Goodbye, Airstream Ranch

February 26, 2017INSIDE FLORIDA, Orlandoairstream, black and white, infrared, landscapeEd Rosack

The Airstream Ranch that was along I-4 in Central Florida is gone now. It was demolished on February 9th, 2017 to make way for a new RV dealership.

I’ll miss seeing our own “trailer henge” when I drive down I-4. This is a good reminder to always have your camera with you and make the photo when you see it. You might not get a second chance!

If you’re interested, here’s a Tampa Bay Times article about the demolition: ~~http://www.tbo.com/news/iconic-airstream-ranch-display-demolished-to-make-room-for-new-airstream-dealership-20170209/~~(sorry, no longer available)

Here’s the post I wrote about this place in 2013: https://edrosack.com/2013/03/08/airstream-ranch/

And I have a few other photos in this Flickr album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/albums/72157633031564941

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos – before it’s too late!
©2017, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Followed by Rain Clouds

February 19, 2017Cruise Ships, OUTSIDE FLORIDAlandscape, rainbowEd Rosack

The weather was poor at times on our eastern Caribbean cruise late last year. We had strong winds and high seas on two days that kept us from doing things we wanted. And it seemed like clouds and rain followed us everywhere.

I didn’t mind. I’ve written before about the benefits of clouds in landscape photography – clear blue skies can be boring! And so I looked for interesting clouds and lighting:

Saba Island – Near the British Virgin Islands. 9 frame stitched panorama.

And started noticing rainbows too. You can’t have rainbows without rain clouds!

Double Rainbow at Saba Island – 4 frame, iPhone, RAW, stitched panorama.

We were in Road Town Harbor as squalls moved through, and saw this rainbow develop across from the ship. I looked for but didn’t see a pot of gold (or leprechaun) in the water at either end!

Rainbow in Road Town Harbor – 3 frame, iPhone, RAW, stitched panorama.

On another day in San Juan harbor we saw this:

Rainbows over the cruise ship, San Juan, Puerto Rico – single frame, iPhone, RAW

Cloudy skies add interest, and chasing rainbows is fun photography. I really didn’t mind being followed by rain clouds. You shouldn’t either – look for all the opportunities it creates.

You can see more photos from the trip in this album on Flickr.

Thank you for stopping by and reading my blog. Now, go make some cloudy sky photos!

Whale of a Trip!

February 11, 2017OUTSIDE FLORIDA, Washington StateHumpback, landscape, travel, Whale, wildlifeMaryKate

I was lucky to have some downtime in Seattle before a recent business trip to Vancouver, so one of my best friends – Jessica – popped up from San Francisco to join me for some National Park adventures and whale watching! I love exploring our National Park system and its jewels – and we packed a lot of them into one weekend.

Our first stop was Mt. Rainier National Park – America’s fifth oldest national park. Blessed with amazingly perfect sunny weather, we spent Saturday driving through the park and stopping along the way to appreciate its beauty. The Nisqually Entrance is open year round, and with an SUV its an easy drive through the park with lots of scenic overlooks. But winter at Mt. Rainier means renting chains to carry in your car – even if you’re not required to put them on – or you’ll have to turn around and drive to the nearest rental place (like we did!). Plan time to stop at the Longmire and Paradise Visitors Centers to learn more about the park’s history, ask a ranger questions, or get a souvenir!

Mt. Rainier

On Sunday, we took a 4-5 hour whale watching trip with Island Adventures out of downtown Seattle – I’d highly recommend this company, and Tyson our naturalist was very knowledgeable! While January isn’t peak whale watching season, they still run a trip everyday and have luck spotting resident orcas or a humpback here and there. While the first few hours of our trip were pretty quiet and peaceful, we were excited to find Speckles the Humpback Whale – a juvenile humpback that has been spending a lot of time in the area. Named Speckles for his distinguishing marks on his back and tail, this little guy gave us a show for about an hour fishing, surfacing, and even blowing his whale stench in our direction (quite a smell if you’ve never experienced it!).

Speckles and his Speckles

Speckles really gave the two guys on this boat a close encounter!

Speckles the Humpback Whale

We finished the weekend with a scenic drive through the Western part of North Cascades National Park. While there were many breathtaking views, it was mostly closed for the season (or for Martin Luther King Day) – so we’ll have to come another time when its warmer. It was still worth taking the longer loop back to the airport (vs. the interstate) for views like this:

North Cascades National Park

More photos from my trip can be found in my album here, or check out Ed’s previous post with additional whale photos.

