Major Overhaulin'

I finally took some time off this weekend to redesign my photography web site with a fresh new look and cleaner layout at photography.robertlafollette.com. Hope you enjoy!

Spooky Island

We headed out to "Spooky Island" for the Rest in Pieces VII at Honeymoon Island for some spooky Halloween fun. We walked along the not-so-spooky trail, and they had games, storytelling around a campfire for the kids, and live music by the "Ghosts of the Confederate Army".

After checking out the action, we made our way through the spooky trail, that had two haunted houses and a haunted trail through the woods, and was fun to watch the reactions of others as they were spooked by witches, chainsaw wielding monsters, pirates, the walking dead and other scary monsters.

(Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo)

Lesson Three: Silhouettes

This week we explored more into light and when it comes to natural light, high contrast can mean high drama. Backlight extremes - most often occurring in early or late day - can create two dynamic showstoppers: silhouettes and shadows.

These stark interplays of brights and darks produce a quick and powerful impact, since they emphasize form over detail. Below are the three photographs I submitted.

(Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo)

Photo Gallery

Take a Journey Through Tampa Bay with a new feature to the site that I added, a photo gallery of all the photographs that have appeared in the blog since day one that is accessible over on the upper right side of the blog.

I will also be adding "extra" photos from time to time in the gallery as well of outtakes, experiments and requests, so be sure to check it out from time to time. Also, if you are interested in purchasing any of the photographs, email me for pricing and availability.

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We also went to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and made a couple short videos:

Nicholas, an Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin
(QuickTime Format - 3:47 - 15MB)

Marine Friends
(QuickTime Format - 6:00 - 20MB)

The Aftermath

Hurricane Wilma took aim at Southwestern Florida, making landfall in the Everglades City / Naples area at around 6:30 AM Monday morning. We stayed up late Sunday night watching it approach, but fell asleep at around 3 AM, and slept right through it's arrival.

We got some heavy bands of rain once in a while last night, and have seen wind speeds at a sustained 30 MPH, and gusts in the 40 MPH range with temperatures in the lower 60's. It is nowhere as bad as the team of weathermen were making it out that we were going to get last night, so that was good news.

Hopefully this will be it for the season and we can go back to the beach now.

Down To The Final Hours

Hurricane Wilma is bearing down now on Southwestern Florida, and we are in the final hours before landfall. Warnings are now posted for the entire Tampa Bay area. The first bands of rain have entered our area, and already a tornado has been reported just south of Orlando, and a huge water spout was also reported off the beaches in Key West.

We did however jump in the car and head out to Honeymoon Island, a barrier island just north of Clearwater to see what the surf was like. While on the way, we again saw the pair of Sandhill Cranes, so we stopped to check on them and snap a few photographs. The male tried to scare us off, as when we slowly approached, he started to jump up and down and hiss at us. Once they saw we were friendly, they just went about their business, paying no mind to our presence.

On the way to Honeymoon Island, we were stopped on the causeway that connects the mainland to the island, for the parks department was preparing the bridge in case of evacuations if the weather turns bad. Once on the island, we watched the surf start to pound the beaches, and the numerous shells and coral that have begun to wash ashore ahead of the hurricane.

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We shot some video of the surf and it's power that you can view:
Hurricane Wilma Pays A Visit   (QuickTime Format - 7:00 - 14MB)
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We also spotted our pod of dolphins (Baby Flippies) heading north along the shore, out about a quarter-mile beyond the sand bars. Later, just before we left, we then spotted a lone dolphin, and a much larger one then we have seen before, heading north into the upper bay of the island. We jumped into the car and headed to the southern tip of Honeymoon, and tried to see if we could spot him. We waited to about ten minutes, and didn't spot him, so we started to walk back to leave, since daylight was quickly fading.

Then out of nowhere as we were walking along the beach, we saw a dark shape out of the corner of our eye, quickly breaching the water, and then disappearing. We stopped to see if it would appear again, but never saw it. Not knowing if it was the dolphin or not, we starting heading back. Again it breached, just behind us, so we took off running down the beach towards it, for it was the lone dolphin heading into the bay. We witnessed him surface several more times, and it was almost unbelievable as he came within feet, not yards, not miles, but feet in front of us. He slowly then heading for deeper waters, and it was now almost dark and was beginning to rain, so we headed back home to wait out Hurricane Wilma.

(Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo)

Sanibel In The Bullseye

Hurricane Wilma now is slowly turning towards southwestern Florida, and the computer models have it making landfall now Sunday night or Monday morning in the Sanibel/Captiva Island and Ft. Myers area. We now have a Tropical Storm Watch posted from the bend of the panhandle to Longboat Key in Sarasota, and Hurricane Watch posted form Longboat Key south all the way around the peninsula to Daytona Beach, Florida.

Mandatory evacuations are now in effect in the Keys, Naples/Marco Islands, Sanibel/Captiva Islands and Ft. Myers, and the surf in the Gulf of Mexico is steadily rising 2-5 feet above normal. Conditions are expected to deteriorate Sunday, including here in the Tampa Bay area.

Batten Down The Hatches

Wilma, the twenty-first named storm of the season, and the seventh hurricane to face Florida in the last fourteen months, is coming. No doubt about this one. Where it strike is anybody's guess at this point, for it is still too far away to accurately predict where and when it will cross the state.

Some reports have it making landfall in the lower keys and Key West, and others have it making landfall in the Ft. Myers/Sanibel Island area, and a few have it coming here to the bay area. No reports of any evacuations and/or warnings, however gasoline is already running out (again) at many stations around here. Stay tuned...

Lesson Two: Beautiful Light

This week we explored the amazing world of natural light - the shadows and warm tones cast by a low-in-the-sky sun, the grandeur of sunrise and sunset, the magical tones of twilight, the drama of the weather's edge, the mood of fog, and the soft beauty created by an overcast sky. Below are the three photographs I submitted.

(Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo)


Here are some of the outtakes that I had left over from the photo shoot:

Swimming With The Fishes

We took off north up the coast to Fred Howard Park in Tarpon Springs to see if we could get some good sunset photos, for the weather the past several days has been absolutely perfect. We packed our snorkeling gear just in case the water was clear to go snorkeling. When we arrived, we walked around the tiny island, and noticed an abundant amount of fish swimming right off the shore in the shallows and into the turtle grass. We set up camp, and headed out to see what we could find.

Once in the water, we found a clearing in the turtle grass that took us out into the deeper part of the grasses, and swam with hundreds of fish, from Snook, Greenbacks, Sardines, Trout, Sheepheads, Stingrays, Blue Crabs, Horseshoe Crabs, Hermit Crabs and others we couldn't identify. It literally felt like being in an aquarium, for some swam in huge schools, right around us, and they would come right up to us to allow us into their school. It was simply amazing to float along the currents with them.

I broke off for camp to set the gear up to scout for some good photos, and took the rest of the evening practicing some more lighting techniques. When I was finished, I was breaking down the tripod to pack up the gear, when I noticed a large group of people close to where we were camped, but they were all dressed up in formal wear. As I approached, I quickly realized it was a wedding, and the groom walked up to me and asked if he could hire me to photograph his wedding. He told me the guy they hired never showed up, and we was upset that he wouldn't have any photographs of their wedding.

I paused, but when I saw the bride and groom and how terribly upset they were, I didn't have to think about it too long. I quickly grabbed my camera and flash unit, and told them to go get married, I would take care of the photos for them. It was unreal, for not only I have I never witnessed a beach wedding, but have never been asked to photograph one either. The wedding went off without a hitch, and it was absolutely perfect.

After the ceremony, I spoke to several members of the wedding, and they were extremely grateful, and some seemed like they wanted to cry that I was so nice to agree to help them out. Just goes to show that it's never a dull moment, and every day has brought a new adventure and continued growth of appreciation of this beautiful area. Congrats to the newly weds.

(Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo)


I put together a QuickTime slideshow of the photographs I shot titled "Beach Wedding".   (QuickTime Format - 2.1MB)

Honeymoon Sandcastle

While walking the beach at Honeymoon Island, we discovered a huge sandcastle that was on the beach. It was so far the most detailed and well crafted sandcastle we have seen to date, and from the looks of it, must of took a real long time to construct.

It contained a "main castle" in the middle, and several outlying "towers" surrounded by a moat, and had sea shells and rocks to add depth and texture, making it a true treasure to find.

Dolphin Sightings Update

For several weeks now, we have been observing a pod of dolphins around Honeymoon State Park, in between the southern side of the island, and the northern tip of Caledesi Island (see above map). We have seen them about an hour or two before sunset, sometimes just one dolphin, and sometimes we have spotted up to seven in the pod.

Most of the time, we also have noticed a juvenile swimming among them, as if he is being given lessons on how to hunt, play and interact with the others in the pod. On several occasions, they have swam just feet away from us in the shallow waters, and seem just as curious about us as we are with them.

A few times also we have spotted a lone Manatee going in and out of the upper bay of Honeymoon Island, as well as an increase of Moon Jellyfish and Greenbacks.

The pod of dolphins were not given one of those cool scientific type names, like "Pod X67" or "Pod Alpha Delta", but are now affectionally know as "Baby Flippies".

Lesson One: Outtakes

I took off toward the sunset to Treasure Island to practice some lighting techniques for lesson one of my Field Techniques: Light and Composition photography course. Here are some of the outtakes that I had left over from the photo shoot.

(Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo)

Over The Rainbow

Florida, and especially the area between Tampa and Orlando, is know as the Lightning Capitol of the United States, and for good reason, for in a typical summer thunderstorm, lighting strikes can number in the thousands.

However, in the few months we have been here in Tampa Bay, we have noticed more rainbows here then we have ever seen anywhere else, and sometimes, we have seen two rainbows side-by-side at the same time, making for some of the most beautiful and dramatic scenes in the sky.

Continuing To Be Amazed

Ever since we got to Tampa, we have found ourselves time and time again to simply be amazed at the vast wildlife that can be found around the bay, not only in places you would expect to find them, but in places we would never even think they would be. Last Saturday, on our way to Lowry Park Zoo, we made our way to Tampa Road that will take us into Tampa from Pinellas. As we made the turn off the highway onto Tampa Road, right at the intersection, was two of the largest birds we have ever seen, a pair of Sandhill Cranes.

They stand about 4 feet tall, and are a rare find in the bay region, as they are more common in Eastern Florida and around Lake Okeechobee, but are now becoming more common in the northern part of Tampa Bay. They were right along a very busy highway, paying no attention to the traffic zooming by. We pulled over in a parking lot to see if we can get a photo of them, so we starting very slowly towards them, snapping photos every few feet. We kept getting closer, yet they paid us no mind either, until we stood only feet away, and yet, they could care less about our presence. Everyday seems to bring a new adventure, and we continue to stop and say "wow".

Lesson One: Sharpening Your Eye

I signed up for an eight-week photography class to sharpen and fine tune my photo skills this fall, Field Techniques: Light and Composition. Each week I'll post what the lesson covered, and what I shot for the assignment.

The first week's lesson teaches the art of fine-tuning the "developing your vision" process, by covering such topics as planning ahead, analyzing the scene, expecting the unexpected, and sticking to your subject. We didn't have any particular subject or style to shoot, but had to use natural light as our main light source and the subject can vary as well as composition. I headed out to three different locations for the first assignment, Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa (Lorikeet), Honeymoon Island in Dunedin (Lightning Welk) and Clearwater Beach (Flipperz Beach Shop). Below are the three photographs I submitted.

(Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo)

Zoo Friends

Once again, we loaded up the car and headed to Lorwy Park Zoo in Tampa, since last weekend we decided to pass on it once we found out it was "Kidsfest" and was packed. This time, we planned it perfectly, for the zoo was not crowded at all. Although the temperature was in the low 90's, viewing the animals was outstanding.

The park is typical of most zoos, where the animals are displayed based upon the region of the world where they habitat, but the entire zoo has a very tropical theme (seeing that this is Florida). The zoo has some of the most lush and tropical vegetation we have ever seen, making it feel as if you were walking though the Amazon Rain Forest. It was a very enjoyable afternoon to spend learning about and photographing the animals.

(Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo)

Dodging The Storms

We wrapped up the weekend at our favorite beach, Fort De Soto Park. It was a gorgeous evening, but while we were out in the gulf looking for sea life, two huge storms blew in. It got very windy, and very threatening looking, but while we dodged the rain, it made for some dramatic cloud formations. Just before sundown, the clouds moved away, and yet another beautiful sunset sank over the horizon.

(Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo)

Hanging Out In The Gardens

We packed up the ride and headed to Lorwy Park Zoo, but when we got there, we quickly found out it was "KidsFest", and the zoo was overrun with kids. Knowing from experience that it would be impossible to enjoy the animals, much less photograph them, we quickly looked over our list of other places to explore, and since Busch Gardens of Tampa Bay was only about 10 minutes away, we changed course and set sail.

Arriving at Busch Gardens, which is an amusement park that houses thrill rides and games, but also has an abundant amount of animals and wildlife, we knew we had a great opportunity to photograph and enjoy the animals. The park is very well laid out for the rides, but also the areas for the animals are outstanding. Sometimes it is hard to believe that both co-exisit at times together. Our favorite attraction was the Lowry House, where you can walk inside, and the birds fly around free around you, even landing on you, and will drink the nectar in a cup you can purchase.

After we spent over an hour in the Lorwy House, we decided we should go seek out the other animals in the park, including Lions, Tigers, Crocodiles, Elephants, Hippos, Zebras, Giraffes and numerous others. Our second favorite part of the park was the Field Station, where they take care of the newborns, and care for the sick and injured animals. They have a flock of flamingos, that once they gained your trust, they would come over and give you a kiss. Simply breathtaking.

We finished off our exploration with a stop at the Budweiser Stables, where the famous Clydesdales are, including "Spirit", the little donkey from the commercials where he too wants to be a Clydesdale. All in all another enjoyable afternoon in Tampa Bay.

(Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo)