Golden Light

It was shaping up to be another great night, so a few friends of mine, John, Tom and Fred met up at Honeymoon Island to get some photos of the Great Horned Owls. Just as the sun was setting, the "Golden Light" fell upon the island, and we all were able to get some real nice shots of the Owls, and it was a great way to end a perfect day.

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Lurking In The Shallows

This past Sunday, I encountered an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake on Honeymoon Island, and honestly, there are two things here in Florida that scares me the most: Spiders and Snakes. But one creature that we see just about everywhere is the Florida Alligator, and as much as the media tries to make them out as a killer, they really don't scare me at all.

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Watch A Video Of A Florida Alligator   (QuickTime Format - 1:00 - 2.2MB)
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In our backyard we have several ponds, and each of them have Alligators in them. On Sunday, we went to one of them as we saw several Red-shouldered Hawks flying over, so we stood at the waters edge, and out of nowhere came this five-foot gator and it swam right up to the edge of the water where we were standing. It hissed at us, but just stayed there watching us. We took a quick video clip of him as he just stared at us, and is another reminder that even in fresh water, you gotta watch your step.

Phillies Spring Training

With Spring Training winding down, I wanted to go over to Clearwater to visit Brighthouse Networks Field to see a Phillies Spring Training ball game, so I went with my friend John to take in a game under the lights. It was a perfect night for a game, and it was cool to sit out in the outfield lawn, and for $9, it was the best ticket in the house.

After a few innings, we took a stroll around the park to see it from many different angles, and we stopped at several food stands and tried out the hot dogs, peanuts and hot pretzels, all of which was great. It was a great time to watch a Spring Training game, and I plan on making it back next year for sure.

	R	H	E
CINCINNATI REDS	2	8	0
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES	6	12	2
W: J. Moyer (1-0, 3.42); L: R. Cormier (0-1, 5.14) HR: CIN: E. Encarnacion (2). PHI: P. Burrell (3), R. Barajas (2).

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Field Notes: Bald Eagle

Power. Speed. Courage. Freedom. These are the words that we associate with one of the greatest raptors of them all, the Bald Eagle. It is no mystery why it is the national symbol of America, for if one has ever spent any time with these powerful birds, it quickly becomes apparent why these birds are a national treasure, and a sight to behold.

There are two species of Bald Eagles, and in the gulf states, the Southern Bald Eagle is king. Florida has the largest population of Bald Eagles in the continuous 48-states, with only Alaska having the largest populations. The Bald Eagle is also known as the "Sea or Fish Eagle" since it's main diet is dead or dying fish that they routinely catch out of rivers, lakes and oceans. They also eat snakes, smaller birds, rodents and rabbits.

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Watch A Movie Clip Of A Bald Eagle
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Many people wonder why the Bald Eagle is "Bald", since they are not actually bald, but have feathers that cover their head, unlike the Black and Turkey Vultures that have no feathers on their head. At one time, "bald" meant "white", so the Eagle with it's brilliant white plumage on it's head, was named as it is known today. It also has a beautiful white tail, that when is seen soaring overhead with it's wing span over 8-feet and can cruise at altitudes of a thousand feet in the air, they are unmistakable when spotted.

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View A Close-Up Of A Bald Eagle
View Photo Of A Bald Eagle In A Splash Pine
View Photo Of A Bald Eagle Fishing
View Photo Of A Bald Eagle Soaring Overhead
View Photo Of A Bald Eagle Sitting In A Snag
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In 1967, the Bald Eagle was officially declared as an "Endangered Species", since most of it's native habitat was destroyed and lost to human development, especially in Southern Florida. In 1973, the Endangered Species Act was passed by Congress to help bring back the Bald Eagle, and to insure that our beloved national symbol was preserved for future generations.

Bald Eagles can live up to 30-years in the wild, and some can live longer in captivity. They also mate for life, and when a pair mate, they will stay with each other for the rest of their lives. They will mature around the ages of 4-5 years old, and once paired, they build one the the largest nests in the bird family, with some nests reaching 1-ton (2000 pounds) in weight. The Bald Eagle can fly 20 to 40 mph in normal flight and can dive at speeds over 100 mph, which if it spots a fish on the open waters of a lake, it's dinner.

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View Photo Of A Bald Eagle Landing
View Photo Of A Pair Of Bald Eagles
View Photo Of A Male Bald Eagle
View Photo Of A Female Bald Eagle
View Photo Of A Bald Eagle In A Nest
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Seeing a Bald Eagle in the wild is without a doubt the most rewarding experience one can have, and I have been following a pair that have returned year after year to the same nest, and each year bringing into the world several young Bald Eagles. Baby Eagles are known as "Eaglets", and are very different in color then their parents, for they are completely a dark chocolate brown when born, and have no white in their head or tail feathers as their parents do.

