Dry Tortugas National Park – April 21, 2013

April 27, 2013Dry Tortugas, INSIDE FLORIDAblack and white, Brown Noddy, fort, Fort Jefferson, infrared, Northern Gannet, Scarlet TanagerEd Rosack

Intro / Description

One of the Photography Interest Group members (Kevin M.) wanted to visit the Dry Tortugas during bird migration. I’d always wanted to see it too and I’d never been to the Everglades so I suggested we combine a trip. He organized an extended expedition and we set off last Saturday with Kevin K. in a packed Prius headed for Key Largo – our base of operations. Since there’s so much to cover, I’ll tell you about the Dry Tortugas in this post, and fill you in next time on the Everglades and a few other places we went.
The Dry Tortugas are a remote group of seven small islands / keys (named Garden, Loggerhead, Bush, Long, East, Hospital, and Middle) located about 70 miles west of Key West. These islands and the surrounding waters make up the 100 square mile Dry Tortugas National Park. It’s known for its isolation, clear waters, unique and migratory bird populations, shipwrecks, and Fort Jefferson.

Fort Jefferson Parade Grounds – Dry Tortugas National Park, Garden Key – I’m not sure which bird is in the center top. It looks like either the Perigrine Falcon or Cooper’s Hawk we saw earlier in the day. This is a 7 image, stitched pano (~50 megapixels). I uploaded a larger than normal version. If you want to see more detail, click on this image and then on Flickr select actions/view all sizes.

Fort Jefferson construction took place from 1846 to 1875. It’s the largest masonry structure in the western hemisphere but was never completed. Like many other forts, it became obsolete when rifled cannons were put into use. Photo ops lurk throughout – so be alert and explore!

Inside the Fort Jefferson walls – I’m happy that two people strolled into my composition. They couldn’t have positioned themselves any better. The fort housed prisoners in the Civil War era and these two and their appearance in this IR, B&W photo add to the ghostly feel of the fort.

There’s a lot of interesting background and history about this place. Dr. Samuel Mudd (convicted of conspiracy in the Lincoln assassination and later pardoned) was imprisoned here. There’s also an interesting novel I enjoyed reading in Nevada Barr’s Anna Pigeon series that takes place here (Flashback). It covers a lot of historical background too.

Info for Photographers

The easiest way to get to the park is via the Yankee Freedom that departs Key West daily. They provide everything you’ll need for a day trip. If you’re more adventurous, you can charter a sea plane or an extended cruise on a smaller boat, or even take your own boat. If you don’t take the Yankee Freedom, just make sure you do your research and go prepared. The park is primitive and there are no supplies / food / water for visitors – so bring everything you might need. As of April 2013, the Yankee Freedom is only 6 months old and in great shape. A buffet breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, and water / soft drinks / hot coffee all day are included in the fare. And you can return to the boat during the day to use the rest rooms or cool off in the air-conditioning. All three of us thought the ship and crew were excellent.

Brown Noddy in flight

The day we went, about 30 – 40% of the passengers were birders – some of them very experienced. Several bird species are found in the Dry Tortugas and nowhere else in North America. It’s also on the main fly way for birds migrating between Central America / Cuba and the rest of North America. In late April / early May, it’s a vital resting place for the birds. John James Audubon visited in May of 1832 and spent several days cataloging species. I’m certain we didn’t see as many as he did, but we did pretty well. Kevin M. and I each got several life birds. Here’s our list from the few hours we were there:

Masked Booby (nesting), Brown Booby, Brown Noddy, Bridled Tern, Sooty Tern, Roseate Tern, Common Tern, Least Tern, Audubon Shearwater, Magnificent Frigate Bird, Northern Gannet,

Yellow Warbler, Palm Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Blue Wing Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Northern Parula,

American Redstart, Scarlet Tanager, Summer Tanager, Baltimore Oriole, Hermit Thrush, Ovenbird, Chuck-Will’s Widow, Indigo Bunting, Ruby Crowned Kinglet, Black Whiskered Vireo,

Grey Catbird, Peregrine Falcon, Coopers Hawk, Ruby Throated Hummingbird, Cave Swallow, White Winged Pigeon, Ruddy Turnstones, Laughing Gull, Osprey, Brown Pelican, Cattle Egret, and Snowy Egret.

Whew!

Singing Scarlet Tanager – Fort Jefferson parade grounds

Here’s a couple of links to info maintained by one of the Yankee Freedom crew (Chelsea): Dry Tortugas Birding Blog and Dry Tortugas Birding info. Check them before you go for current information.

Photo hints:

You’ll be doing a lot of walking and climbing and there aren’t any lockers where you can leave excess gear (although the crew says they’ve never had a problem with lost / stolen equipment). Pack only what you can carry around all day.

Tripod/Monopod:

Allowed and a good idea if you need it for your birding lens. Otherwise, just to lighten your load I wouldn’t recommend it. I was able to hand hold / brace my cameras and didn’t miss my tripod. You’ll want to plan differently if you’ll be there for sunrise, sunset or at night.

Lenses:

Unfortunately, if you’re going for both scenic landscapes and birds (and why wouldn’t you?), you’ll need a variety of lenses. Long / bright for the birds and wide for the landscapes. There are also photo ops from the boat that will be quite challenging unless your camera body or lens has stabilization. You’ll pass about 100 yards from a colony of Masked Boobies on Hospital Key as you enter the park. Be ready for a unique and challenging chance to capture these birds on the nest with chicks. And if you miss the Brown Boobies while you’re at the fort, be sure to watch for them as you leave. They often hang out on Marker 3.

Best time to visit:

Late April / early May is the best time of year for birds, although it’s already getting hot by then. If you’re even a bit of a birder, it’s worth putting up with the heat.

Other:

Our trip over was on a fairly calm day. Even so, there was quite a bit of pitching and tossing. If you’re at all susceptible to seasickness, you should take something in advance. Also, be ready for weather at the park. A poncho and camera cover for rain, and sun block or long sleeves and a hat for the tropical sunshine. You won’t have problems with insects since there’s no standing fresh water on the islands.

Northern Gannet – Floating near the dock in the Dry Tortugas

Summary

Wow – what a fantastic trip! We had a wonderful time in this remote and fascinating place and it’s now a new favorite of mine. It takes some time and effort to get to, but there is so much to see and photograph – don’t miss it!

My Gallery / Flickr photo set:	My Dry Tortugas set on Flickr Kevin M’s Dry Tortugas set on Flickr Kevin K’s set on Flickr
Website:	http://www.nps.gov/drto/index.htm
Address / Phone:	Location in Google Maps There’s no phone, but you can email the park from this website: http://www.nps.gov/drto/contacts.htm
Central Florida Photo Ops Rating:	Don’t miss it!!!

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

Reflecting on headwaters

April 20, 2013Everglades, INSIDE FLORIDA, Kissimmee, Shingle CreekCypress, landscape, snailEd Rosack

re·flec·ting (verb): 1) to be reflected or mirrored; 2) to think, ponder, or meditate

head-wa-ters (noun): the upper tributaries of a river.

Clouds and Cypress Reflect from Shingle Creek – It’s hard to believe this urban creek just south of Orlando is the northernmost headwaters of the Everglades

If you look out the window as you fly over Florida, you’ll see much of the land is undeveloped. As you near Orlando though, you’ll see a great deal of housing, roads, city buildings, and theme parks. Central Florida can be a very urban place – it’s encouraging that even in the midst of all the development, there are a great many areas where you can experience nature, wildlife, and beautiful landscapes. Many places I visit are fairly well-known. But I had never heard of Shingle Creek before reading Wild Florida Waters, by Doug Alderson – a book about exploring Florida via kayak and canoe.

