and Scrub Ridge Trail. Since it’s now officially summer time here in Florida, the temperature and humidity is soaring and it’s hard to get motivated for a long hike to see / photograph nature and wildlife. So it’s nice to go out to a place like Black Point where you can drive through instead of having to walk.

The water levels were quite low, which I think is typical this time of year. There weren’t a great many birds, but there were enough to make it interesting. We saw a few of the usual Egrets and Herons, as well as a couple of adult and three or four juvenile Reddish Egrets. There were also some Black Neck Stilts, a Willet or two and a wild and very muddy pig.

We decided to go by Scrub Ridge trail on the way home to check out how the Scrub Jays are doing. They’re fine, although somewhat feisty. Several of us were “dive bombed” and one came so close to Kevin M. that he felt the wind from its wings on his head. While at Scrub Ridge trail we also saw a very young Gopher Tortoise and a rabbit.

I’ve included several photos from the trip below, and you can click on these to see larger versions on Flickr.

Florida Scrub Jay watches us – There was a family of Florida Scrub Jays out yesterday. One or two were real posers. And one of those was a “dive bomber”. It flew at our heads a few times trying to discourage us.

Juvenile Reddish Egret

Rabbit – This little guy froze and looked the other way hoping we wouldn’t see him.

Wild, muddy pig

Willet

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!
©2011, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Ballpark Ospreys

June 12, 2011INSIDE FLORIDABartow, birds, OspreyEd Rosack

Lynn and I went to a function in Bartow, Florida this weekend and didn’t have much time for nature or wildlife photography. But we were cruising around her old neighborhood on Saturday morning and happened to notice an Osprey and nest near the Bartow Civic Center, so we stopped for a bit to investigate.

Osprey in flight

We pulled into the parking lot and got out to the sound of many calling Ospreys. They were all around the ball field at the Civic Center with many nests on the light poles and one or two Ospreys in each nest (most likely juveniles). Between the ones on the nest and the ones flying around, there must have been 20 to 30 visible. We saw this one both carrying a fish and perched with it.

Osprey in flight with breakfast

Osprey on perch with Perch(?) – This bird wasn’t too happy with me getting near its breakfast

I grew up when raptors / birds of prey were very uncommon and when I was young I certainly never saw any in the wild. In 1963, there were less than 500 pairs of nesting bald eagles in the lower 48 states. I can remember when the U.S. banned DDT in 1972 (on June 13th, actually – 39 years tomorrow). Living in Florida now, I see bald eagles quite often and Ospreys all the time. Every time I do, I’m glad Rachel Carson wrote her book.

Some interesting Osprey facts:

It’s a single living species that occurs nearly worldwide
Thankfully, it’s now evaluated as a species of Least Concern
Other names for Osprey: Pandion Haliaeetus, Fish hawk, Sea Hawk, Sea Eagle, White Eagle
They can completely submerge when diving for prey
They have an opposable talon
They generally pair for life, but if mating is unsuccessful, will sometimes “divorce”
A female will choose her partner based on the quality and location of the male’s nest
Parents will hold back food to encourage fledglings to leave the nest
Fledglings will sometimes move to nearby nests where they are fed by other parents

Be ready to make the photo

June 5, 2011INSIDE FLORIDA, TechniquebirdsEd Rosack

I was at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm yesterday morning. There’s still a lot of activity going on with everything from eggs in nests to young birds flying around. It’s definitely worth a visit if you haven’t been this year.

Tri-colored Heron with raised crest

When you’re out photographing, you have look for conditions that will enhance your images. You also need to think ahead and have your camera set-up and ready to go. Otherwise, you’ll miss shots like the one above.

I saw this Tri-colored Heron and the first thing that struck me was the background. A great deal of the time (especially at the Alligator Farm), birds are in among the bushes and there are usually distracting twigs, trees, and other birds behind your subject. A busy background will detract from your image quality. I like to look for situations where there’s space behind the bird and this one had some. I also thought that having my Sigma 150 – 500 OS lens set wide open would be enough to blur out the background. I was a bit worried about the low light level, but I had a flash mounted to help so I made sure I had the right compensation dialed in. I got into place, pre-zoomed, pre-framed, and waited for the bird to strike a good pose. When it raised its crest, I was able to make two quick photos before it moved again. I like the way this one turned out. In the other, the beak is down and it’s not nearly as good a pose.

If I hadn’t seen the opportunity and been ready, I would have missed this photo. Keep your eyes open and be ready!

Viera Wetlands Visit

May 30, 2011INSIDE FLORIDA, Viera Wetlandsbirds, Blue Wing Teal, Cormorant, Flowers, landscape, panoramaEd Rosack

Lynn and I drove over to Viera Wetlands yesterday morning in her Prius. This was our first photo outing with the vehicle and it is outstanding for this purpose. There’s plenty of room. It’s very fuel-efficient when driving in the slow speed mode you use through an area like the wetlands. And, it’s quiet. Cars normally serve as a very good blind for bird photography, but when your vehicle is this quiet, you can get even closer to the subjects without scaring them.

