Tag Archives: Flowers

Disney's Animal Kingdom

May 24, 2009INSIDE FLORIDA, Must do list, Orlando, Theme ParksAnimal Kingdom, Disney, Elephant, Flowers, Giraffe, landscape, Meerkat, reviews, tree, wildlifeEd Rosack

Disney has a “get in free on your birthday” promotion and Lynn and I used it when we went to Animal Kingdom theme park for my birthday earlier this month. When we checked in, Lynn made me wear the “Happy Birthday, Edward” button they gave me. Then, everywhere we went – all the Disney employees and characters were telling me happy birthday all day long. That’s probably more “happy birthdays” in one day than I’ve gotten in my whole life!

Animal Kingdom combines a “zoo without bars” with theme park rides and this results in a very well done attraction that has something to offer everyone. Lynn and I really enjoyed it and for me it definitely makes the Central Florida Photos must do list .

Animal Kingdom is located west of Orlando off of I-4. For more information, Wikipedia has a large entry, with articles on the various areas in the park and the animals you can see as well as the rides.

You might want to bring a variety of photo equipment. My 70-300VR zoom lens on a Nikon D90 crop sensor body (1.5 crop factor) was about right for the long shots of wildlife (but we never have enough glass, do we?). I also had my 16-85 zoom for scenic shots, and there are a lot of scenic shots. I saw one or two people with tripods, but I didn’t bring mine in to the park. I couldn’t have used it on the Kilimanjaro Safari ride, and it would have been in the way in many of the other places in the park. One other thing, even in early May, Orlando is already very hot and humid. Check the weather forecast and dress appropriately. Cool clothing and sun block are a must.

This close-up photo of a giraffe was taken from the Kilimanjaro Safari vehicle. Lynn and I went straight here when we got to the park, since it was at the top of our priority list and we didn’t want to wait in a long line. Even so, it took about 20 minutes before we could board. It’s a very nice experience, but photographically challenging. The vehicle almost never stops and the ride is designed to be bumpy and fun for younger folks, so you’ll have to make sure your shutter speed is high enough to freeze the vehicle’s motion. This giraffe crossed the road in front of us and they do have the right of way, so I made a nice calm portrait of it while the vehicle paused to let it pass. You’ll want to try to avoid the middle seats. I sat on the far left, but I think both sides probably have as good a view at different times.

Giraffe

This next photo is of a mother and juvenile elephant coming toward us along the elephant trail, also on the safari ride. I like the way the young one is kicking up dust out in front of Mom.
Elephants - dusty steps

The next area we visited was the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, where there are gorillas, meerkats, and a number of other animals. There’s a photo of one of the gorillas in an earlier post . Here’s a meerkat.

Meerkat

Another thing I liked about this park is the displays that are set up throughout the areas to give them some cultural ambiance. Here are two photos from the Maharajah Jungle Trek that I especially liked. This first one is a “water station.

Here is located safe water for Travellers. Please know it is unwise to drink local water, standing water, water from unidentified sources.

This one is of a cart in the village area.

Cart

Finally, here is a photo of the center piece of the park, the Tree of Life.

Tree of Life

I’ve posted a gallery of my Animal Kingdom photos at this location . Please visit and browse to get an idea of some of the animals and things you can expect to see. I haven’t been to Africa or India, but it seems like Disney has done a credible job re-creating pieces of those far away places here in Central Florida for us to visit and dream about.

2/9/2010 Update: I have some additional photos posted in this set on Flickr .

Wetland Wildflowers

May 9, 2009INSIDE FLORIDA, Orlando, Orlando WetlandsAlligator, Dragonfly, Flowers, Raccoon, wildlifeEd Rosack

I drove over to Orlando Wetlands Park last Friday morning and walked around the 2.5 mile ‘Birding Route’ foot path. I arrived around 9 am and didn’t expect to see much wildlife. But once again this urban oasis didn’t disappoint me. I saw the usual alligators, including one that posed with some flowers, as well as many herons, egrets, ducks, etc. (Note: you can go to my gallery to see larger versions of these photos).

New for me this visit were some Sandhill Cranes, and a raccoon. I was walking quietly down the middle of the path taking pictures when the raccoon came around the corner. It had it’s head down and I took several photos before it looked up.

It did a double take, decided it didn’t like what it saw, and took off pretty quickly.

There were also a tremendous number of dragonflies out there. I’m worried that this means the lovebug season will be especially bad for us here in Florida this year.

The highlight of this trip was the many varieties of flowers in bloom. It made for a very colorful stroll.

The biggest problem this time of year is that our weather is turning very hot. By the time I left the park to head home around 11 am the temperature was approaching 90 degrees. Get out early and get back inside while it’s still cool!

The rest of my photos for this post are here.

Roadside Flowers

May 9, 2009INSIDE FLORIDAFlowers, Mount DoraEd Rosack

There are many opportunities around Central Florida, especially at this time of year, to photograph flowers. Lynn and I drove out to Mount Dora last Saturday to visit the antique mall there. Along the way we noticed quite a few wild flowers along the road. On the way back, she pulled over to let me make this photo.

Roadside wildflowers — Roadside Wildflowers

Oh, them golden trumpets …

April 12, 2009INSIDE FLORIDAFlowers, Tabebuia, tree, Yellow TrumpetEd Rosack

The yellow trumpet tree is very common in Central Florida. When in bloom, it is one of the most beautiful flowering trees you’ll see. When it isn’t in bloom, you won’t notice it.

Lynn and I noticed this one on the way to breakfast this morning and made a few photos on the way home. It’s already dropped quite a few blooms, but is still quite pretty.

A walk from Ohio to Kentucky (and back)

September 29, 2008OhioCincinnati, Flowers, landscape, panorama, sculptureEd Rosack

Mary bought us two tickets to see Swell Season last Monday in Columbus and flew me up to Cincinnati for a nice long weekend which just happened to coincide with their version of Oktoberfest . We also worked on chores around her condo all weekend. All in all, it made for a very nice visit. Oktoberfest was very crowded on Saturday night, The lines for beer were 40 – 50 deep at some of the stands – Cincinnati is a thirsty place! If you go, Sunday is much less crowded. This is a photo I made of the crowd with my iPhone (you can click on each of these images for larger versions).

One evening we went up on her roof and I made a couple of photos of churches that you can see from there. Here’s one of them:

Mary had to work Monday morning, so I was on my own. I took my Canon G9 and set off for a nice stroll through downtown Cincinnati in search of photo ops.

Garfield Place has a little park with a statue of him.

Fountain Square is interesting, but I had to struggle for something photogenic due to the lighting and crowds.

For $2 you can go to the observation deck at the top of the Carew Tower, which is Cincinnati’s tallest building. Mary and I did that Sunday evening and I made this panorama. You can see that the crowds are a lot thinner than they were on Saturday, although this was taken quite a bit earlier in the evening.

The Roebling Suspension Bridge was built in the 1860s and spans the Ohio river between Cincinnati, Ohio and Covington, Kentucky. When I saw that it has a pedestrian lane, I decided to walk across since it would make such a great title for a blog post and might even have a few photos hidden away somewhere. Here’s a two shot vertical panorama I made from the Kentucky side looking back toward Cincinnati.

Quite a pleasant Monday morning. When Mary got back from work, she made me walk to lunch! The rest of my photos for this post are here.

Memorial Day

May 26, 2008OUTSIDE FLORIDA, Washington D.C.Flowers, memorial, Politics, travel, veterans, World War IIEd Rosack

On this Memorial Day, 2008, I would like to thank each veteran who has answered our call to defend our country.

I had a few hours off one afternoon during a recent business trip up to Rockville, Maryland so I grabbed my Canon G9 and took the subway into downtown Washington DC. It was just a quick stroll — my main photo hint for this is to take a lot more time and a lot more pictures.

The World War II memorial is new since I was there last (many years ago). This is a photo of the Florida section.

The Vietnam Memorial always affects me deeply each time I see it. The gifts and tokens placed at the wall by loved ones of our fallen veterans, even after so many years is profoundly moving.

A section of the Vietnam Memorial – Washington, D.C.

Now, I apologize in advance for getting a little political on a blog that is devoted to photography. Here are some statistics taken from the Veterans Administration, U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (originally from an article on the San Francisco Chronicle Web site – no longer on line):

The suicide rate of veterans is at least three times the national suicide rate. In 2005, the suicide rate for veterans 18 to 24 years old was three to four times higher than non-veterans.
About 154,000 veterans nationwide are homeless on any given night. One-fourth of the homeless population is veterans.
There are more homeless Vietnam veterans than the number of soldiers who were killed during that war.
It takes at least 5.5 years, on average, to resolve a benefit claim with the Veteran’s Administration.
More than 600,000 unresolved claims are backlogged with the Veteran’s Administration.
Approximately 18.5 percent of service members who have returned from Afghanistan and Iraq currently have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or depression.
19.5 percent of these veterans report experiencing traumatic brain injury.
Roughly half of those who need treatment seek it, but only slightly more than half of those who receive treatment receive at least minimally adequate care, according to an April 2008 Rand Report.

