Florida and the Keys – an Update

September 24, 2017Florida Keys, INSIDE FLORIDAblack and white, buildings, landscape, sea turtle, sunset, wildlifeEd Rosack

A few more photos from our trip late last month along with some post hurricane(s) status in the area…

Watching the sun set in Key West. Sunset is a big attraction down there. This view is from the Hyatt Centric, where we stayed. They opened again on 22 September but say that “some amenities are temporarily limited or unavailable”. We’ve heard the marina where I made this photo is “gone”.Injured Loggerhead – Staff members treat an injured Loggerhead Sea Turtle at the Turtle Hospital on Marathon. Their website (www.turtlehospital.org) says the facility and staff made it through Hurricane Irma OK, but there’s extensive damage all over Marathon.Key West: Fort Zachary Taylor Fortress Interior. Their website says they’re closed until further notice with no info on how much damage they suffered.

Key West Street Scenes: Sloppy Joe’s Bar first opened the day Prohibition ended. Ernest Hemingway was a favorite patron. Their website says they’re open for business.

One of the people who run the snorkel boat trips at Bahia Honda has a YouTube channel: “Livin’ the Keys Life” and he’s posting info about Bahia Honda and Marathon. The damage there looks pretty bad. I imagine it will be a while before it re-opens.

As far as locations around Central Florida, please check them before you go too. For example Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is reporting lots of road closures due to hurricane damage while Orlando Wetlands Park says they’re open for public use (http://www.cityoforlando.net/wetlands/). And Lynn and I drove over the Lake Jesup bridge again today and the sunflower fields are still flooding. We saw a few blooms on high ground close to the road, but we’ll have to wait until next year on these.

You can check on other parks at the Florida State Park storm information web page: https://www.floridastateparks.org/content/storm-information.

And there’s info on National Parks in our area on this site: https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2017/09/no-details-fate-national-parks-caribbean.

Tourism is a huge part of the economy in Florida and especially in the Keys. One way you can help them recover is by visiting. Just make sure they’re ready before you go, and they’ll be very glad to see you.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog.

Counting our Blessings

September 16, 2017VARIOUShurricane, rainbow, sunflowerEd Rosack

Hurricane news has dominated this week, and it’s been hard to think much about photo ops. Irma’s path through the Caribbean and Florida left huge swaths of devastation – destroying lives, homes, livelihoods, and infrastructure. The Keys are especially hard hit. I’m sure you’ve seen reports so I won’t repeat them here.

I will let you know that our family is counting our blessings. We have some roof damage, and we’re dealing with a few other repairs (and damage from the Equifax leaks too!) but all of our utilities are working. There are many places close-by that are still without power. It seems like most businesses in Central Florida are gradually re-stocking and re-opening – so unlike some, we’re able to get groceries and gas.

Bright Double Rainbow after Hurricane Irma – Our daughter MK (and her cat Milo) stayed with us during the storm and when the Orange County Florida curfew ended on Monday night, we drove her back to her place. On the way home, we saw this incredibly bright double rainbow and stopped in the empty McDonald’s parking lot to make a photo with my iPhone. The skies were clearing and hopefully it’s a sign that everyone affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma are on the way back to recovery.

There’s still a lot of flooding in Florida and more is forecast. In our area, Lake Jesup is over its banks and may go higher. I’m guessing that the flood waters will drown the late September / early October sunflower fields along the north side of the lake this year, similar to what happened in 2008 after Tropical Storm Fay. Even if they do bloom, getting out to them will be a soggy mess at best. We’ll probably have to wait for next year. Hopefully then we’ll be wondering about photo ops again instead of storms.

To everyone suffering from the effects of the recent hurricanes, our hearts go out to you. For the rest of us that haven’t suffered as much – take time to remember how lucky we are and what’s really important.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. I’ll try to get back to the normal blog articles soon.
©2017, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Hurricane Irma may pass directly over Bahia Honda State Park

September 9, 2017Florida Keys, INSIDE FLORIDA, Must do listastronomy, fishing, landscape, sunset, wildlifeEd Rosack

This morning, we’re waiting to see what Hurricane Irma is going to do and it looks like it might pass directly over Bahia Honda State Park as a Cat 4 or Cat 5 storm. It’s hard to imagine the damage that could result.

Lynn and I returned from the Florida Keys a week ago. We spent a couple of days in Key West and then were lucky enough to stay in one of the 6 cabins at Bahia Honda State Park for 3 more days. They’re built on stilts but even so are only about 10 -15 feet above the ocean. And we felt them swaying at times while we were there – even in good weather.

The cabins are on the right side of the overseas highway as you head down to the keys. They’re furnished with everything you need for a great Florida vacation. And the location on a beautiful lagoon is wonderful. These next three photos were all made on the patio, just a few steps from the cabin door:

Loggerhead Sea Turtle – The ranger told us that turtles, dolphin, and tarpon like the lagoon because it’s so quiet and protected. We’d see one or more of Loggerheads from the cabin porch almost every time we stepped out to look. We also saw Tarpon rolling on the surface a few times and maybe a dolphin or two.

Sunset Fishing – You can fish in the lagoon by the cabins, but other water activity isn’t allowed. We often saw campers fishing there.

Another view from the cabin porch. The skies at Bahia Honda are some of the darkest in Florida. Lynn and I got up at about 1:30am on our first night. The moon had set and we had a stunning view of this part of the Milky Way, right from the patio. And the bugs weren’t biting too much!

The Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary is about 8 miles southwest of Bahia Honda and snorkeling trips leave for the reef twice a day. It was a relaxing swim – the water temperature was in the high 80’s, which can cause storms to strengthen.

Looe Key Sergeant majors and others – The visibility wasn’t very good the day were were there, but the number of fish we saw was still impressive.

There are also 72 campsites in the Park. Many of them are in awesome locations too.

Between the bridges – This is at sunset, between the old abandoned bridge on the left and the new one on the right. You can see some of the lovely Bahia Honda campsites on the left side of the frame.

Lynn and I thought of this visit to Bahia Honda as a “scouting trip”. Based on what we saw, we definitely want to go back.

To everyone in Irma’s path and to everyone impacted by Harvey: We’re thinking of you.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – stay safe in the storm!

Lake Apopka Restoration Area

September 3, 2017INSIDE FLORIDA, Lake Apopkabirds, Dragonfly, Flowers, landscape, red-shouldered hawk, Swallow-tailed Kite, wildlifeEd Rosack

If you take a look at my blog archives, you’d see only a few mentions of Lake Apopka and the wildlife drive that goes through the restoration area out there. If you look for Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge posts, you’d find almost 70! Judging solely by these numbers, you might assume that MINWR is a better place to visit. At least some of the time, you’d be wrong!

I met my friend Robert Wilson one morning a couple of weeks ago at the entrance to Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive. I hadn’t seen him (or Lake Apopka!) in a while.

Country Road – Near the Lust Road entrance to the drive

There’s been lots of activity there this summer. Robert and others described feeding frenzies in the ponds by the pump house. Alligators and birds have gorged on fish, creating some great photo opportunities.

And people have seen many interesting birds too including Swallowtail and Mississippi kites, Brown Thrashers, Fulvous Whistling Ducks, an Ash-throated Flycatcher, Purple Martins, and others.

Swallow-tailed Kite

Red Shouldered Hawk with Field Mouse (in right claw). It had just caught the mouse on the road and carried it to this tree.

You can get a good idea of the birds at a place using eBbird. Here’s their chart of bird observations by species and month for Lake Apopka. And here is the same thing for MINWR.

On our trip, we also saw several kinds of dragon flies:

Halloween Pennant Dragonfly

And many water lilies blooming, some of them in very pretty light:

Water Lily

MINWR can be quiet through the hot part of the year and the times I checked on it this summer, I saw few birds / wildlife. Conditions were poor with little rainfall for long periods followed by some huge fires along Black Point Wildlife Drive.

On the other hand, Lake Apopka’s been a wonderful place to visit this summer. It’s a shame I didn’t go over there more often. Not too long ago, the lake was polluted with farm runoff. Restoration efforts and the opening of the wildlife drive about two years ago have made it a premier nature and wildlife destination in Central Florida.

It’s about the same distance from me as MINWR. I’m going to make a point of visiting more often. If you haven’t been recently – go.

You can see more Lake Apopka images in this folder on Flickr. And MINWR photos in this folder.

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

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!

A few more New Mexico photos

July 30, 2017New Mexico, OUTSIDE FLORIDAblack and white, Flowers, infrared, landscape, panorama, travel, tree, vacationEd Rosack

I hope you don’t mind a few more New Mexico images for today’s blog post. There was a lot to see out there and I really like many of the photos I came back with.

Way up.

This ridge is close to the Sandia Peak Tramway . I made the image through the window on the way up. I wanted a mountain goat or some other wildlife to pose for me but they didn’t get the memo!

Soaptree Yucca. IR, B&W, 2 frame panorama

We saw these plants blooming in several places. This one was at White Sands National Monument. The heat and glare were incredible there. I think the IR camera did well taming the harsh mid day light.

Clouds, Mountains, Desert. Near San Augustin Peak, NM. 7 frame panorama.

I find western landscapes extremely appealing. Maybe it’s just that they’re so different from Florida. When I saw these mountains, I made MK pull over so I could make this image.

Volcano Cinder Cone. IR, B&W, 3 frame panorama

This is a view of one of the three Volcanoes visible from the Volcano Day Use Area in Petroglyph National Monument, a little west of Albuquerque. When I got back to the car, I realized I’d dropped a lens cap somewhere along the path. I did go back and look for it and of course, couldn’t find it. Does that happen to you too?

San Miguel Mission interior.

Located in Santa Fe, NM, this is the oldest known church in the US. It was built between 1610 and 1626. Sunday Mass is still celebrated. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Miguel_Mission for more info.

I hope you enjoyed seeing these five more NM photos. Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!

In the Back Garden…

July 23, 2017INSIDE FLORIDA, VARIOUSbee, bird, FlowersEd Rosack

Lynn’s been busy in our back garden and suddenly it’s even more photogenic. Lots of new plantings / flowers and they’ve attracted some interesting visitors. I’ve been keeping a camera at the ready so I can go out quickly and see what’s happening.

The Bird of Paradise plants are a new treat. They’re blooming and I couldn’t resist making some photos.

Bird of Paradise (partial)

This blue bit is the stamen – I like this composition more than one I made of the entire flower. I left a small piece of the rest of the bloom in the bottom left of the frame for context.

Bees and Butterflies seem as happy with the new garden as I am.

Bumblebee in flight (BIF) (Olympus E-M1 II Pro Capture mode)

Gulf Fritillary butterfly

I briefly spotted some Ruby-throated Hummingbirds too. But in my excitement to let Lynn know, I let go of the screen door too quickly and the noise was enough to drive them off. I’ll be more careful next time and hopefully get some photos of them as well.

I’m very lucky that Lynn has set up such nice photo ops for me! I can’t wait to see what else she arranges in front of my lens.

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