Waterlilies at McKee Gardens in Vero Beach

This was my second visit to McKee Gardens and it was also their annual Water Lily Festival. Due to the festival, they opened earlier which was positive for photographing the waterlilies. This year it was either too late for the Egyptian Lotuses or maybe too early, but there weren't many in bloom. I used a 70 -200 mm lens with a 1.4 teleconverter since most of the blooms are a distance in the water. Snakes patrol the ponds to keep photographers at a safe distance.

Cars - Disney Style

Downtown Disney held a car show last weekend. Several of the cars were styled like the characters in Cars animated films. Most of the "real" cars were hot rods and muscle cars. This time I brought a knee pad so I could from a lower point of view. It was challenging to get a clean shot with the crowds, but patience pays off.

Mater from Cars

1959 Chevy Impala

Close to Home (Longmeadow Version)

I spent Memorial Day weekend in Longmeadow, Mass visiting my Dad. I have discovered that you don't have to travel great distances to find interesting photographic subjects. This wildlife preserve is actually only a few miles from our home. I really had no idea that it was there and how different it was from everything else around it. It is next to the Connecticut river and west of I-91. There are trails, boardwalks and wetland areas. I will definitely return there on my next trip.

Stitched Pano of Fannie Stebbins Wildlife Preserve in Longmeadow, Massachusetts

Bleeding Hearts

Small Lake at Fannie Stebbins Preserve

Another place I had never been to is The Botanical Gardens at Smith College in Northampton. Springtime is the perfect time to practice some flower photography. My dad helped hold the diffuser disc to cut down on the harsh sunlight on the flowers. He was a great assistant and it was fun sharing our love of photography. Here are a few shots from the outing to Smith College. I am afraid I don't know the names of most of the plants since they don't grow in Central Florida.

A neighbors garden clock with Nik's Glamour Glow filter

Peony Bud



Mother's Day at Lowry Park Zoo

Finally made it to the zoo in Tampa. One more place crossed off my "photography places to visit" list. I hope I will make more visits to the Lowry Park Zoo. It is a good place to photograph animals since they are all in natural environments and there are not too many barriers to shoot through. Even places where there is a mesh, it is possible to focus past it and it doesn't show up in the image. The Safari Ride was not operational which would have provided some behind the scenes views of the zoo. Maybe next time it will be working. I used a 70-200 mm lens with a 1.4 teleconverter. In most cases there was a railing or post to lean the lens against for stability.

Bok Tower Botanical Gardens

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