Tag: Everglades National Park

Reddish Egret Dance at Eco Pond

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I decided to head back down to Eco Pond on Monday morning to spend some more time trying to photograph the birds.  Last time I was there I had to rush off and leave before the birds had really become very active.  This time I could stay until it got too hot or the birds left whichever happened first.

Just like on Saturday, there were about the same number of birds and variety of birds.  Although this time I also saw a pileated woodpecker.  The pileated woodpecker looks like woody woodpecker the cartoon with the tall triangular pointed red head.  I would have like to have captured him in flight but he never got close enough.

I did get some more shots of the lone reddish egret fishing/dancing across the pond.  The reddish egret was very active this morning and was using all of his fishing tricks to catch breakfast.  He did his dance across the water as well as his raised wings pretend shade trick.  It was if nothing else entertaining to watch.

The roseate spoonbills still were not very active and just sat across the pond on the dead branches before eventually just flying away.  I will give it a few more weeks before trying back to see if more birds have arrived and the activity level increases.

Before heading home I also walked some of the Coastal Prairie Trail at the south-west end of the flamingo campground.  I plan on coming back when I have the time and energy to walk the entire length.  All in all it was a good morning of photography and time spent in the Everglades.

Click on the thumbnails for the full image.

Everglades National Park Eco Pond 2014

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Had the pleasure of being asked to give a presentation to the Focus on Parks Miami Dade youth group about my photography and passion for Everglades National Park.  The presentation took place at the Anhinga Trail in Everglades National Park.  The group consisted of about 20 middle school children who were going to be spending the next two (2) days in Everglades National Park learning about the ecosystems, conservation and photography.  This was many of the children’s first time visiting the Everglades and they were excited to see the birds, alligators and other wildlife up close and personal.  The Focus on Parks Miami Dade is a six (6) week program that visits various parks throughout Miami-Dade County and gives each child a camera in which to capture their experiences and teach them about photography.  I am glad I got to be a part of their first visit to Everglades National Park.

I have not had time lately to make it out to the park so I decided to take advantage of my time in the everglades by running down to Eco Pond around sunrise prior to meeting with the kids at 10:00 AM.  Last time I checked on Eco Pond was back in December and there were almost no birds to speak of.  This time there were a good number of Roseate Spoonbills and snowy egrets, with the occasional cormorant, tri-color heron, reddish egret, king fisher, ibis, duck and osprey.  However, the birds have still not shown up in large numbers as they have in years past.  Hopefully, they are just late this year due to the warmer weather and higher water levels.

Unfortunately, I did not get to stay very long and due to the cooler morning the birds were not very active.  The Roseate Spoonbills for the most part sat stationary on the nearby driftwood.  The Reddish Egret was the most active bird in the bunch and as a result I was able to get some good shots of him flying around and fishing.  In order to make it back to the Anhinga Trail I had to leave  just as the birds started to become more active and start feeding.   Captured two decent shots of some birds in flight.  I really like the reddish egret shot.  I have a few more I may go through and post later.

 

City of Homestead Gateway to Everglades and Biscayne National Parks Designation

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The City of Homestead recently passed a resolution designating and branding itself as the “Gateway to Everglades and Biscayne National Parks.”  I collaborated with the National Parks Service and the National Parks Conservation Association to present this concept to my fellow colleagues on the City of Homestead Council.  I am excited that my colleagues unanimously passed this resolution and support the concept of linking the City of Homestead to its two neighboring National Parks, Everglades and Biscayne.

The purpose of branding the City of Homestead as the Gateway to Everglades and Biscayne National Parks is twofold.  The first is to capitalize on the ecotourism generated by these parks annually.  Each year more than 1.5 million visitors visit both Everglades and Biscayne National Park each year.  Presently many of these visitors are bypassing the City of Homestead on their way to our neighboring national parks.  By branding the City of Homestead as the Gateway to Everglades and Biscayne National parks, as well as creating National Parks themed attractions, it is hoped that these visitors will begin to associate the City of Homestead with Everglades and Biscayne National Parks and plan their vacation and stay in the City of Homestead.

There are many other gateway cities that also border National Parks nationwide.  Many of these gateway cities build their entire economies around the tourists that flock to these national parks annually.  A great example is Gatlinburg, Tennessee.  Gatlinburg is the gateway to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park and every summer is packed with visitors and tourists who are entering or leaving the Smokey Mountains.  As a direct result of the tourists, Gatlinburg is filled with attractions, hotels and restaurants.  The City of Homestead is unique as it is a gateway city bordered by two national parks instead of just one, and therefore has the potential to attract and capitalize on an even more diverse group of travelers.

