Tag Archives: infrared

My Favorite Photos from 2013

VARIOUS, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Happy Holidays!  I hope that all of you, your families, and your friends have a joyful and happy holiday season!

The end of the year is a good time to review results and contemplate how to improve any endeavor, and photography is no exception.  I’ve put together these “Favorite photos of the year” posts since 2009.  This is a hard process for any photographer.  For me, it’s difficult to separate my opinion about a photograph from emotional connections that I might have with the subject, scene, or situation.  But making this effort is important and part of the learning process.  I don’t claim to be objective –  these are simply the photos that I like best.  Feel free to disagree, but I hope you’ll enjoy looking at the ones I’ve picked.

You can click on each of these to go to Flickr and see a larger version.  Or you can click on this link to view the complete set on Flickr.

My number 1 favorite photo of 2013:
A dream, gone

 A dream is gone, in the harbor, at dawn; Cocoa, Florida; October.  

I have a thing for sunken boats and when I briefly glimpsed this one while out with a group, I had to go back later and make a photo.  See this post for more info.

My number 2 favorite photo of 2013:

Cloud Gate (AKA "the bean")

 Cloud Gate (AKA “the bean”); Chicago’s Millennium Park; Chicago, Illinois; September.  

I made many photos that I like during my first visit to Chicago last September.  This one is my favorite from that trip.  See this post for more info.

My number 3 favorite photo of 2013:
Partial eclipse of the sun

 Partial eclipse of the sun; Cocoa Beach Pier, Florida; November.

I almost didn’t get to make this photo since I was late finding out about the eclipse.  It’s a bit different from most sunrise photos I make because I used a long telephoto lens to emphasize the sun instead of a wide-angle lens.  The three people watching with me from the end of the pier were a bonus.  See this post for more info.

My number 4 favorite photo of 2013:
You otter not interupt me

You otter not interrupt me; Viera Wetlands, Florida; November.  

This river otter was having a morning dust bath on the dirt road through Viera Wetlands.  It stopped and watched me for a bit when I got out of my car to make this photo, but then ignored me and finished before sliding back into the water.

My number 5 favorite photo of 2013:

Brewing storm

 Storm clouds over the Everglades; Everglades National Park, Florida; April.

We had a wonderful expedition to the Keys, Everglades, and Dry Tortugas in April.  This photo of a pine tree and grass reflecting from the inches deep water in the Everglades “river of grass” is my favorite landscape from that trip. See this post for more info.

My number 6 favorite photo of 2013:
Reading

Reading; St. Augustine, Florida; August.

St. Augustine is full of photo ops.  I really liked the symmetry of the columns in this scene and how they led my eye towards the man reading on the bench.  See this post for more info.

My number 7 favorite photo of 2013:
Sea oats

Sea oats; Howard Park, Tarpon Springs, Florida; August

I noticed this scene while wandering around not expecting to find anything to photograph.  Another lesson in “keep your eyes open”.

My number 8 favorite photo of 2013:
Resting behind mom

 Resting behind mom; Lowry Park Zoo, Tampa, Florida; March.

We spent 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) and I was able to make this photo.  See this post for more info.

My number 9 favorite photo of 2013:
The Chapel on the Rock (Saint Catherine of Siena Chapel)

The Chapel on the Rock (Saint Catherine of Siena Chapel); Allenspark, Colorado; July.

This is south along Route 7 out of Estes Park on the grounds of the Saint Malo Retreat.  We had no idea it was there, but when we drove by and saw the scene, I had to stop and photograph it.  It’s a multi-photo, hand-held panorama processed in Photoshop and Lightroom.  See this post for more info.

My number 10 favorite photo of 2013:
Not sleeping

Not sleeping; Big Cat Rescue Sanctuary, Tampa, Florida; August.

To me, this photo symbolizes what we learned about the plight of captive large cats and primates while visiting two rescue organizations near Tampa.  See this post for more info.

If you’d like to see my favorite photos from earlier years, click on these links: 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012.

