Gatorland

Gatorland, , , ,

We were able to visit Gatorland for a few hours over the holiday break. The last time I was there was in May of 2017 to photograph birds during breeding season. It’s not breeding season now, but there were a few wild birds around that posed for me.

Great EgretGreat Egret

This next egret had a unique ‘ride’:

Uber Gator‘Uber’ Gator: It’s a good thing the Egret didn’t seem to be in a hurry – It looked like the gator ‘driver’ was asleep.

I think all the alligators are well fed but I imagine it’s still risky for birds to be so close. Standing on the gator probably protects it from other ones. It’d be easy for the gator to swish it’s tail and get rid of the bird, but maybe not worth the energy. Apparently it’s a habit. One of my Flickr friends says she sees this pair all the time.

Gators are the main attraction there and photo ops are everywhere. Here’s a huge friendly one enjoying the sunshine (thanks for pointing this out Sara!):

At restAt rest

And here’s a small cuddly one watching me:

Baby AlligatorBaby gator

The light in the flamingo pond was lovely when we wandered by. I liked this view of the feathers on the back of a close one.

Flamingo feathersFlamingo feathers

And the vivid colors on this Iguana were impressive, even through glass.

Through the glassThrough the glass

In some areas, Gatorland was a little more crowded than I’d prefer, but it was all outdoors and I enjoyed my first visit after such a long time. Definitely enjoyable!

Header image: Brave Wood Stork. See a larger version here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/51810388530/in/dateposted-public/.

You can browse posts I’ve written about Gatorland at this link: https://edrosack.com/category/photo-ops-in-florida/gatorland/.

And you can view an album of my photos from there on Flickr at this link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/albums/72157623039154783

I hope you’re having a great start to the new year. Please be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. And have a safe and prosperous 2022. And if you can, make some photos!

©2022, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Merry Christmas!

Miscellanious, Ponce Inlet

Just a short post this week to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all our Flickr friends!Santa passing through Ponce Inlet

I’m not planning to publish next weekend, so I’ll go ahead and wish you a prosperous and healthy new year now too!

Thank you so much for following my blog again this year. Please be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. And if you’re lucky enough to be be with family – enjoy your precious time together! See you soon in 2022!

©2021, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Flowering and Finished

Merritt Island NWR, Miscellanious

I first posted this photo about a month ago:

Goldenrod in bloomGoldenrod in bloom

The Goldenrod was flowering then all around Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. But when I drove back near the same spots recently, it looked like this:

Dried Goldenrod (?)Dried Goldenrod

Although still pretty, that’s a drastic change in the span of a month. And soon even the dried blossoms will be gone.

If you see something interesting, make a photo. There’s no telling if it’ll look the same when you come by again (and make another photo).

Header Image: A small crop from a black & white version of the second photo.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Please be kind, take care of yourselves and each other – and if you can, make some photos – before things change! 

©2021, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

A Favorite Place

Merritt Island NWR, , , , , , , , ,

I was in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge last Thursday morning and made a number of photos I really like. Today I’ll share 10 that show some of what you can see there at this time of year.

Handsome HoodieHandsome Hoodie: I spent several minutes watching this Hooded Merganser before he finally turned toward the light. It was worth the wait.

Posing Palm WarblerPosing Palm Warbler: iBird says these forage on the ground for insects, but I don’t think I’ve seen them do it before – especially close by, out in the open, and in nice light.

A Common Yellowthroat hunting breakfast in the Magrove rootsIn the Magrove roots: I like this environmental portrait. I haven’t seen a Common Yellowthroat scrambling around like this before either.

SpooniePreening Roseate Spoonbill: They were in several spots around Black Point Wildlife Drive. This was the closest and the best photo I made of one. I like the coy over-the-shoulder look.

Reddish and reflectionReddish Egret and reflection: I spotted 3 or 4 of these always pretty birds too.

Green HeronGreen Heron: It was hiding in the bushes when I first walked by. When I came back it was sitting still, out in the open.

Killdeer and reflectionKilldeer and reflection

Osprey with catchOsprey and catch: The birds were enjoying a fishing feast alongside Catfish Creek Road.

Kestrel American Kestrel: I almost drove by this tiny falcon, but saw something out of the corner of my eye to the left on the paved exit road at Black Point Wildlife Drive. The light was harsh and it didn’t turn around while I was there. I like the photo anyway.

Wading WilletWading Willet: I’m glad to see them back in Central Florida.

Others I spotted: Belted Kingfishers, Greater Yellowlegs, Brown Pelicans, Anhigas, Double-crested Cormorants, a Northern Harrier, many Northern Shovelers, Blue-winged Teals, Alligators, Sanderlings, Caspian Terns, Savanah Sparrows, Wood Storks, the regular herons and egrets and more.

