Santa’s Workshop – Santa and his elves took a break and I was able to sneak in and make a photograph of his workshop. It looks like he’s just about ready for Christmas!
I hope all of you have a joyous and happy holiday season and a wonderful new year! Thank you so much for following my blog again this year. Now – get back to your family and enjoy the holidays!
©2014, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved
I spent last Wednesday morning at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. I hadn’t been in a while and I enjoyed seeing what’s going on over there.
As usual, I arrived early for a sunrise photo. I’ve photographed from this spot on Gator Creek Road several times, but I’ve never noticed flowers blooming there before. I think they make a nice foreground accent.
Another day begins
After the sun was up, I drove around both Black Point Wildlife Drive and Gator Creek Road. There were a tremendous number of birds around – the winter visitors are here in force!
You can get an idea of which species to expect at MINWR (and when) over at this page on ebird. Here are the ones I recognized on my visit: Northern Shoveler, Lesser Scaup, Hooded Merganser, Pie-billed Grebe, Wood Stork, Double Crested Cormorant, Anhinga, White Pelican, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Tri-colored Heron, Little Blue Heron, White Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Red-shouldered Hawk, American Coot, Black-bellied Plover, Killdeer, Willet, Ring-billed Gull, Laughing Gull, Black Skimmer, Mourning Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Loggerhead Shrike, and Savannah Sparrow. I’m sure a more experienced birder would have recognized even more. I also saw an Alligator or two and a River Otter.
And my online blogging friend Jim Boland also spotted a Red-headed Duck there recently.
This bird was posing on a mound of seaweed next to the causeway. I was able to crouch down and make some eye level photos with a nice out of focus background.
Black-bellied Plover
And this Willet was hunting in the surf, also along the causeway. The sun was coming over my shoulder and the small waves rolling in made the blue sky reflections contrast nicely with the sandy bottom showing through the water.
Willet
And here’s a bonus sunrise photo – made with my long lens. I like the group of birds flying in front of the sun in the distance.
Merritt Island Morning – The sun rises next to NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
What a nice visit to one of our Central Florida Photo Op treasures! If you haven’t been over there recently, now is a great time of year to check it out. You can see other photographs from MINWR in this set on Flickr, and from BPWD in this set.
Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!
©2014, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.
You may have noticed that I like Black and White photography. It’s how I started out, way back when (with Tri-X film, developed in a make-shift darkroom). So I’ve done it for a while, but I’m mostly self-taught. I’ve studied many books and looked at a lot of online info, but I felt it would be good to take a course and expose myself to techniques and ideas I haven’t discovered on my own – to see how others are doing it.
I signed up for “Modern Monochrome” at the Crealde School of Art in Winter Park, Florida. The course promises to cover “the aesthetic qualities of black-and-white photography, seeing in black and white, RGB conversion methods, tonal relationships, luminosity versus luminance, and demonstrations in Photoshop and Lightroom.”
I was a little worried at the first session. There were a couple of people who didn’t appear to meet the prerequisites and it seemed like we’d struggle trying to bring them up to speed. But they ended up dropping out and the remaining students all easily kept up with the agenda.
Next week is our last class and we owe the instructor ten B&W images. I thought you might be interested in seeing some of the ones I’m going to turn in.
Wild Orchids – at Fort Christmas
High Key Grebe – along Black Point Wildlife Drive
Gloomy dawn – Blue Cypress Lake
Misty Marsh – Orlando Wetlands Park
The instructor’s going to critique our work and I’m looking forward to hearing what he has to say.
This course has definitely lived up to my expectations. I learned several techniques in Photoshop – some that I’d heard about and never tried, and others that were completely new to me. I also enjoyed discussing printing techniques and I intend to apply these more in the future. I haven’t been printing my photographs as much recently as I should. The course was also a great incentive to think about and practice photography and especially B&W processing.
You can see some other photographs I made for the course in this set on Flickr.
Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – take a photography course – and go make some photos!
©2014, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.
We went on a family cruise to the Bahamas during Thanksgiving week aboard the MS Carnival Liberty, out of Port Canaveral. It was a large group with Lynn and I, Mary, Mike and Sara, Julie, and Nancy and Howard all along for a wonderful vacation. Except for wind and current on the day we were supposed to visit Half Moon Cay, the weather was nice. And the food was delicious and plentiful and the company was delightful too! We had a great time!
It was a family vacation, but of course I brought along a camera (or two, or three) and I made some photos on the trip. I’ve written about cruise ship photography before (see Cruise Ship Photography Ops and Christmas Time Cruising). In this new post, I’d like to tell you about some techniques I tried on this cruise. It’s fun to experiment and I thought you might be interested in how they turned out. Here are three photos and some background on how I made them.
I’ve wanted to try something like this on earlier cruises, but never have. Long exposures can add interest to a photo and make it look very different from most tourist snapshots. But usually, you lock your camera down on a stable tripod and only some things in the scene (e.g. water, clouds) are moving. On a ship, I was worried that everything is moving. If I tried to use my tripod for a sunrise for instance, the sun might be unacceptably blurred due to the motion. But I made it work for this photo by composing with the ship as the subject and using it to fill the foreground. Since the ship doesn’t move relative to my camera, it’s very sharp. The horizon and the other ship are far enough away so that any motion blur isn’t a problem. And with a four-second exposure, the water and clouds take on a dreamy look that I like.
The view aft, before dawn. (21mm eq. field of view, f/8, 4 seconds at ISO 200)
Panoramas are also problematic from a moving ship. The change in the camera’s position between frames can lead to issues when stitching frames together, especially if you use automatic stitching software. For this photo, I made two frames. Instead of using automatic stitching, I loaded the frames into layers in Photoshop and selected Edit -> Auto Align Layers. Then I manually blended them using layer masks and was able to use the natural seam along the right hand side of the breakwater as the line between the images. Since not much overlaps there except water, I could hide any perspective shift stitching errors.
Nassau Light – Leaving port late in the day. (f/2.8, 1/100 second at ISO 125. 70mm eq. focal length, two vertical frames, stitched panorama, hand-held)
And finally, here is another stitched panorama. In this one, the ship was moving very slowly, so I probably could have used a tripod. But – I didn’t have it with me! Bad Ed! So instead, I upped my ISO, and opened my aperture so that I could shoot hand-held. Even though the pre-dawn light was dim, I was still able to make a super wide image consisting of 9 vertical frames showing our arrival back at Port Canaveral.
Pre-dawn arrival in Port Canaveral. (f/1.8, 1/50 second at ISO 1000. 24mm eq. focal length, nine vertical frames, hand-held, stitched panorama)
So that’s how I got these three shots. Photography is an interesting pursuit. Creativity helps – and not just with subject, composition, etc., but also with technique. Now I know these descriptions aren’t very detailed, but maybe they’ll give you an idea or two to try for yourself. If you want more information, please feel free to ask in the comments. I’d be happy to answer questions.
You can find larger versions of these photos on Flickr (just click the image). And more photos from this cruise are in this set:
Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some cruise ship photos!
©2014, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.
The Pioneer Settlement for the Creative Arts in Barberville, Florida was founded in 1976. Lynn and I first went there when our kids were little – sometime in the 1980s. It’s grown a lot since then and the non-profit organization that runs it has kept it up and added many more buildings and displays than I remember.
Three of us from the retired chapter of the Photography Interest Group went over on November 19th. The centerpiece of the campus is the original Barberville High School.
The Schoolroom – This is in the Barberville Central High School, built in 1909. It was added to the National Register for Historic Places in 2002. The window light and the wooden floors and desks were lovely the morning we were there.
The photos in this post are from just four of the buildings / displays that you can tour. There are 22 in all. I have photos of several more that I haven’t processed yet. As I finish them, I’ll add them to this Barberville set on Flickr.
