Florida Nature Photo Blog

Myakka River State Park

2010-07-18T10:08:00.000-07:00

These photos were taken at Myakka River State Park near Sarasota, FL.

American Orchid Society - Delray Beach Florida

2010-06-08T17:15:00.000-07:00

If it's orchids you're after then this is the place.

Orchid Mania

2010-06-08T17:09:00.000-07:00

Dragon fly

2010-06-06T11:36:00.001-07:00

Vizcaya near Miami

2010-06-05T19:37:00.000-07:00

Here's a view of the garden at the Vizcaya Estate. Vizcaya was the winter home of James Deering, a V.P. of International Harvester Company.

Florida Sunshine

2010-04-25T16:21:00.000-07:00

Fiddler Crab

2010-04-25T16:14:00.001-07:00

Anhinga Reflection

2010-02-26T16:55:00.000-08:00

Nope. That's not an Anhinga hanging upside down from a tree....it's the reflection of an Anhinga in a small lake at Corkscrew Sanctuary. (Double click the photo for a better view and appreciate this cool effect.)

Corkscrew Fall Foliage

2010-02-26T16:50:00.000-08:00

I took several photos like this one during our January trip to Corkscrew Swamp. I think it's cool the way the sun cast its' rays through the leaves.

Egret in Southwest Florida

2010-02-25T19:02:00.001-08:00

Heron

2010-01-27T17:37:00.000-08:00

White Ibis

2010-01-27T17:36:00.000-08:00

Anhinga

2010-01-17T10:14:00.000-08:00

I took this photo at Big Cypress National Preserve near Ochopee Florida from a boardwalk located just off of Route 41. It was overcast which hurt the photo, but it was very interesting to watch the anhinga deal with the fish. The bird was striking the fish against the branch of wood again and again to stun the fish. The entire effort to prepare this lunch time meal took more than five minutes. I also have a video of this process that I'll post later.

Heron

2010-01-17T09:48:00.001-08:00

I photographed this heron on Turner River / Birdon Loop in Big Cypress National Preserve.

Egret

2010-01-17T09:45:00.000-08:00

I took this photo at Big Cypress National Preserve on the Turner River / Birdon Loop near Ochopee Florida.

Gator in the Bushes

2010-01-17T08:03:00.000-08:00

Thirty years ago a rock band named Molly Hatchet had a hit song titled Gator Country. I don't know if the band had ever been to Big Cypress Swamp, but it wouldn't surprise me. I've never seen so many alligators before. I do have one bit of advice though if you decided to take the scenic drive down Turner River Road - stay in your vehicle.

Anhinga

2010-01-16T17:29:00.000-08:00

I learned something new about these master fishermen this weekend. Anhingas are rarely seen outside of Florida. Many people confuse the anhinga with the cormorant. A tip for identifying them - the anhinga has a pointed bill and the cormorant has a more rounded bill.

Wood Stork

2010-01-16T17:15:00.001-08:00

This photo was taken on the Turner Loop wildlife drive in Big Cypress Preserve.

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

2010-01-14T16:14:00.000-08:00

We're headed to Corkscrew Swamp for an early winter photo trip. Here's a picture from our last visit there in October 2008.

Small Wonders

2010-01-06T17:11:00.001-08:00

White Pelicans

2010-01-06T17:04:00.000-08:00

If you've never seen a white pelican close-up you're missing out. These birds are the opposite of their brown cousins - vibrant and alive. The next several weeks provide an excellent opportunity for viewing at E G Simmons County Park in Ruskin.

Mourning Dove at E G Simmons

2010-01-06T16:52:00.000-08:00

This photo was taken on a rare day in Florida - rainy, cloudy, cold with temps in the 40's. Let's hope it warms up soon.

Sanibel Lighthouse

2009-10-18T16:14:00.000-07:00

I saw this lighthouse about five years ago for the first time. After visiting again recently, it looks like this landmark could use a new coat of paint.

