Tag: Stephen Shelley Photography

Everglades National Park Afternoon Photography Trip

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After work yesterday I ran out to Everglades National Park with my camera to check on the water levels after all of the recent rains we have been experiencing here in South Florida over the last 3 weeks.  I found that the water levels have risen a good bit since I was out there last but still not at there normal rainy season levels.  Either way,  I found alligators everywhere.  They were crossing the park road, sitting in puddles, and occupying the walking trails that are now underwater.  I found a five footer in a deep spot in the middle of one of the trails I was hiking.  Luckily the water was clear and I saw it before I stepped on it.

I did get a few good shots of the blooming string lilies despite the windy conditions causing the saw grass and flowers to move back and forth.  Although, I did have to hike a couple hundred yards out into the saw-grass to get the shot I envisioned.  The water was about thigh deep but clean and clear.  I also captured some good rainbow pictures from some storms that were offshore in the Atlantic.

Everglades Association Board of Directors Appointment

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I was recently appointed to the Board of Directors for the Everglades Association, a not for profit 501(c)(3) corporation and subsidiary of the Florida National Parks Association, Inc.  The Everglades Association is the official not for profit arm of the Everglades, Biscayne, Big Cypress and Dry Tortuga’s National Parks Service and was founded in 1951.  The purpose of the Everglades Association is to help raise money for educational and conservation programs related to the associated National Parks and Preserves.

Through my photography I have developed a passion for the Everglades, Big Cypress and Biscayne National Parks and want to ensure that the natural beauty is preserved for future generations to photography and enjoy.  By becoming a part of the Everglades Association I can directly help work toward this goal to preserve and educate the community about the wonders and beauty found in South Florida’s National Parks and Preserves.

Lightning Over Downtown Miami

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I had a meeting in Downtown Miami yesterday afternoon I had to attend.  Luckily I had my camera equipment with me in the car because a good lightning storm started building over the city about the time my meeting ended.

After assessing the radar and the storms position, I drove to the bridge that leads to Key Biscayne and parked under it to stay dry.  The storm was very active and producing lightning bolts every few seconds.  I wanted to try to capture some shots of lighting with the city in the background or foreground.  Unfortunately, most of the lightning occurred out over the bay or beach and not over Downtown Miami.  I still managed to capture three OK shots, but not what I was looking for.

I did miss a good shot when lightning struck one of the skyscrapers.  Of course it struck one of the buildings not within my viewfinder.  Eventually the wind and rain overtook my vantage point and I had to seek shelter.

I did get some funny looks as people drove or passed by as I was standing there with my camera and tripod shooting the storm still dressed in my business suit and tie.

Everglades Supermoon and Sunset

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I wanted to try and catch the Supermoon rising over the sawgrass and cypress trees of Everglades National Park.  I decided to go to a remote area of the park where I was less likely to have any compeition from fellow photographers also trying to photograph the Supermoon.  While waiting for the Supermoon to rise I also managed to capture a bonus sunset over the marsh and cattails.  The only problem with both efforts was the strong winds which caused all the sawgrass and trees to blow around making it hard to capture a crisp shot that did not have some blur associated with it somewhere.

Pine Glades Lake Everglades National Park

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It has been awhile since I have been to Pine Glades Lake for a sunset.  I went out last night for a quick photography trip to Pine Glades Lake to see if the water had returned to normal levels.  With all the rain we have gotten over the last two weeks the lake had not only returned to normal levels but was overflowing its banks in some areas.  I prefer the water level high at Pine Glades Lake as it enhances the reflections of the clouds and sunsets better than when it is low as you can set up your camera closer to the waters edge.

The sunset was not exceptional but the afterglow lasted for a good 30 minutes or more.  I tried a different perspective then usual for a few of the shots and liked the way the came out.

Everglades Building Thunderstorm

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After shooting a sunset one morning I noticed some building clouds on the drive home.  I decided to pull over and watch them for a little while to see if they continued to build.  After about 15 minutes or so they continued to climb skyward and then started producing some rain.  They never did produce lightning or thunder but still made for some dramatic skies over the sawgrass prairies.  I also decided to try an HDR shot of the storm in order try and capture the dynamic range of the clouds.

Christian Point Trail Everglades National Park Sunrise

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Planned a trip to Christian Point Trail with a photographer friend of mine this week.  We decided to try and capture a sunrise from the end of the trail overlooking snakebight.  Unfortunately, this required leaving the house at 4:45 AM in order to get to the trail head by 5:45 AM.  The hike to the end of the trail takes about 45 minutes and since we were making this trip in the dark we left ourselves a little extra time for any wrong turns or unforeseen events.

Christian Point is a 1.8 mile hike through varied terrain and ending at the waters edge overlooking Snake Bight.  The shoreline faces due West making this an ideal sunrise location.  The trail starts by going through a mangrove forest before opening up into a small marl prairie.  After the first marl prairie you enter a large hardwood hammock where the trees are covered with epiphytes such as bromeliads, orchids and wild pineapples.  The hardwood hammock eventually thins out and the trail emerges into a large marl prairie that is about .5 miles long and full of dead buttonwood trees from past hurricanes.  At the end of the prairie is another thin clump of mangrove trees ending at the waters edge.

