While in Florida this winter visiting family, we stopped for sunset at Clearwater Beach. We were running late, so as soon as we parked, I scanned the area to find a foreground and was pleased to see a lifeguard tower. While walking toward the beach, I extended my tripod legs and checked my camera settings (we were really late for sunset!) I stopped before the lifeguard tower and took a quick shot to test my composition and realized there was a trash can in the photo (see the first image below). So, I moved a bit closer and captured another frame, but the people walking toward me were too close (see the second image below). Then I waited for the ship to enter my frame and got my final shot above. With digital cameras, it is ok to take several images to “build” your photo.
First photo with trash canSecond photo with people too close
Alligator resting at the picnic pullout spot. Olympus OMD1 Mark II, 300mm, F/4, 1/400 sec, ISO 200, FotoPro X-Go Plus tripod.
This blog continues from last week about our Florida
vacation and the highlights of our trip. After spending a week in the Fort
Myers area, we headed east to find alligators. Our first stop was the Audubon’s
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, known for alligators, waterfowl and other swampy
stuff. If this location sounds familiar, I mentioned this location in my
“Buttonbush” blog too. The loop trail is a series of boardwalks through the
swamp. A great location to see the swamp safely. Since we visited at the end of
the dry season, water levels were low and we did not come across any gators.
But we found an amazing number of fun things to photograph. For instance, a
spider wrapping up its recent catch to a red shouldered hawk and even a common
squirrel. I carried my tripod and two cameras (12-100mm and 300mm telephoto
lenses) so I wouldn’t miss a thing.
Red-shouldered hawk
Spider with its prey
Squirrel
The loop drive was a 24-mile gravel road through mostly
cypress swamp areas. Frequently, the road crossed culverts and almost every
culvert had alligators basking in the sun. We saw so many “gators” we decided we
didn’t need to visit the Everglades; so we planned visiting the Florida Keys
the next day.
Big Cypress National Preserve
Olympus OMD1 Mark II, 300mm, F/4, 1/640 sec, ISO 200, FotoPro X-Go Plus tripod.
After the swamp, we drove south to catch the Tamiami Road
for our drive to Homestead, FL. We stopped at the Big Cypress National Preserve
visitor center to discuss their scenic drives and pullouts. I often stop at
visitor and tourist centers; the employees always have an opinion of the best
places and sometimes they are not on the published maps. The Ranger recommended
the Loop Road Scenic Drive and since it was on our way to Homestead, we took
it. But, before we got to the loop road, we encountered a picnic pullout spot
with a canal and many alligators. Watching these magnificent prehistoric
looking creatures was mesmerizing. They glided easily through the water and
stalked prey silently. We watched an alligator catch a turtle.
Homestead
Curry Hammock State Park
We rented a room at an Airbnb in Homestead, FL from a lovely
couple very attentive to our needs. It felt like home. With limited time in
Homestead, we spent one day driving down to the Middle Keys just because we
wanted to experience it. We ended up at Curry Hammock State Park and sat on the
beach watching the kite surfers and played in the warm water. It was a long
drive for just a few hours at the beach, but we were both glad we did it. After
returning to Homestead, we ate dinner at Black Point Ocean Grill, a waterfront
restaurant with live music and enjoyed our grouper and fish and chips. The next
morning we took a detour to Everglades National Park before driving back to
Fort Myers. After all, we were so close, how could we not stop?
Turkey Vultures
Turkey vultures picking at rubber in Anhinga Trail parking lot, Everglades National Park.
We entered the Everglades National Park through the main Homestead
entrance and drove to the Anhinga Trail. This trail was recommended by my
friend, Beth Ruggiero-York from her book, Everglades
National Park: A Photographic Destination and it was easy to access. We tried
to visit the Nike Missile Site too, but it was only open on weekends. As soon
as we drove into the parking lot of the trail, we noticed a large number of
turkey vultures and a few vehicles. Some vehicles had blue tarps on them, some
vehicles had large numbers of vultures on them. We spoke to the park staff and they
recommended putting a tarp (supplied by them) on our car. Apparently, the
vultures love picking at the rubber on cars. We witnessed that love… some cars had
as many as ten vultures picking at the rubber. We were happy to find our car
untouched by the pesky vultures when we returned from our hike.
Anhinga. Olympus OMD1 Mark II, 300mm, F/4, 1/6400 sec, ISO 800, FotoPro X-Go Plus tripod.
The Anhinga Trail is a short boardwalk trail through swampy
areas with many alligators. At one point, I photographed a great egret next to
the path and an alligator cruised past in the canal beside the egret. The egret
was so close to me I had to use my short lens (12-100mm) to get the shot. Notice
the photo below with the alligator slithering through the water. Otherwise, I
used my 300mm lens to photograph anhingas, gators, and egrets.