Snowy in the Tree Tops

2009-10-16T18:10:00.000-07:00

Tunnel Vision Egret

2009-10-13T17:28:00.000-07:00

Snowy Egret

2009-10-13T17:11:00.000-07:00

Willet on Captiva Island Beach

2009-10-13T16:54:00.000-07:00

This is my attempt to breathe some subtle life into a very ordinary photo (with a little help from Photoshop's texturizer functionality).

Little Blue Heron Portrait

2009-10-12T17:37:00.000-07:00

Linda captured this Little Blue Heron greeting the sunrise at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge.

And here it is again in black and white.

Another Little Blue Heron at Sanibel

2009-10-12T17:35:00.000-07:00

Backlighting is tough for me (I'm not a big fan), but there is still quite a bit of detail in this photo.

Red Shoulder Hawk at Sanibel Island Florida

2009-10-12T17:11:00.000-07:00

Near the end of a morning wildlife drive at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge I spotted this beautiful red shoulder hawk content to pose for pictures.

Ibis at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge

2009-10-12T17:06:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken just before sunset on Sanibel Island. This was one of 16 different species we saw on Saturday.

Heron at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge

2009-10-12T17:02:00.000-07:00

We spent the weekend at Sanibel Island. This photo was taken on the wildlife drive at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. There were some manatees playing near the shoreline and out of the corner of my eye I noticed this white colored heron looking for an "easy" breakfast meal.

Red Rose

2009-10-08T18:09:00.000-07:00

Border Collie

2009-10-08T18:03:00.000-07:00

Red

2009-10-08T17:48:00.000-07:00

Pink

2009-10-08T17:46:00.000-07:00

Orange

2009-10-08T17:44:00.000-07:00

Hibiscus Close-ups

2009-10-08T17:39:00.000-07:00

These pictures are a little fuzzy because they are hand held and they were taken in windy conditions, but I like them anyway.

Yellow Wildflowers

2009-08-30T07:32:00.000-07:00

Botannical Garden

2009-08-30T07:28:00.000-07:00

Water Lilly

2009-08-30T07:22:00.000-07:00

Playtime

2009-08-30T07:19:00.000-07:00

Pelican

2009-08-25T18:57:00.000-07:00

Flamingo

2009-08-25T18:54:00.000-07:00

Amazon Parrot

2009-08-25T18:52:00.000-07:00

Pair of McCaws

2009-08-25T18:50:00.000-07:00

Photoshop Experimenting

2009-06-06T16:01:00.000-07:00

Linda took some photos last weekend of birds eating at our backyard bird feeder. The subject was in shade and there was quite a bit of glare from the plastic on the feeder itself.

Here is the original:

After 7 minutes of fine tuning in Photoshop using the manual tools:

Here's another attempt using several of the automated one-click features:

Egret in Flight

2009-05-31T15:16:00.000-07:00

This is the same photo I posted earlier today (see below). As promised, I processed it in Photoshop to sharpen it a little, crop it, and adjust the color slightly. Better? I think so. You be the judge. If you double click the photo, you can see it in a larger size. You might be surprised.

Egret

2009-05-31T12:23:00.000-07:00

This is an untouched photo of an egret in flight as we sat parked at the edge of Tampa Bay near St. Petersburg. (I'll clean this up a little when I have time and repost it.)

This is not the egret in flight from above. This was another one sitting very near our parking spot.

It always amazes me how many birds and other wildlife that you see in Florida around most any body of water. We've lived in Florida 6 1/2 years and definitely don't take it for granted, but I'm surprised how many who've been here many more years that do.

You can't see it from this photo, but there was a big pile of trash very near this spot. It amazes me how some people have not appreciation or consideration for others or our nature friends.

White Ibis

2009-05-31T12:17:00.000-07:00

I'm not crazy about the shadows in these pictures, but as Linda often says, wildlife doesn't always care about the wants and wishes of their photographers.

I had double knee surgery several weeks back and after three weeks in a wheel chair and two days on crutches, I just had to get out of the house this morning. I took these pictures out of the passenger side window.

Florida Sandhill Crane

2009-05-31T12:11:00.000-07:00

This morning we saw a pair of sandhill cranes out for a morning stroll. The ground was soft from all the rain we've been getting. We watched them for several minutes and I snapped this picture out of the passenger window. They were pretty successful finding worms for breakfast.

Rain - At Last

2009-05-31T10:26:00.000-07:00

Our desert rose's love the sub-tropical climate of the Tampa Bay area. They like it dry, but seem to take massive amounts of rain without too much trouble. This one sits on the front porch and took the full brunt of 2 1/4 inches one recent afternoon and evening.

We hadn't had rain for 5 or 6 weeks at our house, but when it rains in Florida, it REALLY rains. We got 5 1/2 inches in a week. The beds in the front of the house appreciated it. The crown of thorns and coleus plants appreciated it.

Orchid

2009-04-29T18:13:00.000-07:00

Desert Rose at Green Thumb Plant Sale

2009-04-29T18:10:00.000-07:00

Bromeliad at Green Thumb Plant Sale

2009-04-29T18:08:00.000-07:00

Why Sony A700?

2009-03-18T17:50:00.000-07:00

All pictures on this photo blog were taken with my Sony A700 ($1,100 retail). Most of them were also taken with the Tamron 300 mm zoom lens ($175.00 retail through Dell.com).

Occasionally, I receive questions about why I chose to purchase a Sony A700 instead of a similar Nikon or Canon DSLR. Anyone that knows me understands that I am not one to blindly follow the crowd. The last thing I would do is purchase a particular brand because it's what everyone else expects me to do. But, the single biggest reason I purchased a Sony...the stabilized lenses for Nikon and Canon cost an arm and a leg.

I originally planned to purchase the entry level Olympus DSLR, but after holding one in my hands at the camera shop a few times, I ruled it out. Some of the Zuiko lenses made for the Olympus are class leaders, but the Olympus felt tiny in my hands. I found it uncomfortable to operate the controls on the Olympus E510.

After holding the Sony A300 and A350 in my hands, I had my answer. Plus, all the Sony's have in camera stablization, which makes the lenses less expensive. (I don't own any yet, but some of the popular Minolta lenses will fit the Sony as well.) I chose the A700 over the A300 and A350 based on reviews I read on several camera discussion boards and reviews of the products by other camera owners.

I recently upgraded the Firmware from version 1.0 to 4.0 and the results are even better. Version 4.0 allows me to take better advantage of the Photoshop editing capabilities for RAW image files.

I'm also very happy with the photos taken with the Tamron zoom lens. For $175, it does a great job. I'm not sure $5,000 for a Canon or Nikon stablized lens would make the same amount of difference in my end results.

Based on this CNET article, it looks like I made a pretty good choice.

Phalaeonopsis Orchid

2009-03-17T17:55:00.000-07:00

I purchased this orchid for $7. I know nothing about orchids, but for a few dollars I figured I could learn.

Herrmann's Royal Lipizzan Stallions

2009-03-04T18:17:00.000-08:00

The Herrmann Family in Myakka City, FL has been training Lipizzan stallions for many, many decades. We recently visited the ranch and enjoyed one of the winter training sessions. The courbette, levade, and capriole are traditional Airs Above the Ground maneuvers that date back to ancient times.

You can lead a bird to water....

2009-02-27T18:09:00.000-08:00

I think this is a warbler of some kind. It's hard for me to tell, but perhaps this is a pine warbler?

Eye on Me

2009-02-26T18:05:00.000-08:00

Red Bellied Woodpecker

2009-02-25T18:06:00.000-08:00

Downy Woodpecker

2009-02-24T17:12:00.001-08:00

American Bald Eagle

2009-02-23T17:34:00.000-08:00

There is an eagle's nest at Honeymoon Island State Park. We went to see it on Saturday and as we approached the fenced off area, the eagle was returning. We watched for a few minutes and then left the area. We walked back toward the parking lot and snapped several other pictures along the way. When we were a quarter mile from the truck, a lady walking toward us stopped to talk. She explained that a little farther up the trail, she had seen an eagle sitting close to the walking trail.

