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Biscayne National Park Workshop

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This past Sunday I rode along with the Kendall Camera Club to Biscayne National Park for a photography workshop led by park volunteer and professional photographer Arend Thibodeau.  I had a great time learning about Biscayne National Park and seeing what photo opportunities exist near the visitor center.

Biscayne National Park is 95% water.  The non-water portion primarily consists of small islands stretching throughout Biscayne Bay.  For this workshop, we stayed on the mainland and focused on the enviroment surrounding The Dante Fascell Visitor Center.

The water in Biscayne Bay is clear blue and teaming with aquatic wildlife.  We started our workshop by walking a mangrove surrounded boardwalk and walking trail that takes you along the shores of Biscayne Bay.  Depending on the tide, there are great landscape opportunities in the late afternoon if you have a low sun angle and billowing clouds.  The shoreline is covered in mangrove roots and rocks making for some interesting foreground subjects for any landscape shot.  I also used some of the park benches as a foreground object and liked the effect.

There were a fair number of terns, gulls, egrets and cormorants if birds are what you are looking for.  However, there are much better photography locations for birds such as Everglades National Park.  There are also very large land crabs that are present in the park but they are very elusive and non-cooperative.  Lastly, for those photographers who like people, the boardwalk and walking path also had a good number of fisherman or others just enjoying the park making candid people shots another option while here.

On the other side of the Dante Fascell Visitor center is a concrete walking path around the parking lot that is surrounded by various palm trees and other natural plants that make for some easy access flora and fauna shots.

I had a good time discovering Biscayne National Park and hope to go back again when I have better light and more interesting clouds.  We were there around mid-day with very little cloud cover resulting in very contrasty landscapes with harsh light and dark shadows.  Below are some of the shots I captured while walking around.

Click on the Thumbnails for full size images.

 

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.

Thanksgiving Cruise 2013

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This year for Thanksgiving I went on a cruise with my wife to the Southern Caribbean.  We sailed on the Carnival Breeze to the ports of Grand Turk, Dominican Republic, Curacao and Aruba.  I spent more time relaxing than I did taking photos but did manage to capture a few good images to bring back home with me.  This was also the first time using my new Canon 5d Mark III full frame camera.  My prior camera was a crop sensor Canon t2i.  I am very happy with my choice and upgrade.

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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.

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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.