New Workshop Added

One of the best aspects of being an instructor at the Perfect Picture School of Photography is that I have to opportunity to teach some of the greatest courses on photography, as well as meet some of the best people.

Many of my current and past students have asked me about my availability of a day-trip workshop, so I decided to make them available to anyone who is interested in photographing around the Tampa Bay area. If you live in or around the Tampa Bay area, and would like a personal workshop to refine your photography skills, then these custom workshops are for you.

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To learn more about the workshop, Click Here

Red Tide Makes A Comeback

Traces of red tide along with other nasty microscopic algae are again showing up on some southwest Florida beaches. The good news is that there have been no reports of fish kills or harm to other sea creatures.

Globs of a toxic algae are growing off Collier and Lee county beaches, officials say. And traces of red tide have been detected off Siesta Key near Sarasota for the first time since the end of one of the worst blooms in Florida's history five months ago.

Karenia brevis, which causes Florida's red tide, has been detected in low concentrations off Lee County beaches and in San Carlos Bay, as well as off Siesta Key. When the wind is blowing toward shore, it can cause eye, nose and throat irritation in humans.

Some of the other strains of algae blooms can cause skin irritation and be harmful to sea turtles and manatees that might accidentally eat it while grazing on sea grass. A massive red tide bloom plagued Florida's Gulf Coast last year, killing marine life and ruining beach vacations.

Red drift algae, a nontoxic seaweed, has also been washing ashore on beaches from Sanibel Island to Naples for months, with Fort Myers Beach getting the worst of it following rain from Tropical Storm Alberto.

A Rare Find

We had some brief summer tropical storms blow through earlier in the day, and it almost looked like a washout. But as luck would have it, around 5pm, it began to clear up, so once again we were off to the beach. This time, we went to Fred Howard Beach, and arrived there at the peak of low tide, so we should have good luck finding some sea life.

The tide was low, so we were able to walk out in the fields of Turtle Grasses, and the amount of fish was staggering. There is also several cuts in the sea bed, which makes it perfect to walk or snorkel in, and we found Fish, Hermit Crabs, Starfish and two very large Atlantic Stingrays, both of which were around four-foot in size.

Laying on the sandy bottom of the sea bed, we came across something that didn't look right. It was a six-legged Conical Spined Sea Star, a very rare find. Scattered around also was other starfish, but they were all the normal five-legged varieties. This was exciting, and we brought it to the shore to examine it more closely. We drew quite a large crowd, as other beachgoers gathered around to see this beautiful and rare specimen.

After taking some photos to document the find, the sun was setting over the horizon, and the left-over storm clouds made for another beautiful display of colors over the Gulf of Mexico.

(Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo)

She Sells Sea Shells

Now that the temperatures of the Gulf of Mexico is around ninety-degrees, we decided it was time to switch our attention from the birds to the sea life. Every evening the past week, we headed down to Honeymoon Island to swim in the warm waters and see what we could find.

Since Red Tide is not present this year, we have noticed a huge increase in marine life, from crabs, fish, worms, stingrays, shrimp, anemone, and lots of vegetation along the shorelines. It seems the waters are making a great comeback, for we have swam with literally hundreds of baby fish, and have seen an increase of big game fish.

The past couple of days, low tide hit the island in the evening, and wow, the life around the sand flats and sand bars is incredible. One of the more interesting things we spotted was very large groups of these tiny little hermit crabs, all in large pockets walking across the sea floor, in just about every imaginable shell. We never saw this much life last year, and to see this all around us is like swimming in a little aquarium.

(Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo)

Brooker Creek Brushfire

A brushfire caused by a lightning strike Tuesday continues to burn in the Brooker Creek Preserve in northern Pinellas County. We have spotted helicopters flying overhead with large 100 gallon buckets that have been picking up water in the surrounding lakes to drop onto the fires.

The Division of Forestry is currently working with four tractors to contain the fire at the Preserve. A shift in winds to the west pushed the fire out of the containment area yesterday. About 200 acres are burning.

Kinda scary since we live just on the outside perimeter of the Preserve, and last night the smell from the brushfires was very heavy in the air.

Watercolor Sunset

The sunset at Honeymoon Island was one of the best I have seen yet. There was a large tropical storm brewing in the eastern skies, and this made for some unbelievable cloud formations and colors as the sun was setting over the Gulf of Mexico. The colors and backlighting from the 50,000 foot storm clouds made for some of the most perfect lighting one could ask for.

Since I have taken more sunset pictures then I will ever know what to do with, I decided to try something completely different with this sunset. I mounted my wide angle lens on the camera, and threw on my 3-stop neutral density filter, and then put on my 2-stop graduated neutral density, giving me 5 full stops at the top of the frame, and 3 full stops in the bottom of the frame. This gave me a real long shutter speed, and it made the sunset look as if it was a painted watercolor. It took some quick adjustments in between shots to get it just right, but the end results were better then had I tried to do it Photoshop.

(Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo)

Walk Around The Block

I had an hour to kill, so I found myself talking a walk in Downtown Clearwater, and it just so happened I had my camera with me. I stopped in a local pizzeria, and after lunch, I challenged myself to see if I could find ten different things to photograph. Only catch is I had to stay in a two-square block, and I had only thirty minutes to complete it. To top it off, I could only use one lens.

Even though the ten shots aren't going to be on the cover of National Geographic, when one looks at the set, it makes for an interesting cross-section of images that many people walk by on a daily basis, but never thought of photographing much less give them a second look.

(Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo)

Million Dollar View

Today we did nothing. No radios, no television, no camera (well, I did sneak my point-n-shoot in the bag), no schedule, no nothing. We went out to Honeymoon Island, took along a lunch, and just lounged on the beach, soaking in the warm sunshine, listening to the waves of the ocean.

Later in the evening, we went swimming, and enjoyed observing the sights and sounds of the beach. It was yet another million dollar sunset across the Gulf of Mexico, and it was refreshing to just relax.

Ch-Ch-Changes

We decided to go back to Fort De Soto to see what the beach looks like after Tropical Storm Alberto came through last week, and to see if the Oystercatcher eggs hatched yet. We went back to North Beach on the island, but this time, we arrived during high tide.

There wasn't a lot of birds around, but there were plenty little shorebirds and terns along the shoreline. We searched for the Oystercatchers, but they were no where to be seen. We also noticed the nest was destroyed, as well as the Sea Turtle nest. The beach was significantly changed from the storm surge, for the beach was moved back several feet, and the dunes have been cut down and show signs of just how high the surf came onto shore.

It is amazing that every time one goes to the beach after the storms, that at first glance it looks the same, but if one looks closely, you can really see the power of mother nature.

(Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo)

Baby Cardinal

For the past several weeks, we have been watching over a Northern Cardinal nest that a couple built right outside our back window. We observed the male and female Cardinals quickly build a nest in a Lilac tree, and then the female sit inside the nest for the past several weeks. Every once in a while the male would come by, and they would switch sitting in the nest so the female could go out and get food and water.

Fast forward to today, when we heard the faint peeps of a bird. It was coming from a newborn baby Cardinal, born just hours ago. Mommy and Daddy swooped into the nest, and they fed the hungry baby for several hours. I carefully watched this pattern, and tried to get into their rhythm, and when they took off, I jumped into action to snap a few quick shots of the little one before the parents got back, and they even were aware of my presence.

They had only one little baby in the nest, and no sign of any others. Being able to observe nature at work is an amazing sight to behold.

Tropical Storm Alberto

Just twelve days into the 2006 Hurricane Season, Tropical Storm Alberto cruised by the Tampa Bay area, dropping about five to ten inches of rain in many areas. Wind speeds at the peak of the storm hit 70mph, just 4mph shy of making it a Category 1 Hurricane, but this storm was a rainmaker more then anything else, with little to no damage in the area.

The heavy rains were a much welcomed and needed relief from the extreme drought that has been causing brush fires the past several months. So that's the first one out of the way, now on to the next one...

Rain Delay

We checked the tide charts for this weekend, and realized that low tide along with a full moon would be a great time to visit Fort De Soto to go wading out in the water to look for sea life, and hopefully see lots of birds that usually come in at low tide.

When we arrived at North Beach at Fort De Soto, we noticed sure enough the extremely low tide, but there was very little activity for birds. Hoping that the action would pick up later, we set up camp in the marshes, and waded out in the warm low tides to look for sea creatures. We came across a Venus Sunray that was being pried apart by a gang of Crown Conchs, Lighting Welks and Atlantic Margins.

Just outside our camp, we noticed the pair of American Oystercatchers that we have seen every time we have been in the area, and we figured that they must have a nest somewhere around there. Just a few yards away, the female took off when another bird came too close, and I saw the nest of two eggs she was sitting on. The male and female led the intruder away, and when it was safe again, she went back to sitting on her eggs.

Off in the distance we heard thunder from a band of the approaching Tropical Storm Alberto, and about a half an hour later, the skies opened up and it began to pour. Not really wanting to leave, we moved our gear under the Slash Pines on the other side of the marsh, and waited it out, for in typical fashion, it rained for about twenty minutes, and stopped.

The sun came back, and even though we really didn't see that many birds, we did see four Roseate Spoonbills, White Herons, Great Blue Herons, Black Skimmers, Sanderlings, Plovers, Ospreys, Pelicans, Redwing Blackbirds, and the highlight of the evening, a Tricolored Heron who was very friendly.

The sunset was amazing since the storm made some incredible cloud formations, and as we were leaving, we came across our first Sea Turtle nest of the season. The forecast for the next couple of days looks rainy, as the predictions have the tropical storm going just north of the Tampa Bay area.

(Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo)

Twilight Over Tampa

Ever since we moved to Tampa, I have watched the local Fox News and noticed that they use a photo of the skyline of Tampa as their backdrop. Since I haven't gone to downtown Tampa that much, it puzzled me where the photo was taken from, although I knew from the colors it was taken just at sunset when the skies are at their most colorful.

I studied a local map trying to see if I could figure out the location, and a few weeks ago I went down to the University of Tampa that sits right on the Hillsborough River and directly across from downtown Tampa. I tried every angle up and down the river, and I couldn't find the photo in my viewfinder. I left disappointed, and went back home to research this some more.

Then it dawned on me to load up Google Maps and do a fly through of the city, and bingo. To get the shot I was after of the skyline of Tampa with the river in the foreground, I needed to go over to Davis Island and go directly behind Tampa General Hospital. So I headed down to my location, set up camp, and waited for just the right light. Needless to say, I was very pleased with the results.

Taylor Park Birdin'

I got up early in the morning to meet my friend John and his mom Linda to go birding at Taylor Park in Largo, Florida to see if we could catch some of the morning waders on the freshwater lake in the park. Since the summer rains haven't filled up the lake too high yet, chances were good we would see some good action.

We all met up in the front of the park, and boy, we sure weren't disappointed. There was numerous birds all along the shore line, including numerous Roseate Spoonbills, Reddish Egrets, Great Blue Herons, White Herons, Snowy Egrets, Limpkins, Mallard Ducks, Common Moorhens and their babies, White and Brown Ibis', Osprey, Boat-tailed Grackles, Redwing Blackbirds and lots of others. I even found a very friendly juvenile Red Shouldered Hawk to pose for me.

It was a great way to spend the morning out shooting with fellow photographers, learning and trading secrets about bird photography, and having a great time in the process.

(Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo)

Hurricane Season '06

From June 1st to November 30th, it's officially Hurricane season. The Hurricane Center predicts that as many as 16 named storms will form in the Atlantic Basin, including four to six major hurricanes. That would mean slightly more than 2004, but far fewer than last year's record of 28.

Historically, about one in every three hurricanes that form in the Atlantic Basin strikes the United States. Florida takes the brunt of those storms, suffering almost twice as many direct hits as Texas, the second leading state.

We'll see how this goes, for this will be our first full year living in the path of disaster. Even though we went through numerous ones last year, none of them came close to the Tampa Bay area. We are well stocked up on essentials such as batteries, flashlights, candles, portable electronics, car chargers and power inverter.

Should prove to be an interesting next six months to say the least.

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UPDATE: Right at 4pm, we got hammered with our first summer tropical thunderstorm. They occur daily in the summer, and you can almost set your watch to them every day. Never knew mother nature could tell time.