I hope you’ve had a great photo 2013 too. If you send me a link or leave one in the comments, I’ll be sure to take a look at your favorites.  Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog.  Now – go make some more favorites of your own!
©2011 – 2013, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park

Bulow Plantation, INSIDE FLORIDA, ,

Tom M. and I went over to Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park in Flagler Beach, Florida.  The buildings there were built out of the local coquina rock starting in 1821.  It was thriving in 1831 when John James Audubon visited.   It’s been abandoned since the Second Seminole War and was burned by Seminole Indians in 1836.  The walls and chimneys of the sugar mill on the site remain standing today and are listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Bulow Plantation Ruins
Bulow Plantation Ruins

The park has a hiking trail, a boat ramp, screened picnic pavilion, and a park interpretive center with original artifacts and exhibits.  The boat ramp is on Bulow Creek, which is a designated Florida State Canoe Trail.  It’s open 9 – 5, Thursday through Monday, and there’s a $4 / car entry fee.

Bulow Plantation Ruins
Bulow Plantation Ruins (665nm Infrared, toned B&W)

We didn’t expect such bad weather – it was quite different on the coast.  The rain and clouds made the light rather poor.  I think we’ll need to go back for better photos.

The dirt road leading out of Bulow Creek Plantation.
The view down the dirt road leading out of Bulow Creek Plantation (665nm false color Infrared)

This is a fascinating place where you can look back into Florida history.  It’s well worth a visit.

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

©2013, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Review and Reprocess

Blue Cypress Lake, Cocoa, INSIDE FLORIDA, St. Augustine, Technique, , , , , , , ,

Sometimes after a photo shoot, I’ll skip over images if I’m short on time or something looks too hard to deal with.  Other times, I may play with a photo for a while and then set it aside when I just can’t seem to get it right.  When I learn a new technique or get a new software package or upgrade I try to go through my image library and pick out existing photos that could benefit from the new capability.  And yes, I also notice images that no longer look as good to me as they did at first.  Something I did a few years ago may have seemed great then – but tastes change.

I use Lightroom to catalog my photos and I have a keyword called “Process” with three sub-keywords “Color”, “pano”, and “other”.  Using these, I mark photos I want to revisit and I’ve built up a collection of them for future processing.  I had a little time this week to go through and pick three to work on:

Reflections at Kelly Park
Kelly Park Reflections:  Merritt Island, Florida, February 19, 2013. The water was amazingly calm that morning and I like the reflections as well as the detail / lights on the horizon.  I  bypassed this image at first because of trouble with the white balance.  This time through the result is much closer to the look I wanted.

Main Sanctuary of the Cathedral Basilica
The Main Sanctuary of the Cathedral Basilica, Saint Augustine, Florida, February 28, 2013.  Black and white infrared.  I don’t remember why I didn’t finish this photo back in February.  I like the light, detail, and tonality.

Three more cypress trees
Three more cypress trees:  Blue Cypress Lake, near Fellsmere, Florida, June 2, 2012. False color infrared.  Since IR doesn’t capture color as your eye sees it, color conversions are very subjective.  As I gain experience, my tastes are changing.  This version is very different from how I processed other IR photos at the time.

So, some recommendations:

  • If you’re struggling with an image, don’t delete it.  Mark it and move on.  Come back and revisit it later.
  • Organize, document, and keyword your images so you can find hidden gems to re-process.
  • Review your photo library occasionally.  Your photography skills and tools aren’t static.  So your portfolio shouldn’t be static either.  Revise older images and make them better.  You might be surprised what comes out of your archives.

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

©2013, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Topaz ReStyle Mini Review

INSIDE FLORIDA, Technique, , , , ,

Topaz released a new plug-in recently, called ReStyle.  You can download any of their products for a free thirty-day trial, so I thought I’d give it a go.  This isn’t a full review or tutorial (I haven’t used it long enough for either of those).  But I have used it a bit so I’ll try to introduce you to some possibilities with three examples I’ve played with.  If you want to see the “before” versions, I’ve included them towards the end of the post.