The second purpose is that by becoming a gateway city the City of Homestead also takes on the ability to help advocate for our neighboring National Parks.  This can be in the form of bringing attention or awareness to conservation or preservation issues or advocating for additional federal funds to help with management of the natural resources.  Working as a team, the national parks and the gateway cities are more powerful and have a stronger voice than they would merely by acting alone.

Designating the City of Homestead as a Gateway community is only the first step in a more comprehensive plan.  My goal is to advocate to enact other programming under this Gateway umbrella that will help to further build a partnership with the National Parks and attract tourism dollars to the City of Homestead.  One of the first such initiatives is the launching of the City of Homestead’s National Park Trolley service.

The National Park Trolley is a concept that I have been working on for more than two years and is a collaborative effort between the City of Homestead, the National Park Service and the National Parks Conservation Association.  The National Park Trolley will leave from Historic Downtown Homestead and travel to Everglades National Park, Biscayne National Park and Homestead-Bayfront Park every weekend from November through April of each year.

Riders of the National Park Trolley will not have to pay admission fees to enter any of the parks.  Also, there is a tour guide on board each trolley that will give a presentation about the history of Homestead and the National Parks as well as the surrounding agricultural lands while traveling between each destination.

The National Parks Trolley stops at the Ernest Coe Visitor Center in Everglades National Park as well as the Anhinga Trail.  In Biscayne National Park the Trolley stops at the Dante Fascell Visitors Center and also at Homestead-Bayfront Park.

For more information on the Homestead National Park Trolley or to plan your trip to any of the parks you can visit www.cityofhomestead.com/gateway.

Another concept that is being discussed and studied is an iconic attraction that will be built downtown only blocks away from the National Park Trolley stop.  The iconic attraction is presently slated to contain an Everglades themed IMAX theatre like entertainment ride as well as a satellite Everglades National Park and/or Biscayne National Park Visitors Center.  If constructed, this iconic attraction will help to increase the likelihood that the City of Homestead will be the central hub for visitors planning trips to either national park and hopefully lead to other attractions, restaurants and hotels to service the increase in visitors and tourists to the area.

I am very excited about these projects and very thankful for the many people who have worked so hard on these projects and this concept with me.  I hope that this is the beginning of a new direction and identity for the City of Homestead and look forward to working on more new projects in the future.

Now that these projects are completed and underway I hope to have a little more free time to get back out and enjoy these parks myself before I get bogged down with a new project.

City of Homestead Gateway to Everglades and Biscayne National Park

City of Homestead National Parks Trolley

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Today I am excited to announce that the City of Homestead launched its free National Park Trolley Service.  The National Park Trolley will provide free transportation from Downtown Historic Homestead to both Everglades and Biscayne National Parks.  The trolley will also make stops at Homestead-Bayfront Park.  I have been working on this project for the past two (2) years and I am excited that this concept has now been implemented.  This project is a collaboration between the City of Homestead, the National Parks Service and the National Parks Conservation Association.

Riders of the National Park Trolley will not have to pay admission fees to enter any of the parks.  Also, there is a tour guide on board each trolley that will give a presentation about the history of Homestead and the National Parks as well as the surrounding agricultural lands while traveling between each destination.

The National Parks Trolley stops at the Ernest Coe Visitor Center in Everglades National Park as well as the Anhinga Trail.  In Biscayne National Park the Trolley stops at the Dante Fascell Visitors Center and also at Homestead-Bayfront Park.  The National Park Trolley operates every weekend from January through April this spring.  In the fall, the National Park Trolley will begin running in November and run through April of 2015.

For more information on the Homestead National Park Trolley or to plan your trip to any of the parks you can visit www.cityofhomestead.com/gateway.  I personally am thrilled about utilizing the trolley for photography excursions into both national parks this spring.

TrolleyFlyer

Everglades National Park Bobcat

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I had planned on going out this past Thursday night/Friday morning to shoot the Quadrantids Meteor shower but a cold front came through making seeing the stars impossible.  I therefore, settled for trying to shoot a sunrise and then doing a little exploring before heading back to the office for some work.  The sunrise was only mediocre, again due to the cloud cover from the cold front.  I also tried shooting a wort grass prairie but again did not capture anything good.

The highlight of the trip came from spotting a bobcat on Bear Lake Road while looking for some orchids.  The bobcat stayed on the road for quite some time giving me the opportunity to change lenses and get off a few shots before he disappeared into the woods.  I captured one image that was ok but required alot of cropping to make it usable.  It works for a documentary shot if nothing else.

Here are a few images from the trip.  Click on Thumbnail for full image.

Giminids Meteor Shower 2013

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Woke up at 2:00 AM this morning to run out to Everglades National Park to try and photograph the Giminids Meteor Shower.  The moon did not set until around 3:30 but I wanted to get out there early to figure out the best spot to shoot from.  I did not shoot the setting moon but it was a vibrant yellow and even a little orange as it sank below the horizon.

