Six-Years Ago (23-December-2011) — Florida

December Road Trip to Florida in 2011: Fort De Soto Park

Sunshine Skyway Bridge at sunrise from Fort De Soto Park. Later in the morning I watched a nesting pair of Osprey.

Low Tide Panorama of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge at Dawn. Taken from Fort Desoto County Park in St. Petersburg, Florida. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/16, 1 sec). (David J. Mathre)
Low Tide Panorama of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge at Dawn. Taken from Fort De Soto County Park in St. Petersburg, Florida. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 14-24 mm f/2.8 lens (ISO 200, 14 mm, f/16, 1 sec). (David J. Mathre)
Sunshine Skyway Bridge Panorama at Dawn from Fort Desoto Park. St. Petersburg, Florida. Composite of 3 vertical images taken with an Nikon D3s and 45 mm f/2.8 PC-E lens (ISO 200, f/11, 0.5 sec). Images processed with DxO, AutoPano Giga, Photoshop CS5, and Topaz Define. (David J Mathre)
Sunshine Skyway Bridge Panorama at Dawn from Fort De Soto Park. St. Petersburg, Florida. Composite of 3 vertical images taken with an Nikon D3s and 45 mm f/2.8 PC-E lens (ISO 200, f/11, 0.5 sec). Images processed with DxO, AutoPano Giga, Photoshop CS5, and Topaz Define. (David J Mathre)


Friday (22-December-2017) — Florida

Gone to See Florida 2017/2018 Road Trip. Day 2: Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

I try to stop and spend at least a day at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge when I do a road trip to Florida. It has been a while, and the last time I got rained out. The wildlife refuge suffered some Hurricane damage. Both Black Point Wildlife Drive, and Biolab road are open. Biolab road is now one-way, starting from the boat launch area. This is unfortunate, since in the morning you are driving into the sun. I spent the night in Titusville. When I woke up it was foggy. I arrived at the entrance to Black Point Wildlife Drive just after the gate was opened at sunrise. The fog was starting to rise, and when I looked behind I saw the opportunity for a great landscape sunrise image. The clouds and lifting fog made for good backgrounds. I did two loops on Black Point Wildlife Drive, and one pass on Biolab Road. I saw many birds up close. I think the early morning fog helped. Many of the palm trees on Biolab Road lost their tops during the hurricane. I hoped to see more Osprey, but only caught one in flight. There were many more Turkey, and Black Vultures. I am not sure of the ID for the Hawk with a red breast. After the sun came out, a couple of Alligators showed up. As I was leaving, I saw a number of spider webs with droplets of water left by the fog that were lit up by the sun.

Photographer and tripod viewing the sun rising over the trees in the early morning fog. Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 OIS lens (ISO 200, 100 mm, f/7, 1/680 sec). (David J Mathre)
Photographer and tripod viewing the sun rising over the trees in the early morning fog. Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Image taken with a Fuji X-T2 camera and 100-400 OIS lens (ISO 200, 100 mm, f/7, 1/680 sec). (David J Mathre)










Three-Years Ago (21-December-2014) — Falkland Islands

Gone to See Antarctica 2014/5 Day 6: Hurtigruten MS Fram visiting the Falkland Islands

The first place we stopped in the Falklands was Carcass Island. I was surprised to see palm trees this far south. It almost looks like the MS Fram was anchored off a Caribbean tropical island.

Hurtigruten MS Fram anchored off Carcass Island (one of the Falkland Islands). Image taken with a Leica T camera and 18-56 mm lens (ISO 100, 40 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 8, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CC 2014. (David J Mathre)
Hurtigruten MS Fram anchored off Carcass Island (one of the Falkland Islands). Image taken with a Leica T camera and 18-56 mm lens (ISO 100, 40 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 8, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CC 2014. (David J Mathre)

 

Six-Years Ago (21-December-2011) — Florida

December Road Trip to Florida in 2011: Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

I stopped for a couple of days in Merritt Island, and spent the time at the National Wildlife Refuge. A target rich environment. These are a few images from that day — Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Wood Stork, Alligator, and Sunset. I especially liked the Great Blue Heron doing the “Chicken Dance”.

Great Blue Heron Doing the Chicken Dance. Black Point Wildlife Road, Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge, Florida. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 200-400 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1800, 400 mm, f/4, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)
Great Blue Heron Doing the Chicken Dance. Black Point Wildlife Road, Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge, Florida. Image taken with a Nikon D3s and 200-400 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 1800, 400 mm, f/4, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)


Three-Years Ago (19-December-2014) — Argentina

Gone to See Antarctica 2014/5 Day 4: Ushuaia, Argentina

After spending two days in Buenos Aires we flew to Ushuaia. This is known as the southern most city. The voyage to Antarctica on the MS Fram (Hurtigruten Line, Norwegian Flag) begins and ends in Ushuaia in Southern Argentina. You see a sign as you enter the port that loosely translated tells British pirates to stay away. Argentina does not allow British registered ships into the port if they have been to the Falklands Islands/Malvinas. During our voyage the Hurtigruten line was sold to a British investment group. They are going to have to be very careful to keep the ship registered in Norway to continue the voyages in and out of Ushuaia.  Prior to embarking on the Hurtigruten MS Fram, we spent the morning touring the city, saw the Ocean Tramp anchored in the harbor, then spent the afternoon in Tierra del Fuego National Park.

It Appears that British Pirates Are Not Allowed to Dock at the Port of Ushuaia in Argentina. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 18-56 mm lens (ISO 100, 32 mm, f/9, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 8, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CC 2014. (David J Mathre)
It Appears that British Pirates Are Not Allowed to Dock at the Port of Ushuaia in Argentina. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 18-56 mm lens (ISO 100, 32 mm, f/9, 1/400 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 8, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CC 2014. (David J Mathre)
Ocean Tramp anchored in the harbor in Ushuaia, Argentina. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 18-56 mm lens. (David J Mathre)
Ocean Tramp anchored in the harbor in Ushuaia, Argentina. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 18-56 mm lens. (David J Mathre)


In Patagonia, the Wind Only Comes From One Direction. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 18-56 mm lens (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/8, 1/200 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 8, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CC 2014. (David J Mathre)
In Patagonia, the Wind Only Comes From One Direction. Image taken with a Leica T camera and 18-56 mm lens (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/8, 1/200 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro 8, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CC 2014. (David J Mathre)