I had trouble with the white balance in this photo of Marineland beach at dawn.  I could have separately adjusted the color balance on the sky and ground using layer masks in Photoshop or gradients in Lightroom.  Instead, it was easy to pick out this version from the grid displayed inside ReStyle.  It’s interesting how   remapping changed the color in the beach and rocks differently from the sky.

Down on the beach at dawn

Down on the beach at dawn (after Topaz ReStyle).

ReStyle maps color and tone statistics from a selected style to a target image.  It seems like Photoshop’s “Image/Adjustments/Match Color” command.  When you do this in Photoshop, you have to supply an image with the colors you’re trying to match.  ReSyle comes with over 1000 presets and provides control / adjustment of the results that aren’t easily available in Photoshop.   There are so many presets that they’re overwhelming, but ReStyle breaks them down into collections (e.g. “Landscape”), and you can mark your favorites.   You can show a collection or your favorites as a grid applied to your photo, which makes choosing one very simple.  You can also search for  similar styles by color or by name.  Within each style, you can further adjust the hue, saturation, and luminance of the five colors in each style, as well as the opacity, original image “Texture” strength, and others variables.  It also includes mask / selections controls to apply the effects selectively.  There’s a lot more info available in the manual at this link.

In this photo of some struggling trees on a small rocky island near Haulover Canal, I wanted a more dramatic color palette.  Once again, it was easy to pick out this version from a grid of possibilities.

Survivors
Survivors (after Topaz ReStyle)

For this infra-red photo of sea oats on the beach that I made in Fred Howard Park near Tampa , I wanted a different look from a typical IR false color image.  I like this color mapping I found in ReStyle .
Sea oats

Sea oats – False color infra-red (After Topaz ReStyle)

There are so many presets, options and adjustments that ReStyle can be a little overwhelming.  It’s not hard to use, but it is hard to grasp all the possibilities and decide what to do.  It’ll take a bit more time for me to get comfortable with it, so I’ll have to play with it some more.

For comparison purposes, here are versions of the photos before I applied Topaz ReStyle:

__D8C4109_HDR_Ed-Rosack
Before:  Down on the beach at dawn.

_P8110813_Ed-Rosack

Before: Survivors

Sea oats

Before:  Sea oats – False color infra-red processing.

Summary:  Do you have to use plug-ins?  Of course not, but they’re useful and save time.  And ReStyle seems to offer something I haven’t seen elsewhere.  It’ll definitely make your images look different.  Are they better?  I think ReStyle improved these three images, but only you can decide for your photos.  Will this fix all of your problems and should you use it on every photo?    Definitely not  – I’m new to the tool, but on several photos I tried, I couldn’t get anything that I thought looked good.  But it does look like something that’ll be good to have in your bag of tricks.

Off topic public service announcement:  I’m always telling you to get out and enjoy nature.  I also need to remind you to protect yourself from the sun.  I had two skin cancers removed last week.  I’m fine – but it’s not the most pleasant thing to go through.  And it can be much, much worse than mine were.  So when you’re out in the sun enjoying nature, please protect yourself.  Use sunscreen, wear a hat and long sleeves, stay in the shade as much as possible, etc.  The sun is brutal, especially in Florida.  And no one wants to suffer the consequences of too much exposure ten or twenty years down the road.

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

©2013, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Colorado: New vs. Familiar

Colorado, Must do list, OUTSIDE FLORIDA, , , , , , , , , , ,

I was in Colorado last week and had a chance to go sightseeing in the mountains near Denver.  Whenever I visit, I find it to be so scenic and photogenic that it overwhelms me.  It’s different from what I normally see at home here in Florida and I want to make photos of everything.

Valley of sunbeams and shadows

Valley of sunbeams and shadows – Don’t miss Mount Evans if you ever get to Denver in the summer time. This is a four image panorama from near the summit, about 13,500 feet.

I find when I get back from a trip like this and go through my images, most don’t have the impact that I felt at the time.  My “keeper” rate seems lower than from local trips.  Maybe this is because I’ve photographed in Florida so much that I don’t see as many new things when I go out – so I make fewer photos.  Luckily, I did end up with some that I really like from Colorado.

The Chapel on the Rock (Saint Catherine of Siena Chapel)

The Chapel on the Rock (Saint Catherine of Siena Chapel) – This is in Allenspark, Colorado, south along Route 7 out of Estes Park on the grounds of the Saint Malo Retreat.  We didn’t know this was on our route. It’s wonderful to discover something unexpected like this while on a drive.  Another 4 image pano.

I guess we humans are hardwired to find new and unfamiliar things more interesting.  And familiarity can breed complacency.  Do people in Colorado get used to the mountains and sleep in some days instead of getting up and out to see and photograph them?  Like we sleep in here instead of getting up to go out into a world-class wildlife refuge like Merritt Island?

Bristlecone pine trees
Bristlecone pine trees – Some of the trees in the Mount Goliath Natural Area are over 1,600 years old. I used my IR modified Olympus E-PL1 for this photo. Yes, it’s one more 4 image pano.

Wildlife is different out there too.  Some non-Florida species I saw included six new life birds (Steller’s Jay, Gray Jay, Common Raven, Black-billed Magpie, Dark-eyed Junco, and a Broad-tailed Hummingbird) as well as plenty of Mountain Goats, Marmots and Chipmunks.

Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Broad-tailed Hummingbird – Behind my Sister’s house in Littleton, Colorado. These birds look very similar to the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds we have in Florida, but the Broad-tailed doesn’t have a black chin. No, this is not a pano.

I wonder if Florida’s unique landscapes and wildlife are as interesting to people visiting here as Colorado’s are to me when I’m out there?

Here are two earlier posts about Mount Evans:  Mt. Evans and Mt. Evans Redux.  You can view other Mount Evans photos here on Flickr.  And this set on Flickr has more Denver area photos.

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

©2013, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved

Dry Tortugas National Park – April 21, 2013

Dry Tortugas, INSIDE FLORIDA, , , , , ,

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 pano
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!

Fort Jefferson Interior
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
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
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
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!

©2013, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.

Merritt Island – April 10, 2013

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

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

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
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
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
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!

©2013, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.

Merritt Island – March 26, 2013

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

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
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!

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
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
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!

©2013, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.

A few photos from St. Augustine

INSIDE FLORIDA, St. Augustine, , , , , , , ,

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

Bottoms up
Bottoms up – The St. Augustine Lighthouse staircase

Alcove in the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine
Alcove in the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine

Whistling waters
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.

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

Orlando Wetlands Park – February 7, 2013

INSIDE FLORIDA, Orlando, Orlando Wetlands, , , , , ,

Orlando Wetlands Park is closed from November 15th through January 31st each year.  Now that it’s open again, Keith H., Tom M. and I went by this week to see how things are at one of our favorite locations.

Sunrise was nice, although I was late getting there and missed some pre-dawn color.  Note to self:  Always arrive at least a half hour before sunrise.

Lake Searcy Sunrise
Lake Searcy Sunrise 1 – Lake Searcy is on the right as you walk in from the parking area.  It’s scenic and usually very calm, with lots of cypress and palms.   I liked the way the sun glow came around the palm trees.

Since I had my IR camera with me and the clouds were so awesome, I made this panorama to get as wide a capture as possible.

Lake Searcy Sunrise
Lake Searcy Sunrise 2 – This is a Black and White, Infrared, Panorama.  Sometimes IR can really bring out the detail in clouds.

We saw many of the normal birds including Coots, Snowy and Great Egrets, Little Blue and Great Blue Herons, Blue-winged Teals, Anhingas, Red-shouldered Hawks, and others.  I also saw what I’m pretty sure were several Common or Wilson’s Snipes, although these birds are extremely wary and fly off at the first sign you’re looking at them (worse even than Belted Kingfishers!) so I didn’t get a positive ID.  There’s been two Vermillion Flycatchers reported again this year on the far end of the park and one seems to come closer than usual.  If you haven’t seen this bird, it’s worth a visit all by itself.

We also saw either a small bobcat or large house cat on the walk in, but it was too dim to be sure.

You can also see more photos from OWP in this set on Flickr.  And I have many older posts about this place  – you can look through them from this link.

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

©2013, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.