Tag Archives: black and white

Mother Nature’s rewards

March 10, 2019INSIDE FLORIDA, Merritt Island NWR, St. Johns Riverbee, black and white, boat, BPWD, Common Yellowthroat, fishing, infrared, landscape, Northern Shoveler, Red-breasted Merganser, sunrise, Thistle, Wilson's SnipeEd Rosack

I headed out toward Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge with KM and KK last Friday.

We stopped by the boat ramp at the St. Johns River on US 50 for sunrise. There weren’t many clouds, so my hopes for color weren’t too high. But there was a nice pop as the sun came over the horizon and I zoomed in to capture this moment:

St. Johns Sunrise – a peaceful pasture

I had my infrared modified camera in the car. When I saw these fishermen leaving, I pulled it out and hurried over to make an image. Despite rushing, I like the way it turned out. The clarity that IR brings to this image is nice, and the wake and boat reflection are pretty too. I’m glad I had the camera all setup to go before I grabbed it!

Early departure – Monochrome, infrared

KM is an ace at spotting birds and he called out this Merganser. When I got home, I thought at first it might be a Common Merganser – which I’ve never seen before. But it turns out their range doesn’t include Florida. So this was a Red-breasted – which I have seen, although infrequently.

Red-breasted Merganser

There are a large number of Northern Shovelers around Black Point Wildlife drive. Of course they were mostly far away and when they were close, they seemed to always face in the wrong direction. But patience paid off when this male eventually swam slowly in front of us in good light and dragged his very handsome reflection with him.

Male Northern Shoveler

Thistle plants are also all over on Black Point – this one came with a Bee on it. I made a four image panorama to record the whole subject with higher magnification and resolution. Sometimes I run into issues stitching these together. But this one turned out well:

Thistle and Bee

KK called out this Snipe in the mangroves along the canal and we of course stopped to photograph it. The light was poor, with the sun behind it. When I first looked at my photo on the computer, it was very washed out. I added some dehaze in Lightroom and was pleased with the result.

Wilson’s Snipe

Smaller birds were flitting around near the rest stop on Black Point. I usually find these hard to photograph. The light is bad way back in the reeds and they move quickly. It’s tough to focus on them through all the obstructions. I was shooting toward the sun for this image too and it didn’t look good at first on my computer. Thankfully it’s in focus and there’s a lot of latitude for processing with a RAW format file. I used local adjustments with the radial filter in Lightroom to boost the exposure and visible detail on the bird.

Common Yellowthroat

When we left on this trip, I had no idea what we’d see and photograph. There are no guarantees. I’ve learned though, that Mother Nature usually rewards us when we pay attention to her – in this case with a nice sunrise and several birds that I rarely see. And a little post processing rewarded me with improved photos.

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

Viera Wetlands 2-6-19

February 10, 2019INSIDE FLORIDA, Viera WetlandsAmerican Robin, birds, black and white, Deer, flycatcher, landscape, Sandhill Crane, sunrise, web, wildlifeEd Rosack

Here are some photos from a trip to Viera Wetlands last week. There’s a lot to see there!

Dawn in the harbor – A sunrise stop at the Cocoa Riverfront Park on the way to Viera

Sandhill Crane and egg in nest – it’s fairly close to the berm. I think I’ll go back in a week or so and see if it’s hatched.

Deer – I’ve seen them several times hanging out at the east end of the park

Web – The spiders were busy and some of their work was catching the early morning sunlight

American Robin – Winter visitors / migrants are showing up in force

Eastern Phoebe. ~~Ash-throated Flycatcher(?)~~ I didn’t recognize this bird when I made the photo. ~~and I’m still not totally sure what it is~~. A Great crested Flycatcher was seen at Viera Wetlands in January, but this one seems too small for that. An Ash-throated Flycatcher was seen there in previous years. Many thanks to Wally Jones for the ID help!

So I had a very nice visit to a wonderful place – if you’ve never been, now is a good time to go!

You can see all my posts about Viera Wetlands at this link: https://edrosack.com/category/viera-wetlands/

And I have many more photos from Viera Wetlands in this album on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/albums/72157623223995224

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

First, check the web page!

February 3, 2019INSIDE FLORIDA, Merritt Island NWRbirds, black and white, BPWD, Hooded Merganser, infrared, landscape, Northern Shoveler, panorama, Pig, Spoonbill, sunrise, tree, wildlifeEd Rosack

I missed out last week on a trip with Kevin K. and Kevin M. to the Circle B Bar Reserve due to some dental work (ouch!). So I was eager to photograph something this week. My schedule was finally clear on Friday, and when I woke up early, I decided to go walk around Orlando Wetlands Park – one of my favorite spots in this area.

Whoops. I suspected something was wrong when I got out of the car and heard engines running. I walked out toward Lake Searcy in the dark and when I saw construction gear and no water in the corner cell, I turned around. Fortunately I’d gotten up way too early, so I still had time to change my “plans” and almost make sunrise over on the coast.

Early morning on the river shore 2. Rotary Riverfront Park, Titusville. That’s the NASA Vehicle Assembly Building in the distance.

After that, I headed to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. There are a lot of winter migrants here now. The birds must’ve known beforehand about this week’s Polar Vortex. In addition to our year round species, I saw American Avocets, Lesser Scaups, Northern Shovelers, Hooded Mergansers, and fast warblers I couldn’t ID. I also stopped and talked to some folks on Black Point Wildlife Drive who were trying to find a Cinnamon Teal that’s been seen there. I heard later they found it again on Saturday.

Hooded Mergansers. Two males taking turns displaying for the females in the area

Pair of porkers. Part of larger family just inside BPWD.

Spoonbill and reflection. This bird was so still, I had time to zoom in and make a three frame panorama. That really helps with details!

Weathered Red Cedar. I was glad to see that my infrared camera still works after so much neglect!

So my photo adventure started out badly, but turned out well. Those engines I heard were pumps. I checked the OWP web page when I got home – they’re “demucking” Cell 14. And there’s also construction going on in Cell 16. I’ll go back in a while when the ruckus dies down. Don’t be like me – check the web page before you go. Even if you’ve been there many times!

Orlando Wetlands photos here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/albums/72157639616792296

More Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge photos here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/albums/72157627776386723

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

Veterans Day 2018

November 11, 2018Pennsylvania, VARIOUSblack and white, Gettysburg, landscape, veteransEd Rosack

Lynn and I were able to visit Gettysburg for a short time on our way home from Pennsylvania last July. It was a bright and sunny day, but you can’t help but feel somber thinking about what occurred there. Over a brutal three-day battle, the two sides suffered more than 46,000 casualties and it’s said Gettysburg marked the turning point of the Civil War.

This field of battle is quiet now. Near the site of Lincoln’s address, Gettysburg National Military Park

Shortly after the battle, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address. His closing words are especially appropriate on Veterans Day and every day:

"... that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Every year in the United States, we pause on the 11th of November to honor the service and sacrifice of all men and women who answer the call. To our veterans and to those serving today – you have our deepest gratitude. We honor you for your service and sacrifices.

“Army of the Potomac, Second Corps, Artillery Brigade, Battery I First U.S. Artillery”

Especially in today’s world, those who choose to volunteer for the military endure long periods far from home and loved ones. They live in conditions without the comforts that we take for granted. They face danger and conquer fear to protect our freedom and way of life. In far too many cases, they give their all – sacrificing life and limb. We owe them.

Some previous Veterans Day related posts:

Thanks to all of you for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go out and thank a veteran!

St. Petersburg, Florida

November 3, 2018INSIDE FLORIDAarchitecture, black and white, boat, Chihuly, Clyde Butcher, glasswork, landscape, Salvador Dali, sunriseEd Rosack

Lynn and I recently spent a pleasant couple of days over in St. Petersburg. Here are a few photos and some background info.

Dali Museum:

I’m a long time fan of Clyde Butcher and wanted to visit his “Visions of Dali’s Spain” exhibit at the Salvador Dali Museum. I enjoyed viewing his very large black and white prints up close and the juxtaposition with Dali’s work was fascinating. If you can’t make it over there, you can view the photos, watch a video about it, and learn more at this link: https://clydebutcher.com/pc/photographs/dalis-spain/.

Salvidor Dali Museum Interior

He used a digital camera for this project instead of his normal large format film approach, and I thought it was interesting that the results are so similar. If he hadn’t explained this in the video, I wouldn’t have suspected he didn’t use film.

Chihuly Collection:

Lynn mentioned wanting to visit the Chihuly Collection at the Morean Arts Center. I’d heard of Dale Chihuly and his blown glass art work before, but I’d only ever seen a piece or two in isolation. This is a different and much better experience.

Float Boat, 2007

The artwork itself is exquisite with amazing form and color. Seeing it in this setting, where it’s been professionally arranged and lighted was amazing!

Ivory Basket with Oxblood Spots, 1977

Glasswork can be very difficult to photograph. The illumination has to show the form without reflecting hotspots and obscuring details with shadows. In all cases, this lighting was perfect and the shadows enhanced the view and revealed even more details. I think photographers can learn quite a bit studying these displays.

Morean White Seaform Set, 2010

I really enjoyed seeing this. If you get a chance, go.

Waterfront:

I managed to get up for sunrise one morning while we were there. I debated driving down to Fort Desoto, but ended up taking the easy way out and explored the nearby waterfront instead.

St. Petersburg North Yacht Basin

There’s construction in the area, so I picked viewpoints to hide that. I liked the view above of the north basin at dawn. And the mid-day reflections and clouds in this next one caught my eye too.

St. Petersburg Central Yacht Basin

It was a short, but lovely visit. You can view more photos from our trip in this album on Flickr.

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

It’s about time

October 14, 2018Georgiablack and white, landscape, philosophy, waterfallEd Rosack

How much time did it take to make the image you see here? That’s an interesting question – I’m glad you asked!

Short answer: 1.3 seconds. Medium answer: 5 months. Long answer: 13.8 billion years.

Rocks, water, light and time – in black and white

To begin with:

Preparing for a photo trip and gathering what you need before you leave takes time.
Traveling to a location and back can be minutes or days – you have to decide whether the potential photos at a location are worth the time to go. Or just go anyway and explore!
Once there, you sometimes see a spot off the path or a little further on and you have to decide if that image is worth the time and effort to get to.
Then for each photo, it takes time to set up for an image (tripod, lens selection, etc.) and you often have to wait for conditions or subjects to cooperate.

Only after all that do you get to decide on a shutter speed to control how long your exposure is – in this example, 1.3 seconds.

Then, when you get home:

It takes time to go through all your photos, decide which ones are worthy of attention and process them.
You also have to spend time posting images and writing about them.

I made this image 5 months ago at Amicalola Falls State Park in Georgia and you’re just now seeing it. And even before all that could happen:

Cameras had to be invented – (maybe 1550?) and film too (~1816).
Modern digital cameras had to be refined and lots of software written.
Each of us has to invest time learning how to photograph, how to post process, and practicing our skills.

And even before all that can happen:

The universe (starting ~13.8 billion years ago) and solar system (~4.6 billion years ago) had to form.
Life (3.5 billion years?) and humans (~2.5 million years) had to evolve.
Geology had to happen: Mountains had to rise up and erosion had to form rivers, and forests had to grow.
And civilization and culture had to progress to the point where leisure time is available to make photos for the fun of it and people have time to read blogs about them.

“Time is the indefinite continued progress of existence and events that occur in apparently irreversible succession from the past through the present to the future.” – Wikipedia

Each of us only has so much time and we have to decide how to spend it. Thanks so much for taking the time to read my blog. Now – go make some photos!

Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive

August 26, 2018Lake Apopkablack and white, Black Crowned Night Heron, infrared, invasive species, landscape, Purple Gallinule, Sailfin catfishEd Rosack

I joined Kevin M. and Kevin K. on a trip around Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive last Friday. We got a late start and didn’t make sunrise, so you’ll have to be satisfied with a monochrome landscape this week.

Lake Apopka Shore. Monochrome, IR

Black Point Wildlife Drive seemed quiet when I was there a week ago, but Lake Apopka is active. We saw lots of people and lots of birds. I don’t catch Black-crowned Night Herons that often, but we spotted several including this young one fishing in a canal.

Black-crowned Night Heron

A little later we spotted another that’d just caught a catfish.

Black-crowned Night Heron and Catfish

This looks like a Sailfin Catfish. I hadn’t heard about these, but Kevin M. filled me in. They’re a type of suckermouth (or armored) catfish and a non-native, invasive species in Florida. Originally from Venezuela and Colombia, they’re popular in aquariums. Most likely they escaped from tropical fish farms and / or were released here by people.

Now they’re abundant and widespread throughout Florida and bad for our ecosystem. They dig burrows that cause erosion. Because of their tough, armored skin and sharp spines, they can choke birds that eat them. There were a lot of them in the canals next to the roads. The St. John’s River Water Management District has an undesirable fish harvest each year that gets some of them out of the water.

In addition to the Night Heron, we also saw a Great Blue Heron and a Great Egret with one. I hope they didn’t choke.

I don’t see many Purple Gallinules either, and I didn’t realize this was a young one until Kevin M. ID’d it for us. Thanks, Kevin!

Purple Gallinule juvenile

We saw several other types of birds, dragonflies, butterflies, flowers, and the usual alligators too. Lake Apopka is well worth a visit, even in the hot summer.

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

Old Car City

June 15, 2018GeorgiaAntiques, automotive, black and white, Cars, infrared, junkyard, landscape, panorama, travel, treeEd Rosack

Okay, I know the name of the blog is “Central Florida Photo Ops” and I usually write about landscape and wildlife photography. But Old Car City (http://oldcarcityusa.com/) is a very cool place and I have a scouting report and some photos to show you!

Photographers Paradise

Old Car City calls itself a “Photographer’s Paradise”, and the “worlds largest known classic car junkyard”. It’s hard to disagree. It began as a general store in 1931 in White, Georgia. Over the years it evolved into a forested refuge for 4000+ cars, most more than 35 years old. Located about an hour from downtown Atlanta, it covers 34 acres with 6 1/2 miles of trails to explore.

The cars stay where they were originally placed. Some are piled high. Others rest alone or lined up. Many are overgrown with vines and some even have trees growing right through them. Admission is $25 (only $15 if you don’t photograph). We spent 3 – 4 hours there and I was exhausted before the photo ops were.

Impala convertible – and tree

Walking through can be surreal – especially in infra-red.

Old Car City IR Pano

Photography here can be challenging in several ways. I carried my tripod all around the place and the local cat kept showing up and rubbing up against it – not helpful!

Junkyard cat and matching VW van. It followed us around and liked to rub up against tripods. Not good, cat!

This isn’t a traditional salvage yard – no parts are sold. It’s more of a museum, although there’s no effort to preserve exhibits. The cars were saved from the crushing machine, but not from nature.

You can find much more than just old cars and car parts. There are school buses, and tractors, antique toys, wagons, bicycles, and more. I even read there’s a Cartersville Grand Theater marquis, but I didn’t see it on my visit.

Doll and chair – You can find more than old cars at Old Car City. This was right next to the path – yet it looks like no one’s disturbed it in years.

Safety: You’ll have to sign in when you pay admission, but there’s no lengthy rights waiver and a lawyer doesn’t follow you around. The place could be dangerous though – there’s broken glass, rusty metal and some sharp edges. Just be careful, not stupid. Heed the warning signs, stay on cleared paths and off / out of the cars and you should be fine. Oh, and some insect repellent might come in handy.

Don’t open hoods doors

My tripod was helpful mostly for Olympus hi-res images – but if you’re not making those I think you can get by without one. I used focal lengths from fish eye up to about 200mm equivalent and I’d say your wider lenses would be the most useful.

The number of photo ops in this place is huge. If you go, my best advice is to do a little research before hand and plan out a strategy or two. Get some larger framed intro shots, but think about concentrating on one or a few categories: hood ornaments, door handles, dashboards, interiors, decay, rust, textures, vegetation on vehicles, etc., etc. The possibilities are huge.

Click on these photos to see them larger on Flickr, and I have more images from Old Car City collected in his album. You can also look through many more photos from there via the Flickr “Old Car City” search page results. And you can find out more on the Old Car City web page. Here are a couple more links with info:

If you get a chance, go by Old Car City.

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

Another Central Florida Morning

June 10, 2018Merritt Island NWR, St. Johns Riverblack and white, buildings, infrared, landscape, panorama, reflection, sunrise, treeEd Rosack

I decided to wander over towards Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge early last Friday. My shutter finger was itching and I had to get a camera out and scratch it. I was running a little late and wouldn’t have made it to the coast for sunrise, so I stopped at C S Lee Park on the St. Johns River on my way. Nature provided quite a show.

Another Central Florida Morning

I don’t know what this effect is called – when the sun just kisses the cloud bottoms and leaves higher clouds darker and less colorful. I don’t see it often enough. Maybe that’s because it only lasts for such a short time. According to my EXIF data, I made this image in the middle of a 2-3 minute window and the colorful streaks were much less prominent just before and after. Whenever I do see this, I’m happy to make a photo!

The Jolly Gator Fish Camp Bar & Grill is next to the park, right across a shallow water filled area from where I made the sunrise photo. I liked the reflection and symmetry and made this image before I moved on. I’ve never actually been inside this place. Maybe I’ll talk Lynn into going there for lunch with me.

Jolly Gator Fish Camp & Grill

MINWR has a web page you can check for road closures. Currently, it won’t do you much good – info on Gator Creek, Biolab, and Black Point is all out of date. Last Friday, Gator Creek and Biolab Roads were open. They’ve been re-surfaced and are in good shape. And Black Point Wildlife Drive was closed due to the amount of rain we’ve had recently. I hope they keep the road closures page more current. I sent them a note.

I didn’t have much luck with birds or wildlife on this trip. So I’ll leave you with two more scenic photos.

Lone Pine and Clouds at Dawn (color version)

This tree is along the left side of the road leading into the Bairs Cove boat ramp. The combination of early morning light, a lone pine tree, and the clouds in the background stopped me in my tracks. I made this image and the last one out my car window. Fortunately there wasn’t a lot of traffic. With these two photos, you can see how the infra-red sensor renders light compared to an unmodified camera.

Lone Pine and Clouds at Dawn (IR, B&W version)

I’ve collected other photos from the St. Johns River in this album on Flickr and from Merritt Island in this one.

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

Focus on Atlanta

May 26, 2018Georgiaarchitecture, black and white, buildings, cemetery, infrared, live composite, mirrorless minutes, Olympus, reviews, sunrise, sunset, travelEd Rosack

I enjoy listening to the Mirrorless Minutes podcast (audio on iTunes, video on YouTube). It’s an interesting show on photography and since Mike Boening and Jamie MacDonald (the hosts) are both Olympus Visionaries, they often have good information and tips on Olympus camera gear.

So when I heard their announcement about a photo workshop in Atlanta I was eager to go – and It wasn’t too hard to talk Lynn into getting this for my birthday! They coordinate using the Mirrorless Adventures page on Meetup.com so sign up was an easy process. If my post gets you interested, you can find out about their future workshops there.

Atlanta Marriott Marquis Interior 2

Our HQ was the Marriott Marquis in downtown Atlanta and it’s an awesome photo-op itself – lots of interesting architecture, angles, and patterns to fill your memory card. And if you get tired of the photo ops there, you can take a break at one of their restaurants or bars!

We met on Friday evening and then left for the Jackson Street bridge for some sunset and light trail photography. It’s a popular spot. There were lots of folks making photos and it’s easy to see why – the skyline view is awesome! Here’s one of mine:

A little after sunset.

I made this image with the Olympus “Live Composite” mode. I’ve used this once before, but it was great to get in some guided practice and I’ll be using it more in the future.

Other stops on the workshop were at Old Car City (http://oldcarcityusa.com/), Amicalola Falls (http://www.amicalolafallslodge.com), and Oakland Cemetery (https://www.oaklandcemetery.com). The workshop was last weekend and I came home with hundreds of photos. I’ve been going through them every day since then – but I’m not finished processing yet. So today I’ll just include a few from Atlanta and maybe do another post later about the other locations.

Watching sunrise. We stopped near this park while we waited for the cemetery gates to open

Oakland cemetery was founded in 1850 and many of Atlanta’s prominent citizens are buried there. It has a great deal of sculpture, architecture, and gardens to draw your eye. And an interesting sign across the street!

Six Feet Under BarAtlanta Skyline from Oakland Cemetery

I’ve always liked Atlanta. My mother’s family lived in the area (in Cedartown) so we visited often when I was growing up. I also went to college there (Go Tech!) and that’s where I met Lynn. It was great to visit for a long weekend, and the drive from Central Florida isn’t too bad.

A photo workshop can be a big boost to your image making. You might;

Learn or improve your skills: I refreshed and practiced “Live Composite” mode and will likely use it more often now.
Go places you wouldn’t normally see. I’ve been to Atlanta many times, but the only place from this workshop that I’d seen before was Amicalola Falls (mentioned in this post). Trying new things is good for your soul!
Meet new people. Hanging around with other folks passionate about photography is fun! They don’t even get bored when you talk about lenses, cameras, technique, processing, etc.!
See different approaches / techniques. On the last day, we spent a few hours processing images and each of us picked out several images to show the group and talk about. I was floored by the variety and ideas that everyone shared. It’s amazing how people can go to the same place and come back with such different photographs.

I really enjoyed this workshop – it was a pleasure to meet so many new photo friends! I thought the locations we went to were terrific and Mike and Jamie were extremely knowledgable, friendly, and always willing to help anyone with questions. They created a wonderful atmosphere for us to learn and make beautiful photographs. And I liked the van they used for transport – it was a real pleasure to just climb in and have someone else drive us around to all these spots. Well done Mike and Jamie!!!

I’ll be adding my photos from the workshop to this album on Flickr as I finish them. Check back later for even more. And if you want to see some of the photos the other attendees made, watch episode 95 of the Mirrorless Minutes podcast on YouTube.

And to all my new (and old) photo friends, If you’re in the Central Florida area, look me up. Maybe we can meet at one of my favorite spots.

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