Do you see the alligator in the canal? Olympus OMD1 Mark II, 12-100mm, F/4.5, 1/1600 sec, ISO 320, FotoPro X-Go Plus tripod.
Heading Home
We felt accomplished. We fulfilled our mission to see alligators
and to visit the Everglades, so we headed out to drive back to Fort Myers. We
stopped one last time at our favorite alligator picnic spot and then drove to
our airport hotel. We ate an early dinner at the hotel to prepare for a 6am
flight heading west the next morning. Our Florida vacation was over and we
returned to Flagstaff rested and relaxed (except for the normal airport nonsense).
We are ready for summer in Flagstaff.
So many alligators! Olympus OMD1 Mark II, 300mm, F/5, 1/640 sec, ISO 400, FotoPro X-Go Plus tripod.
My first time in Florida was 35 years ago and that trip was
centered around visiting family and going to the newly opened Epcot Center. This
year, I returned to the area with my husband and the trip was full of beaches,
wildlife and seafood. Our 10-day trip was relaxing and I thought I would share
some of the highlights here.
Matlacha
iPhone photo of Rod kayaking along the mangrove trees.
When we planned our trip, our goals were to see Sanibel Island and the Everglades. We didn’t want too much planned and chose to make up the itinerary as we went. As a result, we booked flights into Fort Myers and found a small Airbnb in Matlacha with kayaks. Matlacha is a small island between Cape Coral and Big Pine Island and an inexpensive alternative to Sanibel Island. During our first day, we recovered from jet lag by taking out the kayaks. It was as easy as walking out the back door. With the protection of Big Pine Island, paddling was a cinch and we investigated the mangrove trees up close. In addition, dinner was a short walk from the house where we ate fresh gulf shrimp on the waterfront and enjoyed local brews.
Sanibel Island
Shells on Sanibel Island
Our interest in Sanibel Island came from Rod’s research
before our trip. He read about great shelling on the island and his research
was right. We spent hours at several beaches on Sanibel Island in search of the
best seashells and I grabbed a few photos of waterfowl too. We spent another
morning at the Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge capturing photos of egrets, osprey,
herons, pelicans, ibis, and cardinals. I spent so much time photographing
birds, Rod got a little bored and took a nap in the car.
Englewood
Rod and I at the Cowboy Chord Club ready to jam on our Ukes.
We visited Englewood, FL to participate in the Cowboy Chord Club, an acoustic jam group. I’m sure it seems kinda funny that we went on a vacation with our ukuleles and crashed a Meetup group, but we had fun! The group took song suggestions so Rod and I were able to rqeuest a few of our favorites to play. Afterward, we talked to the locals and were encouraged to check out their beach; so, we did. We found a waterfront restaurant with fresh fish and live music before we headed to the sun filled beach. As a result of low tide, many shells were visible and we shelled for a few hours before driving back to Matlacha. On our drive back, we found an alligator in a pond in front of a church. We made a quick U-turn to capture photos.
Marco Island and 10,000 Islands Boat Tour
Great Egrets captured from a moving boat. Olympus OMD1 Mark II, 300mm, F/5, 1/5000 sec, ISO 400.
The tour on Marco Island named “10,000 Islands Boat Tour” was the only thing we scheduled before our trip besides the Airbnb, flight, and rental car. As It turns out, we were the only passengers on the boat, so I guess we didn’t need to schedule it so early. The tour was okay, we opted for a longer tour and later realized we didn’t get all that we were promised, however, we did see a lot of wildlife and get to visit one of the 10,000 islands that receives very few visitors. For example, we saw egrets, dolphin, osprey, heron, pelicans, a tern and spent more time shelling (our favorite past time). Capturing the birds from a moving boat was a new challenge and much harder the photographing birds in flight. (See “For the Photogs” below for details on photographing birds.)
Cape Coral
Olympus OMD1 Mark II, 300mm with 1.4x teleconverter, F/5.6, 1/800 sec, ISO 250, FotoPro x-go plus tripod.
Before leaving Matlacha for the Everglades, we were told about burrowing owls in the Cape Coral area and went out to find them. It turns out we had driven past them for days! Since they are protected, stakes are places around their perch to protect the area. The more we drove, the more we saw them in empty fields, front yards, along busy roads…everywhere. I photographed them in many of these areas but preferred the empty fields. The front yards with groomed grass didn’t give the photo a natural feel. Read about how I used my tripod capturing these images, in my blog titled: Benefit of Using a Tripod. Stay tuned for the next post – Florida: Gators and Vultures.
For the Photogs:
To photograph flying birds, a minimum of 1/2000 shutter speed is used to stop the movement of the bird wings. However, when photographing stationary birds, the shutter speed can be slower. In addition, when I was on the boat, I shot at 1/5000 sec. shutter speed and the captain slowed down the boat too. It was still a tough shooting situation. Even though the captain slowed down the boat, the waves were unpredictable and always hit the boat when I was ready to press the shutter. For maximum success, used continuous focus, continuous shooting mode (burst), and image stabilization when photographing birds. As you would expect, it takes lots of practice and timing to capture strong images of wildlife. Good luck!
Reddish Egret. Olympus OMD1 Mark II, 300mm, F/4, 1/1250 sec, ISO 200, FotoPro X-Go Plus tripod.
Olympus OMD1 Mark II, 300mm, F/5.6, 1/80 sec, ISO 1600, tripod
Do you dislike using a tripod? After teaching photo
workshops for several years, I recognize it is not a popular piece of gear for
new photographers. Tripods can be clunky, unstable, awkward, and temperamental.
The “unstable” can be solved by purchasing a quality tripod from the start.
Many photographers start with an inexpensive tripod and then realize why it was
inexpensive…it doesn’t support their camera or is not built well. Save yourself
some time and money and buy a good tripod from the start. The clunky, awkward,
and temperamental can be overcome by using it.
I often hear participants state they only need a tripod when
photographing landscapes, low light, or macro subjects, well, that is not true.
A tripod in any shooting situation will improve the quality of your photos. Here
is an example when I used a tripod in full sun to improve my photos.
Ibis with a crab. Olympus OMD1 Mark II, 300mm, F/6.3, 1/4000 sec, ISO 400.
While in Florida on vacation, I photographed birds, from egrets to owls and they entertained me for hours. But holding a long lens for hours was not a solution for sharp photos, so I used my tripod. I started with my Olympus 40-150mm lens (80-300mm FF equivalent) and handheld many images, but since I use live view at 3-5x to verify sharp focus on the eyes of my subject, holding the camera still at this magnification was impossible. Even more so when I switched to my Olympus 300mm lens (600mm FF equivalent). As a result, I grabbed my tripod. Not only were my images sharper, but at the end of the day, my arm wasn’t sore from carrying the weight of the long lens.
Burrowing Owls
Burrowing Owl. Olympus OMD1 Mark II, 300mm with 1.4x teleconverter, F/5.6, 1/1250 sec, ISO 250.
One afternoon in Cape Coral, Florida, I spent hours photographing burrowing owls. These small owls are only 7-10 inches tall and like all wildlife, a photographer should keep a good distance to not disturb them. Therefore, I chose to use my Olympus 300mm lens and 1.4x teleconverter giving me a focal length of 820mm (full frame equivalency). With such long focal lengths, a tripod was a must. We drove to several neighborhoods in Cape Coral to photograph these owls with different backgrounds.
I recently purchased a Fotopro X-Go Plus carbon fiber tripod
for airplane travel since it is smaller, lighter and fits in my suitcase. If
you purchase a tripod for travel, be sure to check the weight of your gear with
your heaviest lens and make sure that is below the max load of the tripod you
are considering. With my lightweight Olympus system, my max load is less than
most DSLR’s.
When we saw the “Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary” on our Google search, we knew it was a must visit location. The name is almost as good as the Great Dismal Swamp (we’ve been there too!) It is located in Southwestern Florida and is known for alligators, waterfowl and other swampy visitors. We arrived shortly after they opened to capture wildlife in soft light. What we didn’t expect to see was a buttonbush shrub (Cephalanthus occidentalis). Resembling a Dr. Seuss tree, this unique bush caught our attention quickly. I used my 300mm lens (it was attached) and focused on the button closest to me. Although I had my macro lens, I really like how the buttons fill the frame from using the 300mm lens. Buttonbush plants are found from Mexico to the Artic and mostly in wetland areas.
The Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary didn’t disappoint. In addition to the buttonbush, we saw a red-shouldered hawk, barred owl, woodpeckers, and a green anole. Next time you are in Southwestern Florida stop in to the swamp!
Olympus OMD1 Mark II, 300mm, F/4, 1/400 sec, ISO 800
Olympus OMD1 Mark II, 300mm, F/4, 1/400 sec, ISO 800, tripod
Olympus OMD1 Mark II, 300mm, F/5.6, 1/80 sec, ISO 1600, tripod
Olympus OMD1 Mark II, 300mm, F/4, 1/4000 sec, ISO 800, tripod
Boardwalk at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
Olympus OMD1 Mark II, 300mm, F/5.6, 1/500 sec, ISO 250, tripod