Driving through Kissimmee, Florida in the middle of airports, fast food, shopping malls, housing developments, and theme parks, you might not even notice this waterway – but you really should look for it. The first pioneer settlement in the Central Florida area was along this creek. Settlers cut down old growth cypress to use for shingles, hence the name. Shingle Creek is also generally considered to be the northernmost headwaters of the Everglades. The creek begins in a swamp very close to I-Drive where thousands of tourists visit the convention center and theme parks and go shopping every day. It flows into Lake Toho in Kissimmee, then into the Kissimmee River system and on through south Florida to the Everglades.

I see different numbers for the size of Shingle Creek Regional Park. One source says that it’s about 456 acres, another says that over 1000 acres have been purchased. Either way, it’s large and the landscapes are beautiful. There are trails to hike and bike and if you have a canoe or kayak you can venture into some very thick cypress swamps south of the Steffee Landing park entrance. You can see alligators, otters, water moccasins, ospreys, hawks, woodpeckers, limpkins, herons, egrets, and even bald eagles. It’s truly a wonderful oasis in the middle of urban Central Florida. I’m grateful we’re preserving it and I’m going back soon to explore more of it.

Apple snail eggs – These snails deposit their eggs just above the water line. Seeing them is a good sign of healthy water. The snails feed on an algae that grows on eel grass which helps filter and clean the water. Eel grass doesn’t grow well in cloudy polluted waters, so you won’t find Apple snails there. You won’t find Limpkins or Snail Kites there either because Apple Snails are a main part of their diet.

More reflections – Shingle Creek south of Steffee Landing

You can enter the park from two locations. Use these addresses to search for it in Google Maps (just searching for “Shingle Creek Park” didn’t work too well for me): 4266 W. Vine Street, Kissimmee, FL 34741 -or- 2491 Babb Road, Kissimmee, FL 34746

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now, step away from the pavement and go make some photos

Fort De Soto Bird Migration

April 15, 2013Fort De Soto, INSIDE FLORIDABaltimore Oriole, beach, birds, Black-throated Green Warbler, Blue Grosbeak, Chimney Swift, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Hooded Warbler, Indigo Bunting, landscape, Merlin, migration, Orchard Oriole., Prairie Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, sunsetEd Rosack

It’s April and birds are heading north again through our area. Fort De Soto south of St. Petersburg, Florida is a “migrant trap” because they stop there on the way. If you’re a photographer or birder and you’d like to see many types of birds – now is the time to visit this wonderful place.

I went over last Saturday with Kevin M. and Lutfi E. There were a lot of other birders there as well as a few photographers. It was fun talking with the birders. They’re all helpful and I learned a lot from them. If you’re just starting out in birding, go with a knowledgeable friend (thanks, Kevin!), or check with your local Audubon group. They often organize field trips with an experienced leader. The Orange County Audubon Society has a trip planned for next weekend.

Migration at Fort De Soto – As a beginning birder, I was excited to photograph these 11 life birds on Saturday: Chimney Swift, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Merlin, Black-throated Green Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Blue Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, Baltimore Oriole, and Orchard Oriole.

In addition to the 11 life birds I managed to photograph, we saw many others including: Worm Eating Warbler, Summer Tanager, Scarlet Tanager, Prothonotary Warbler, Yellow Throated Vireo, Northern Parula, European Starling, Black and White Warbler, Common Ground Dove, American Crow, Magnificent Frigate bird, Ruby Throated Hummingbird, Laughing Gull, Sandwich Tern, Caspian Tern, Brown Pelicans, Eastern Kingbird, Ospreys, Cormorants, Anhingas, Vultures, Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, and Snowy Egrets.

If you go, plan to get there early and stay all day. Fort De Soto is a big place and we couldn’t get to all of it on Saturday, so I’m sure there were many other species we missed.

You must be patient and quick to photograph these smaller birds. They move fast and flit in and out of trees and bushes so catching them out in the open is tough. A long, fast lens helps too!

This is also a beautiful place for landscape photography because there are both sunrise and sunset views. Here’s a photo I made last year:

The end of the day at Fort De Soto – Looking southwest toward Egmont Key from the base of the bay pier. The ferry to the Key is on the left.

