Gatorland

I have been wanting to explore some new areas of Florida this year, and one place that caught my attention was up in Orlando called Gatorland. At first, I thought it was your typical "tourist trap" that surrounds Orlando, but after some research, I found it was much more. So, we got up super early to spend the day at Gatorland.

The draw for us was the extensive bird rookery that takes up most of the park, and when we got there, we were certainly not disappointed. First, it is huge. It is one of the biggest and most diverse rookery's we have ever seen, and the amount of birds that are nesting there is unbelievable. We were overwhelmed at first, for there is just so many photo opportunities, it was hard to grasp just what we were looking at.

We met the owner of Gatorland, Mike Godwin, who was super nice and went out of his way to point out some of the great places in the park. He has also started a "Photographers Pass Program" where we could stay after the park closes and really get some amazing images. Mike has made the rookery very photographer friendly, and it is top-notch.

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View A Photo Gallery Of Gatorland

Watch A Video Of Gatorland On YouTube
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Of course we also saw lots, and I mean lots of Alligators, and we even got our photo taken with one, which was so cool. Gatorland in my opinion is THE PLACE to visit for anyone wanting to capture some amazing photographs, and the opportunities are endless. We will be back in a few weeks when more babies start to hatch!

What's In Your Backyard?

When I talk with people about some of the photographs I have taken, especially wildlife, they are amazed that many were taken right in my own backyard. It not only provides some great opportunities, it really is also convenient to say the least. With the sun going down later in the evening now, I had some time to take a walk around the pond in our backyard. I was hoping to see the Swallow-tailed Kites that I spotted earlier, but I came across something new.

Last year, we had several little Alligators, each measuring only a couple feet in length. Today however, I spotted a much larger one, sunning on the grass in the far back near the woods. As I got closer, I estimated it to be well over five feet, maybe even six. He spotted me coming, and shot into the water to watch me from a much safer distance.

I have no idea where he came from, but since most, if not all freshwater ponds around here are filled with them, and given the fact it is mating season, he probably is on the move looking for a mate. With all the beauty around here, it is a gentle reminder that danger lurks around every corner, and you have to be really careful!

Soto Goes Home

Today was a special day for a little sea turtle who's name is Soto. She is a Loggerhead Turtle who has been residing at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium since August 2006, where she was caught in a dredging project trawl net with a stingray. The ray's barb went through Soto's knee on the left flipper, and then punctured her intestines.

After she was rehabilitated and cleared for release, everyone gathered at the aquarium to get her ready for her big day. After getting her final checkup and tagged, she was loaded onto the same truck that brought her to the aquarium 18 months ago, however today she knew something special was in the air.

That smell was the ocean, and as we rode in the back of the pickup, the closer we got, the more excited she got, almost as if she knew what was about to happen. Soon we arrived on Clearwater Beach, and there was a big crowd gathered to see her off. When she was lowered to the beach, she took off. She left no doubt that she was ready to go home.

It was sad to see her go, for we had spent some special times together taking care of her, but it is what the aquarium is all about, and I'm sure Soto is happy to be free again. Be safe in your travels Soto.

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View A Photo Gallery Of The Release Of Soto
The Loggerhead Sea Turtle
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View A Video Slideshow Of The Release (2:07 - SWF - 15MB)

View A Video Of The Release Of Soto (2:00 - SWF - 14MB)

St. Patty's Sun & Fun

It was St. Patty's day, so what a better way to celebrate it but take in a spring training game in Clearwater to watch the Phillies take on my old home town Cleveland Indians.

It was the second largest crowd at Brighthouse Fields to watch a spring training game, and with temperatures in the mid 80's, there is no better way I can think of to spend a beautiful day.

	R	H	E
CLEVELAND INDIANS	4	6	1
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES	6	12	1
W: Durbin (1-0, 6.30); L: Lee (0-1, 8.31) HR: CLE: Herr (1), Martinez (1).

(Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo)

Sea Fog

Sunday shaped up to be a great day, so with the warm weather, we left early to spend the afternoon on Honeymoon Island to walk the nature trails. We hoped to see the little Great Horned Owlet, for we figured it was about time for him to fledge. While we walked on the trails, we came across some beautiful flowering cactus, as well as a pair of adult Bald Eagles, Red-shouldered Hawks, Osprey, Armadillos and even a Five-lined Skink.

