Category Archives: INSIDE FLORIDA

Another Central Florida Wildflower post

April 11, 2010INSIDE FLORIDA, Ocalabarn, FlowersEd Rosack

Wildflower photography is a little different in Central Florida than some other areas of the country (for example, see: http://ca.myphotoscout.com/2010/04/07/wildflower-routes-through-southern-california/). Some might say it’s more challenging here, and I doubt anyone comes to Central Florida specifically to photograph wildflowers. None the less, wildflower photo ops are around here too if you keep your eyes open.

Roadside Flowers alongside the Florida Turnpike. I saw these while driving home from Gainesville, Florida yesterday afternoon. I had to stop and photograph them.

I’ve posted previously about wildflower and roadside flower photography in Central Florida. If you haven’t read these before, check them out:

https://edrosack.com/2009/05/09/roadside-flowers-2/ is about roadside flowers on the way to Mount Dora.
https://edrosack.com/2007/10/07/storm-and-flowers/ and https://edrosack.com/2009/10/10/lake-jessup-conservation-area-wildflowers/ are about wildflowers around Lake Jessop
https://edrosack.com/2009/05/09/wetland-wildflowers/ mentions wildflowers at Orlando Wetlands Park.

My drive yesterday reminded me that the Turnpike and Interstates in Florida break out in bloom this time of year too. I’ve seen this before – here’s a photo I made way back in 2001 on the side of I-75 near Ocala, Florida:

New Flowers, Old Barn

So if you’re in Yosemite or some other photogenic place during wildflower season that’s great. If not, don’t worry about it. Stop and smell the flowers wherever you are and make some interesting photos too.

Note: You can click the photos above to go to Flickr where you can see a larger version.

Dusk at Lake Eola

April 4, 2010INSIDE FLORIDA, Lake Eolaastronomy, birds, sunsetEd Rosack

Intro / Description

Dusk, Lake Eola, 8:14pm, 17mm, 6.0 seconds @ f/8

This large lake in downtown Orlando formed from a sinkhole and has been a city park since 1892. It’s famous for its fountain – which unfortunately isn’t working now although it’s supposed to be repaired in 2010. There are swan shaped paddle boats that you can rent and live swans you can feed along with occasional other birds that you can watch and photograph. There’s also a playground, a small outdoor café and an amphitheater for special events. The night we were there the First Annual Orlando Chillounge Night at Lake Eola was taking place on the east side of the lake, which made for quite a crowd.

We saw a boat leave the dock as we arrived with what looked like fireworks aboard. We kept an eye on it and tried to be ready when they launched. After a while, we gave up and of course, they launched right after that. There was only one quick set. Lynn really enjoyed watching us scramble to reset our cameras and by the time we were ready there was nothing left but a few smoke trails. Oh well, a reason to go back.

If you’re looking for a place in Orlando to take a photo walk, practice some street photography, and / or make some cityscape images at sunset – Lake Eola is a good place to start.

Info for Photographers

Photo hints: Get there well before sunset and stay for a while after. You never know what the sky colors will do. You’ll want to set up on the south-east side for sunset. After sunset, try a few small aperture / long exposure photos to blur the water in the fountains and make the lights into nice star shapes.

Tripod/Monopod: No problem – there’s plenty of room to set up. You’ll definitely need one for long exposures. Bring your cable release or remote too.

Lenses: This is a wide-angle photo-op. My 16 – 35mm lens worked nicely to take in the whole lake and cityscape. To practice your street photography a 35mm will probably work, although you might want to bring another lens (24 – 70?) too.

Best time to visit: You’ve heard me say before that spring is a wonderful time in Central Florida. The weather is just fantastic. We had temperatures in the 70s and the humidity wasn’t too high. There were some insects out, but they weren’t the biting kind.

Other: Parking could be a problem depending on what else is going on when you visit. We were there on a Saturday evening, and even with an event happening at the east end of the lake, we found a parking spot in a lot about a block south for $5. The park hours are Mon-Sun 6 a.m. – 12 a.m

Summary

My Lake Eola photo set on Flickr:	The set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/sets/72157623643136939/Here’s a slide show of the images (click to start, and when running click to go to the photo on Flickr):
Website:	http://www.cityoforlando.net/FPR/HTML/Parks/lakeeola.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_eola
Address / Phone:	195 N Rosalind Avenue, Orlando, Florida(407) 246-2827
Central Florida Photo Ops Rating:	Nice evening for a stroll. Bring your photo gear!

Flower baskets & street lights

March 28, 2010INSIDE FLORIDA, TechniqueFlowersEd Rosack

You know – photo ops are everywhere. I’m convinced that we often don’t see them just because we’ve grown so used to what’s in front of our eyes.