By the way #1: Jim Boland has seen and photographed the Cinnamon Teal again this year – so if you go, look for it along the Wildbirds Unlimited Trail south of the parking area on the south west corner of BPWD. I looked on Thursday, but didn’t spot it. I guess it’s my “nemesis bird” once again.

By the way #2: It was nice to run into Pat H. out there. I haven’t seen her for quite a while. She’s a wonderful photographer – check out her Flickr stream if you get a chance.

In spite of that darn Cinnamon Teal, MINWR is still a wonderful area. So many photos from a single trip! No wonder it’s is one of my favorite places, especially at this time of year. It’s beautiful and the variety of birds and wildlife you can see is amazing.

Header image: “Across the water”. You can view the full photo here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/51759864252/in/dateposted-public/

Sorry for posting so many photos. If it’s any consolation – I could have posted even more!

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Please be kind, take care of yourselves and each other – and if you can, visit one of your favorite nature spots and make some photos! 

©2021, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Lightroom Masking Changes

Merritt Island NWR, Technique, , ,

Back in October, Adobe changed the way masking works in Lightroom and Camera RAW. I was a little irritated at first. The new interface was unfamiliar and I didn’t know how to do things I was used to doing with the old version (the radial and gradient tools). How dare they “move my cheese“?

Anyway – I’ve been using it since, have figured it out, and now like it much better than the older approach. The AI based capabilities (select sky and subject) are awesome and work pretty well. And the re-organized interface combines all of the masking capability into one place with very helpful ways to combine selections.

I won’t try to explain how to use the new tools. There’s a lot of info on the web about it. Here’s one tutorial that’ll get you started: https://digital-photography-school.com/lightroom-masking-tool/.

Instead, I’ll show you an example of how I processed an image using the tools. This one is from Merritt Island and it’s been sitting un-processed in my archives since 2016. Once I started working on it, I wondered why I’d left it sitting there for so long! This is the finished version:

Another morning in the marshAnother morning in the marsh

And now, here are the four different masks I used in the final stage of processing:

Mask 1: Some areas in the clouds were too bright. I reduced highlights and bumped up texture and clarity.
Mask 2: I also lowered highlights in the corresponding reflection so they better match the sky.
Mask 3: The trees on the right were very dark, so I increased shadows there to bring out more detail.
Mask 4: And finally, the clouds on the left were a bit dark. I increased the exposure there by about 1/3 stop. This one is a radial filter intersected with a dark luminous range.

Here’s a before / after slider that shows the effects of the mask adjustments.

Comparison slider: Before (left) and after (right) masking. The changes aren’t all that dramatic, but I think they help.

So that’s my example. If (like me) you were a little put off by these changes, I’d encourage you to have another look. It’s worth the effort to master them. The control we have with digital capture and processing is just amazing when you think about how hard this would be to dodge and burn using film in an actual darkroom.

You can see a higher resolution version of this photo on Flickr at this link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/51720541937/in/dateposted-public/lightbox/

And you can see many more of my black and white photos in this album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/albums/72157625316775091

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Please be kind, take care of yourselves and each other – and if you can, get out and make (and mask) some photos!

©2021, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Get there early (or stay late)

Cameras and Photography, Merritt Island NWR, , ,

I’ve been an early riser for a long time. I used to be at work before others and got a lot done before they showed up. I thought that would change when I retired, but the habit stuck with me.

I’m still up way before sunrise almost every morning. It’s an asset for landscape photography. I get to places when it’s still dark and things (and photos) look different.

Too early at the boat rampToo early at the boat ramp

When I start early, I can go to more places. I’ll continue making landscape photos in different spots as I look for wildlife and the light changes. So I usually come home with a number of landscape images. These two very different photos are from the same trip.

Catfish Creek Trail Catfish Creek Trail

Getting there early gives me extra opportunities. It doesn’t work all the time or for everyone. It’s not the best approach for sunset and late night photography – but staying up late is. If you like to sleep in, you’ll need to apply my “too early” strategy in reverse and stay a little later after sunset. And if If you’re lucky enough to be at one of your “bucket list” locations, you’ll probably want to get set up and wait for the best light before you start moving around like I do.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Please be kind, take care of yourselves and each other – and if you can, get out early (or stay late) and make some photos!

©2021, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Just for me?

INSIDE FLORIDA, Merritt Island NWR, Orlando Wetlands, , , , , , ,

I enjoy mornings like this one. Out in nature, seeing the sun rise in a pretty spot, or handsome birds posing in lovely light – with my camera along to hopefully capture an impression of a gorgeous moment in front of me.