The Geminids Meteor shower started its peak this morning but is not supposed to reach its full potential until tomorrow morning.  However the moon set earlier today and I decided to give it a try when I had more time before the sunrise.  The meteors were very active and I observed hundreds over the course of 2 plus hours.  However, many were faint with only a handful of really bright fireballs.  Unfortunately, I was not able to capture many of them with my camera due to the random nature of were they would appear.  I only managed to capture one small meteor as it streaked across the sky.

I also shot a few long exposures while I was out there as well as using my flashlight to do some painting with the stars as my backdrop.  Either way I had a great time observing natures fireworks.

Click on Thumbnail for full size image.

Everglades National Park Astrophotography Trip

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I have not been on a dedicated astrophotography trip in almost 2 years.  The last time I went was during the summer.  I wanted to see if the crisp cool air made the visibility and resulting photography any better than the heavy humidity laden summer air.  I also wanted to see if the Milky Way was visible during the winter time here in South Florida.

The answer to both questions is that yes the cool crisp air makes for better visibility however the Milky Way is not visible in the winter night sky in the northern hemisphere.  The Milky Way moved below the horizon right around the time of sunset.  It will not be visible again at night until the late spring early summer.  Therefore, although shooting during the winter time is more enjoyable due to cooler temperatures and better visibility, the subject matter is less captivating without the Milky Way visible in the night sky.

I took a few shots but primarily spent my time scouting for future trips when the Milky Way reappears.

Click on Thumbnail for full size images.

Everglades National Park Photography Exhibit

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For the month of July I will be showing my photography at the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center in Everglades National Park.  I completed setting up the exhibit this afternoon.  The title of the exhibit is “The Majestic River of Grass.”  I have images from throughout this vast ecosystem from Fisheating Creek, Fakahatchee Preserve, Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park.  My goal is to convey the beauty that I see in this ecosystem and promote preservation and conservation of this natural wonder for future generations.  I encourage you to stop by if you get a chance.  Make sure to sign the guest book if you do.

I currently do not have a dedicated photography exhibit.  Therefore, I had to borrow my personal photographs from my various offices to display.  As a result, the frames do not match and the presentation is not uniform.  I hope to put together a formal traveling exhibit that I can use to display my work in various venues and locations.

 

Weekend Photography Fun

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It has been almost three (3) months since my last photography trip.  Over the last twelve (12) months I have been so busy it has kept me from finding time to go shooting as often as I would like.  This past weekend I finally found some free time to grab my camera and head out into the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve and the Big Cypress National Preserve.  My primary purpose for going was to check on the ghost orchids this year.  The ghost orchids I know about were only in the early stages of blooming and still have a few more weeks before producing a flower.

One of the highlights of this trip was stumbling across a mama bear and her three (3) cubs in the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve.  They crossed Jane’s Scenic Drive about fifty (50) yards in front of the truck.  I also saw the usual number of alligators, a few dear and a couple of water moccasins.

This trip I also had the opportunity to take a swamp buggy tour and airboat ride to get a different perspective than my normal hiking on foot would provide me.  It was great to get back out into the Everglades for a few days and take a couple of pictures while I was out there.

The Air Boat Ride was through Airboat in Everglades.  The guide was a friend of mine named Ozzie.  I had a great time and he put me up close and personal to a few alligators and birds.  He also taught me some things about the everglades I did not know.  I highly recommend the company to anyone interested in seeing the Everglades by airboat.  It was a unique experience and different than any other airboat tour I have ever been on.

The swamp buggy ride was through Wootens on Tamiami Trail.  I had never been on a swamp buggy before but enjoyed the experience and the perspective  one gets from sitting so high up.  The guide’s name was Shelley and she was very informative.  Her family has lived in the glades for generations and I enjoyed the history and stories she had to tell.

My favorite photo of the weekend was of a lone cypress tree with a building storm system behind it.  The sun was behind me and low causing great light on the tree and surrounding foreground.  I decided to use HDR to capture the full range of lighting conditions.  Unfortunately, I did not have my tripod with me and had to take the shots handheld resulting in a little extra work to align all three shots together.   I was happy with the final result and will be adding the image to my website.

Cattail Twilight Sunrise

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On my way into the park on my Cowhorn Orchid Trip I took the time to stop and shoot a sunrise at a lake I had not been to in quite some time.  I found some interesting cattails at the lake and decided to try and use them as my foreground subject.  As a bonus, there was fog moving across the lake due to the cold air interacting with the warmer water.  I had some difficulty capturing the shot due to the wind causing the cattails to sway back and forth.  As a result, I had to try and time my shots carefully to get as little movement as possible.  The shot below was taken just before the sun rose over the horizon.

Cattail Twilight Sunrise