Burrowing Owl
Cape Coral, Florida
NPA - March 2011
Apr 30, 2011
Apr 27, 2011
Bedhead
Burrowing Owl
Cape Coral, Florida
Nature's Photo Adventures - March 2011
Before you laugh at this little guy, be honest with yourself...we've all had mornings like this ;)
Apr 26, 2011
Apr 23, 2011
Apr 22, 2011
Songbird
Palm Warbler
Venice, Florida
Nature's Photo Adventure - March 2011
Found a few of these songbirds at the Venice Rookery and was entertained by their antics for more than an hour.
I could be wrong with the identification....I haven't spent much time photographing songbirds so please correct me if I'm wrong!
Apr 21, 2011
Apr 19, 2011
He's A Leg Man
Burrowing Owl
Cape Coral, Florida
Nature's Photo Adventures: March 2011
Frogs' legs are one of the better-known delicacies of French and Cantonese cuisine. Apparently owl cuisine too!
International Year Of Forests
Poster displayed on the front of the UNU headquarters building in Tokyo.
The poster is approximately 4 meters x 2 meters and promotes the United Nations International Year of Forests 2011.
I will upload the Day/Night photo's of the installation in the near future....since the events in Japan, the UNU has been saving power and the lights have been off.
I really enjoyed working with the UNU and my thoughts continue to be with them in the aftermath of such a horrible tragedy.
Apr 18, 2011
Plotting My Revenge
Burrowing Owl
Cape Coral, Florida
Nature's Photo Adventures: March 2011
One of Carmen's owls giving me an evil glare in Cape Coral, Florida.
Apr 17, 2011
Apr 16, 2011
Silly Skimmers
Black Skimmers
Port Charlotte, Florida
Nature's Photo Adventures - March 2011
From the day spent with my friend & mentor Gary. Sunrise didn't cooperate so we spent the morning at a beach in Port Charlotte and I couldn't have had a better time.
Apr 15, 2011
Keeping My Eye On You
Double-crested Cormorant
Viera Wetlands Melbourne, Florida
Nature's Photo Adventures - March 2011
This was from one of my last personal-shooting days in Florida. Thanks to Mike & Bill. The shooting was great...the company was even better!
$59 for a Photography 101 Nature-Walk Workshop from Nature's Photo Adventures ($150 Value) http://gr.pn/e2O9V1
Keeping A Watchful Eye
Wild Bald Eagle
Longboat Key, Florida
Nature's Photo Adventures - March 2011
I spent so many hours in Longboat Key watching the adults fly in with food for their two babies who recently fledged from the nest. Just fifty feet down the road was a Great Horned Owl's nest and lots of noisy Red-Bellied Woodpeckers.
Apr 14, 2011
Wary Willet
Willet
Fort De Soto, Tierra Verde, Florida
Nature's Photo Adventures, March 2011
The lagoon at North Beach was one of the nicest beaches I've been to in a long time. I waded out to get close enough to photograph the willets & various shorebirds and the water was still and surprisingly warm, Wish I'd been able to spend days there...
Apr 13, 2011
Night Heron
Black-Crowned Night Heron
Venice Rookery, Florida
Nature's Photo Adventures - March 2011
The Venice Rookery has changed a lot since I visited last year. Most of the Brazilian Pepper Trees at the back of the Rookery were removed and that has dramatically changed the chances of getting decent in-flight images. The Rookery is still a great place for photo opportunities though and I look forward to seeing the native species of plant and tree's thrive now that the invasive shrubs have been removed....hopefully leading to lots of new growth in the next couple of years which will start to cover the area's affected by this recent work.
The Brazilian Pepper Tree is one of the most aggressive and wide-spread of the invasive non-indigenous exotic pest plants in the State of Florida. There are over 700,000 acres in Florida infested with this tree. It produces a dense canopy that shades out all other plants and provides a very poor habitat for native species. This species invades aquatic as well as terrestrial habitats, greatly reducing the quality of native biotic communities in the state.
Apr 12, 2011
Feeling Crabby ;)
Long-Billed Curlew
Fort De Soto, Tierra Verde, Florida
Nature's Photo Adventures - March 2011
Another lifer! The Long-Billed Curlew is North America's largest shorebird.