You can see larger versions of these images on Flickr by clicking on them. And I have a few more photos from Fort De Soto in this set. You can also see Kevin’s Fort De Soto photos in this set.

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

Merritt Island – April 10, 2013

April 11, 2013INSIDE FLORIDA, Merritt Island NWRbirds, black and white, Black Skimmer, boat, BPWD, infrared, landscape, pier, Space View Park, Spoonbill, sunrise, wildlifeEd Rosack

A couple of weeks ago, I met photographer Larry Jordan at Gatorland and he mentioned wanting to visit Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. He hadn’t been in long while, so I offered to go with him. It was a great excuse to get out and show off one of my favorite places and it didn’t disappoint. We met before dawn at Space View park for what turned into a pretty sunrise.

Dock at dawn

After sunup, we entered MINWR in search of wildlife, first to Gator Creek Road where we saw a few birds including black necked stilts. These unusual looking, pink legged birds are only in Florida for the summer breeding season and I’m glad they’re back already. Next we went to Black Point Wildlife Drive to see what was going on there. The initial portion was very quiet, but then the action ramped way up!

Four more black necked stilts were flying all around the first pond on the right. They were very active and noisy in what I think was courtship inspired chasing and calling to each other. We enjoyed watching and photographing them, but decided we’d better move on – we didn’t want to miss out on whatever else was going on. It turns out that was a very good idea.

At the next pond, the first thing I noticed was a flock of White Pelicans. They were pretty, but a bit far off for photos – and just swimming around out there feeding. Then we noticed the Black Skimmers.

I often see these birds along the north shore of the Bennet Causeway leading into MINWR. There, they usually huddle with the gulls and this makes for static looking photos. We didn’t see any there yesterday morning and we found out why at this place. It seems they were all over there and very active. I’ve never seen so much skimming. Long graceful glides over flat water with an uncluttered background, sometimes fairly close to shore. They use their longer, lower bills to slice through the surface searching for fish and write a sharp wake behind them. Wonderful to watch and with such good light, a near perfect opportunity for photographs.

Black Skimmer skimming

There were other birds in the pond feeding and flying around close to shore – great conditions for BIF (Birds-in-Flight) photography practice! Several Roseate Spoonbills flew in (toward the camera for a change!) and posed beautifully at nearly perfect angles. We also enjoyed watching a Redish Egret, a very pretty Tri-colored Heron in breeding colors, and many other birds feeding.

Roseate Spoonbill, landing

After the excitement at BPWD, I didn’t think it could get any better, but I was hoping to show Larry a Florida Scrub Jay since he hadn’t photographed one before. We drove to Scrub Ridge Trail, parked and walked north along the path where I’ve seen them, but they weren’t there. Feeling a little let down, we walked back to the parking area and a very pretty Scrub Jay was waiting there to welcome us. We each got several photos in different poses / locations.

Our last stop was the Visitor Center. I was hoping that the Painted Buntings would still be around, but they seem to have moved on.

By the way, the 50th anniversary of MINWR is coming up on August 28th. If someone ever asks you about benefits from the US space program, you can mention the establishment of this extraordinary refuge. See this article in Wikipedia for more details.

I’ve rambled on for too long so here’s one more landscape from the morning to close this out:

Dock and pier at dawn, IR B&W

I had a great time showing Larry around the area and he brought a lot of photo-luck with him! You can click on any of the photos above to see larger versions. You can also see more photos from MINWR in this set on Flickr, Black Point in this set, Birds in this set, and Florida Landscapes in this set. And I have many older posts on the site about MINWR – you can browse through them from this link. Larry posts to Smugmug and you can see his bird photos (including ones from this trip) at this link.

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

Return to Big Tree Park

April 6, 2013Big Tree Park, INSIDE FLORIDA, Orlando, VARIOUSCypress, Longwood, The Senator, treeEd Rosack

You may remember my posts about “The Senator”, a 3500 year old Cypress tree in Big Tree Park in Longwood, Florida (Big Tree Park – Home of the Senator, and “The Senator” is destroyed by fire). The destruction of the tree in January of last year was an awful event. The park closed after the fire but it’s open again now and the story has taken a fascinating twist – so I went by to check it out.

The Senator in September of 2011 – just a few months before the fire

The Senator in March of 2013 – the charred base of the original tree is all that’s left.

The Seminole Voice newspaper website had a good article with details on this very unlikely story (no longer available), but here’s a summary:

In 1997 a branch fell from the Senator after a storm.
A Miami science teacher happened to be there and happened to know about a North Florida tree farmer who was creating a cypress grove cloned from trees from all over the country.
The science teacher gave the branch to the farmer who used it to create ten cloned trees.
Seven of them survived (an unusually high percentage).
Fifteen years later, in January of 2012, the Senator burned.
A forestry specialist at the University of Florida heard about the fire and recalled the cloning project.
Seminole County officials then worked to move one of the clones to Big Tree Park.
The identical clone (appropriately named “The Phoenix”) was transplanted to Big Tree Park and dedicated on March 2nd, 2013. It’s doing well and is already more than 50 feet tall!

The Phoenix rises: An identical clone of the 3500 year old “Senator” cypress tree was started in 1997. Already 50+ feet tall, it was transplanted into Big Tree Park in 2012

There are some other changes, including a refurbished boardwalk, new signs with information about the park and trees, and new fencing (to keep drug addled arsonists out).

It’s horrible that this ancient tree burned, but it’s amazing that a clone existed. I wonder if people will visit “The Phoenix” far in the future and think about the 21st century, just like I sometimes think about the time 3500 years ago when The Senator first grew.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos.
©2013, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Merritt Island – March 26, 2013

March 29, 2013INSIDE FLORIDA, Merritt Island NWRbirds, black and white, BPWD, Eagle, Fish, infrared, landscape, Osprey, panorama, tree, wildlifeEd Rosack

I saw an interesting article in the New Your Times this week confirming what I feel: Spending time out in nature can improve your mind. It’s called “Easing Brain Fatigue With a Walk in the Park” and references a study published this month in The British Journal of Sports Medicine. (I hope you can read the NYT article – I’m not sure how their pay wall works.) The study measured volunteer’s brain waves as they walked along a path through three parts of a city. Then they looked at the recorded patterns for signs of frustration, agitation, attention / engagement, and calmness. The portion of the path through a park engaged the people’s attention while at the same time increasing their calmness. The urban portions of the walk increased their frustration. The moral of the story (at least for me): Spend more time with nature, and wildlife.

I increased my engagement with nature and my calmness this week by visiting the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

I stopped first at Kars Park. I hadn’t been there before and wanted to scout it as a sunrise spot. I also hoped I could see / photograph the cruise ships at Port Canaveral from there. They should make a good subject when they’re lit up in the dark. I arrived before dawn and found a pier, but didn’t really like the results and moved on. I’ll have to try again some time.

On the way to MINWR I noticed clouds developing on the horizon. They were pretty enough to make me pull over for this photo:

Pretty clouds – My sunrise photos didn’t come out so well, but the light was interesting a little later in the morning.

Turning in to Gator Creek Road, I spotted an Osprey in a dead tree. I crept up slowly, stayed in my car, and tried not to disturb it. It gave me a few hard looks but kept eating and was still there when I left.

No sushi for you – An Osprey with breakfast along Gator creek Road. It watched me as I drove slowly by and didn’t seem to want to share.

A little further on, I ran into this pair, also enjoying breakfast:

No sushi for you! (2) – A pair of eagles. They didn’t look like they wanted to share their meal either. I enjoyed watching them for a while and when they finished eating they flew away together – so I’m pretty sure they’re a couple. I’d like to go back to the area to see if I can get a better photo.

