Category: Everglades National Park

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.

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.

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.

Geminid Meteor Shower 2017

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I don’t get to use my camera as much as I used to anymore but I still wanted to go out and see the Geminid Meteor Shower this year. It was forecast to be a good show.

I met up with some of the South Florida National Park Camera Club members and fellow photographer Robert Chaplin out in Everglades National Park. We started at Mahoganny Hammock and I spent most of the time just watching the show and left my camera in the car. I also did not see any compositions I liked so instead enjoyed the company for a little while before heading out on my own. While driving around I came across a lone Cypress Tree near the main park road that I liked and decided to set up my camera and see if I could capture a few meteors in the background. I got lucky and captured 3 meteors in one 30 second exposure using the cypress tree as my foreground anchor. Once I got home and looked at the images on the big screen I really liked the shot and will likely find a place for it in my personal collection.

This years meteor shower was one of the best I have seen in years. Meteors were streaking across the sky every few seconds with numerous fireballs and very bright meteors mixed in. The weather is also always great for us South Floridians as it is cool and keeps the mosquitoes at bay at night.

Perseid Meteor Shower 2015

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The conditions for the Perseid Meteor Shower this year were ideal so myself and a photographer friend, Robert Chaplin, ran out to the Everglades to see if we could capture some in photographs. It turned out we could.

For this meteor shower we had planned to head over to the Big Cypress National Preserve but due to less than ideal weather conditions made a last minute call to head south to Flamingo in Everglades National Park instead. Except for the mosquitoes it turned out to be a good decision that resulted in some good images. I even managed to capture a lightning bolt to go along with the milky way and meteors.

The Flamingo campground area provided a good variety of foreground subject to use to anchor the vast sky and compliment the shooting stars. The meteor shower peaked between 3 and 4:30 in the morning. During the peak I was seeing a meteor almost every second with numerous bright fireballs.

It was definitely worth the mosquito bites and the lack of sleep. I am already looking forward to Decembers Geminids.

Milky Way Landscapes Everglades National Park

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I took advantage of the new moon last week to head out to Everglades National Park to try my hand at capturing some unique Milky Way Landscape shots. Everglades National Park is one of the few dark sites here in South Florida where one can actually see the Milky Way with the naked eye. I wanted to try and use the Milky Way to compliment the overall scene.

To accomplish this I took two (2) photos with an aperture at f/2.8. One focused on the foreground subject and the second focused on the night sky. I then combined the two (2) images together to ensure that both my foreground subject and the Milky Way were sharp and in focus. The exposure times were around 25 seconds. I used a handheld flash to illuminate the foreground during the exposure.

Click on Thumbnails for full image.

Everglades National Park Thunderstorms June 2015

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June is typically the wettest season in South Florida which also means one of the best times to chase thunderstorms. Unfortunately, this year has been very dry and the thunderstorms have primarily been rain showers. On my last trip out to try and shoot lightning I only managed to capture some nearby solitary rain showers and dramatic clouds. Although I still liked the resulting dramatic images, they would have been much better had I also had a bolt of lighting in the field of view. Hopefully, the storms will become more plentiful as the summer goes on.

I also manged to capture a close up image of a screeching hawk just prior the storms arrival.

Milky Way Over Rare Cowhorn Orchid in Everglades National Park

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There is a Cowhorn/Cigar Orchid in Everglades National Park that is growing out of an old tree stump. The orchid is a very rare specimen as it is more than 5 feet wide and 8 feet tall. It is one of my favorite orchids in the park to see in full bloom. I have been trying to capture a captivating image of this rare Cowhorn Orchid in Everglades National Park for the last three (3) years. However, each time the images come out boring or to busy.

This year I decided to get creative with my efforts and visit the orchid in the middle of the night. I envisioned using the dark starry sky as my backdrop to contrast the vibrant orchid and cause it to stand out in the image. I used a flash to illuminate the orchid and some of the foreground. I was also rewarded in that the milky way was positioned in an ideal location to compliment the scene.

I am happy with this effort and believe I finally got a photo of this orchid that is unique and captivating. I also captured a few sunrise photos before I left, however I had a little problem with my lens fogging up right before the sun rose above the horizon.

Nike Missile Site Everglades National Park

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This past Saturday I had the opportunity to tag along with the South Florida National Parks Camera Club to take a tour of the Nike Missile Base located in Everglades National Park. The Nike Missile Base, HM-69, is no longer in operation and has been declared an historic site. The base was constructed in 1962 to help defend the United States from an attack from Russia during the Cuban Missile Crises. The base closed in 1979.

Everglades National Park offers tours of the site from December through April. There is a fully assembled restored Nike Missile on site within one of the missile silos.

I decided to process the photos in black and white to reinforce the historic nature of the location. Also, I was there in very harsh noon time sunlight causing high contrast between the dark and light areas which yields a more pleasing look in black and white than it does in color.

I highly recommend the tour next time you visit Everglades National Park.