Tag: Pine Glades Lake

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.

Lunar Eclipse/Blood Moon

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The last time I observed a lunar eclipse I was in high school which by now is many many years ago.  Therefore, I decided not to miss this mornings lunar eclipse despite the middle of the night timing.

I met up with some photographer friends of mine in Everglades National Park around 1:00 AM to try and capture the lunar eclipse on digital film.  We started our adventure at Pine Glades Lake and then decided to venture out into one of the cypress domes to try and shoot the eclipse through the forest of trees.

The cypress dome did not produce any useable images.  However, I did capture a good image of a lone cypress tree with the moon above it.  I used a flashlight to paint/illuminate the tree during the exposure.  I also took two images and combined them into one.  One image exposed for the night sky and the other exposed for the moon.  For the moon exposure I also changed to a longer lens.  Using my 16-35 causes the moon to look miniscule in the image.  Whereas with my longer lens I can capture a moon that looks closer to what I perceive in real life.

One of the more interesting images I captured was of the lunar eclipse just before it was completely blocked by the earth’s shadow.  I captured this image at Pine Glades Lake just as a layer of fog had started to develop above the lake.  I used some rocks as a foreground subject.  During the exposure I flashed the high beams of my truck to illuminate the fog in the distance as well as the rocks.  The image looks as if the bottom of the moon is illuminating the fog but it is not.  I also converted this image to black and white.

It was amazing to witness the eclipse from beginning to end.  This was especially true of the effect the eclipse had on the night sky.  Prior to the eclipse the moon was causing too much light pollution to see anything but the brightest of stars.  During the peak of the eclipse the stars became instantly visible and thousands were visible all at once.

I had a good time observing nature and trying to photograph what I was witnessing.  Here a few images from this morning.

Pine Glades Lake Sunset

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I went down to Everglades National Park after work on Tuesday to meet up with my friend Robert Chaplin at Pine Glades Lake to try and photograph a sunset.  Robert has been teaching a photography workshop in Everglades National Park all this week and I told him I would come down to meet his class.

I decided while I was down there to borrow Robert’s Canon 8-15 fisheye lens and give it a try.  I primarily like to shoot wide angle with my Canon 16-35 Is II.  I have always thought about trying a fisheye for getting an even wider perspective but to date have not had the opportunity.  My wallet may regret trying out his lens.

I set up my shot using the rocks and shoreline to lead the viewers eyes to the post sunset glow.  My first few shots had my tripod legs in them as I did not realize how wide a fisheye’s perspective actually was.  I also used HDR to take three exposures to compensate for shooting directly into the light.  This allowed me to capture the detail in the rocks and water as well as not have any blow outs where the sun had just set.  It turned out to be a beautiful sunset with rich color and great reflections.

I may just start looking around for a good used fisheye of my own.

Pine Glades Lake
Pine Glades Lake

 

Pine Glades Lake Reflections

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Yesterday afternoon I drove out to Everglades National Park to see if I could capture some of the dramatic storm clouds we had moving through the area.  Soon after I got into the park, I spotted some great dramatic storm clouds and good foreground subjects to shoot.  Unfortunately, I also realized I had left my tripod at home.  By the time I went home to get my tripod and made it back to the park, the shot was long gone.  I proceeded to drive around and explore some trails I had not been on in some while but the rain kept chasing me back to my truck for shelter.

I tried shooting a lone cypress tree with a storm in the background but was not thrilled with the final product.  It was starting to get late so I headed to old faithful Pine Glades Lake for the sunset.  I was hoping to get some vibrant skies to contrast with the dark storm clouds.  The only problem was a storm moved through just in time to completely block the sunset.  I still was able to get some interesting reflections of the storm clouds across the smooth lake but never got the color I was looking for.

Pine Glades Lake Everglades National Park

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It has been awhile since I have been to Pine Glades Lake for a sunset.  I went out last night for a quick photography trip to Pine Glades Lake to see if the water had returned to normal levels.  With all the rain we have gotten over the last two weeks the lake had not only returned to normal levels but was overflowing its banks in some areas.  I prefer the water level high at Pine Glades Lake as it enhances the reflections of the clouds and sunsets better than when it is low as you can set up your camera closer to the waters edge.

The sunset was not exceptional but the afterglow lasted for a good 30 minutes or more.  I tried a different perspective then usual for a few of the shots and liked the way the came out.

Eco Pond, Cypress Dome and Pine Glades Lake Sunset

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Had a free day and decided to get up early and head down to Everglades National Park.  I decided to start at Eco Pond in the morning to see if the birds were active and then work my way back north.  Today was a good bird day.  Eco Pond was full of Roseate Spoonbills, Snowy Egrets, Great Herons, Tri-Color Herons, Pelicans and the ocassional overflying Osprey.  They were also very active foraging around in the shallow water for fish and other food.  One thing I noticed was how low the water in Eco Pond had gotten since my last visit.  The East Side of the pond is almost completely dry.  I got a few good shots of some landing Roseate Spoonbills.  The one I captured was a juvenille spoonbill.

After the birds left Eco Pond I walked around and found a some osprey nests but they were not very active.  I left Flamingo and started heading back north.  My next stop was Snake Bight.  I brought my bike and rode the path down to the end of the trail.  I saw a few birds along the way but nothing motivated me to stop and get out my camera.  At the end of the trail is a boardwalk.  The tide was out exposing a large mudflat.  A few birds were around but nothing better than I had already shot.  I did note that this might be a good sunset location and may come back to try it out before summer officially arrives.

After Snake Bight I stopped by Mahogany Hammock to look for some barred owls but not were willing to show themselves.  I kept driving north to a Cypress Dome I found a few weeks back.  I hiked into the Dome and took some photos of the blooming Bromeliads.  They were everywhere in the dome.  I also came across the same water moccasins I saw during my last visit.  One of the moccasins was not very happy and tried to bite me.  Luckily I was out of his reach.  I still got a few good shots of him before I left.

My next stop was another cypress dome farther north called Movie Dome.  Last time I hiked into it the water was still about a foot deep or so.  This time it was completely dry except for a shallow pool in the middle of the dome.  I walked around the dome but did not take any pictures this time.

My last stop was Pine Glades Lake for a sunset.  I captured some sunrays that were streaming from the sun giving the shot a unique look.  Pine Glades Lake is one of my favorite sunset locations in Everglades National Park.  After the sunset I headed home.  On the way home I got a suprise panther sighting.  This was my first panther sighting since I started coming to the park almost 8 years ago.  The panther was walking the main park road and slipped into the bushes when he saw me coming.  It was too dark to try and use the camera but it was still great to witness a free roaming panther.