Everglades National Park Cowhorn Orchid

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For some time now, I have been trying to find a large Cowhorn Orchid I had been told existed somewhere in Everglades National Park.  I have found many Cowhorn Orchids before during my hikes throughout Everglades and Big Cypress National Parks, however, I wanted to find this particular Cowhorn Orchid due to its extraordinary size.

I finally had some time this past week to make a trip to the location I thought the orchid could be found.  I went with a photographer friend of mine, Robert Chaplin, on this trip.  After a good bit of hiking and a lot of exploring we successfully found the orchid.  Not only did we find it, but we also were rewarded as it was already in full bloom.  I took some documentary pictures of it and hope to go back soon to try and do something more creative with it before the blooms begin to die.

Everglades Mangrove Sunrise

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I ran out this morning for a quick early morning photography trip.  My main purpose was to go to Eco Pond in Flamingo to see if the birds had arrived yet.  However, I got talked in to getting up early enough to shoot a sunrise on the way down by Robert Chaplin who was also headed out to Everglades National Park.

We stopped at a place I have shot before but never liked any of my results.  It is a location with numerous mangrove trees growing in small clumps surrounded by shallow water.  In theory this spot should produce some great sunrise photos but to date has not been productive for me.  This morning at least produced a photo I like compositionally but I am still not sold on it.  I wish I would have had more clouds or more overall color reflected in the water.  However, I still like this photo and I will continue to clean it up a little bit to see if I can get a final result I am satisfied with.

Everglades Mangrove Sunrise

Wakodahatchee Wetlands

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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.

Everglades Seasons

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Since I have not had the opportunity to capture any new images over the last few months, I have been going through some of my old images and organizing my folders.  During this process, I discovered that I had captured the same location with almost the exactly same composition in two different photos.  One was taken during the winter and one was taken during the summer.  The images, although the same subject, have a dramatically different feel due to the color variations of the grass and sky as a result of the different times of year in which the photos were taken.

The Winter photo is full of browns, reds and yellows and the sunset that night was not very vibrant.  Whereas the Summer photo is full of dark greens and the sunset produced very vibrant pinks and purples across the sky which was reflected in the water.  I like both images and have the summer version hanging in my dining room only because the colors better match the decor that my wife had chosen.

These photos illustrate how dramatically the same subject matter, scene or landscape can change depending on the shooting conditions.  A different season, sky color, cloud shape or water levels can result in a completely different captured image.  In this case, both images came out good.  However, I have shot other locations where one photo was unusable and very bland but after going back to the same location with different conditions the captured image became one of the favorites in my collection.

The moral of this post is to encourage everyone to shoot every location or subject multiple times to see what time of year, day or atmospheric conditions or light produces the best photo.

The photos below are of an air boat ramp off of State Road 41 in South Florida.  They were both taken after sunset during the civil twilight using long shutter speeds to smooth out the water and saturate the colors.  Both were also taken from an elevated position with the vantage point of the winter photo being higher than the summer photo.

Everglades Coalition Conference 2013

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I had the opportunity to attend the 28th Annual Everglades Coalition Conference this past weekend in Coral Gables, Florida.  The Everglades Coalition Conference is a three (3) day conference dedicated to discussing legislative initiatives related to the Everglades ecosystem as well as initiatives related to Everglades restoration, conservation, preservation and management.  There were representative profit and non-profit organizations from the National, State and local levels in attendance at the conference.

Although I did not engage in any photography while at the conference, I found the topics discussed to be very educational and enlightening.  Guest speakers and panels discussions had individuals from the Water Management District, Army Core of Engineers, Federal and State Congressmen and women, fishing guides, scientists, agriculturalists and sportsmen.  Each presenter brought a different perspective and different methodologies to the conversation but the underlying goal was the same, preserve the Everglades and the animals and plants contained therein for future generations enjoyment.

The primary message I got from the conference was that although we have made great strides in Everglades restoration, preservation and conservation we have a long ways to go before we can declare victory.  Through my many hours spent driving, walking, fishing, camping and photographing the Everglades I have developed a great love and respect for this ecosystem.  However, it would be more enjoyable without the millions of mosquitoes.  I plan on doing my part in getting out the message and working toward restoring and preserving the Everglades for my children and grandchildren.

