Author: admin

Canon 5d Mark iii

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After 4 years of owning an entry level Canon t2i I decided it was time to upgrade my equipment.  I had been holding out for the new Canon 7d Mark ii but ultimately got tired of waiting.  I also began shooting subjects that require lower light and ultimately higher ISO’s to capture the shot.  I do not believe a crop sensor will be capable of delivering the same quality high ISO performance as a full frame sensor.  Therefore, I purchased a new Canon 5d Mark iii.  I may still look into picking up the new 7d when it arrives for use as a backup camera and for sports and wildlife.  In the meantime, I get to play with my new camera while waiting for the elusive 7d to make its first appearance.

I have only had a few opportunities to test out the new camera but so far have been very impressed with its features and the quality of the images it produces.  Also, the ISO is phenomenal compared to my prior camera.  I even find that in a pinch ISO levels of 12,800 work just fine with a little noise reduction in Photoshop.  Also, the amount of additional detail that is captured by a full frame sensor is pretty noticeable when compared to my prior crop sensor camera.

I was able to produce some great images with my t2i despite its shortcomings.  I can’t wait to see what I can do with the new 5d.

NASCAR Drivers at Homestead-Miami Speedway Ford 400

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A few shots I got of the drivers at the Ford 400 Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.  While I was shooting the practice on Friday I was able to get a few shots of the drivers getting into or out of there cars.

Click on thumbnail for larger image.

NASCAR Championship 2013 at Homestead-Miami Speedway

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Finally got a chance to pick up my camera and do some photography after an almost 6 month hiatus.  Took the opportunity to head out to Homestead-Miami Speedway for the NASCAR Championship races on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  I got a few good shots of the Friday night truck race and one or two of the Nationwide series race.  Unfortunately, I had other commitments on Sunday and although I was able to watch the race could not sneak away to capture any images.  This was also my first time shooting a night race.

For the night time shots I used an ISO of 1600.  My goal was to keep my shutter speed around 1/125 to 1/160 of a second in order to show the movement of the cars around the track.  I used the 70-200 IS II with a 1.4x iii teleconverter.

Click on the Thumbnail for the full size image.

 

No Time For Photography

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I have not had any free time lately to enjoy my favorite pastime of photography.  Politics and my legal profession have been eating up all of my free time.  I am up for re-election this year and have been focused on the campaign since May.  The election is November 5 and I hope to get back out into the field as soon as the election is over.  I have also been working on some Everglades related projects that I will post more information on later for anyone who might be interested.

Photography to be sold at RF Orchids

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I am excited to announce that my photography will be available for sale at RF Orchids in Homestead, Florida.  RF Orchids address is 28100 SW 182nd Ave  Homestead, FL 33030.  RF Orchids sells high quality orchids of every variety in addition to fine art.

Presently, I have on display four (4) photos printed on canvas and gallery wrapped.  There are two birds/avian photos, one roseate spoonbill and one great blue heron, and two (2) flower photos, one ghost orchid and one cardinal air plant/bromeliad.

Roseate Spoonbill 16×20.  Great Blue Heron 16×24.  Black and White Ghost Orchid 10×20 limited edition #23/120.  Hybrid Cardinal Air Plant/Bromeliad 16×24 limited edition #21/120.

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

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