We finally got to the owl nest, and just as we suspected, the little owl is now out of the nest, and was sitting with her mother. We witnessed a very unusual, but interesting behavior when mother owl left the baby, flew to another tree, and pulled out a dead animal. The parents are "caching" food all around the island, and are now using it to train the little owl to fly. It was very interesting to witness that to say the least.

Just as the evening fell upon us, the island was overtaken with sea fog as it rolled off the Gulf of Mexico. It was kinda eerie to watch it as it blanketed the island, but it was the first time we have ever seen it, and was totally amazed how beautiful it also made the island appear. I seized the opportunity and grabbed a HDR of the fog as it rolled over us.

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View The Sea Fog On Honeymoon Island
(JPG - 168KB)
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We hope to get back in the next few days to see the baby owlet before it is gone, for it is special to see these cute little owls grow up.

(Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo)

Dolphin Encounters

With the renovations now completed at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, the focus has now been turned towards their new web site, which will be launching real soon. Dawn was invited by David Yates, the aquariums CEO to shoot some videos that will be used on their new site to showcase some of the highlights that visitors can now experience while at the aquarium.

She shot all kinds of great clips from many different perspectives, and I helped out on the project by producing the clips and preparing them for viewing in their site. So far, we have completed a few short videos that showcase a Dolphin Encounter, a Dolphin Show and Sea Turtles and River Otters that you can view below!

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View A Dolphin Encounter At CMA (1:31 - SWF - 11MB)

View A Dolphin Show At CMA (2:50 - SWF - 20MB)

View Some Of The Resident Sea Turtles At CMA (1:38 - SWF - 12MB)

View Some Of The Resident River Otters At CMA (1:54 - SWF - 14MB)

View A Sea Turtle Release At CMA (2:22 - SWF - 17MB)
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Over the next few weeks we will be releasing new videos as they are completed, and will be seen at the new site by thousands of visitors!

Photographing Upclose

One of the great things about photographing wildlife in Florida is not only the vast amount we have here, but just how close you can get to some of these beautiful animals. Many times I have heard from photographers from other parts of the country just how jealous they are of how tame some of our birds and animals are, which provide us with some amazing photo opportunities.

One such animal is the Florida Gopher Tortoise that can be found in many areas around Florida, and the best place we have found to see these rare turtles is on Honeymoon Island. One of the keys to getting great shots of these turtles is that you need to get down to their level, which means you gotta lay in the dirt and sand they live in.

I have no problem getting dirty to get a great shot, and if I ever come home clean, it means that I didn't try hard enough to get some amazing shots. By getting at your subjects level, you bring the viewer up close, and how they see their world around them. I love seeing these turtles in the wild, and they are so calm and gentle.

Dawn shot video of myself getting down and dirty to photograph a little one we found on a recent hike. This is a rare behind the scenes look at how photographers get some amazing shots, plus you also observe and learn how these creatures live in their tiny part of the world.

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Click Here To Watch Video Of Photographing A Gopher Tortoise
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As a side note, at no time was there any interaction between myself and the little turtle, for the number one rule is to respect your subject, and never place them in any danger or distract their normal behavior. After a while, they accept you in their world, and will go about their natural routine, paying no mind to you as you watch and photograph them. It's an amazing experience to say the least.

(Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo)

Hey Batter

It's officially spring in Clearwater, for the smell of freshly cut grass, hot dogs and peanuts fill the air, so my friend John and I made our way over to the Philadelphia Phillies Spring Training camp to take in a ball game.

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View Panorama Of Spring Training
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There is nothing like seeing a spring training game, for we eat really good for very little money, not too mention seeing some major league baseball. It was a fun night, and I came home stuffed and happy!

	R	H	E
CINCINNATI REDS	6	12	0
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES	1	5	0
W: Arroyo (1-0, 1.50); L: R. Castro (0-1, 5.14) HR: CIN: Hairston (1), Hatteberg (1), Tatum (1).

(Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo)

Squiggy Classic

Getting up at 5am isn't my idea of fun, but I had to drive over to Wilderness Park about an hour away to photograph the Squiggy Classic. I have never been to this park, so I was looking forward to checking it out, as well as photographing the numerous events, including bike racing, kayaking and road racing.

