Sunrise, swamp, birds, gators

INSIDE FLORIDA, Merritt Island NWR, , , , , , , ,

We’re really blessed in Central Florida with many places that photography and nature enthusiasts can visit.  The Photography Interest Group took another trip to Black Point Wildlife Drive yesterday.  There was a lot to see.

750mm (eq.) sunrise
I used a 750mm effective focal length lens to shoot this sunrise photo. I like the transparent look of the trees in front of the sun.

Blackpoint panorama

A 4 shot panorama.

Kevin McKinney (who has the knack for spotting things) let us know there were kingfishers in the area.  I saw this one (my first ever) and made a very quick photo hand-held out the window at 750mm (eq).  Thank goodness for optical stabilization!  It was terribly back-lit, but the best I could do. It flew off as soon as we opened the door, living up to their reputation for being very skittish.

Belted Kingfisher (female)
Belted Kingfisher

Like the previous time I was there, we saw many spoonbills.  This one posed for us for a while.  It wasn’t until I got home that I noticed the fishing line wrapped around its bill.  Please, please think twice before you throw anything in the water.

3/22/10 update:  Good news!  Kevin Krause reports that the fishing line was gone a little later.

Spoonbill
A beautiful bird. I hope it can get the fishing line untangled from its upper bill.

And finally, here’s another gator eye photo. In this one you can see both Keith and Ed in the upper right.

Another Gator eye reflection
2 photographers, 4 meters away, 8 foot wild alligator.

These and other photos are also posted in my Black Point set on Flickr, where you can view a larger version of them.  For more information on Black Point, you can visit the official site, or search my blog for earlier posts I’ve done.  Thanks for visiting!

©2010, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.

The Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (Disney's EPCOT)

INSIDE FLORIDA, Orlando, Theme Parks, , , ,

Intro / Description

Disney opened the EPCOT theme park in 1982.  It is a different sort of park with two main areas:  Future world, and the World Showcase.  They also occasionally have special events, which can greatly add to the photo op quotient.

Future world has a mix of rides, and the ones we enjoyed the most were Mission Space, Test Track and Spaceship Earth.  The Seas with Nemo & Friends is aimed at small children, but there is a nice, large aquarium there as well.

World Showcase is where you can enjoy shopping, food and a sample of culture from many places around the world.  Pavilions include: Norway (don’t miss the Maelstrom ride!), Mexico, China, Germany, Italy, The American Adventure Japan, Morocco (check out the shops and architecture), France, United Kingdom, and Canada.  There are many fine restaurants, and although a little pricey – you don’t have to settle for standard theme park food.  Be sure to make a reservation early.

Moroccan gifts
Gifts of Morocco

The EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival runs from March 3 – May 16, 2010 so this is an especially nice time for a photographer to visit.  The entire park is planted with flowers with many Disney themed topiaries throughout.  There was also a collection of bonsai trees near the Japanese pavilion when we were there.

Bonsai tree
Bonsai boca

The Flower and Garden Festival also has some special activities such as The Pixie Hollow Fairy Garden, Fawn’s Butterfly House, The Community Garden and Flower Power Concert Series and more.  I was impressed by all of this, but the Butterfly Garden was still getting started when we were there.

Intense flower 1
Intense Flower

Info for Photographers

Photo hints:  Make sure you keep your eyes open – there are photo ops everywhere.

Tripod/Monopod: Definitely allowed – I saw several people with tripods and quite a bit of high end camera gear.

Lenses: For the Flower Exhibition, a macro lens was nice.  You’ll want a general purpose zoom for most of the park.  I didn’t see a lot of need for a longer lens.  I used a 105mm macro on my D700 for the flowers and other things and my Canon S90 for some shots.

Best time to visit: Spring time is a wonderful time in Central Florida.  The weather is great and the The Flower and Garden show runs through May 16th.

Other:  Like many of the Orlando parks, it’s pricey.  General admission is now $79 for adults and $68 for children.  You’ll have to budget an additional $14 for parking and additional money for any food and gifts you buy.  There are sometimes discounts for Florida residents.

Summary

The EPCOT theme park is a place where the entire family can have fun, while at the same time providing a large and varied number of photo ops for the photography enthusiast.  The photos in this post are just a few of the ones I made, and there was much more to see.  See below for links to the rest.

My EPCOT photo set on Flickr: The set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/sets/72157623621620712/

Here’s a slide show of the images (click to start, and when running click  to go to the photo on Flickr):
Website: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/parks/epcot/
Address / Phone: 1510 Avenue of the Stars

Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830

(407) 824-4321?
Central Florida Photo Ops Rating: Fun family day – will keep the photographer interested!

©2010, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.

It takes teamwork – Florida Sandhill Crane nest

INSIDE FLORIDA, Viera Wetlands, , ,

We’re very fortunate to have Sandhill Cranes in Central Florida.  You can see these large wading birds all around the area and you often see them in groups of two to four.  Usually the group is a family with two larger birds (the parents) and one or two smaller juveniles.

For a few weeks last year, I regularly saw one family on my way home from work – they were often in a field next to the entrance ramp where I get on the toll road .  It was interesting to watch the young bird grow and eventually leave the parents.  I’ve also seen them in parking lots and even crossing major roads (on foot!).

According to Wikipedia, The Florida Sandhill Crane subspecies is estimated to have some 5,000 individuals remaining and is protected in our state.  Sad fact:  Sandhill Cranes are hunted in several western states and Canada.  Fun fact:  Ten million year old fossils of the Sandhill crane have been found which makes it the oldest known bird species still surviving.

Sandhill Cranes on nest

Sandhill Cranes and nest – Nikon D90, ISO 200, f/8, 1/640 sec, Sigma 150-500mm @ 500mm, 60 meters distance

I didn’t realize that Sandhill Cranes nest on the ground.  I saw a nest for the first time yesterday at Vierra Wetlands and I’ve been thinking about it ever since.  How has this species survived for ten million years using this strategy?  Can you imagine how difficult it is to protect a nest from all the predators in the middle of a marsh?  I saw large alligators not far from this nest and I’m certain that there are raccoons, snakes and other things that would love to eat eggs or small birds close by.


Alligator on bank at Vierra Wetlands – Nikon D90, ISO 200, f/8, 1/640 sec, Sigma 150-500mm @ 500mm

iBird says that both parents incubate the eggs during the day, but only the female does so at night.  It doesn’t say what the male bird does at night, but it must have to help defend the female.  I can only conclude that these birds are very fierce defenders.  Alligators and other predatory animals must learn to leave them alone – after all,  modern alligators have been around for about six to 12 million years!

©2010, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.

Comparing Gatorland to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm

Gatorland, INSIDE FLORIDA, St. Augustine, St. Augustine Alligator Farm, , ,

Intro



Tri Color Heron_DSC9601_7_nx2
Tri-color heron at Gatorland

A few weeks ago, I promised to compare the St. Augustine Alligator Farm to Gatorland from the point of view of a nature / wildlife photography enthusiast. And in this post, I’ll do it.

This entry is only a top-level summary of what you can expect at each place.  For more information, please look at earlier posts I’ve done, which you can find via the blog table of contents or by using the search box at the top of the page.

Roosting Black Crowned Night Heron

Black Crowned Night Heron roosting at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm.

Summary table

Both of these parks have rookeries where wild birds come to roost.  This concentration of avian visitors is very handy for the bird photographer. Why would you pick one over the other to visit?  Both cater to photographers and try to make it easy to capture images of wild birds. This table lists other factors that I think are important when comparing these parks.  I’ve listed each along with a comment to explain and a + or – rating to show which place I think comes out ahead on that factor.

Factor: Gatorland Alligator Farm
Birds
variety: Herons, egrets, spoonbills, wood storks, anhinga, limpkins, vultures, others+ Herons, egrets, spoonbills, wood storks,  vultures, others+
number of birds: Many+ Many+
Distance: Birds can be quite close and are used to humans, with some nesting within feet of the boardwalk.  Some species are high in the trees.+ Birds can be quite close and are used to humans, with some nesting within feet of the boardwalk.  Some species are high in the trees.+
behavior: Natural and varied.  Courting, brooding, nesting, hatching, fledging, etc.+ Natural and varied.  Courting, brooding, nesting, hatching, fledging, etc.+
Other wildlife: Large variety, with most of the animals easily accessible to photographers.+ Large variety, with most of the animals easily accessible to photographers.+
Information available: Lots of info available on the Website. There is a Flickr group where you can see the types of photos possible.+ Lots of info available on the  Website, There is a Flickr group, where you can see the types of photos possible. A Yahoo group used to post rookery updates, but has now been replaced by an Alligator Farm Blog.
Exhibits and shows: Several, good for the kids.+ Some, good for the kids.
Price: $20 – 100 (adults).  Some discounts available. $20 – 70 (adults)
Photo pass available: Yes: re-instated in 2012.  February through July, 7:30am to dusk. $99.99. Yes, $70 – with early entry at 8:00am+
Proximity ~40 minutes from Winter Springs.  Closer to Orlando.+ ~1 hour, 50 minutes from Winter Springs.  Farther from Orlando.-
Other photo ops in the area: Gatorland is a little isolated from other photo opportunities in the area. Historic St. Augustine has a huge number of photo opportunities.+
Other attractions in the area: Many attractions and parks in the Orlando area within a short drive.+ A few smaller attractions are close by.-

Conclusions

Which one should you go to? For nature and wildlife photography, I would say you probably can’t go wrong with either place.  If you haven’t been to either one, choose the whichever is most convenient for you.

If you’re going for more than just photography, then  Gatorland is also probably a little more well-rounded, with more to do.  On the other hand, the Alligator farm makes for a nice day trip from Orlando when you combine it with a stop in the historical district or the fort.

You can capture stunning images at both places, so pick the one that is most convenient for you.

©2010, 2019 Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.

Central Florida Bird Photography Scouting Report

INSIDE FLORIDA,

It’s February and the birding / nesting season is moving into full swing in Central Florida.  In the last three days I’ve been to four of our local birding hot spots.  If you’re into birding or bird photography it’s time to get your gear out and get out there!  Here’s a short status report on what’s happening at the sites I visited.

(Note:  click on any of the photos below to go to Flickr, where you can see them larger.  You can also read posts I’ve done on each of these places.  Go to the index page to find them.)

Black Point Wildlife Drive, Friday, mid-morning.

Spoonbills are the main attraction – they were everywhere.  The best place I found was in the pool just behind the parking area near the rest rooms, where several were putting on a show, posing and sweeping their bills through the shallow water.  There were also the usual herons, egrets, etc. and I made one nice photo of an egret eating breakfast.

Spoonbill in flight
Spoonbill in flight

St. Augustine Alligator Farm,  Friday, late morning

There’s some construction going on at the Alligator Farm.  They’ve rebuilt part of the boardwalk through the rookery, and when I was there Friday, they had a backhoe going digging out and moving concrete from one area.  I hope that all the noise doesn’t keep the nesting birds away.  I did see one pair of Great Egrets building a nest and several other birds roosting in trees.  The alligators of course, are there and quite happy to pose for photos.  I made this one where you can see me reflected in its eye if you enlarge it to full size.

Self Portrait
Self Portrait

Orlando Wetlands Park, Saturday, early morning

Orlando Wetlands closes for the winter and just re-opened in February.  This year, they have many activities planed for each weekend.  Last Saturday the Education Center was open with an exhibit of Orange Audubon Chertok Photo Contest winners, tram and hiking tours as well as videos showings about the park.  As a result, the park was as busy as I’ve ever seen it.  Perhaps all the people are making the birds skittish – I had a hard time getting very close to any.  There’s supposed to be a White Faced Ibis at the park and although I did not see it, many people did.  I like this landscape I made which shows how pretty this park is on a calm morning.

Swamp landscape
Swamp Landscape

Viera Wetlands, Sunday, early morning

I only discovered Viera Wetlands this year and I continue to be amazed at the quantity and diversity of the birds you can see there.  Today was no exception.  We saw an American Bittern, a Wesley’s Snipe and many other varieties.  The Great Blue Heron’s are nesting and some already have chicks.  One Great Blue Heron couple put on a show for us with the male fetching sticks for inspection and use by his partner.

Pair of Great Blue Herons building nest
Great Blue Heron takes stick back to nest

I posted additional photos on Flickr.  You can browse the set here, or view a slide show at this link.

©2010, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.

Florida tree colors

INSIDE FLORIDA, ,

I apologize in advance to all my colder climate readers for saying this (hi Sis), but our weather has been chilly lately. We’ve had several nights in the last couple of months with hard freezes and many more with temperatures down in the 30s. The Florida panhandle even had snow a few days ago!  So it’s surprising to see our trees starting to bud and blossom already. We don’t get a lot of color in our fall foliage but beginning around this time of year, it seems nature tries to make up for it. This can lead to some nice photo-ops if you keep your eyes open.

Lynn and I went out for a Valentine’s Day breakfast this morning and on the way back, she drove me around for a few minutes looking for good examples to photograph with my Canon S90. By the way, I very much like the S90.  It has a great deal of capability in a very small package.

Here’s one tree that caught my eye (click these to go to Flickr where you can see larger versions).

IMG_0512Red maple tree and reflection

The color isn’t from leaves, but from red seed pods. Here’s what they look like up close.

IMG_0515

Red Maple seed pod close up

We have other trees starting to bloom too.  Here’s a white one, with some more of the red maple trees in the background.

IMG_0518White blooms, blue sky

So – keep a camera with you and keep your eyes open.  You might find something interesting to capture.  Also – if you can help with identifying these specific trees, please comment on the post or send me an email. Thank you, Kevin McKinney for helping me identify the Red Maple trees.

©2010, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.

Viera Wetlands Update

INSIDE FLORIDA, Viera Wetlands, , , ,

The Photography Interest Group elected to return to Viera Wetlands this morning. Once again, it was a very nice visit.  The weather was much better than last time. We had clear skies and plenty of light, although the road was chained closed due the recent rains – making it a walking visit only.  Walking is better for us anyway.

One thing I definitely wanted to see was the masked duck that had been reported in the paper recently. Apparently, these are very rare in the area – and I’d never seen one. There are a lot of birders coming from as far as 2 hours away to add this one to their life list.

Masked Duck
Masked Duck

Here’s a few other photos from this morning.

Wood Stork in flight
Wood Stork in flight – I like the water drops in his wake.

Limpkin in flight
Limpkin in flight

Pair of Mottled Ducks (?)
Pair of Mottled Ducks (?) – I really like the lead duck’s head reflected in the water.

I’ve added these and several others to my Viera Wetlands Set on Flickr, where you can view larger versions of them.

©2010, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.

I’ve added a Table of Contents / Index …

Blogging, VARIOUS

The blog has been up and going for almost three years and this is my 75th post. I’ve covered a broad variety of (mostly) photo related subjects.

I tag my blog posts depending on where they’re located. You’ve always been able to filter the blog by clicking on these (and other) tags in the side bar on the right side of each blog page.

With so many entries it’s becoming harder to find information, so I decided to add a Table of Contents / Index page to organize the photo-op information and make it easy to find. You’ll see a permanent link to it at the top of the blog.

Although I can’t promise to keep blogging forever, I do very much enjoy sharing my experiences and I hope to continue for a long time. Your comments and constructive criticism on how to improve the blog, or suggestions for places to visit are always welcome. And if you have questions on the area, please feel free to ask. I’ve lived in here for many years, and just may have the answer you’re looking for. Leave a comment or email me at ed@rosack.com.

Epson R 1900 printer and Exhibition Fiber paper

Cameras and Photography, VARIOUS,

For your information:

A friend told me about Epson Exhibition Fiber paper and since it was on sale at Atlex (no longer on. line), I bought a box to try. Unfortunately, I just assumed that Epson would have a profile for using this paper with my Epson R1900 printer.

They don’t. But I went ahead anyway and got pretty good results with it by printing with the Premium Photo Paper Semi-Gloss profile.  YMMV.