Seven Swans a Swimming

Swans are hatching all over the place at Lake Eola. Its hard to walk around the lake without stopping in awe of the tiny fuzz balls. I went down there to take some photos and also get some exercise. I ended up only walking a mile but came home with lots of photos.

St. Augustine Birding and PhotoFest

Although I only spent one day at the actual Birding and Photofest, I did go back on Saturday and played tourist. I just love St. Augustine because there is so much history. Most places in Florida seem so new compared to other places. Not so much with St. Augustine. We toured Castillo San Marcos since it was  National Parks week and the price was free. We also toured Flagler College. It is an amazing place and they let us take photos as long as we didn't use flash.

Beach at Marineland



I took three classes at the Whitney Lab on Thursday. I was especially excited to take Deb Sandidge's infrared class. Now I am researching the options to convert a camera to infrared. I learned about Action and Flight Photography from Kevin Karlson and De-mystifying Flash from Chas Glatzner.Now, its time to practice the techniques I learned. Can't wait for next year.

Flagler College formerly a hotel

The ornate ceiling Inside Flagler College

This was the largest indoor swimming pool at Hotel Alcazar

1955 Chrysler Imperial parked outside Casa Monica

Texture overlay on photo of the HMS Bounty Tall ship

Photography Workshop in Charleston



Oak Alley at Magnolia Plantation with the Singh-Ray Tony Sweet Soft focus filter



Magnolia Plantation Cypress Swamp




Magnolia Plantation





Slave Cabin HDR at Magnolia Plantation




Botany Bay with Texture Overlay




Cypress Gardens




Folly Beach Pier at Sunrise




Folly Beach Pier at Sunrise


I spent the first week of April in Charleston attending the Tony Sweet Photography workshop. It was an incredible week, with great people, excellent weather and an awesome instructor. I can't wait to do another workshop with Tony Sweet and Susan Milestone.

Bird Babies!!

Great Blue Herons nesting at Viera Wetlands

Great White Egret with babies at Gatorland

Catbird at Gatorland, and they really sound like a cat!

The weather was perfect over the Easter weekend. I finally found the time to get back over to Viera hoping I wasn't too late for some herons on the nest. Patience paid off and I caught the mom visiting the nest to feed the youngsters. I also made a trip out to Gatorland for their early entry to the rookery. Again I waited a long time to catch a shot where all of the babies were visible. This one nest was the only one where the vegetation wasn't obscuring views to the birds. I did clone out a fair amount of branches behind the mother bird.

The Big Day

Having recently watched the movie, The Big Year, I was excited to be out with a friend to explore some new birding trails. We headed out early to  a popular spot called Joe Overstreet which is south of St. Cloud and near Kenansville. Early morning fog made the sunrise spectacular. Both sides of the road had pasture land and sod farms. Meadowlarks were spotted on the fence posts, eagles soaring over the trees and sand hill cranes in the pastures. A group of cows came walking over to see why we were so excited about a small, yellow bird. There is something special about being out in the early morning away from the crowds of the city. At the end of the road is Lake Apopka and a boat ramp. Birds were plentiful at the waters edge.
The second stop was Three LakesWildlife Management Area. There seemed to be fewer birds, but we did get to see a pair of Sandhill Cranes with a new baby. I was really hoping  to see Crested Caracaras but didn't see any at the first two birding trails. We were heading back to town when I spotted a pair of caracaras on a telephone pole. I did get one recognizable shot of one of them flying away. One last stop in St. Cloud at the waterfront park where we added a few more species including a limpkin.
It was great fun exploring new areas and trying to see as many species of birds as possible. And it was The Big Day! At least for now.

An Eastern Medowlark posed on the fence post.

Ranch Rodeo Day - Yee Haw!

Wild Cow Milking

Wild Cow Milking

Relay

A great day at the Central Florida Fair - We went there to see the Ranch Rodeo primarily, not eat junk food and ride the rides. Ranch Rodeo is different from the traditional rodeo in that the events are similar to what the real cowboys do every day on the ranch. Teams from the different ranches or counties participate in five events that showcase their everyday skills on the ranch. Each team participates in Calf Branding (using chalk only for the branding), Mugging, Cattle Sorting, Relay Race around barrels, and Wild Cow Milking. It was extremely challenging to try to follow the action with the camera. There are calves and five team members on horses trying to separate the calf with the selected number on his back. The second challenge was the busy background with spectators, vehicles, and stadium light poles. I didn't get the iconic shot of the calf running towards the camera and the cowboy about to lasso him. But, I think I caught some action shots.

Two Days, Two Types of Photography

Orlando Wetlands Festival - February 18, 2012
This was the weekend for the annual Orlando Wetlands Festival in Christmas, Florida. The day started off cool and overcast but later became sunny and a bit humid. Not the typical type of weather we have in February. This was my first time to the festival. I decided to go because they had photography tours of the wetlands with experienced and professtional photographers. What better way to get some good tips and techniques for photographing birds. I went with the first group led by professional photographer Robert Amoruso. The birds were a little scarce at that time of day, but he gave us some good information. After the workshop, I walked out into the wetland further. I forgot how far it is to go all the way around the park. But, the payoff was when I got to I believe the furthest point, there were a pair of limpkins that were fairly close to photograph. There are lots of dead trees with bird silhouettes that might make some interesting shot if it wasn't in the middle of the day. I hope to go back out early in the day to catch the sunrising. I think bringing my mountain bike might be the way to get out farther without having to walk so far. I love to walk, but I would have to start out in the dark to get sunrise shots. I am not sure what the alligators are doing around sunrise, hopefully sleeping!

A different view of the same cypress trees.

Saw a Red shouldered hawk but too far away.
 This one was brought by the Audubon Birds of Prey Center.



Lake Mary Cycling Race
For part two of the weekend I shot the Lake Mary crit put on by the Orlando Road Club. This was the first time shooting a regular cycling race with my 70-200mm lens. It is not the fastest as focusing which was a challenge. Also, getting the focus on the intended spot was at times challenging. I tried some more pan shots before calling it a day.