Everglades With My Son

Since my son was born 6.5 years ago I have not had much time to engage in photography as my free time was consumed by other responsibilities. As a result, my photography has primarily been focused on family time and milestone moments instead of landscapes and wildlife. Now that my son is starting to get older, I am starting to introduce him to many of my hobbies and interests which includes photography.

Over the last couple of weeks we have taken some trips into the everglades to see the wildlife, hike the trails and take pictures. He started taking one of my old point and shoot cameras with him each trip and taking pictures of birds, alligators and unique trees. He also did his first swamp walk and really loved it, except when he found a deep mud hold and sunk to his waist. But he soon got over it and wanted to go explore other new areas. As a result of his interest in nature and photography it has allowed me to pick my camera back up and start capturing some new images with him tagging along. Hopefully, he continues to show interest in hanging out with dad and spending time in nature.

On the most recent trip with him we found a solution hole that had been uncovered during the parks restorations efforts to remove all of the holly bushes from the hole in the donut area. With the holly bushes now gone, numerous solution holes that were previously hidden were now visible, including the large one that I tried to photograph. It was so large that it made framing it difficult while still capturing the sun set over the horizon. It was a very cloudy day which I was concerned would make for a bland sunset. Luckily, the undersides lit up enough to give them some color and create a dynamic scene. This was my first landscape attempt in over a year and a half so it just felt good to compose a shot.

Photography to be sold at RF Orchids

I am excited to announce that my photography will be available for sale at RF Orchids in Homestead, Florida.  RF Orchids address is 28100 SW 182nd Ave  Homestead, FL 33030.  RF Orchids sells high quality orchids of every variety in addition to fine art.

Presently, I have on display four (4) photos printed on canvas and gallery wrapped.  There are two birds/avian photos, one roseate spoonbill and one great blue heron, and two (2) flower photos, one ghost orchid and one cardinal air plant/bromeliad.

Roseate Spoonbill 16×20.  Great Blue Heron 16×24.  Black and White Ghost Orchid 10×20 limited edition #23/120.  Hybrid Cardinal Air Plant/Bromeliad 16×24 limited edition #21/120.

Wakodahatchee Wetlands

This past weekend I rode along with a photographer friend of mine, Robert Chaplin, who was scouting for his upcoming bird workshop.  We took a trip up to Wakodahatchee Wetlands near Delray Beach in Palm Beach County, Florida.  Wakodahatchee Wetlands is an oasis in the middle of housing developments.  Being so close to Everglades National Park and the abundant wildlife, I did not have high expectations of the Wakodahatchee Wetlands despite reading some good reports.  I was pleasantly surprised.  The Wakodahatchee Wetlands were as good as any location I have photographed in Everglades National Park and in some respects the Wakodahatchee Wetlands were better.

The Wakodahatchee Wetlands consists of an elevated boardwalk that leads you on a .5 mile round trip hike.  Along the way are numerous trees with roosting Great Blue Herons and Anhingas.  On this trip many already had chicks in the nests, others were still building nests.  There were also Night Herons, Snowy Egrets, a wide variety of Ducks, Tri-color Herons, Little Blue Herons, Ibis and other wading birds.  Alligators were also swimming in the shallow waters and sunning themselves on the shorelines.  I got there early in the morning while the birds were still active flying two and from their nests and feeding in the shallow waters.

The highlight of this trip was a Great Blue Heron couple that were building a nest in a nearby tree off of the boardwalk.  I was able to capture a few good shots of one of the Heron’s gathering nesting materials and flying to and from the nest.

I only spent about an hour at Wakodahatchee but it is definitely on my list of places to return to.  Below are a few of the photos I captured on this trip.

Art South of Homestead Exhibit Extended

By popular demand my Exhibit at Art South of Homestead has been extended for an additional month.  If you did not have a chance to see it last month you have another opportunity to come out and see my photography during the month of February.

On February 11, 2012, Art South will host their Second Saturday event and introduce the artists on display for the month of February.  There will be free food and drinks.  I invite everyone to come out and enjoy the festivities and meet the artists.

Z Tree Everglades National Park aka N Tree

The iconic Z Tree of Everglades National Park, aka N Tree, has been photographed by many renown photographers and amateurs alike.  Almost anyone who spends a good amount of time in Everglades National Park will eventually spot or photography the Z Tree.  I too wanted my own photograph of the Z Tree but I wanted my shot to be different than those taken by my predecessors.  I decided to take a picture of the Z Tree at night in contrast to all of the day or morning shots I had seen to date.  Not only was I going to take a picture of the Z Tree at night but I was also going to capture the rising full moon as part of the shot.

After checking my handy moon calculator to obtain the right azimuth I planned my trip out to the park to capture the Z Tree.  After numerous shots and playing with the settings I finally got the shot I was looking for.  I processed one in color and one in Black and White.  My favorite is the Black and White shot.  The color shot reminds me of Halloween as the yellow and orange tints give the tree a scary feeling.  I like both but prefer the Black and White shot.

Everglades National Park Photography

I finally got some free time to take a dedicated photography trip.  It has been almost four (4) months since my last photography trip.  I chose to run out to Everglades National Park to catch a sunrise and then see what other photo opportunities I could find.  I was hoping for some dense fog in the morning based on the weather forecast the night before, but alas no fog was present.  I did find a little layer of fog across a lake but not the dense fog I had hoped for.  Either way I was able to capture a few decent shots across a nearby lake.  I captured one before the sun came up and then a few sunbursts as it broke the horizon through the trees.  I would have preferred some more dramatic skies but it was still a productive shoot.

Once the sun had gotten to bright to shoot, I packed the truck and headed to the Anhinga Trail to check on the wildlife.  I have not been to the Anhinga Trail since last March and wanted see if I could find a few animal shots to add to my collection.  I succeeded in capturing a Great Blue Egret eating a catfish and an Anhinga in Mating colors drying his wings.  When I left I encountered about five (5) vultures eating various parts of my truck.  Luckily they did not cause any major damage.

From the Anhinga Trail I went exploring to find a place called Movie Dome.  It is a cypress dome in Everglades National Park within walking distance of the main road.  To get there you have to traverse the wet and muddy saw grass for about .25 mile or so.  Once there you are surrounded by cypress trees and shin to knee deep water.  The Cypress Trees are covered in Bromeliads and other air plants.  This time of year only a few were in bloom.  Later in the year it will be much better.  In the middle of the cypress dome is a deep gator hole a couple of feet deep in which no trees grow.  It looks like a lake in the middle of the trees.  I captured a few shots of some blooming bromeliads before heading back to the truck.

I left around noon to head home.  I plan on heading back to the cypress dome when the bromeliads are all in full bloom.

Art South Exhibit

Art South of Homestead has invited me to display my photography in one of their galleries for the month of January 2012.  They will introduce me and my Exhibit on January 14, 2012 between 3-7 PM at Art South, 240 North Krome Avenue, Homestead, Florida 33030.  There will be snacks and drinks and admission is free.  I invite you to attend and/or stop by to see my Exhibit and Photography first hand.  The Exhibit will continue to be open and on display until the second week of February.  This will be my first public exhibition of my Photography.

My Exhibit will contain approximately 20 Photographs from my Everglades, Florida Keys and South Florida Gallery collections.  All photos displayed as part of the Exhibit are printed on Canvas and framed or gallery wrapped.  You can preview the photos I will be displaying as part of my Exhibit by following this link http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.357502797599173.105889.100000183684570&type=1&l=98a11d5544 .

You can view my full collection by visiting my website at www.stephenshelleyphotography.com.  For more information or for directions you can visit Art South’s website.    I look forward to seeing you there.

Gator Hook Cypress Dome

I recently took a trip to Big Cypress National Park to visit a place called Gator Hook.  Gator Hook is a trail off of Loop Road that is about three (3) miles in length one way.  There are many side trails off of the main trail.  One of these side trails leads to a magical place called Gator Hook Cypress Dome.

Inside Gator Hook you will find large Cypress Trees more than 100 hundred years old covered with air plants such as Bromeliads.  The entire area is surrounded by water that ranges from ankle deep to chest deep.  In the center of the Cypress dome is a large pool where it is too deep for the cypress trees to grow creating a small lake.  This lake is the deepest part of the dome and is also called a gator hole.  I have seen a few very large gators swiming around in this area.  In the dry season when the water recedes you can see the alligator drags where they have left Gator Hook to visit a neighboring cypress dome.  On this trip I captured one of my favorite shots showing the large cypress trees, air plants and blue reflections off of the deeper water.

Gator Hook is a great place to visit and has a unique aura that surrounds you when you walk into it.  It is very calming and peaceful while under the Cypress Canopy.