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Listen To The Sounds Of A Bald Eagle
(MP3 Format - :05 - 215KB)
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For the first 4 to 5 years of the immature Bald Eagles life, they will not gain the look of their adult parents, and when they are spotted, they are often mistaken for Golden Eagles, which even as adults, do not have the white markings as the Bald Eagles have. When the adults lay their eggs, they are born in about four weeks, and they reach the ability to fledge from their nest in about three months. The little ones will be dependent on their parents for their first year of life, even though they can hunt for their own food when they fledge the nest.

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View Photo Of A Two-week Old Eaglet In Nest
View Photo Of A Pair Of Five-week Old Eaglets
View Photo Of A Eight-week Old Eaglet Practicing To Fly
View Photo Of A Twelve-week Old Eaglet And Mother
View Photo Of An Eaglet Sitting On A Snag
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Bald Eagles are a special creature, and one of our most memorable moment when we first saw one in the wild while on vacation in Key Largo, sitting up on a power pole. Ever since then, we have always been on the lookout for others, for they truly take your breath away when they soar over your head.

A Dangerous Place

Florida is a beautiful place, but it can also be a very dangerous place. There is a lot of ways one can find themselves in a very scary, if not fatal situation if one is not careful, which I was given a harsh reminder of just such dangers at Honeymoon Island Sunday evening.

We spent the better part of the day at Honeymoon Island, just relaxing back on the trails, watching the Ospreys fly overhead and sitting in their nests. We also were on the lookout for Daddy Great Horned Owl, but for some reason, we could not find him whatsoever. We figured at some point we would find him, most likely just at sundown, since both the male and female owls will come out to hunt in the last remaining rays of light.

Just as we suspected, the sun was just about to go down, and out popped the male Great Horned Owl, just yards down from the nesting female high up in her nest. I carefully approached him to get a photo, making sure I don't disturb or startle him. The sun was setting fast, so I tried ever so carefully to get into a good position to catch the last of the sunlight as it fell on him, as he was intensely starring onto the floor of the woods in some very thick brush.

I stepped several yards into the brush when the scariest moment of my life happened. I came face to face and about two feet away from an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake. It quickly coiled up into a striking position, hissing and rattling it's tail, all in a split second. The next second I took off running, with fear running through me from head to toe. It was a real reminder that no matter where you are, danger can be just a step away.

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Playoff Push

It's the final weeks of hockey, and the playoff push is on. Teams are now positioning themselves in the standings for the Stanely Cup playoffs, and the games now are much more intense and physical, making for some very exciting hockey. Too bad someone forgot to tell the Lightning tonight, for they looked flat and the high-flying Ottawa Senators came into town and rolled right over the hometown team.

	1	2	3	T
OTTAWA SENATORS	2	2	3	7
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING	1	1	0	2

After the game, we ran into Dave Andreychuk outside his bar across from the St. Pete Times Forum, and he was kind enough to sign our tickets. It was a great ending to another great night of hockey in the bay.

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Water Tower Gang

The other day when I was driving past the Dunedin Water Tower, I noticed that the Osprey nest that is nearby was now occupied by new additions to the family. I went back this evening to see the family and to my surprise, up popped three newborn Ospreys while mommy was looking over them, and daddy was in a Slash Pine nearby with dinner.

This family is one of the most active Ospreys in the area, for we gave them the name "The Water Tower Gang", for at any given time, one can see five to six Ospreys sitting up on the water tower. This is our first set of babies this year, and more to come for sure.

Daddy Owl

One of the coolest raptors we have came across around Tampa Bay has to be the Great Horned Owl. We are kinda spoiled in the fact we can go over to Honeymoon Island anytime and spend a day or evening with the resident Great Horned Owl pair that have taken residence there. We have been visiting and photographing this pair of Owls for the past two years now, and last year watched as the pair raised two owl chicks.

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Watch A Video Of Daddy Owl   (QuickTime Format - 6:00 - 13.5MB)
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This year, the female is once again nesting, and any day now we hope to see this years young. In the meantime, we can find Daddy Owl fairly easily, and last weekend, we took the video camera and video taped him as he was sleeping high in a pine tree, then woke up and was hooting to his mate. It was awesome to listen as the two communicated with one another back and forth, and just as the sun went down, he took off and started to hunt.

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Legends Field

Legends Field in Tampa, which is the Spring Training home of the New York Yankees, is one of the nicest Spring Training facilities in baseball. It is very clean, modern, and no seat is a bad seat, and we really enjoy getting the opportunity to sit back and enjoy and watch a Spring Training ball game.

For our second and last game this year, we watched as the Yankees took on the Phillies in a night game, and just as all of the games have been, it was a relaxing to just watch a great evening of the grand old pastime, and a home team win for the Bronx Bombers.

	R	H	E
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES	0	3	3
NEW YORK YANKEES	2	8	2
W: K. Igawa (1-0, 3.00); L: Z. Segovia (0-1, 2.70) HR: None.

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Getting Caught Up

I fell behind in processing some photos I've taken over the past two weeks, and this weekend was about as good as any to get caught up on them, especially since I had a severe sinus allergy on Saturday. It is a sure sign of spring when the flower and tree pollen are in high numbers, and the old allergies kick into overdrive.

I still have some more left to process, but wanted to post up some of my more recent photos. Oh, and yes, the Peacock photos were taken in the wild and NOT in a zoo. You just gotta know where to look for them!

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Day Five: Three Hour Tour

To wrap up our Miami Workshop, I stayed an extra day for a private one-on-one personal workshop with one of our students, and we spent the better part of the morning on Miami Beach. It was a three hour crash course to cover some new subjects, and to go over some more in-depth techniques and tips as we walked around South Beach.

Later that afternoon after our private workshop, I headed back home to Tampa across the Tamiami Trail through the Florida Everglades, and over the past six days it was an amazing experience and one amazing workshop.

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Spring Training In Tampa

It's springtime in Tampa, and that can only mean that Spring Training baseball and the New York Yankees are back in town. We scored a pair of tickets for a couple of games this year at Legends Field, and our first game was against the Cincinnati Reds.

It was a beautiful night for a ball game. Temperatures in the high 70's, blue skies and a light tropical breeze. All of the Yankee starters were in the line-up for the first time this spring, so we picked a good game to go to. Legends Field is an outstanding facility, and was very comfortable to sit and watch a ball game on a Tuesday night. Even though the Bronx Bombers came up short, there is nothing like spending an evening under the stars in Tampa watching a ball game.

	R	H	E
CINCINNATI REDS	6	9	0
NEW YORK YANKEES	3	15	2
W: A. Harang (2-1, 6.52); L: M. Mussina (0-1, 5.63) HR: CIN: B. Phillips (4). NYY: K. Thompson (1).

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Day Four: Roadtrip To The Keys

We wrapped up the last morning of our workshop with reviewing the students photos that they took over the past three days, and offered tips, critiques and information that was a big hit with the students. We also covered some basic Photoshop tips, and it was a great ending to the workshop.

With the rest of the day to kill, Chris and I jumped in the rental car and headed south, way south. Destination: Key West. It was a fun ride down US-1, as the drive is an amazing sight, and one of the most beautiful drives one can make on the east coast. We made a quick stop in Bahia Honda for some breathtaking views, then on to the southernmost point in the U.S.

We made it down there in good time, and bummed around the island taking the sights, sounds and atmosphere of Key West, and ended the day with the most amazing sunset at Mallory Square. It was off to Sloppy Joe's for some good food, drinks and music, and we drove back to Miami in the middle of the night for one great day of sightseeing.

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Day Three: Back To The Basics

For our last day of the workshop, we went back to South Beach to reinforce some of the topics we have been learning about, such as depth of field, camera controls, light, perspectives and rule of thirds.

Later that evening, we headed back to Miami under the bridges to work on the golden light theory, and we were able to capture some amazing shots of the skyline of Miami, and I also went over how to do HDR (High-Dynamic Range) photography using the bridges as my subject to create some incredibly detailed photographs that when viewed full size, look very three-dimensional, which was a big hit with the students.

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Day Two: Anhinga Trail

Day two was scheduled to take us to three separate locations, each one with completely different subjects to photograph for the workshop. We started out in the morning down at South Beach to catch the sunrise, but the clouds were to low over the horizon to get it as it came up over the Atlantic Ocean, so we focused on other subjects at the beach and spent quality time going over questions.

After breakfast, we loaded up and headed to the Florida Everglades National Park for something completely different. It was shaping up to be a very hot afternoon, and with the heat, we decided to focus on macro opportunities, such as the Florida Tree Snail, flowers, baby Grasshoppers, and even got a Cormorant that was very friendly and filled the frame with my macro lens on just his beautiful eye.

We spent the afternoon on Anhinga Trail in the Everglades, and broke for some late lunch, and even made a stop at Robert Is Here for some fresh Florida oranges. We headed back to Miami Beach, and arrived just in time to catch a gorgeous sunset behind the city skyline. A great ending to another