Tag Archives: sunrise

Photos with a new camera

March 12, 2023Cameras and Photography, Cocoa, Merritt Island NWR, Orlando Wetlands, Osceola County, St. Johns Riverbirds, black and white, Eastern Meadowlark, Flowers, landscape, panorama, Raccoon, reflection, Spoonbill, sunrise, wildlife, Willet, Wood StorkEd Rosack

I haven’t posted in a while, so it’s about time. And I have been making some photos lately. Here are a few that I like – all made since my last post.

Another quiet morning on the St. Johns river.

(February 17; Boat ramp on HW 50 at the St. Johns River; three frame panorama; merged in Photoshop.)

Warm light on a wading Willet.

(February 17, Gator Creek Road in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, single frame, cropped.)

A wary Raccoon.

(February 23; Orlando Wetlands Park, single frame, cropped.)

Forest flowers.

(February 24, Central Winds Park in Winter Springs; Focus Bracket in Camera, merged in Photoshop.)

Through the trees.

(March 4; Orlando Wetlands Park; single frame; cropped.)

Nesting Woodstork.

(March 4, Orlando Wetlands Park, single frame, Adobe enhanced resolution, cropped.)

Ruffled Feathers.

(Eastern Meadowlark; March 7; Joe Overstreet Road; single Frame; cropped.)

A river runs through it.

(March 10; Leroy Wright recreational area along SR 520 at the St. Johns river , Cocoa Fl; Sony Pixel Shift Multi Shoot (16 frames), merged in Sony Imaging Edge; Converted to B&W in Lightroom.)

I made all of these (and more!) while trying out and setting up my new camera.

In late October of last year, Sony announced the latest version of their high resolution model line: the A7R V. There’s a lot of info available on the web about it. I read a great deal of that over 3+ months before finally deciding to upgrade my faithful A7R III (which was announced way back in October of 2017). I packed up quite a bit of my existing camera gear and traded it in for the new one. If you’re interested, you can read a lot of the same info I researched on-line, so I’m not going to repeat any of that here. I’ll just summarize some things and give you my first impressions to go along with the images above.

6 years is a long time in the camera design universe. These are changes that I really like:

The native sensor resolution is slightly higher – nice for landscapes and very helpful for wildlife photos. The pixel shift multi shot capability now seems to work very well (it didn’t on the A7R III and I never used it). For static subjects where you want huge resolution files, I think it’s a better implementation than even the Olympus EM 1 MII version that I used a lot when I had that camera.
Focus capabilities are immensely improved. The human eye auto focus on the A7R III convinced me to buy that years ago. The A7R V AI auto focus is much better and will be wonderful for many subjects, not just people.
Image Stabilization on the A7R III was not a standout feature. On the A7R V it is.
The A7R V has a huge image buffer. You can shoot continuously at the highest frame rate for up to 1000 frames (using CF Express cards). Even using SD UHS-II cards (slower than CF Express) it will still shoot over 100 frames before the buffer fills.
Many RAW Image formats are now supported. You can choose compressed / uncompressed as well as medium or low resolution RAW files if you don’t need the full resolution.
Video is much improved (although I should study this and use it more often!).
The Electronic Viewfinder and the back LCD are both improved with higher resolution and frame rates. The LCD also tilts and swivels – very useful.

Other things have changed, but they’re minor (for me). In summary I like everything Sony did with this camera and I hope to use it for a long time to come. If you have any questions, I’d be happy to try and answer them in the comments.

By the way, nesting activity at Orlando Wetlands is still in full swing. It’s a good opportunity to observe several species creating new life.

Click on any of these photos to see higher resolution versions on Flickr.

The header image: Great Egret Fly-by (higher res version here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/52719484820/in/dateposted-public/)

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Stay positive, be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, make some photos!

Orlando Wetlands Park – Jan. 20 2023

January 23, 2023Orlando Wetlandsbirds, black-bellied whistling duck, Caspian Tern, Green Heron, landscape, Spoonbill, sunrise, wildlife, Wood StorkEd Rosack

The city of Orlando is adding a boardwalk, equestrian trail, and visitor center at Orlando Wetlands Park (OWP). The new 2200 foot board walk across Lake Searcy opened recently, and the Visitor Center looks like it’s almost finished. I’ve wanted to get back out there and see the changes and when Mahesh suggested a trip, I readily agreed. I met him and Lutfi there last Friday. The boardwalk provides some lovely new perspectives and viewpoints of the wetlands. Here’s a nice one, looking east past a cypress dome.

Daybreak from the newly opened boardwalk

The eBird website lists 258 species observed at OWP and we saw a few of them.

Green Herons are fun to photograph. I like the geometric patterns in their feathers.

Green Heron

Wood Storks are fun to spot too, especially in good light.

A couple of Storks

That eBird bar chart shows that Spoonbills are observed there all year, and I see many photos online of juveniles from OWP. I haven’t seen any nests yet, but Jim Boland has spotted some – they seem to have established a thriving colony! We saw twenty to thirty of these charismatic, rose-colored birds on Friday morning and if you’d like to see them in the wild, this is a great place to go look.

Backlit Spoonbilll in flight

I first saw (and heard) Whistling Ducks at Orlando Wetlands and they’re a reliable find there.

Seven Whistlers and a Blue-wing(?)

We saw plenty of Alligators although I didn’t make any photos of them. And mammals are around too. We saw tracks (Racoons?) and I’ve seen Otters, a Bobcat, and Deer in the past.

The header image is a Caspian Tern that was searching for fish – but didn’t find any while I watched. A larger version is here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/52641238677/in/dateposted-public/

OWP is a wonderful place – I really must go more often. The one complaint I have is that the gate opens “at sunrise”. I like photographing in pre-dawn light, so I wish it opened a bit earlier.

You can look through all my posts from OWP at this link: https://edrosack.com/category/photo-ops-in-florida/orlando-wetlands/. And you can review images I’ve made there in this album on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/albums/72157639616792296

Thanks so much for stopping by and reading my blog. I hope all of you are doing well. Stay positive, be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, make some photos!

Merritt Island NWR 12/8/2022

December 11, 2022Merritt Island NWRBelted Kingfisher, birds, BPWD, feeding frenzy, landscape, reflection, Spoonbill, sunrise, wildlifeEd Rosack

I spent a few moments before sunrise last Thursday morning at Scobie Park (just south of Veterans Memorial Park in Titusville), watching the pre-dawn clouds reflecting in the calm Indian River water. Oh, and I had a camera with me too – I made 6 frames to stitch together into this image:

The day begins

After that I wandered over to Black Point Wildlife Drive and one of the first things I saw was this:

Large numbers of birds were going after minnows concentrated in this small pond along Black Point Wildlife Drive.

These “feeding frenzies” don’t happen all the time, but when they do they can be great photo fun.

At first glance, they look like a photographer’s dream – all those birds in a confined area – taking off, landing, chasing minnows and each other, just waiting for you to snap the shutter.

It turns out it’s not so easy. They’re crowded together against a cluttered background. They move quickly, change directions unexpectedly, and in general make it hard to pick a subject and compose deliberately – especially if you’re looking through your viewfinder with a long lens on your camera. I often keep the camera away from my eyes so I can see what’s going on. Then I can sometimes anticipate the action and make a photo when they all decide to move at once:

Exodus

I also like to study the scene for a while and try different vantage points and lenses. I chose a spot where the wind was at my back and most of the birds were taking off and landing toward me. It helps to keep looking around so you can spot them as they’re coming in. I noticed this spoonbill a long way out. Since I knew where it was headed I could track it as it approached and make several frames when it landed. This side lit one is my favorite:

Landing Spoonbill

There were lots of Roseate Spoonbills around. The header image at the top of the post on the web is another one I like from the trip. That pair was wading in a less busy part of the drive.

I also had some good luck with this female Belted Kingfisher. She ignored me and kept gazing out over the water as I crept closer. I stayed in the car, moved slowly and tried to be as quiet as possible so I wouldn’t bother her. Most of the time, they leave as soon as you point a camera at them, but she wasn’t concerned at all. This is one of the closest photos I’ve made of one (the EXIF data says I was about 19 meters away). She’s very pretty and quite regal, I think.

An Unusually Calm Kingfisher

It was a short visit, but a wonderful one. This is an excellent time of year to visit the refuge, get out in the midst of nature, and enjoy some of the things you can see there.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. I hope all of you are doing well and that you have a joyful holiday season with your family and friends. Stay positive, be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, make a few photos!

Hello Again

September 11, 2022Merritt Island NWRbirds, BPWD, fishing, Flowers, infrared, kayak, landscape, Loggerhead Shrike, reflection, rocket, Spoonbill, sunriseEd Rosack

It’s been a little over a month since my last post. I enjoyed writing this one after such a long break.

I went over to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge toward the end of August. I wasn’t expecting to see much, but I wanted to get out and photograph something. I’m glad I did, because the sunrise was one of the best I’ve ever watched.

Nature’s Gift

That photo’s from Veterans Memorial Park on the west side of the Indian River looking east toward MINWR and Kennedy Space Center. I was concentrating on the sunrise when I noticed several other folks had shown up. One was Pat H., who I’ve known for a while. I’m glad I ran into her since she was there to photograph the Artemis 1 SLS rocket on the pad at launch complex 39B. At the time, the planned launch was a couple days later. After we talked, I went and got my long lens to make a close up photo of it (the header image). You can see a higher res version on Flickr at this link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/52311586034/in/dateposted-public/. I’d hoped to include a photo of the launch in today’s post too, but it’s been postponed. Hydrogen is tricky stuff!

After that I went through Gator Creek Road, Black Point Wildlife Drive, and also stopped by the Bairs Cove boat ramp. This kayaker had gotten up very early to go fishing. I didn’t see him catch anything while I was there though.

A fine morning for fishing

I was happy to find this pretty, young Roseate Spoonbill and its reflection at one of the first corners on Gator Creek.

Spoonie!

Other birds were a bit scarce, but this Loggerhead Shrike flew right in front of my car and landed in a mangrove. I quickly rolled down the passenger window and pointed my lens at it. Auto focus is amazing now days. My camera locked on the bird in the middle of all those branches at the first shutter press (no – that doesn’t happen all the time!)

A Bird in the Bush (is worth two in the hand?)

I also saw some gators and a raccoon on Black Point, and 5 or more manatees at Bairs Cove – but didn’t get good photos of any of them.

Changing the subject, I was browsing my archives one day and found this image I’d never processed. It’s from one of my previous cameras (an IR converted Olympus E-PL5). I ran it through Lightroom’s enhance detail and the Topaz Sharpen AI plug in and it came out with an amazing amount of detail. I like the subject rendering and the background separation too.

IR Sunflower

A few days later, I ran across this blog post http://infraedd.blogspot.com/2014/03/cameras-fuji-x100-hoya-r72-filter.html. He talks about using an R72 filter on a Fuji X100 to make infrared photos. I’ve tried R72 filters before (a long time ago) but maybe I should take another look at them. It would be an inexpensive way to occasionally do a bit of IR photography.

In other news, we’d planned some travel but that got postponed while we dealt with a broken central air conditioner here in hot, humid Florida. Supply chain issues mean it takes a very long time to get a replacement compressor (and other parts). Hopefully that’s behind us now (I hope Murphy doesn’t read this). As a side note, I didn’t realize Portable ACs work as well as they do!

Sorry to ramble on for so long. I suspect that my posts will be longer since they’re less frequent now. I hope all of you are doing well. Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Stay positive, be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, make some photos!

More from Wayside Park

July 10, 2022St. Johns Riverblack and white, bridge, fishing, landscape, reflection, Sandford, sunriseEd Rosack

Since I hadn’t gone through my photos from that morning in Sanford, Florida, I used an iPhone image I like from under the bridge at Wayside Park for last week’s blog post. I’ve processed the others now and have several more that I’m partial to.

This is on the old bridge that you could see on the right hand side in the previous blog (https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/52187355071/in/dateposted-public/). I like the low viewpoint, composition, and tones.

Old Bridge (July 2022)

For comparison purposes, here’s another photo I made in almost the exact same spot back in 2013. There have been a few changes in the vegetation and the bridge structure. (And the photographer too!)

The old bridge over the St. John’s River (October 2013)

And finally, when I thought I was finished at this place, I walked to the end of the bridge to look around. For some reason I didn’t do that in 2013. I’m glad I did this time, because the scene was pretty pleasant!

A quiet morning on the St. Johns river. Looking South East toward Lake Monroe

For those of you viewing this on the web, the header image is a small portion enlarged so you can see the person fishing on the dock. They didn’t catch anything while I watched, but I’m guessing they still enjoyed the morning as much as I did!

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Stay positive, be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. And if you think you’re done, walk a little farther – you might be pleasantly surprised and make a nice photo!

Below the Bridge

July 3, 2022Sanford, St. Johns Riverbridge, landscape, reflection, sunriseEd Rosack

The entrance to Lake Monroe Wayside Park is on the right hand side of Highway 17-92 as you leave Sanford heading east. It’s just before the bridge over the St. Johns River and there’s a boat ramp and some interesting views there. I hadn’t been in a while and decided to go last Friday.

The river was like a mirror and the early morning sky was pretty too. This was what it looked like under the highway:

Below the Bridge (iPhone, panorama mode)

I published a black and white photo from the same spot back in 2013. You can see it in this post: https://edrosack.com/2013/11/17/panoramic-alternatives-iphones-and-more/.

I suppose the point of this story is that we should occasionally revisit places. They might be worth photographing again.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Stay positive, be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, revisit a spot and make some photos – you might like them even even better than the last time.

Venus and the Moon Over the Marsh

June 5, 2022St. Johns Riverlandscape, moon, panorama, sunrise, venusEd Rosack

I stopped by the St. Johns river at the SR 50 boat ramp before sunrise recently. The sky was a bit plain, but there were a few clouds low on the horizon with some pre-sunrise color showing. And Venus was visible below and to the left of a waning crescent moon, which added some interest. I made a few photos hoping to capture what I was seeing.

Venus and the Moon over the Marsh

This image is a four frame panorama that I stitched together in Photoshop. Separate exposures of the sky and foreground helped me record a wider field of view and control the enormous dynamic range of the light. I like the way it turned out. If you click on it, you’ll go to Flickr.com where you can see a larger version as well as zoom in.

The St. Johns is the longest river in Florida and there are a huge number of scenic photo ops along its 310 mile length. I’ve collected a few of my photos of it in various spots. You can view them in this album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/albums/72157624991879878. And you can see some associated blog posts at this link: https://edrosack.com/category/photo-ops-in-florida/st-johns-river/.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Your visits, comments, and likes are always welcome and a big motivator for me. Stay positive, be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can — make some photos!

Strange Light

February 27, 2022Cameras and Photographyboat, dock, high key, reflection, sunrise, Titusville, waterEd Rosack

The light was unusual about 15 minutes before sunrise . I don’t think I’ve encountered anything like it before.

Strange light at dawn by the dock (3)

There were only a few clouds near the horizon. The sky was much brighter than the river and things on it. So bright that I knew it would be hard to capture the dynamic range in the scene. I went ahead and started photographing anyway.

Strange light at dawn by the dock (1)

That light lasted about fifteen minutes. I tried single frames, bracketing, and hi / low panoramas to capture it. When I got home and looked at the files, nothing had recorded the whole dynamic range. In hindsight, maybe I could have done a little better by bracketing with a wider set of exposures, or using exposure compensation to lower the overall brightness of the brackets. But I didn’t think of doing that then. I hope I remember next time.

It seems that my frames wanted to be high key, so I processed them for detail in the foreground and let the sky blow out. In the end, I like how they look.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Your visits, comments, and likes are always very welcome and a big motivator for me. Be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. And make some photos – even in strange light.

A Few More Photos

January 23, 2022Merritt Island NWRbirds, boats, BPWD, Cinnamon Teal, kingsley plantation, landscape, panorama, reflection, Spoonbill, sunrise, White PelicanEd Rosack

I really enjoyed my first visit of the year to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge a few weeks ago. Here are some more of those photos that haven’t been on the blog before.

The view that morning looking south east from under the Max Brewer Memorial Causeway bridge was lovely. I made several frames – the one below is my favorite. The header image is part of a similar one from five minutes later .

Three boats on the river

The low, warm, side light on this group of American White Pelicans made them even more attractive when I found them moments after sunrise.

A small pod of pelicans

It’s always nice to encounter Roseate Spoonbills and they were in several spots along Black Point Wildlife Drive. This one flew almost directly over me.

Flight of the Spoonbill

Cinnamon Teals are a rarity in Central Florida. This one seems to winter every year in MINWR. I found it again in the same spot along the Wild Birds Unlimited Trail that begins at stop 4 on the BPWD. It likes to hang out there with the other ducks. The birds were so harshly back lit that I had trouble seeing colors to ID it. I’m pretty amazed at how well this photo turned out.

Cinnamon Teal

I got a fairly good view of this Kingfisher and he stayed still for a moment while I made a photo:

Male Belted Kingfisher

The ranger says the duck population is down this year, and it does look like they’re less numerous. But I did see a good variety including Blue-winged Teals, Northern Shovelers, Mottled Ducks, Ring-necked Ducks, and maybe a few Lesser Scaups. And all of our common birds were around too. Definately well worth a visit.

LIke always, you can click on these photos to see larger versions on Flickr. And you can view (too) many of my MINWR photos in this album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/albums/72157627776386723

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Your visits, comments, and likes are very welcome and a big motivator for me. Be kind, take care of yourselves and each other. And if you can, make some photos!

Get there early (or stay late)

November 28, 2021Cameras and Photography, Merritt Island NWRblack and white, Flowers, landscape, sunriseEd Rosack

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

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

Too early at the boat ramp

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

Catfish Creek Trail

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

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

Central Florida Photo Ops

What and where they are and how to photograph them.