After Gator Creek, I took a turn around Black Point Wildlife Drive. It was pretty quiet but I did see a few of the regular birds (Great Blue and Tri-colored Herons, Great and Snowy Egrets, Black Skimmers, Gulls, Mottled Ducks, Terns, Scaups, etc.).

My last stop was the Bairs Cove boat ramp. I wanted to check out a new kayak launch area just across Haulover Canal from there. On the way in to Bairs Cove I noticed an isolated tree on the left and made a quick photo. As I drove around the boat ramp parking area I kept thinking about the scene. Something was very appealing and I didn’t want to get home without a good image of it, so on the way out I stopped again and made this more careful photo. It’s two IR, HDR images arranged so I could stitch a vertical panorama to get this square format result.

A tree along the road to Bairs Cove

As usual, my visit to MINWR was very enjoyable – and engaging, and calming. Click on the photos above to see larger versions. You can also see more photos from MINWR in this set on Flickr, and Black Point in this set. And I have many older posts about MINWR – you can look through them from this link.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos! And by the way, Happy Easter!

Baseball Spring Training

March 24, 2013INSIDE FLORIDA, Kissimmeebaseball, Houston Astros, sports, Spring TrainingEd Rosack

Intro / Description

I visited Osceola Stadium last Friday with Tom and Vince to watch the Houston Astros play the St. Louis Cardinals in a spring training baseball game.

Houston won 3 – 2. Jose Altuve played well, going 2-for-3 and scoring two of Houston’s three runs. If you like baseball and are anywhere near Florida in the spring time, it’s a great opportunity to see and photograph many spring training baseball photo ops.

Houston’s Jose Altuve (#27) is safe as he slides into 2nd base against St. Louis’ Matt Carpenter (#13)

Spring training in Florida starts in late February and lasts through March. Fifteen major league teams play in the “Grapefruit League” at 14 locations over a wide area of the state. Here’s a link to the list of teams and stadiums on Wikipedia. This should stay up to date as venues change in the future.

Info for Photographers

Sports photography is a lot of fun. Results depend on your photography equipment and skills, but also on your knowledge of the game. The better you understand the game, the more you can anticipate where the action will be. If you’re not a baseball expert, it helps to go with a friend who is.

You won’t get professional quality photos from the stands because 1) You’ll be in the stands, not on the field. and 2) They won’t let you bring large lenses into the stadium. But you can get some nice images. Here are some hints to help.

Houstons’s Brandon Barnes (#2) connects

Photo hints:

At spring training games, you can often get good seats near the action for a more reasonable price than during the regular season. We sat close to the field near 1st base and had great views of the batter and base runners.

You should always keep both eyes open when photographing. This is even more important in baseball. Foul balls often come into the stands and if you see it, you’ll be better able to catch it (or duck). With practice, you can also keep your camera aimed through the viewfinder, and at the same time watch what’s going on with your other eye. This will let you anticipate the action so you can press the shutter at the right time. Make sure your camera is in continuos high speed mode, start shooting before you think you need to and keep the shutter pressed until you’re sure the action is over. Be careful about reviewing your photos on the back of your camera – you could miss a great play, or you could get hit by a foul ball!

Shutter speed and frame rate: A baseball ball moves at 90-100 mph when pitched and may be even faster when hit. This can mean up to 14 or 15 feet of travel between frames even if you can shoot at 10 frames per second. If you’re zoomed in tight on the action, you may not ever see the ball in the frame. Keep your frame rate as high as possible and zoom out a bit – then crop some in post. Similarly, you’ll need a shutter speed faster than 1/1000 sec. to get a somewhat sharp image of the ball, since it can travel a couple of inches in that time. Up your ISO to get the speed you need – faster is better. I shot between 400 and 800 ISO on a bright, sunny day.

Tripod/Monopod: Nope.