We walked for another few seconds toward the car and then on the left hand side about 25 feet above us and less than 50 feet away from us, there it was - just sitting there.

Outside of a zoo, we've never been this close to an American Bald Eagle - and we may never be that close again.

Magnificent Osprey in Flight

2009-02-23T17:27:00.000-08:00

I just love this flight photo. The blue sky. The wingspan. It's all so peaceful. This photo was taken with my 300 mm Tamron lens with a UV filter and standard lens hood.

Osprey at Honeymoon Island

2009-02-21T18:17:00.000-08:00

The osprey on Honeymoon Island are very active in February. I lost count, but we must have seen at least ten nesting pairs today. At one point, we were surrounded by osprey on all sides. There were osprey above us, in front of us, behind us, and directly overhead darting in and out between the trees - lower than I've ever seen there before.

I have some other photos I'll post later - stayed tuned for bald eagle pictures.

Web of Worms

2009-02-16T18:41:00.000-08:00

Rose Close Up

2009-02-16T18:36:00.000-08:00

Anhinga

2009-02-12T19:07:00.000-08:00

Warblers at the Rookery

2009-02-08T06:08:00.000-08:00

Pine Warbler

or....Palm Warbler

It's hard for me to tell.

One of the pit falls to photographing small bird species in a wild setting is a lack of lens power and clarity. (That doesn't mean I'm going to stop trying.)

Great Blue Heron

2009-02-07T12:32:00.000-08:00

I had taken 139 photos at the Venice Rookery and I was beginning to think about packing it in for the day, when this Great Blue Heron leapt from his perch on the island and began flying toward me.

The jpeg photo was taken in "auto" mode at 1/500 shutter speed, F 5.6, and 500-ISO. He caught me standing in the shade, but I "punched" it up just a little with my Photoshop software.

For comparison, here's the original version of the photo.

After landing, he posed for several profile photos. Here's the best one.

Venice Rookery Trip

2009-02-07T11:26:00.000-08:00

We took a short drive to the Venice Rookery this morning.

The nesting area is on an island in the middle of a small lake, so the best pictures require bigger and faster lenses. The conditions really dictate 500 mm lenses and up to properly fill the frame. They can can range in price from around $1,000 up to several thousand, but I did manage some nice shots with my measely $170 Tamron 300 mm macro zoom. (For the money, it's pretty hard to beat.)

I snapped this little guy on the near side of the lake in front of the picnic shelter.

I'll post some ahinga, red-bellied woodpecker, and great blue heron shots a little later.

Fun with Photoshop Watercolor Functionality

2009-02-06T17:01:00.000-08:00

I've been playing with the Photoshop functionality that converts digital images into watercolor artwork. Photoshop offers literally hundreds of possibilities for "customizing" digital images according to personal tastes.

Here's a copy of the watercolor image.

And, here's the original.

Yellow Rumped Warbler

2009-02-05T17:34:00.000-08:00

I'm 95% sure this is a yellow rumped warbler, but if you have any other ideas I'm all ears.

Cormorant

2009-02-03T18:42:00.000-08:00

I originally thought this was an anhinga, but after some comparisons in the Sibley's guide I decided it is likely a double crested cormorant.

Egret

2009-02-01T13:48:00.000-08:00

We took a short drive to the Alafaya River State Park this afternoon where I snapped this photo.

Ruddy Turnstone

2009-02-01T06:18:00.000-08:00

Sunshine Flower

2009-01-31T21:16:00.000-08:00

Purple Blooms

2009-01-31T19:55:00.000-08:00

Florida Manatee Backstroke

2009-01-31T18:10:00.000-08:00

I took this photo from the viewing platform near the TECO electric plant off Big Bend road.