It was one of the tougher assignments I have photographed, for there were several events going on at the same time, so it was difficult to get into position for some of them, but over all, I got some great action shots of the races. The Tampa Bay & Company will be using several of these photos to help promote Hillsborough County's Parks and Recreation Department and their 2008 brochure.

Later in the day, I made my way back over to Honeymoon Island to photograph the cute little baby Great Horned Owl, which from the looks of things, will be leaving the nest real soon, for he is getting real spunky!

(Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo)

Holy Blizzard Batman

We are still hanging onto winter in most parts of the country, and here in Florida, we still have an occasional cold front that comes through that will drop our temperatures, however only for a couple of days.

Up north in our old hometown of Cleveland, Ohio however, winter is still going strong, and this weekend they got buried in 24-36 inches of snow, and have over 5 foot snow drifts. The airport will be closed for 14 hours, and everything is just about shut down and snowed in. In one of only seven places in the world where you can experience lake effect snow, I can tell you they get dumped on in a major league fashion.

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Click Here To Watch Video Of The Blizzard
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It's a nice reminder why we left that all behind for the sun and sand. I guess we shouldn't complain too much when the temperature dips into the 60's, for all that white stuff I will never miss.

Unique Workshop

One of the great things about doing photography workshops here in Tampa is each one is completely different then the last one. On Saturday, I conducted my first workshop at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo, and the goal of the workshop wasn't so much in the basics of photography, but we focused in an aspect that is rarely addressed, and that is speed.

One of the things that most photographers find that once they advance to a certain level is that more often than not, they miss the shot. It can be a combination of things, and the most common is lens choice, anticipation, getting into position, understanding your subject and speed. Each one of these subjects, or a combination of them can make or break a photographer, for if the moment is gone, it's gone.

The zoo provides a great place to practice all of these subjects, for photographing animals is about as hard as it gets, so all throughout the day, we worked on getting into position, knowing our lens choice, aperture, shutter speed, and anticipating our shots. Overall, I was extremely thrilled to do a workshop that has been up to this point different, and you can't go wrong with some cute subjects!

(Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo)

Window To Their World

Of all of the new exhibits and improvements that were done at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, without a doubt my favorite is the new Dolphin viewing windows. At these windows, visitors can get up close and personal with Nicholas, Indy, Panama and of course, Winter. At these windows, you can get some amazing photos of these beautiful creatures, and you don't even have to get wet!

So far, Nicholas seems to love the windows more than the others, and will come over for some great photo opportunities. He loves to peer into the window, and will do some tricks, and really seems to enjoy all the new attention. These windows give a unique look into the lives of these Dolphins, and is worth the price of admission alone.

(Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo)

Gasparilla Festival Of The Arts

It was a perfect Sunday last weekend, and I was tasked to photograph the Gasparilla Festival of the Arts for the Tampa Visitors Bureau. With the warm temperatures in the mid 80's, I arrived in the afternoon, and the scene was packed with people all over downtown Tampa. There was good food, unbelievable artwork, and live bands playing in Lykes Gaslight Square Park to keep the crowds moving and shaking.

It was cool to spend the afternoon walking around the festival, enjoying the atmosphere and getting some great shots of the action. I must of spent an hour photographing the tribute band to Santana called "Supernatural", and it was a great exercise to try some unique and creative ways to capture the action. All in all, it was a great way to end another perfect weekend.

(Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo)

Tampa HD

What a better way to show off the beauty of Tampa Bay then some new photos, all done in high definition. I was tasked to shoot the ever changing skyline from Tampa Bay & Company this weekend, so off I went. This time, I decided to get the city from a whole new perspective, and of one that rarely has ever been done before.

With some great high clouds and a fantastic sunset, I decided to take advantage of the perfect weather conditions and create some High Dynamic range (HDR) shots this time. It was a good call on my part, for the shots came out even better then I had hoped for, and the details of the city are amazing.

I also reshot the skyline from the most famous perspective of the city, however the water was a bit rough for my liking, and I didn't get the reflections I was after. I did however manage to create a panorama of the city on the Hillsborough River that is huge.

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View Panorama Of Tampa Bay
(JPG - 76KB)
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All in all I had some great weather to work with this weekend, and will be posting some other shots I got around the bay once I process them all.

(Click on the thumbnails for a larger photo)