Anhinga Trail Special Project

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I was recently commissioned by a friend to try and capture a captivating photo of the Anhinga Trail. She had a relative whose father had helped to build the Anhinga Trail back it the 1960’s but unfortunately, had recently passed away. She wanted me to capture a photo that she could then have printed in large format and present to her relative as a memento to remember her father by. I spent a couple days scouting the location and taking some test photos from different angles and different times of day to see what I thought would best accomplish the goal. I ended up capturing three (3) good images. One was a sunrise, one a sunset and one late afternoon thunderstorms. My favorite was the sunset with a sunburst. Turns out it was her favorite one as well and the one that got printed and presented as a present. I really enjoy commissioned work as it forces you to think creatively and capture images or location you might not otherwise attempt. I have walked the Anhinga Trail hundreds of times but never saw it as a good landscape location. However, because it was the location she wanted, I made the attempt and ultimately got one of my all time favorite images.

Amelia Island and Boneyard Beach

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I had to travel to Amelia Island for a work related conference recently. I of course brought my camera in case I had some time to do some exploring. One area I wanted to try and capture was a place called boneyard beach. It is part of a state park and consists of a stretch of shoreline that is littered with large, old, dead trees. This shoreline is only accessible during low tides. At high tide the water covers most of the trees and you can access the beach. The conditions weren’t great while I was there but I still managed to capture some fun shots. I found the conditions were more suited to black and white images vs. color.

Another fun place I spent an hour or so at the Fort Clinch State Park. It is an old civil war era fort made from bricks and sitting right on the water way separating Georgia from Florida. I tried to capture some unique images while also learning a little history.

Lastly, visited downtown Amelia Island after my meetings had concluded one evening and played around a little with some moving light photography.

Homestead Rodeo 2022

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Despite some health issues, my son and I went to this years rodeo with our cameras. It was his first time trying to shoot action sequences, and although it took a little bit of trial and error, he eventually figured it out and captured some great images. He even submitted them to the local paper and had them published as part of the papers follow week coverage of the rodeo. He was so excited and took the paper to school to show his friends.

An Old Favorite: Pine Glades Lake

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I decided to take a trip into Everglades National Park and visit an old favorite photography location of mine, Pine Glades Lake. This lake is where I honed my landscape skills and spent many sunset playing with camera settings and watching lightning storms in the distance. I even shot a few starry nights and lunar eclipses here. Therefore, it felt fitting to end my photography drought by visiting this once frequented location. I noticed that some of the trees in the distance had died off either from disease or from damage sustained years earlier by Hurricane Irma. These missing trees changed the feel of the lake and possible compositions. These trees always provided an interesting distant subject matter and silhouette against colorful skies. Without these trees I decided to see what else I could use to create a captivating and interesting photo. Ultimately, I ended up using some foreground trees and a short path that fisherman used when fishing the shoreline of the lake. Also, thankfully, the skies lit up in captivating colors that were reflected off the lakes calm surface. Overall, I captured a nice image and enjoyed the serene surroundings and the feel of camera in my hands again.

Wakodahatchee Wetlands

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I had to travel to West Palm Beach this week for work and decided to drive up early and go to the Wakodahatchee Wetlands at sunrise. I haven’t visited the Wakodahatchee Wetlands in over 6 years. It is probably one of my favorite places to go and photograph birds in flight or birds in general. When bird nesting season is in full swing I don’t know that there is any place in South Florida that is better for consistent all day action. My most recent trip was not different as every clump of trees held numerous colonies of nesting birds, from Great Blue Herons, Anhinga’s, Wood Storks, tri-color herons, cormorants, Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets to name a few. I also saw green herons, roseate spoonbills, ospreys, limpkins, various ducks, purple gallinule and other species. Unfortunately, I did not get to spend much time shooting as I had to be at my first appointment at 8:30, however, I still got a few decent shots.

The best part of Wakodahatchee is that the birds are constantly flying from their nests to the nearby trees to gather more nesting materials or going to get food and returning to feed the chicks. This provides great opportunities to get some bird in flight shots as they come and go. Many times the anhinga’s and the cormorants are also fishing under or near the raised boardwalk providing an opportunity to capture some fish eating shots as well.

One of the things I noticed this time was the large number of iguanas that were present on the levees and even in the trees. I don’t remember seeing them during my last visit but they were plentiful this visit.

Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead Miami Speedway

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It seems the only time I pick up my camera anymore is to help the local South Dade News Leader cover the NASCAR races at Homestead Miami Speedway. This years race experience was still overshadowed by the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic resulting in lower crowds, less pre race pomp and circumstance and an overall subdued feeling. Despite this, it was still an enjoyable experience and I was able to capture some good images for the paper.

Everglades With My Son

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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.

Dixie Vodka Homestead Miami Speedway 2020

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This years NASCAR race had a different feel with the many COVID 19 protocols in place. Gone were the fan experiences and driver interactions replaced instead by social distancing. Also, only a limited number of fans were allowed to attend making for nearly empty grandstands and less overall excitement. Despite these restrictions the racing was just as good.

NASCAR Championship 2019

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I was asked once again to assist the local newspaper in capturing some images of this years NASCAR Championship race at Homestead Miami-Speedway. This was going to be the final championship race held at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the near term, making documenting it extra special. It was another sold out crowd and the Speedway put on a good show for the fans. I only made it to the final race on Sunday as I had some family events to attend to so I did not get to capture any of the cars practicing or qualifying on Saturday. All in all it was good race and I got a few decent photos as well.

Sunset at St. Marks Wildlife Refuge and Lighthouse

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I was in Tallahassee for business for a few weeks and decided to spend one of my free nights at the St. Marks Wildlife Refuge and Lighthouse with my camera. The St. Marks Wildlife Refuge is a beautiful refuge with many different habitats and wildlife. While there I saw deer, turkeys, snakes, turtles, alligators, many varieties of birds and a variety of fish. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there.

My main photographic focus was the historic St. Marks Lighthouse. I wanted to capture a sunset over or behind the lighthouse. I originally envisioned lots of colorful clouds but when I was there a late cold front had passed through eliminating every cloud from the sky. I also struggled to find a good perspective that was interesting and still allowed me to capture the sunset it he background. The lighthouse is surrounded by a ring of tall trees that makes it difficult to capture it from up close. Instead a distant perspective must be used to keep the trees from stealing the spotlight from the lighthouse.

I settled on a view from the coast and used the water and grass along the shoreline to help compliment the scene. I also came across a recently deceased horseshoe crab that I volunteered to help give me an interesting foreground subject. I also experimented with a nearby rock which wasn’t as interesting as the horseshoe crab but worked well also.

All in all I was happy with the resulting images and given the tough conditions to work with think they came out good.