Thanks for reading about my whale of a trip. Now go make some photos!

Three Photography Observations

February 5, 2017Cameras and Photography, Cocoa, INSIDE FLORIDA, TechniqueHi-res, landscape, Olympus, sunriseEd Rosack

When I left to meet Kevin K. and Tom M. for some photography before dawn last Monday, the sky was clear, the stars were shining and I didn’t think the sunrise would be very good. If I hadn’t been meeting friends, I might have gone back to bed! Looking at the photos in this post, it’s easy to see I was wrong – the sunrise was beautiful.

Observation 1: Go. You can’t always anticipate what you’ll see when you’re out photographing. But if you stay home, you know you won’t see anything.

Calm Blue Hour. 14mm (equivalent), ISO 64, f/5.6, 10 sec., Hi-res mode.

We ended up at Cocoa Riverfront Park. The clouds were moving in and the light and colors changed as we watched. There were several interesting directions to point the camera.

Observation 2: Arrive early and stay for a while when photographing sunrise. Watch all directions. Bring several lenses to vary your exposure, composition, and perspective. Work the scene!

Fire in the sky. 70mm (equivalent), ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/50 sec., multi-frame stitched panorama

Photos 1 and 3 are from the Olympus E-M1 Mark II camera in hi-res mode. You may remember this post (https://edrosack.com/2015/08/09/thoughts-on-processing-olympus-om-d-e-m5-mark-ii-high-resolution-photos/) where I wrote about motion anomalies with E-M5 Mark II hi-res and how to manually fix them.

Observation 3: My conclusions from the earlier post are all still true – except for one. I’m happy to report that with the E-M1 Mark II camera, Olympus has made a great deal of progress with hi-res mode. I didn’t have to fix any motion anomalies in either of these photos. Well done Olympus.

Dew on the Boardwalk. 14mm (equivalent), ISO 64, f/5.6, 8 sec., Hi-res mode.

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

Manatees!

January 28, 2017Blue Spring State Park, INSIDE FLORIDAmanateeEd Rosack

We’ve had a few days of cooler weather here in Central Florida – good news if you’d like to see Manatees in the wild! When temperatures drop, they tend to gather in and around springs where the water is warmer than the rest of the environment.

We were over at Blue Spring State Park in Orange City last week for a wonderful family picnic. One of the highlights of the trip was spotting these large gentle mammals from the boardwalk along the spring run.

Manatees

Many extra activities are planned for this weekend’s annual Manatee Festival. But if you can’t make it now, try later in the winter. The Manatees are often there through March.

Depending on where they are, you can make photos with just about any camera. Up by the swimming area they get very close. Down nearer the river, you’ll want to have a longer lens to fill the frame from the boardwalk. Bring your polarizing filter to help cut glare / reflections on the water surface.

I have some other photos from Blue Spring in this album on Flickr.

Thank’s for stopping by and reading my blog. Now, go make some Manatee photos!

A Couple Composites

January 22, 2017Cameras and Photography, INSIDE FLORIDA, Orlando, Orlando Wetlandsbirds, Flowers, focus stacking, landscape, multiple exposure, panorama, techniqueEd Rosack

I went for another walk last week at Orlando Wetlands Park with Tom M. It was a pretty morning and in addition to the normal bird suspects, we also saw Soras, Purple Gallinules, and heard reports of Bald Eagles and many Black Crowned Night Herons.

In this post though, I want to discuss compositing. Wikipedia says:

“Compositing is the combining of visual elements from separate sources into single images, often to create the illusion that all those elements are parts of the same scene.”

Multiple exposures are a subset of compositing, and are much easier to produce in today’s world of digital photography. In addition to creating an illusion, they can be used to show things that are difficult for a camera to capture in a single frame and better show reality. Examples are panoramas, focus stacking, HDR, etc.

There’s a lovely Pink Trumpet tree on the west side of the main path into the park. It’s in bloom and that morning the moon was setting behind the tree. This snap from my iPhone shows how the tree looked against the sky and moon.

I wanted to isolate one bloom with the moon and clouds behind it, but the depth of field with my telephoto lens was too shallow to show both in the same frame. So I made two, with one focused on the flower and the second on the clouds / moon. Then in Photoshop it was relatively easy to combine the two frames to show what I wanted.

Moon, clouds, and flower

Here’s a second example:

Ibis flight sequence

This one is from a sequence of a single White Ibis flying by in a little under 2 seconds. I brought all 25 frames into Photoshop on separate layers and aligned them. Then I used the focus select function to mask the birds from each layer into a single composite. I ended up having to omit every other frame to avoid overlapping birds.