Fiddler Crab

2009-01-26T17:24:00.000-08:00

If you look closely, you can see him holding a tiny grain of sand in his left pincher. In case you haven't seen a fiddler crab up close, they're about the size between a dime and a nickel.

Butterfly

2009-01-25T15:34:00.000-08:00

Osprey Dive

2009-01-25T15:32:00.000-08:00

Flower on the Beach

2009-01-19T18:04:00.000-08:00

Botannical Gardens

2009-01-15T16:53:00.000-08:00

Flight Photos

2009-01-14T19:34:00.000-08:00

The Three Stooges

2009-01-11T15:18:00.000-08:00

These brown pelicans were hanging out near some fisherman hoping for some "spares".

White Pelican

2009-01-11T08:44:00.001-08:00

This photo was taken in early morning light as a trio of three pelicans made their rounds at low tide.

Posing

2009-01-10T17:11:00.000-08:00

I believe this is a willet, but don't hold me to it. With shorebirds it's sometimes difficult to tell.

I have used the features included in the Photoshop software to create a watercolor version of this photograph. If you click on the picture you can see a larger version of this photo.

Here's the original version:

Look Out

2009-01-07T19:38:00.000-08:00

Majesty in Motion

2009-01-04T12:30:00.000-08:00

This photo is limited by the reach of my lens (300 mm), but it's my first eagle in flight. It flew directly over head and circled four of five times. He's looking right as us from 50 feet up. This is the same one that we saw sitting in a big pine tree a few minutes earlier (see previous post).

Mockingbird

2009-01-04T07:35:00.000-08:00

I took this one near the picnic area next to the Osprey Trail.

Linda took this photo from the passenger side window as we drove into Honeymoon Island State Park.

Another Ring Billed Gull

2009-01-04T06:33:00.000-08:00

These gulls provide ample opportunity to practice in-flight photography.

Green Heron

2009-01-04T05:54:00.000-08:00

This picture was taken during one of our trips to Honeymoon Island in Dunedin, FL. There's a pool of water near the Osprey Trail parking lot less than 200 feet from the Gulf where I took this photo.

Honeymoon Island Bald Eagle

2009-01-03T15:29:00.001-08:00

You can click on the picture for a larger version.

American Bald Eagle

2009-01-03T13:16:00.000-08:00

Today we took a drive up to Honeymoon Island near Dunedin, FL. It's north of Clearwater and is about an hour's drive from where we live in Riverview. Here's a few pictures of a bald eagle perching in a large pine tree. The distance and lighting were difficult, but here's a few of the best in the series that I took.

This was the first picture.

After a few steps up the trail, this was the second one.

After re-positioning for an attempt at better lighting and an unobstructed view, here's the third one.

He's got his eyes on us.

Although we were very close to this magnificent symbol of America, it's relative when it comes to taking a nice photograph. The fourth photo is a much tighter crop. When the picture was taken, we were standing at least 50-60 yards away and the eagle was perched 40-50 feet above our position.

The Greatest of Ease

2009-01-02T19:32:00.000-08:00

Ready for Take-off

2009-01-02T14:30:00.000-08:00

This ring billed gull was hanging around some surf fisherman begging for some bait scraps.

Little Blue Heron

2009-01-02T13:16:00.000-08:00

These herons are plentiful on the beaches near our home, but I needed a longer lens to do this one justice. My 300 mm Tamron lens isn't quite long enough. My nephew has a 500 mm Sigma that would have brought this guy right into your living room. It's not in my budget right now, but there's always next year, right?

Another Lone Ranger

2009-01-02T12:49:00.000-08:00

These small guys are difficult for me to identify.

Osprey in Flight

2009-01-02T11:39:00.000-08:00

I captured this photo in Apollo Beach, FL. It's only the third or fourth time I've had an Osprey fly directly over my head and the first time I've been able to get the sun, moon, and stars to line up quickly enough to take a picture.