Apr 11, 2011
Searching
Sanderling
Fort De Soto, Tierra Verde, Florida
Nature's Photo Adventures - March 2011
Most of the tiny shorebird images were taken while lying on the beach using the skimmer ground pod.
It's another piece of equipment that I've added to my "must have list". Looking to order one? Go to NatureScapes.net
Apr 8, 2011
Incident #4
I wake up really early in the morning so I can transfer the rest of my CF cards to the backup drive because I was too tired to finish it the night before. Sunrise is about 7:30am so I don't have a lot of time to waste.
The backup drive is still plugged in from the night before and when I try to access it....it's not registering on the computer. The computer see's that a drive is there but won't display how much space is available, how much is used and won't show me any of the files.
Usually I would have a second redundant drive on any trip. The one time I don't...and this happens! I needed access to a large number of my 2010 original RAW files during my time in Florida, so they were on one backup drive and I was saving all new photos to the other.
More than two weeks of my trip was on the failed drive.
The drive is now in the hands of skilled people in the hopes of recovering the lost files. I have my fingers crossed :-)
It was my own fault and I should have known better. Considering how cheap it is to buy external drives it's a crazy mistake to make.
Never do something once thinking the worst can't happen. It can and will.
Apr 7, 2011
Apr 6, 2011
Keep Your Eyes On Your Gear
So after I go through that small issue of the missing WH-200, I figured the rest of the trip would be smooth and problem free.
Everything is going great and I'm having a fantastic time. It's March 26th and I'm in Merritt Island getting some great opportunities on Black Point Wildlife Drive. I'm stopped at a lagoon with a large number of different species within good shooting range and I hear someone pull up in a car and say my name. It's a friend that I was shooting with at Amherst Island in January and a complete shock as I had no idea he was going to be there.
We shoot for a little bit, then we move behind my vehicle while we're catching up and he's sharing some great tips on productive locations. He isn't able to stay for the day so we say our goodbye's and we both leave the area.
I'm halfway through the drive when I hear an Eastern Meadowlark and he looks beautiful singing in the field. So, I take out my camera with the 500mm attached and then reach for my tripod with the new WH-200.
Not there.
My heart stops and I realize that I remember putting the camera/lens back in the car but I must have left the tripod standing there.....right in the road.
Black Point Wildlife Drive is a 7 mile, one-way drive so simply turning around and going back isn't an option. Cursing myself the whole way and feeling sick, I have to finish the drive and then head back to the entrance to see if by some miracle my Gitzo and Wimberley Head are still there. When I pulled around the bend in the road, there it was. Standing right on the road where I carelessly left it.
Even worse is that later that day in Titusville after stopping to shoot an Osprey on the way back to my hotel....I once again started to drive off with it sitting in a local park.
Maybe I need a pre-departure checklist :)
Apr 3, 2011
Hunting Heron
Tricolored Heron
Merritt Island NWR, Florida
Nature's Photo Adventures - March 2011
I just got back from a three week trip to Florida. Longer than usual because of the workshop and then personal shooting (but still not long enough!)
And I returned home to SNOW! Ok, it's not a lot of snow, but it's still hard to take considering that yesterday I was sitting on a beach enjoying the numerous photo opportunities and surrounded by wildlife.
So many things happened on this trip...but even with all the problems, it was one of my best trips to Florida so far.
When I arrived, I immediately went through my suitcase to retrieve my tripod, chargers and other photography gear that I was unable to fit in my carry-on.
Right away I notice a card. You know...the one that basically says we've opened your bag to screen it as part of the new security measures blah blah blah.
Not that I have a problem with increased security. I actually appreciate knowing that I'm as safe as possible.
However, I realize instantly why they flagged my bag for closer scrutiny. I had packed my tripod, ballhead, sidekick and WH-200 in that bag because I was already up to almost 50 pounds in my carry-on.
Everything was there except my new WH-200. Used twice and now that I'm really excited to use it....it's gone!
So the airlines etc were contacted right away and a claim process is underway.
I have to say that Wimberley is a fantastic company to deal with and I wouldn't hesitate to do business with them time and time again.
When they were contacted to purchase a new WH-200, they were incredibly fast and had another one in my hands within 24 hours at a greatly reduced cost.
I should have realized that such an immediate problem was a sign of things to come. Bad things happen in three's right? Or in my case I'd be lucky if it was only 3 :)
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