A new sun kisses the morning marsh A new sun kisses the morning marsh

Before the pandemic, most of my photography excursions were with other people along to share the sights and experience. Now, it’s rare to go out with anyone else. Sometimes there are other folks around, but I’m mostly by myself seeing beautiful things that no one else sees (even if there’s someone else there!).

Little Blue Heron Family(?) Little Blue Heron Family(?)

Going out alone is good for concentration and getting into a “photography flow“. But going out with others is also good.

Redish and reflection Reddish and reflection

When I made all of the images in this post (and many of the photos in recent posts), I was the only one there to witness what I photographed. I’m grateful that the universe arranges these scenes for me, but it seems like a lot of trouble for an audience of one.

Basking heron Basking heron

I suppose that’s not the right way to think about it. It’s not about me / us. The universe goes about its business regardless of whether any one or thing is there to observe (let’s set aside metaphysics and quantum mechanics for now).

It’s not creating things just for us. Although it seems like it if we’re the only one there.

Fly by Fly by

Isn’t it incredible that even in an urban area like Central Florida we can still at times enjoy nature in uncrowded or even empty places.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Please be kind, take care of yourselves and each other – and if you can, get out and make some photos! Maybe I’ll see you out there!

©2021, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

A Wonderful Time of Year

Merritt Island NWR, , , , , , , , , ,

It’s begun: We’re finally leaving the hot weather behind here in Central Florida. Cooler temperatures and lower humidity (and fewer biting insects!) make outside activities even more pleasant. Birds / wildlife enjoy this weather too: There’s more for us to see as migrant species pass through or stop by for the winter

Here are some photos I made last Wednesday in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. I went first to Black Point Wildlife Drive. I got there a little too early so there wasn’t much activity yet. The calm reflections in one of the still ponds along the way was attractive, though:

A peaceful, easy morning A peaceful, easy morning

I decided to make another pass around Black Point. I’m glad I did. There was more going on the second time through. I spotted these some I haven’t seen in a while:

Northern Shoveler Northern Shoveler (migrant)

Savannah Sparrow Savannah Sparrow (migrant)

Black-crowned Night-Heron Black-crowned Night-Heron (year round)

Belted Kingfishers reappeared starting a month or so ago, but this is the first halfway decent photo I’ve managed to get. As usual, this one flew off as soon as I raised my camera. I just sat still waiting and it returned a few minutes later.

Belted Kingfisher Belted Kingfisher (migrant)

I’ve been seeing Grebes for a while too. This one was showing off its fresh catch while keeping a wary eye on me so I didn’t swipe breakfast.

Grebe and grub Grebe and grub (migrant / less common in Summer)

These Roseate Spoonbills were a good distance off the road near the entrance to Black Point Wildlife drive. They’re spotted in the refuge year round, but I hadn’t photographed any since last February. I’m looking forward to closer encounters and maybe better photos over the winter.

Far away Far away

And lastly, these gorgeous Goldenrod flowers were blooming in several areas around the refuge.

Goldenrod in bloom Goldenrod in bloom

The header image is a sunrise along Gator Creek Road. You can view a higher resolution version here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/51663779991/in/dateposted-public/

Also, you can use this page on ebird.org to see a list of 300+ species and when they are usually seen at MINWR: https://ebird.org/barchart?byr=1900&eyr=2021&bmo=1&emo=12&r=L123565.

I had a great visit. Lots of nature’s beauty to see and photograph. A wonderful time of year indeed.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Please be kind, take care of yourselves and each other – and if you can, get out and make some photos!

©2021, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Try Something Different

Uncategorized

This isn’t typical of bird photos I usually make. But when I saw a backlit Great Blue Heron standing statue-like on an old post in the river – I had to try a few photos.

I was lucky I’d mounted my long zoom lens on the full frame body I usually use for landscapes. That gave me more resolution and dynamic range to play with in post-processing than I would have had if I’d used my typical crop frame birding set up.

Heron in a river of gold Heron in a river of gold

I don’t do many silhouettes and strictly speaking, this isn’t one since I kept some detail in the dark bird. But I like the way it turned out.

Thanks for stopping by my blog. Please take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, try something different when you make your photos. You might like how they turn out!

©2021, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Happy Halloween!

Haulover Canal,

Wow! Isn’t that a great Double-crested Cormorant costume the third Brown Pelican on the right is wearing in this photo?

One of these is not like the others One of these is not like the others

Or maybe, two Cormorants on the left are wearing Pelican costumes? Very hard to tell.

Happy Halloween!

Thanks for stopping by my blog. Please take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, make some photos!

©2021, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved