Tag Archives: sunrise

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!

Just for me?

November 21, 2021INSIDE FLORIDA, Merritt Island NWR, Orlando Wetlandsbirds, brown pelican, landscape, Little Blue Heron, panorama, Reddish Egret, sunrise, wildlifeEd Rosack

I enjoy mornings like this one. Out in nature, seeing the sun rise in a pretty spot, or handsome birds posing in lovely light – with my camera along to hopefully capture an impression of a gorgeous moment in front of me.

A new sun kisses the morning marsh

Before the pandemic, most of my photography excursions were with other people along to share the sights and experience. Now, it’s rare to go out with anyone else. Sometimes there are other folks around, but I’m mostly by myself seeing beautiful things that no one else sees (even if there’s someone else there!).

Little Blue Heron Family(?)

Going out alone is good for concentration and getting into a “photography flow“. But going out with others is also good.

Reddish and reflection

When I made all of the images in this post (and many of the photos in recent posts), I was the only one there to witness what I photographed. I’m grateful that the universe arranges these scenes for me, but it seems like a lot of trouble for an audience of one.

Basking heron

I suppose that’s not the right way to think about it. It’s not about me / us. The universe goes about its business regardless of whether any one or thing is there to observe (let’s set aside metaphysics and quantum mechanics for now).

It’s not creating things just for us. Although it seems like it if we’re the only one there.

Fly by

Isn’t it incredible that even in an urban area like Central Florida we can still at times enjoy nature in uncrowded or even empty places.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Please be kind, take care of yourselves and each other – and if you can, get out and make some photos! Maybe I’ll see you out there!

A Wonderful Time of Year

November 14, 2021Merritt Island NWRBelted Kingfisher, Black Crowned Night Heron, Fish, flower, goldenrod, grebe, landscape, Northern Shoveler, Savannah Sparrow, Spoonbill, sunriseEd Rosack

It’s begun: We’re finally leaving the hot weather behind here in Central Florida. Cooler temperatures and lower humidity (and fewer biting insects!) make outside activities even more pleasant. Birds / wildlife enjoy this weather too: There’s more for us to see as migrant species pass through or stop by for the winter

Here are some photos I made last Wednesday in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. I went first to Black Point Wildlife Drive. I got there a little too early so there wasn’t much activity yet. The calm reflections in one of the still ponds along the way was attractive, though:

A peaceful, easy morning

I decided to make another pass around Black Point. I’m glad I did. There was more going on the second time through. I spotted these some I haven’t seen in a while:

Northern Shoveler (migrant)

Savannah Sparrow (migrant)

Black-crowned Night-Heron (year round)

Belted Kingfishers reappeared starting a month or so ago, but this is the first halfway decent photo I’ve managed to get. As usual, this one flew off as soon as I raised my camera. I just sat still waiting and it returned a few minutes later.

Belted Kingfisher (migrant)

I’ve been seeing Grebes for a while too. This one was showing off its fresh catch while keeping a wary eye on me so I didn’t swipe breakfast.

Grebe and grub (migrant / less common in Summer)

These Roseate Spoonbills were a good distance off the road near the entrance to Black Point Wildlife drive. They’re spotted in the refuge year round, but I hadn’t photographed any since last February. I’m looking forward to closer encounters and maybe better photos over the winter.

Far away

And lastly, these gorgeous Goldenrod flowers were blooming in several areas around the refuge.

Goldenrod in bloom

The header image is a sunrise along Gator Creek Road. You can view a higher resolution version here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edrosack/51663779991/in/dateposted-public/

Also, you can use this page on ebird.org to see a list of 300+ species and when they are usually seen at MINWR: https://ebird.org/barchart?byr=1900&eyr=2021&bmo=1&emo=12&r=L123565.

I had a great visit. Lots of nature’s beauty to see and photograph. A wonderful time of year indeed.

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

Central Florida Photo Ops

What and where they are and how to photograph them.