David's Images of the Day Photoblog
Views of the sky. Sunrise, sunset, clouds, and weather
Two Roseate Spoonbills in a Formation of Pelicans. Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Image taken with a Nikon D700 camera and 28-300 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 300 mm, f/11, 1/500 sec).
Before starting my drive back to New Jersey, I spent the morning on Merritt Island. First for sunrise at Playalinda Beach at Canaveral National Seashore, then for a drive through Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge — both along Biolab Road and Black Point Wildlife Drive. The previous day there was heavy fog in the morning so I didn’t go to Playalinda beach. This beach is favored by surf fishermen. While driving north I also stopped at the Ponce de Leone Inlet Lighthouse near Daytona, Florida.
Rather that using the big telephoto lenses, all of the images on this day were taken with a Nikon D700 with a 28-300 mm VR lens, a Leica X2, or a Nikon 1 V2 and 18.5 mm f/1.8 lens. All hand-held, no tripod.
I started the day at Fort De Soto park for sunrise. There is a small beach at the end of the road where you can watch the sun rise under the Sunshine Skyway bridge. I then drove across the state to Merritt Island to spend a couple of days at the National Wildlife Refuge.
One of the benefits when I was working part-time (two weeks a month) in Boulder, Colorado was that Rocky Mountain National Park was only an hour drive. I got to see and take pictures in the park during all four seasons. A winter storm was approaching, so I only spent a few hours in the park.
Although everyone was celebrating late into the night, I still got up early to check out the clouds at dawn. I knew we were approaching the southern part of Patagonia, and I was not disappointed. Even better, I was the only one out on the upper deck, and didn’t have to worry about the rude passengers from China with their bigger lenses walking in front of me while I was taking pictures. Shortly thereafter, the spotter for the Chinese tour group showed up and got on the walkie-talkie telling folks to come up. By the time they got on deck the colors were gone, but I had my picture.