This first image was one of the scenes that we saw. We’d been there for a while and were just turning a corner out in the middle of the wetlands when we both commented about the light on the left side of the car. The sun through the clouds was changing rapidly and I wasn’t set up for landscapes. I ended up asking Lynn to back up and then scrambling to switch to my wide-angle lens. I made the photo using this two image composite technique I described here. I think it came out pretty well for a hand-held, scramble photo.

Swamp grass, flowers, water, and sky

There is lot less activity at the wetlands than there was a month or two ago, but we still saw a good variety of birds. I’ve included a couple below and you can see more in my Viera Wetlands set on Flickr.

Anhinga drying wings: The bird was only a few feet from the car. I had to stitch together a two image panorama, in Photoshop.

Female Blue Wing Teal: This bird let us approach very closely.

I just don’t get these. Can someone help me?

May 22, 2011Cameras and Photography, INSIDE FLORIDA, Lake Eola, VARIOUSlandscape, philosophy, sunsetEd Rosack

OK first, here’s a photo.

Lake Eola at Dusk: Downtown Orlando, Florida

The photo has nothing to do with the subject of the post, but I like it and I thought we should have at least one photo today. I made this one a while ago and went back yesterday to re-process it with some new SW. I was able to bring out more highlight detail as well as adjust the brightness / curves and saturation.

Now for the main section of the post. I promise that this isn’t a rant, although it might sound like it. Also, it isn’t a normal Central Florida Photo Ops post – but there are a few photo related things I need help with. I admit, I just don’t get them. Do you get them? Can you help me?

I don’t know if you’re a Flickr member or not. If you take a look at Flickr Explore, you’ll notice that there’s a surprising (at least to me) number of doll or toy photos there each day. To each his or her own, but I just don’t get this. I don’t really see why these are interesting to everyone. What is artistic or appealing about photos of toy dolls? How do these get on Flickr Explore? What am I missing? (Note: Flickr revised their Explore algorithm in 2020 and it’s much better now!)
The Lensbaby: OK, I’ve never used one, but why would I? It’s an inexpensive, imprecise tilt lens, with not so good optics. You can sort of cause an area within the frame to be in focus while blurring the rest. Is it just fun to play around with? Why would you put this on an expensive DSLR? Can you really do something artistic and controlled with it? Can anyone point me to an outstanding photo made with a Lensbaby? If so, was the Lensbaby critical to the photo or could you make it another way (Gaussian filters anyone)?
Micro 4/3 cameras: Yes, they have interchangeable lenses and larger sensors (=better image quality) than point and shoot cameras. And a 4/3 kit is smaller and lighter than a DSLR kit. But … Is it your only camera or a secondary / backup / travel camera? If it’s a secondary camera, you have to buy a whole new kit (body, lenses, flash?). That’s pretty expensive. If you want small and light, why not go for smallest and lightest (e.g. a point and shoot) for a lot less money. If you want quality why not go for quality (e.g. your DSLR). Will you be happy with a compromise? —– 9/2/11 Update: I think I do get this now. These cameras are much smaller and lighter. The lenses are less expensive than corresponding DSLR lenses. And they can be used (with reasonably long lenses) in places that don’t allow DSLR photography – like most theaters, some sports arenas, etc. Since they are less conspicuous, many people prefer to use them instead of DSLRs for street photography. And finally, although micro 4/3 sensor quality lags a generation or more behind the best APS C size sensors, it is enormously better than compact point and shoot sensors and good enough for most applications.
Not posting EXIF data with images: Some people go to great lengths to make sure the EXIF data captured by their camera gets filtered out before they post the photo. Why? How does it hurt to have someone on-line look at this data and try to understand how the photo was made?
Paying all those $ for a DSLR kit and not using it: You’ve got to have it with you, know how to use it, and use it. If you don’t know how to use it, use it anyway, make mistakes, and learn from them.
Paying all those $ for a DSLR kit and using it like a phone camera: Don’t leave it on “A”. Learn what all those other modes are and use them. Take charge – don’t let the camera think for you.
Not post processing: Some of my friends have expensive DSLR cameras and they live with the .jpg output of their cameras. I’ve tried to explain the benefits of RAW capture and post processing, but they don’t want to listen. I just don’t get this.
All right, no one gets this: Flash in the stands at sporting events and concerts: But why do you still see this? How can anyone do this without dying of embarrassment?
Film: Film is fun, but for most serious photographers, digital is so much better. OK, maybe I do get the 8×10 view camera people, but still It’s a lot of extra work and many compromises for an improvement in a few small areas.
Comment Spam on photo blogs (OK, any blog): I think the intent of comment spam is to get links back to their oh so relevant pages. Really? How are children’s shoes related to Central Florida Photo Ops? And that’s a G-rated one. There are many that are R-rated or worse. Why would I allow these comments through on my site? Does anyone? I really don’t get this.

If you “get” any of these things, or would just like to leave a comment to tell me how crazy I am, feel free (although I do moderate comments because of #10).