Wings Over Homestead 2012

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I attended the Wings Over Homestead Air Show back in early November.  I spent most of my time entertaining guests who had come to see the show but did find a little free time to take a couple of shots of the show itself.  This year the Thunderbirds were the final act and put on a great show.  I just got around to going through my images today.

Until I logged in to upload these photos, I did not realize it had been since the first week of September that I had last taken any photos or uploaded any new content.  It is amazing how fast time flies sometimes.

I have a few photography adventures planned over the Christmas Holiday and New Years.  If any of them produce any worthwhile images I will post them to my blog.

Everglades Long Pine Key Sunset Reflections

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The last month has been very hectic for me leaving very little time for photography.  I got a free evening after work last week to run out the Everglades to see if Tropical Storm Issac’s rains had reached the Southern Glades.  Although the water levels were elevated from normal they were not as high as I have seen after other tropical storms or torrential rains.  After driving around the park for an hour or so I decided to return to a favorite spot of mine in Long Pine Key to shoot a sapling pine tree I had shot a few months back.

The high water levels made for good reflections and I used the lone pine tree as my foreground anchor.  I was not thrilled with the results but did like the mood of the dark storm clouds that were rolling through during the sunset.

Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory

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I recently took a vacation with my family to Key West for a week.  My mom loves butterflies, so I went with her to the Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory.  The Butterfly Conservatory is essentially a green house full of plants, trees, birds and hundreds of free flying butterflies.  I quickly discovered it is very hot and humid in the conservatory as the butterflies need the right temperature and humidity to thrive.  I of course brought my camera and decided to see if I could capture some butterfly photos for my mom to take home with her.

Despite being a very hot and sunny day, the lighting in the conservatory was not as bright as I thought it might be.  I had a hard time getting the shutter speed I needed to capture crisp photos of the butterflies even when they were sitting still.  In order to get any photos that were not a blur of colors, I had to bump up my ISO to about 800.  To capture the butterflies in flight, I had to use 1600.  I also had to use between a 2.8 and 5.6 aperture.  2.8 was the only option when trying to capture shots of moving or flying butterflies.  As a result many of my in-flight or action shots only have part of the butterfly in focus due to the narrow focal plane of my lens at 2.8.

The green butterfly would not keep its wings open once it landed on a flower or bush.  In order to get a shot of the wings I had to capture it in flight.  It took numerous tries but I finally got one I liked.  This was my moms favorite one so most of my time was spent chasing this species around the conservatory.

I have not done much butterfly photography in the past but I had a good time and found it to be a good change of pace from my normal subjects.

Pine Glades Lake Reflections

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Yesterday afternoon I drove out to Everglades National Park to see if I could capture some of the dramatic storm clouds we had moving through the area.  Soon after I got into the park, I spotted some great dramatic storm clouds and good foreground subjects to shoot.  Unfortunately, I also realized I had left my tripod at home.  By the time I went home to get my tripod and made it back to the park, the shot was long gone.  I proceeded to drive around and explore some trails I had not been on in some while but the rain kept chasing me back to my truck for shelter.

I tried shooting a lone cypress tree with a storm in the background but was not thrilled with the final product.  It was starting to get late so I headed to old faithful Pine Glades Lake for the sunset.  I was hoping to get some vibrant skies to contrast with the dark storm clouds.  The only problem was a storm moved through just in time to completely block the sunset.  I still was able to get some interesting reflections of the storm clouds across the smooth lake but never got the color I was looking for.

Key West Sunrise

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This past weekend I took a trip down to Key West with my wife for the 4th of July Holiday.  I did not spend much time taking pictures but did get up early Sunday morning to capture a sunrise.  I chose a pier in Key West as my primary subject.

I checked the azimuth and realized that the sun was going to rise a little farther north than I had hoped for.  As a result I did not get the shot I envisioned but still captured two (2) shots I was happy with.  I was hoping for more colorful skies but due to the sun rising to the north only got the fringes of the color.

I used some nearby rocks as a foreground subject and then used a long shutter speed to smooth out the water and crashing waves.  Both images are HDR (high dynamic range) and result from combining three images into one to capture the full exposure of the scene.

I also shot a sunset from Fort Zachery Taylor State Park using the channel markers as my main subject.  I did not get any shots of the actual sun setting thanks to the sunset cruises parking in front of my vantage point and blocking the sinking sun.  I did get some good twilight shots after the sun had set and the party boats had started back in.  These are also HDR shots, with one long exposure to blur the water in the foreground.