Here’s an exercise for you: Next time you’re out and about in your home town, take a camera. Pretend you’re a tourist in another city or country you’ve never been to. Really look at things like you’re seeing them for the first time. Examine everything with fresh eyes. I’m sure if you try this, a photo op or two will present itself.

This little cafe was around the corner from where I waited for Lynn this morning. I liked the scene enough to share it.

An outdoor cafe in Lake Mary.

You can click the photo to see a larger version on Flickr. Thanks for looking.

Sunrise, swamp, birds, gators

March 21, 2010INSIDE FLORIDA, Merritt Island NWRAlligator, Belted Kingfisher, birds, BPWD, landscape, panorama, Spoonbill, sunrise, wildlifeEd Rosack

We’re really blessed in Central Florida with many places that photography and nature enthusiasts can visit. The Photography Interest Group took another trip to Black Point Wildlife Drive yesterday. There was a lot to see.

I used a 750mm effective focal length lens to shoot this sunrise photo. I like the transparent look of the trees in front of the sun.

A 4 shot panorama.

Kevin McKinney (who has the knack for spotting things) let us know there were kingfishers in the area. I saw this one (my first ever) and made a very quick photo hand-held out the window at 750mm (eq). Thank goodness for optical stabilization! It was terribly back-lit, but the best I could do. It flew off as soon as we opened the door, living up to their reputation for being very skittish.

Belted Kingfisher

Like the previous time I was there, we saw many spoonbills. This one posed for us for a while. It wasn’t until I got home that I noticed the fishing line wrapped around its bill. Please, please think twice before you throw anything in the water.

3/22/10 update: Good news! Kevin Krause reports that the fishing line was gone a little later.

A beautiful bird. I hope it can get the fishing line untangled from its upper bill.

And finally, here’s another gator eye photo. In this one you can see both Keith and Ed in the upper right.

2 photographers, 4 meters away, 8 foot wild alligator.

These and other photos are also posted in my Black Point set on Flickr, where you can view a larger version of them. For more information on Black Point, you can visit the official site, or search my blog for earlier posts I’ve done. Thanks for visiting!

The Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (Disney's EPCOT)

March 15, 2010INSIDE FLORIDA, Orlando, Theme Parksbonsai, Disney, EPCOT, Flowers, reviewsEd Rosack

Intro / Description

Disney opened the EPCOT theme park in 1982. It is a different sort of park with two main areas: Future world, and the World Showcase. They also occasionally have special events, which can greatly add to the photo op quotient.

Future world has a mix of rides, and the ones we enjoyed the most were Mission Space, Test Track and Spaceship Earth. The Seas with Nemo & Friends is aimed at small children, but there is a nice, large aquarium there as well.

World Showcase is where you can enjoy shopping, food and a sample of culture from many places around the world. Pavilions include: Norway (don’t miss the Maelstrom ride!), Mexico, China, Germany, Italy, The American Adventure Japan, Morocco (check out the shops and architecture), France, United Kingdom, and Canada. There are many fine restaurants, and although a little pricey – you don’t have to settle for standard theme park food. Be sure to make a reservation early.

Gifts of Morocco

The EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival runs from March 3 – May 16, 2010 so this is an especially nice time for a photographer to visit. The entire park is planted with flowers with many Disney themed topiaries throughout. There was also a collection of bonsai trees near the Japanese pavilion when we were there.

Bonsai boca

The Flower and Garden Festival also has some special activities such as The Pixie Hollow Fairy Garden, Fawn’s Butterfly House, The Community Garden and Flower Power Concert Series and more. I was impressed by all of this, but the Butterfly Garden was still getting started when we were there.

Intense Flower

Info for Photographers

Photo hints: Make sure you keep your eyes open – there are photo ops everywhere.

Tripod/Monopod: Definitely allowed – I saw several people with tripods and quite a bit of high end camera gear.

Lenses: For the Flower Exhibition, a macro lens was nice. You’ll want a general purpose zoom for most of the park. I didn’t see a lot of need for a longer lens. I used a 105mm macro on my D700 for the flowers and other things and my Canon S90 for some shots.

Best time to visit: Spring time is a wonderful time in Central Florida. The weather is great and the The Flower and Garden show runs through May 16th.

Other: Like many of the Orlando parks, it’s pricey. General admission is now $79 for adults and $68 for children. You’ll have to budget an additional $14 for parking and additional money for any food and gifts you buy. There are sometimes discounts for Florida residents.

Summary

The EPCOT theme park is a place where the entire family can have fun, while at the same time providing a large and varied number of photo ops for the photography enthusiast. The photos in this post are just a few of the ones I made, and there was much more to see. See below for links to the rest.

My EPCOT photo set on Flickr:	The set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/sets/72157623621620712/ Here’s a slide show of the images (click to start, and when running click to go to the photo on Flickr):
Website:	http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/epcot/
Address / Phone:	1510 Avenue of the Stars Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830 (407) 824-4321?
Central Florida Photo Ops Rating:	Fun family day – will keep the photographer interested!

It takes teamwork – Florida Sandhill Crane nest

March 7, 2010INSIDE FLORIDA, Viera WetlandsAlligator, birds, Sandhill Crane, wildlifeEd Rosack

We’re very fortunate to have Sandhill Cranes in Central Florida. You can see these large wading birds all around the area and you often see them in groups of two to four. Usually the group is a family with two larger birds (the parents) and one or two smaller juveniles.

For a few weeks last year, I regularly saw one family on my way home from work – they were often in a field next to the entrance ramp where I get on the toll road . It was interesting to watch the young bird grow and eventually leave the parents. I’ve also seen them in parking lots and even crossing major roads (on foot!).

According to Wikipedia, The Florida Sandhill Crane subspecies is estimated to have some 5,000 individuals remaining and is protected in our state. Sad fact: Sandhill Cranes are hunted in several western states and Canada. Fun fact: Ten million year old fossils of the Sandhill crane have been found which makes it the oldest known bird species still surviving.

Sandhill Cranes and nest – Nikon D90, ISO 200, f/8, 1/640 sec, Sigma 150-500mm @ 500mm, 60 meters distance

I didn’t realize that Sandhill Cranes nest on the ground. I saw a nest for the first time yesterday at Vierra Wetlands and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. How has this species survived for ten million years using this strategy? Can you imagine how difficult it is to protect a nest from all the predators in the middle of a marsh? I saw large alligators not far from this nest and I’m certain that there are raccoons, snakes and other things that would love to eat eggs or small birds close by.

Alligator on bank at Vierra Wetlands – Nikon D90, ISO 200, f/8, 1/640 sec, Sigma 150-500mm @ 500mm

iBird says that both parents incubate the eggs during the day, but only the female does so at night. It doesn’t say what the male bird does at night, but it must have to help defend the female. I can only conclude that these birds are very fierce defenders. Alligators and other predatory animals must learn to leave them alone – after all, modern alligators have been around for about six to 12 million years!

Red buds and blue spring sky

March 5, 2010Cameras and Photography, INSIDE FLORIDAFlowers, treeEd Rosack

High above against the blue spring sky, mighty trees carry out their life purpose.

A photographer should notice and share.

Comparing Gatorland to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm

February 28, 2010Gatorland, INSIDE FLORIDA, St. Augustine, St. Augustine Alligator Farmbirds, Black Crowned Night Heron, reviews, Tri-colored HeronEd Rosack

Intro

Tri-color heron at Gatorland

A few weeks ago, I promised to compare the St. Augustine Alligator Farm to Gatorland from the point of view of a nature / wildlife photography enthusiast. And in this post, I’ll do it.

This entry is only a top-level summary of what you can expect at each place. For more information, please look at earlier posts I’ve done, which you can find via the blog table of contents or by using the search box at the top of the page.

Black Crowned Night Heron roosting at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm.

Summary table

Both of these parks have rookeries where wild birds come to roost. This concentration of avian visitors is very handy for the bird photographer. Why would you pick one over the other to visit? Both cater to photographers and try to make it easy to capture images of wild birds. This table lists other factors that I think are important when comparing these parks. I’ve listed each along with a comment to explain and a + or – rating to show which place I think comes out ahead on that factor.

Factor:	Gatorland	Alligator Farm
Birds
variety:	Herons, egrets, spoonbills, wood storks, anhinga, limpkins, vultures, others+	Herons, egrets, spoonbills, wood storks, vultures, others+
number of birds:	Many+	Many+
Distance:	Birds can be quite close and are used to humans, with some nesting within feet of the boardwalk. Some species are high in the trees.+	Birds can be quite close and are used to humans, with some nesting within feet of the boardwalk. Some species are high in the trees.+
behavior:	Natural and varied. Courting, brooding, nesting, hatching, fledging, etc.+	Natural and varied. Courting, brooding, nesting, hatching, fledging, etc.+
Other wildlife:	Large variety, with most of the animals easily accessible to photographers.+	Large variety, with most of the animals easily accessible to photographers.+
Information available:	Lots of info available on the Website. There is a Flickr group where you can see the types of photos possible.+	Lots of info available on the Website, There is a Flickr group, where you can see the types of photos possible. ~~A Yahoo group used to post rookery updates, but has~~ now been replaced by an Alligator Farm Blog.
Exhibits and shows:	Several, good for the kids.+	Some, good for the kids.
Price:	$20 – 100 (adults). Some discounts available.	$20 – 70 (adults)
Photo pass available:	Yes: re-instated in 2012. February through July, 7:30am to dusk. $99.99.	Yes, $70 – with early entry at 8:00am+
Proximity	~40 minutes from Winter Springs. Closer to Orlando.+	~1 hour, 50 minutes from Winter Springs. Farther from Orlando.-
Other photo ops in the area:	Gatorland is a little isolated from other photo opportunities in the area.	Historic St. Augustine has a huge number of photo opportunities.+
Other attractions in the area:	Many attractions and parks in the Orlando area within a short drive.+	A few smaller attractions are close by.-

Conclusions

Which one should you go to? For nature and wildlife photography, I would say you probably can’t go wrong with either place. If you haven’t been to either one, choose the whichever is most convenient for you.