If you’re willing to dive into Photoshop or any other image editing software that offers layers and masking, you can do the same sort of work. Think about techniques like these when you’re out photographing. If you capture the source frames you need when you’re out, then when you get back to your computer you can use them to solve problems and enhance your creativity.

Thank you for stopping by and reading my blog. Now, go make some multiple exposure photos!

Viera Wetlands – 1/13/16

January 15, 2017INSIDE FLORIDA, Viera Wetlandsbird, black and white, Hooded Merganser, infrared, landscape, life bird, limpkinEd Rosack

Kevin M. offered to help me scout for the Smooth-billed Ani that’s been seen at Viera Wetlands. I’ve wanted to get over there – so I readily agreed to meet him Friday Morning.

It was the first Friday the 13th of the new year, but our luck wasn’t completely bad. The day started early with some challenging light and fog at sunrise. I’m glad I brought my IR modified camera and used it to cut through the limited visibility. I did get one or two pleasing photos, including this one. But it’s a B&W sunrise! What’s up with that?

The boardwalk by the boat ramp in the fog – at SR 520 and the St. Johns River

Kevin led us right to the Smooth-billed Ani (thanks Kevin!). The light was still poor and we ended up coming back later for a better look / image. These aren’t normally found this far north in Florida and they’re unusual looking with a very large beak – fun to see. People have also reported a close relative (Groove-billed Ani) on Apopka Wildlife Drive.

Smooth-billed Ani

We saw Scaups, Mottled Ducks, Hooded Mergansers, Limpkins, White Pelicans, a Wilsons Snipe, a Great Horned Owl, Coots, Moorehens, Roseate Spoonbills, and Osprey among other things.

Hooded Merganser pair

Mom and juvenile Limpkin about to enjoy escargot

The light was spotty all morning with periods of rain. There were a couple of images I tried that didn’t work out. I’m going back soon to try again. NOTE: Their website says that Viera Wetlands is closed January 16 – 20. Plan accordingly.

Based on this post and my previous one, I think you can see that the bird activity has picked up here in Central Florida. It’s time to get out and enjoy our natural wonders.

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

Black Point Wildlife Drive – 1/6/17

January 8, 2017INSIDE FLORIDA, Merritt Island NWRAlligator, birds, BPWD, fishing, panorama, Reddish Egret, White Pelican, Wood StorkEd Rosack

I was planning to post more photos from our recent cruise this weekend. But after visiting Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge last Friday with Kevin K. and Tom M. from the Photography Interest Group, I changed my mind. There’s a great deal of activity there and it’s well worth a blog post (and a visit!).

One of the first birds we watched was a Redish Egret fishing close to shore. It’s great fun to see these birds dance and pounce.

Reddish Egret and Minnow

I had the Olympus E-M1 Mark II with me and practiced with the “Pro Capture” mode (I brought the right lens this time). This really helps you catch a decisive moment – it’s almost cheating. You’d better have a large card in your camera and time to go through all the images, though. I used low-speed and still had way too many frames. Here’s one example:

Wood Stork and Minnow

There were a huge number of White Pelicans and they treated us to “air ballet shows” all morning.

Synchronized Flying

We saw several huge fish in the canal along the drive. Possibly the same kind as in this post from last year.

Several (3 or more?) large fish (carp?) swimming in the canal near the road. These were about two feet long.

And there were more gators visible than usual. They look well fed – perhaps they’ve been after those large fish. These monsters stay so still that you can take your time and make a stitched panorama of them. Unless they’re chasing you 🙂

Gator panorama

We also spotted Belted Kingfishers, a Bald Eagle, Osprey, several varieties of duck, a wild pig, and many other interesting things.

You can look at my other photos from MINWR in this album on Flickr.

Thank you for stopping by and reading my blog. There’s a lot going on over there – go see for yourself!

Cruising Wildlife

December 31, 2016Cameras and Photography, Cruise Shipsbirds, Brown Booby, Magnificent Frigatebird, Masked Booby, travel, vacation, wildlifeEd Rosack

Lynn and I were fortunate to be able to cruise the Caribbean once again earlier this month. I love watching birds and wildlife and trying to make photographs of their behavior. On this trip we both saw something for the first time.

On more than one occasion, birds followed our ship and dove for fish right along side.

Brown Booby

There were mostly Brown Boobies with a few Masked Boobies mixed in.

Masked Booby

Flying Fish were also plentiful along our route and the ship’s wake seemed to scare them up as we passed.

Flying Fish

A closer look at the Flying Fish

Photographing the birds catching fish wasn’t easy. You have to track a bird (at high magnification) as it moves just above the water and focus / shoot continuously – then hope you catch the right moment before your camera buffer runs out. I managed to get a few frames although the quality is not high. This is probably the best one.

Just before the catch

I was using a new camera (Olympus E-M1 II) for the bird / fish photos. The frame rate and continuous focus capabilities really helped. There’s a new “Pro Capture” mode on this that I couldn’t use (didn’t have the right lens). It captures frames with the shutter button pressed half way and saves them with a final frame when fully pressed. It would have made this use case easier. I’m looking forward to seeing how the camera works in other situations.

We also saw Magnificent Frigatebirds. They seem pretty common in the Caribbean – mostly in the harbors. I’ve only seen a few here in Florida, along both coasts

Female Magnificent Frigatebird

Cruise directors plan interesting things for passengers to do while at sea but these may not appeal to everyone. It’s good to have an alternative activity available like wildlife observation and photography when you’re looking for something fun to do.

I’m collecting other photos from the trip in this album on Flickr. And I have several other blog posts that feature photography from cruise ships. If you’re interested, see this link: https://edrosack.com/category/photo-ops-categorized-by-place/cruise-ships/

By the way (no.1): I realize that some spam filters may reject the email for this post due to the names of the birds. If it happens to you, sorry. You can always read the latest content on the web at https://edrosack.com

By the way (no. 2): I think the search problem on the blog is resolved. If anyone still has issues, please let me know.

By the way (no. 3): Happy new year! I hope all of you have a great holiday and prosperous and delightful 2017!

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

TURTLEy Awesome Adventure

December 24, 2016INSIDE FLORIDA, Juno Beachloggerhead turtle, rehabilitation, sea turtle, wildlifeMaryKate

While technically outside of the Central Florida Photo Ops area, this week’s post comes to you from the Loggerhead Marinelife Center down in Juno Beach, FL. The Center is a turtley awesome 12,000 square foot non-profit education and ocean conservation facility with a veterinary hospital, exhibit, outdoor classroom, research lab, resource center, and – my favorite – a really great gift shop (you don’t have to feel guilty leaving with souvenirs, it’s all for a great cause!).

Loggerhead Marinelife Center facility

For the second year in a row (now a tradition!), some of the family headed down to meet Pumpkin, the green sea turtle patient I adopted this Christmas for my sister-in-law Sara. Pumpkin was stranded at Palm Beach, FL and arrived to the Marinelife Center on November 2. The victim of a net entanglement, Pumpkin has an injury to its left front flipper and hasn’t been eating well. However, Pumpkin seemed active and in good spirits when we visited, and we can keep tabs on his progress (and hopefully eventual release date) through his patient page on the Center website.

Pumpkin, Sara’s green sea turtle adoptee

The main section of the facility has six large glass-front tanks where you can watch the turtles from the top or get a “fish eye” view from the front. We really flipped out over our two new friends: Squash and Nicklen were really shelling it out for the cameras!

Heros In A Half Shell: Turtle Power!

Squash was squishing against the glass to see us!

You can also watch the vet staff interact with and treat the turtles. In the picture below, they were draining the water in Waffle’s tank for a disinfectant treatment on its flipper. The Loggerhead Marinelife Center is great with education and makes the turtles very accessible to watch and learn about – you can also watch the vet staff in the turtle hospital through their large front windows.

Waffle prepares for his disinfectant treatment

The Center is a wonderful place for kids and adults alike – whether you visit in person, attend a turtle release, or check out their Turtle Cam, there are lots of ways to learn about these gentle giants. And if you’re looking for a last-minute 2016 charitable deduction, then consider donating or even adopting your own! You can help the Loggerhead Marinelife Center rehabilitate and release even more endangered sea turtles.

Editors notes:

Thanks, MK for another great write up!
If you’re interested in sea turtles and conservation efforts you may enjoy this post from 2013 about watching Loggerheads laying eggs on the beach.
MK has more photos from the Center in her album on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/marykate/albums/72157674425905743.
Ed has more photos in this album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/albums/72157678223520825
Also, we seem to be having a problem with the blog search function. I’m looking into it and will fix as soon as possible.

Thanks for stopping by and reading the blog. Now go save some turtles – and make some photos!

Don’t get thrown in the tank during your New Years SHELLebration!!