Lenses: They’ll look at your camera equipment when you enter and generally only allow smaller lenses. They don’t want you scooping the pro photographers down on the field. So you’ll have to leave your 300mm f/2.8 at home. This is a good place to use a micro 4/3 camera if you have one along with a 300mm zoom lens. You won’t be able to throw the background out of focus like the pros do, but the setup will give you enough reach. If you’re using a DSLR, you can usually get in with a 70-300mm zoom.

Best time to visit: Late February through March.

Other:

Baseball has long periods of not much happening interspersed with seconds of intense activity. Anticipate and be ready. You might get more keepers if you pick the kind of shot you want next, based on what’s going on in the game. Pre-focus on the spot where you think the action is going to happen and wait for it. For instance, I concentrated on batters until I got a couple of photos I liked, then I shifted to base running to catch some action there, and so on.

This is Florida – the sun can be very intense even in the spring, so bring sunscreen, sunglasses, and a hat. Enjoy yourself and the game.

Houston’s Justin Maxwell (#44) snags a fly ball

Summary

If you like baseball, Florida in the springtime is the place to be. Even if you’re not that big a baseball fan, photographing a game can be challenging and fun.

You can click the photos above to see larger versions on Flickr. There’s a link to more photos in the table below.

My Gallery / Flickr photo set:	Spring training set on Flickr
Website:	http://mlb.com
Address / Phone:	Multiple, see this link on Wikipedia
Central Florida Photo Ops Rating:	Hot dogs, peanuts, baseball, and photography – what more could you want?

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

Lowry Park Zoo, Tampa, Florida

March 16, 2013INSIDE FLORIDA, Lowry Park Zoo - TampaElephant, hornbill, mandril, orangutan, zooEd Rosack

Intro / Description

I’ve wanted to visit the Lowry Park zoo in Tampa, Florida for a long time. I finally made it over there for the first time last week with fellow Photography Interest Group member Tom M.

This non-profit zoo opened in 1957. It’s 56 acres in size and houses more than 1500 animals including many native Florida species. There are eight major areas in the zoo, divided into typical habitats. Some of them are quite large and natural and there are also free flight aviaries with a variety of birds to interact with.

A Sulawesi Tarictic Hornbill at the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, Florida

We spent a good bit of time in “Primate World” watching the family of Orangutans. The young one (I think this is RanDee, born in August 2008) was full of energy, swinging all around on the platforms and ropes. The adults watched her with very human-like “where does she get the energy” looks. Finally, RanDee rested for a bit behind her mom (DeeDee).

Resting behind mom – A young orangutan rests after play.

Parents.com has rated this zoo #1 for kids in the US based on the strength of its educational programs, safety, hands on exhibits and other factors. But I rate it highly for photographers too – based on the many available, close and unobstructed views. One example is the Giraffe feeding station. You can buy food for the kids to give to the Giraffes, but if you’re a photographer, you can stand to the side and photograph the animals from very close range. There are also a number of children’s rides at the zoo. These can be great family photo ops – so don’t forget to use your camera there.

Info for Photographers

Hours are 9:30 to 5, every day except for Thanksgiving and Christmas and admission is $24.95 for adults, which is a relative bargain when compared to theme parks costs. Parking is plentiful, close and free. I think many of the photo-ops are even better than at Disney’s Animal Kingdom (and cheaper too).

Their photography policy is fairly standard: photos / video are permitted “for personal use”. Permission is required in advance if your photos or video will be used for commercial purposes.

Eye contact – A Mandrill evaluates my camera technique. And doesn’t seem to like it.

Photo hints:

Travel as light as you can, you’ll be walking a good bit.

Tripod/Monopod: I didn’t see any signs allowing or prohibiting tripods and I didn’t see anyone using one. I usually leave mine at home for zoo visits, since it’s easy to find something to prop your camera on to steady it, and using a tripod when it’s crowded can block other visitors.

Lenses:

A moderate to long (or all in one) zoom would be the best single lens to bring. At this zoo, you can sometimes get quite close to many of the animals so a shorter focal length is handy too.

Best time to visit:

If you’re a Florida resident, you already know that the cool time of the year is best for outdoor parks. Arrive as early in the day as possible. You’ll beat some of the crowds and the animals are more active then.

Other:

A few of the animals are behind glass, so you might want to bring a polarizing filter – although you can probably make do by placing your lens right up against the glass to avoid reflections. A small flash may be handy in some instances to fill in shadows.

Do a little research before you go to make sure you’re up to date on recent arrivals. The young ones are extra fun to see. As I watched Mpumi make her way across the elephant enclosure (closely watched by two adult females), I remarked “cute baby”. The woman standing next to me (holding her own infant) said “thank you”. Her baby – which I hadn’t noticed before then, was cute too.

Baby elephant Mpumi – She was born in December 2012.

This zoo has had some controversies. But it seems well run now and the animals appear happy and well cared for. They’re also participating in many conservation projects and have a manatee hospital where injured animals are treated and released.

Summary

As usual, you can click on these photos to go to Flickr, where you can see larger versions. You can also see a few more photos from the Lowry Park Zoo in this set on Flickr.

My Gallery / Flickr photo set:	http://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/sets/72157632970940629/with/8550695583/
Website:	http://www.zootampa.org
Address / Phone:	1101 West Sligh Avenue Tampa, FL 33604-5958
Central Florida Photo Ops Rating:	Great for the kids, photo-ops for the grown ups

Airstream Ranch

March 8, 2013INSIDE FLORIDA, VARIOUSairstream, art, landscape, trailerEd Rosack

UPDATE (February 2017): 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. A little more info is in this post: https://edrosack.com/2017/02/26/goodbye-airstream-ranch/

I don’t remember when I first noticed the display of seven and a half upended 1957-1994 vintage Airstream travel trailers planted in a field on the south side of Interstate 4 east of Tampa, Florida (near exit 14). I do remember thinking it begged to be photographed.

Fellow Photography Interest Group member Tom M. thought so too, so we stopped on the way back from Tampa this week.

Tom contemplates art: The south-east side of the “ranch”

Frank Bates created the Airstream Ranch in 2007, commemorating the 75th anniversary of Airstream (hence 7 1/2 trailers) and paying homage to the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas. It’s been controversial and neighbors didn’t especially like it. The dispute eventually ended up in court with Mr. Bates prevailing. The court didn’t say it’s a work of art, but they did rule there’s no evidence it “created a nuisance, was a commercial sign or constituted an open storage of the vehicles.”

Airstream Ranch B&W

This turned out to be a difficult photographic assignment, especially since we were there in the middle of the day and the light was harsh. How could we interpret someone else’s “art”? How could we take something that’s been photographed so many times and do anything unique? Who knows? Who cares? I do know I enjoyed stopping and finally getting to see this up close, instead of glancing at it from the highway as we zoomed by.

Side view from the I-4 side

If you go, don’t stop on I-4 – it could be dangerous! Instead take Exit 14 and go past the McDonalds, then take a right on US 92. The next right is Castlewood Rd. and it winds around behind the field where you can park on the side and walk a short distance to the trailers.

Is this display artwork? Junk? An advertisement? A nuisance? Me – I think it’s outstanding in the field. And great fun!

A few photos from St. Augustine

March 2, 2013INSIDE FLORIDA, St. Augustineblack and white, church, fisheye, fountain, infrared, landscape, lighthouse, stair, treeEd Rosack

I visited St. Augustine, Florida last week with fellow Photography Interest Group member Tom M. It’s a high density photo-op environment and if you haven’t ever been there you really should go. We only spent a few hours, but we saw interesting things to photograph almost everywhere we looked. Here are a few examples:

Three trees, their shadows, and the Castillo de San Marcos

Bottoms up – The St. Augustine Lighthouse staircase

Alcove in the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine

Whistling waters

I’ve written about this town several times before. You can browse through those posts by selecting the category from the pull down on the right (or click this link). And you can visit this set on Flickr to see other images from St. Augustine.