The store below was originally at the turpentine operation in Bakersburg, Florida. It was moved to Barberville in 1984.
The H. L. Wynn Country Store – Get your insurance and your livestock feed, all in one place!
The only building at Barberville that isn’t from Florida is the log cabin. It was built by Mr. Jim Lewis in 1875 in southern Georgia, and moved to Barberville in 1992.
Log Cabin Porch – complete with laundry!
The blacksmith’s shop was built in 1987. The Florida Artist Blacksmith Association uses it for their monthly meetings and to work on their projects.
Tools of the trade – I love the huge bellows and the overwhelming number of tools available.
Check out the Pioneer Village web site for much more information. They have many special events scheduled including their upcoming annual “Florida Christmas remembered”. I think it’s worth another visit back to see the decorations.
Barberville is only about an hour from Orlando – right where SR 40 crosses US 17. It’s well worth the trip. If you have kids, they’ll like the exhibits, demonstrations, and animals. Adults will enjoy seeing how Floridians used to live. And as a photographer, it’s another “target rich environment”.
Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!
©2014, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.
Lynn and I went to see James Taylor last Tuesday. He played at the arena downtown and the place was packed. I guess there’s still a lot of us old timers that like his music (and can still hear). He played a lot of his hits and a few newer songs too.
James Taylor and his All Star Band – In concert at the Amway in Orlando, Florida. November 18th, 2014. (ISO 800, f2.8 @ 1/80 sec., 70mm eq.)
Like any large sports type arena, the acoustics and sound mix weren’t the best, and the prices for this type of entertainment (along with parking and popcorn) are very high. But it was a very good show and we both enjoyed ourselves.
Photographically, this is a very tough assignment. Unless you have a stage or press pass, your camera gear and access will be limited. For these events, the Amway has a very restrictive camera policy: Your camera has to “fit in your pocket”. Even though we had good seats, we were still pretty far from the stage. My Sony point-and-shoot camera does fit in my pocket and I thought the photo above was worth keeping. But I still wish the lens was longer than 24-70mm equivalent.
Back when I was in the Navy, I had to go to sea for months at a time and leave Lynn behind in Charleston, South Carolina. We missed each other terribly. One of my favorite songs from then was James Taylor’s “Carolina in my mind”. It was wonderful to hear him play it live – with Lynn in the seat right beside me.
Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!
©2014, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.
We’re finally getting cooler weather here in Central Florida. In addition to making it even more pleasant outside, the fall and winter months bring some changes to our area photo opportunities.
Orlando Wetlands Park is one of my favorite places. But if you haven’t been there this year, you’ve missed your chance. It closes on November 15 and doesn’t re-open until January 31st.
Downy Woodpecker at Orlando Wetlands – not a great photo, but it’s my first one of this bird. ISO 800, 1/800 sec, f/8, 600 mm
And Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (MINWR) is also a favorite. When I went over last week, Black Point Wildlife Drive was closed. The web page says “until mid November”, so it should hopefully be back open soon. Fortunately there are many places to photograph in MINWR – even with BPWD closed, it’s still worth a visit.
Black and White Osprey on Gator Creek Road in MINWR. ISO 400, 1/1600 sec, f/8, 500 mm
Brown Pelican in Flight along Haulover Canal in MINWR. ISO 800, 1/2500 sec, f/8, 600 mm
Our avian winter visitors are starting to arrive too. ebird.org has a wonderful website where you can explore birding hotspots all over the world to see what species to expect by month. Here’s the listings for MINWR. The number of species ramps way up starting in November.
It’s prime time for getting out into nature and seeing what’s there! Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now, go make some photos!
©2014, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.
Lynn and I went back to Lake Louisa State Park last weekend and spent a very relaxing couple of days. It was a little chilly – our first Florida “cold” front rolled through while we were there and made us both appreciate the gas fireplace in the cabin. We didn’t see as much wildlife this time, but I did enjoy making some photos. Here’s one at sunset from just behind the cabin, looking out over Lake Dixie. I like the way the field glows in the light coming through the trees.
