Z Tree Everglades National Park aka N Tree

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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

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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

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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.

Crashed Blog

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My prior blog had some technical difficulties and crashed.  Therefore, all of my prior posts were lost.  I started this new blog and will be updating it with my new photography adventures and photos.  I may recreate some of the past blog entries, but they will not be the same or probably as informative as the original posts.

Myakka River State Park

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I was up in the Tampa/St. Pete area visiting family this past weekend and decided to stop by Myakka River State Park on my way home.  I spent a few hours exploring the park and taking notes on future photography locations.  I did hike a few trails but for the most part spent most of my time in the truck driving around.  While there I saw numerous birds, alligators and hogs.  I also saw about 40 or so turkeys throughout the park.  The day that I was there was somewhat overcast and rain moved in as I was leaving.  I did get a unique shot of an oak tree that I spotted not to far off the main road.

I plan on heading back this spring to maybe spend a full weekend camping and exploring the miles of trails that wind throughout Myakka River State Park.

Everglades Astrophotography

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This summer I recently stumbled across a website on Astrophotography and thought it might be a fun thing to try.  Unfortunately, since I live so close to Miami there is too much light pollution in my area to successfully take any astrophotography photos.  Therefore, I took a 40 mile trip out into the Everglades to find a dark enough spot.  I ended up at a place called Mahogany Hammock and had a good view of the Milky Way.

I never realized how many stars there were in the sky until I went on this adventure.  It was quite an amazing expierence.  It took me a few tries to figure out what I was doing but after awhile I was able to capture a few decent shots.  One of the techniques I used was to take my flashlight and paint an object in the foreground to make it stand out during the exposure.  I got lucky in one shot and captured a shooting star going through the Milky Way.

I had a great time taking the photos but now do not know what to do with them.  I tried printing one but it did not have the same effect printed as it did on the computer screen.  The computer screen back lighting makes the stars stand out.  Printed they are flatter and the photos loose there appeal.  I will hopefully find a way to effectively print them but until then they will remain screen savers only.

Florida Keys Photography

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I recently was given the opportunity to tag along on a Florida Keys Workshop put on by a local Photographer Robert L. Chaplin.  The workshop started out early in the morning with a trip to Anne’s Beach in the middle Keys.  I captured a great shot of a Mangrove Tree illuminated by the morning sunlight with a color sky and wading Egret.

From Anne’s Beach we went further south to Robbie’s to capture some Tarpon pictures before the crowds showed up.  I got two I liked.

After Robbie’s we continued further south to the old Bahia Honda bridge.  Along the Bahia Honda Beach I found some driftwood that had washed ashore and had been bleached white by the sun.  I used my wide angle lens to get close to it and capture a nice scene between the blue sky and water and white wooden tree.  I also got a good shot of the Bahia Honda Bridge that I liked as well.

We left Bahia Honda around noon and continued our trip south where we started to encounter Florida’s thunderstorms.  While we pulled over to try and capture some lighting shots I found a picturesque lagoon and waded in to try and photograph a lone mangrove I liked.  I was able capture a dramatic storm cloud in the distance to give my mangrove tree a nice back drop.

We did not make it to Key West this trip as we were all getting tired.  We decided to start working our way back north and home.  On the way we saw a great line of thunderstorms coming in off the Atlantic and pulled over near the card sound bridge to intercept them.  I got a great shot of the sun setting with a lightning strike in it surrounded by silhouettes of the nearby mangroves.

All in all it was a great trip and I am glad the Robert Chaplin invited me to tag along.

Fakahatchee Ghost Orchid

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I have been monitoring a Ghost Orchid I discovered in Fakahatchee Strand for the past few weeks and waiting on it to bloom.  I knew it was getting close to when it would be in full bloom and did not want to miss getting some photos of it before it withered and died.  Luckily when I got there the Ghost Orchid was still in full bloom but I was a few days late as it had alreadys started to turn brown in a few places.

I spent about and hour shooting the orchid in different light and compositions.  The day I went was during the rain storms that we had been having hear in South Florida that were lasting days at a time.  I got lucky in that once I got to the site the rain had gone from a downpour to a sprinkle and eventually became intermittent.  This gave me a small window of opportunity to take some shots before the rain started again.  Unfortunately, it also meant very low light conditions as it was cloudy and I was under a pretty thick tree canopy.

Downtown Miami Skyline

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After a late afternoon court hearing downtown I decided to stick around and see if I could capture some nighttime skyline shots.  For the most part all of my shots to date have been nature shots captured in the varying Florida Wilderness.  I decided to try something new and capture the multifaceted and colorful lighting of Downtown Miami.  I was pretty happy with the results for my first effort.  I definitely learned some things and will hopefully plan additional trips now that I know what to expect and can envision the shot before I get there.  I enjoyed it so much that I added a South Florida Gallery to my website that will predominantly be city scape shots of varying types rather than nature shots.

I also hope to expand my experiences by trying to capture South Beach at night if I can just bring myself to fight the traffic to get there.

Canon 10-22 Wide Angle Lens

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I recently purchased a new Canon 10-22 Wide Angle Lens from B&H Photo and Video and was excited to try it out.  Below please find some sample images I took while becoming familiar with the lens.

I had researched this lens thoroughly before buying it.  The main competition was the Tokina 11-16.  After reading many reviews and looking at sample images, I decided that the Canon was the lens that best suited the applications I was purchasing it for.  Mainly wide angle nature shots.  I liked the extra zoom range of the Canon which would allow me to adjust my composition without changing lenses.  Many times I am shooting in swamps and wetlands that make it difficult to change lenses mid shoot as there is no dry place to set your pack down while swapping lenses.  The Canon gave me more flexibility due to its increased zoom range.

I have been very happy with my purchase and so far do not have any complaints.  I found the images to be very sharp with very little chromatic aberrations for such a wide angle lens.  Most of my shots are with a tripod so the lack of image stabilization is not a problem for me in most circumstances.

The biggest challenge with this lens has been learning to see the world with wide angle composition in mind.  The key to wide angle photography is to make sure that you have an anchor foreground object in your scene.  Without a foreground object the resulting picture will come out boring and non-inspiring.  I have found that the closer I can get to the foreground subject the better.  It creates a scene that you will want to walk into, or feel that you are a part of.  Wide angle lenses are great if you learn how to use them and understand their drawbacks.

My next purchase will be a Circular Polarizar to help darken my blue skies and enrich the flora and fauna in my scenes.