As a citizen and a voter, I am ashamed of these numbers. Taking care of those that protect our country is a fundamental obligation of government. Each and every one of us should demand that our elected officials honor commitments we have made to veterans who have honored us with their service. Until we do so, Memorial Day seems a shallow honor at best.

My photos from this trip are posted here .

Seaworld

December 15, 2007Cameras and Photography, INSIDE FLORIDA, Orlando, Theme ParksFlowers, SeaworldEd Rosack

I took my new Canon G9 to Seaworld to get used to it and see how well it works. First impressions are very positive. The photo quality / color is about the best of any point and shoot I’ve owned. The features and controls are plentiful and relatively easy to use. Noise does get noticeable when you use a higher iso, but it does pack a lot of photography creation tools into a very portable package.

The rest of my photos for this post are here.

Storm and Flowers

October 7, 2007INSIDE FLORIDA, Lake Jesup, Lake Jesup Sunflowers, Sanfordcloud, Flowers, Marl Bed Flats, Sanford Florida, storm, SunflowersEd Rosack

Storm and Lake Jesup Flowers

Lake Jesup is in Seminole County, Florida between Oviedo / Winter Springs and Sanford. Wild flowers on the north-east shore start blooming in late September and peak the first week in October. To see them, head north-east on the toll way (417) from Oviedo / Winter Springs. You’ll see them on both sides of the road after you cross the bridge. There are many more toward the east.

I made my first photograph here in October of 2006, using a Nikon P1 point and shoot camera (image 1 in the gallery). I liked it, but wasn’t completely happy. I made it facing into the sun just after sunrise, and the flowers were underexposed since the sky dominated the camera meter. Some post processing made the flowers more prominent but still not as bright as I remembered seeing them. By the time I returned the following weekend, the blooms had passed their peak – so I had to wait a whole year to re-make the shot.

The image above was made today at 5:45 pm, looking east, just before that rain storm swept over me. Luckily, I did get back into my truck with my camera gear before the storm hit – it was quite a down pour.

The light in the scene this time was much more balanced. I also used my Nikon D80 in raw mode, which gave me a greater dynamic range to play with. I do wish I could have gotten over the water filled ditch at the side of the highway to include some foreground detail in the scene. Oh well, there’s always next year.

I think this is a better image than the one from a year ago. You can see several more of my Lake Jesup flower photos here.

Road Narrows Ahead – North America's highest paved roadway

July 12, 2007Cameras and Photography, Colorado, Must do list, OUTSIDE FLORIDAElk, Flowers, landscape, Mount Blue Sky, Mt. Evans, wildlifeEd Rosack

Mount Evans is about 35 miles west of Denver. We left early (before 6) and were up on the mountain by 9, but we stopped quite a few times on the way. It could take you more or less time depending on how many stops you make and what the traffic is like. since we went up on a weekday, we saw very few cars. To get there, take I70 west out of the city, to the 3rd exit for Idaho Springs (route 103 south).

Summit lake, clouds and flowers on Mount Evans

The Mt. Evans road is the highest paved road in north America and is 14,200 feet at the top. I’ve been to Denver many times but hadn’t heard about it before. I’ve been listening to the Nikonians Image Doctors podcast and they recommended this place a couple of times (ID#39 adn ID#45) so I wanted to see it while I was out there. It is very much worth the trip! If you go, try to make it on a weekday. The weekends are supposed to be very crowded. This Mt. Evans website has a lot of helpful information.

Our drive was quite spectacular. It started out very cloudy, with some light rain, but the top was above the clouds and on the way down, it began to clear. We saw a lot of wildlife and July is apparently a very good time for wildflowers.

Elk herd near mile marker 8 on Mount Evans

Lynn and I are both flat-landers from Florida and we were out of breath at the top at even the slightest exercise. You’ll want to plan carefully and prepare for any hikes you want to do. There are some very spectacularly fit people out there. We saw several riding bicycles all the way to the top.

You’ll probably use a wide angle lens the most. A long lens will be helpful for some wildlife, although you can get very close to the goats and marmots.

My gallery of Mount Evans photos is here

Central Florida Photo Ops

What and where they are and how to photograph them.