Grass, trees, lake, and sun
The sky was very clear after the cold front, so there were no dramatic clouds to work with. I think the low morning sun on the trees and the mist on the water look nice in black and white.
Morning mist
There weren’t as many flowers blooming as there were last May. But the few we did see were lovely. These were along a path just off the road.
Wildflowers
Lake Louisa is a wonderful, relaxing getaway in Clermont, Florida – very close to Orlando. If you haven’t been, check it out. My full writeup on the park is at this link and this set on Flickr has many more photos I made there.
Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now, go make some photos!
©2014, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.
I hadn’t been by the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey in Maitland, Florida in a long time. So when Tom M. mentioned he wanted to go, I was happy to meet him and Keith H. there one morning last week.
Irked Eagle – This is Frederick, one of the permanent residents. A staff member brought him out for us. In this photo, he’s yelling at a different staff member that walked by. Maybe he was expecting a handout?
Birds of Prey is a wonderful place but leaves me with mixed emotions. On the good side, there are many more Raptors now than there used to be. The estimated population of Bald Eagles in Florida has grown from 88 active nests in 1973 to 1,457 nests now. But on the sad side, there are also many more people and automobiles. This leads to increased encounters between people, their cars, and birds – and sadly, means that many more birds are getting injured today.
Swallow-tailed Kite
Wonderful places like Birds of Prey take in injured raptors, treat them, and (if they’re well enough) release them back into the wild. They’re able to release just over 40% of their raptor patients. But it’s sad that some birds are too injured to be released.
This Great Horned Owl looks a bit sleepy. It must be a night owl.
The injured birds are well cared for. Some are placed in zoos or other facilities that are knowledgable and able to provide for them. Others stay at Birds of Prey. They make exceptional ambassadors and help teach people about these awesome creatures. All three raptors pictured in this post are permanent residents at the center. It’s great that they’re such good photo subjects. But it’s sad that they’ll never make it back into the wild.
There’s another place like this in Apopka, Florida – The Avian Reconditioning Center. I haven’t been there yet, but I’m sure they’re just as dedicated to helping injured birds. And I’m sure there are places like this all over. You’ll be sad if you never visit one. In addition to the photo-op, your entrance fees help pay for care for the injured birds.
Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go visit a bird rehab facility. And make some photos too!
©2014, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.
I seem to have a preference for wide views. Hence my attraction to stitched multi-frame panorama images. They’re a great way to extend the field of view of lenses you have with you.
Keith H. and I walked around downtown Orlando for a few hours one day last week. I made a lot of photos, and after getting home and reviewing them, my favorites all turned out to be stitched panoramas. I guess I just enjoy being able to see the whole scene. Here are three examples:
Back alley break – A woman takes a work break on the back stairs. 4 frame panorama
Also, I hardly ever make selfies, but on this walk I ended up with two that I like – although they aren’t typical of the genre.
A window selfie – Looking south across Church Street from the 4th floor of the Plaza parking garage. That’s my reflection in the glass towards the middle bottom. Infra Red, Black & White, 4 frame panorama. (Click for a larger view on Flickr)
And this next one isn’t a Black & White photo – the sidewalk and wall were that color.
Cracks me up – A shadow selfie. 3 frame panorama.
You might find you like stitching panoramas too. I’ve written about them before. This article has a detailed workflow example and there are some more ideas in this post. Composition can be difficult since you can’t see the final image through your viewfinder as you capture it. Try to cover a larger area than you think you’ll need so you can crop into the assembled image to fine tune the composition. And watch out for long lines and patterns of lines. Look for any errors / mismatched lines between frames after you stitch them together and clean them up with the clone tool.
Besides downtown itself, there are several areas in Orlando with interesting photo ops: the Plaza Theatre, Leu Gardens, Lake Eola, Meade Gardens, and Greenwood Cemetery. I’ve collected photos from all of them in this set on Flickr.
Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!
©2014, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.