Unfortunately, the shoreline is densely covered in Mangroves leaving little in the way of options for choosing a photography location.  One is limited to the opening at the end of the trail.  The sunrise view is great however the composition options are limited.  I was able to get an OK shot using the surrounding mangroves trees and overhanging branches silhouettes to frame the sunrise.  In order to accomplish this I had to use a wide angle lens causing the sun to look small in the picture.  I did take a few with a long lens before the sun came up but quickly realized the sun was going to rise away from the subject I had chosen in the distance.

I did not have time to explore to see if other openings existed farther down.  I will try to plan a return trip when I am not in a hurry.

I found Christian Point Trail in Everglades National Park to be one of the more interesting designated trails in the park.  The varied landscape created multiple photographic subjects.  One could do landscape shots in one area and then switch to macro or plant specific shots in another.  I also saw a good number of raptors flying overhead or perched on the dead buttonwood trees.  However, be warned that the mosquitoes can be very thick in the mangrove and hardwood hammocks.  When I was there they were not to bad but the temperature was in the 60’s in the morning.  As the temperature started to warm up they started to become more plentiful.

I do not know if I would hike the trail again only for a sunrise as I think there are better sunrise locations within the park that do not require as much work to shoot.  However, I will definitely return to Christian Point Trail for other photography subjects that are available on the trail.

Eco Pond, Cypress Dome and Pine Glades Lake Sunset

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Had a free day and decided to get up early and head down to Everglades National Park.  I decided to start at Eco Pond in the morning to see if the birds were active and then work my way back north.  Today was a good bird day.  Eco Pond was full of Roseate Spoonbills, Snowy Egrets, Great Herons, Tri-Color Herons, Pelicans and the ocassional overflying Osprey.  They were also very active foraging around in the shallow water for fish and other food.  One thing I noticed was how low the water in Eco Pond had gotten since my last visit.  The East Side of the pond is almost completely dry.  I got a few good shots of some landing Roseate Spoonbills.  The one I captured was a juvenille spoonbill.

After the birds left Eco Pond I walked around and found a some osprey nests but they were not very active.  I left Flamingo and started heading back north.  My next stop was Snake Bight.  I brought my bike and rode the path down to the end of the trail.  I saw a few birds along the way but nothing motivated me to stop and get out my camera.  At the end of the trail is a boardwalk.  The tide was out exposing a large mudflat.  A few birds were around but nothing better than I had already shot.  I did note that this might be a good sunset location and may come back to try it out before summer officially arrives.

After Snake Bight I stopped by Mahogany Hammock to look for some barred owls but not were willing to show themselves.  I kept driving north to a Cypress Dome I found a few weeks back.  I hiked into the Dome and took some photos of the blooming Bromeliads.  They were everywhere in the dome.  I also came across the same water moccasins I saw during my last visit.  One of the moccasins was not very happy and tried to bite me.  Luckily I was out of his reach.  I still got a few good shots of him before I left.

My next stop was another cypress dome farther north called Movie Dome.  Last time I hiked into it the water was still about a foot deep or so.  This time it was completely dry except for a shallow pool in the middle of the dome.  I walked around the dome but did not take any pictures this time.

My last stop was Pine Glades Lake for a sunset.  I captured some sunrays that were streaming from the sun giving the shot a unique look.  Pine Glades Lake is one of my favorite sunset locations in Everglades National Park.  After the sunset I headed home.  On the way home I got a suprise panther sighting.  This was my first panther sighting since I started coming to the park almost 8 years ago.  The panther was walking the main park road and slipped into the bushes when he saw me coming.  It was too dark to try and use the camera but it was still great to witness a free roaming panther.

Everglades Crazy Flower, Alligator and Sunset

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Thanks to the time change, after I got off work on Friday I was able to run out to Everglades National Park to explore a trail I had not been to in some time.  Unfortunately, the weather conditions were not ideal for photography, very overcast and cloudy.  This made bird in flight and wildlife action shots very difficult.  Also, my primary purpose was to capture a sunset and the storm clouds were blocking the sun completely.

The bright side to the bad conditions is that it made me slow down and look hard for photography subjects.  I managed a few decent shots as a result.  My favorite was a crazy flower I found growing on the side of the trail.  I had never seen anything like it before and it kept me entertained for a little while.  In the end I did get an ok sunset shot with lots of color but it was not what I was looking for out of that particular venue.  The sun in the photo is off he frame to the right and behind a dark storm cloud.  I just captured the side lighting from it.

Everglades Sunrise, Birds in Flight and Cypress Dome Walk

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I went out last week to capture a sunrise down in Flamingo, Florida.  I took a few reflection pictures across the water as the sun came up.  After the sunrise I went to Eco Pond to try and capture some bird in flight pictures.  The birds have started to thin out after reaching a peak a few weeks ago.  There were still a good number of Roseate Spoonbills, Egrets, Heron’s and other birds but not like there had been the last few weeks.  I ended up with a few I liked.

After the birds stopped performing, I started heading back toward the park entrance.  I made one last stop to explore a cypress dome I had never walked into before.  It was a great find and I plan on going back to try and take more pictures there in the future.  Inside the cypress dome, I found resident gators, birds, and three water moccasins.  I also found numerous orchids of different varieties including some very large and rare cigar orchids.