If you’re going for more than just photography, then Gatorland is also probably a little more well-rounded, with more to do. On the other hand, the Alligator farm makes for a nice day trip from Orlando when you combine it with a stop in the historical district or the fort.

You can capture stunning images at both places, so pick the one that is most convenient for you.

Central Florida Bird Photography Scouting Report

February 21, 2010INSIDE FLORIDAbirds, BPWDEd Rosack

It’s February and the birding / nesting season is moving into full swing in Central Florida. In the last three days I’ve been to four of our local birding hot spots. If you’re into birding or bird photography it’s time to get your gear out and get out there! Here’s a short status report on what’s happening at the sites I visited.

(Note: click on any of the photos below to go to Flickr, where you can see them larger. You can also read posts I’ve done on each of these places. Go to the index page to find them.)

Black Point Wildlife Drive, Friday, mid-morning.

Spoonbills are the main attraction – they were everywhere. The best place I found was in the pool just behind the parking area near the rest rooms, where several were putting on a show, posing and sweeping their bills through the shallow water. There were also the usual herons, egrets, etc. and I made one nice photo of an egret eating breakfast.

Spoonbill in flight

St. Augustine Alligator Farm, Friday, late morning

There’s some construction going on at the Alligator Farm. They’ve rebuilt part of the boardwalk through the rookery, and when I was there Friday, they had a backhoe going digging out and moving concrete from one area. I hope that all the noise doesn’t keep the nesting birds away. I did see one pair of Great Egrets building a nest and several other birds roosting in trees. The alligators of course, are there and quite happy to pose for photos. I made this one where you can see me reflected in its eye if you enlarge it to full size.

Self Portrait

Orlando Wetlands Park, Saturday, early morning

Orlando Wetlands closes for the winter and just re-opened in February. This year, they have many activities planed for each weekend. Last Saturday the Education Center was open with an exhibit of Orange Audubon Chertok Photo Contest winners, tram and hiking tours as well as videos showings about the park. As a result, the park was as busy as I’ve ever seen it. Perhaps all the people are making the birds skittish – I had a hard time getting very close to any. There’s supposed to be a White Faced Ibis at the park and although I did not see it, many people did. I like this landscape I made which shows how pretty this park is on a calm morning.

Swamp Landscape

Viera Wetlands, Sunday, early morning

I only discovered Viera Wetlands this year and I continue to be amazed at the quantity and diversity of the birds you can see there. Today was no exception. We saw an American Bittern, a Wesley’s Snipe and many other varieties. The Great Blue Heron’s are nesting and some already have chicks. One Great Blue Heron couple put on a show for us with the male fetching sticks for inspection and use by his partner.

Great Blue Heron takes stick back to nest

I posted additional photos on Flickr. You can browse the set here, or view a slide show at this link.

Florida tree colors

February 14, 2010INSIDE FLORIDAFlowers, Red Maple, treeEd Rosack

I apologize in advance to all my colder climate readers for saying this (hi Sis), but our weather has been chilly lately. We’ve had several nights in the last couple of months with hard freezes and many more with temperatures down in the 30s. The Florida panhandle even had snow a few days ago! So it’s surprising to see our trees starting to bud and blossom already. We don’t get a lot of color in our fall foliage but beginning around this time of year, it seems nature tries to make up for it. This can lead to some nice photo-ops if you keep your eyes open.

Lynn and I went out for a Valentine’s Day breakfast this morning and on the way back, she drove me around for a few minutes looking for good examples to photograph with my Canon S90. By the way, I very much like the S90. It has a great deal of capability in a very small package.

Here’s one tree that caught my eye (click these to go to Flickr where you can see larger versions).

Red maple tree and reflection

The color isn’t from leaves, but from red seed pods. Here’s what they look like up close.

Red Maple seed pod close up

We have other trees starting to bloom too. Here’s a white one, with some more of the red maple trees in the background.

White blooms, blue sky

So – keep a camera with you and keep your eyes open. You might find something interesting to capture. Also – if you can help with identifying these specific trees, please comment on the post or send me an email. Thank you, Kevin McKinney for helping me identify the Red Maple trees.