Thursday (27-December-2007) — Florida

Gone to See America. December 2007 Florida Road Trip. Day 6: Birds at Fort De Soto Park.

It is always fun going to Fort De Soto Park. It is located on the southern end of Pinellas county separating Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. The park is known for its beaches and is a great location to take bird pictures. The three images for this day include a Great Blue Heron, a White Egret having a cricket for breakfast, and an Osprey building a nest under a full moon.

Great Blue Heron. Image taken with an Nikon D2xs and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 120 mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec). (David J Mathre)
Great Blue Heron. Image taken with an Nikon D2xs and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 120 mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec).
White Egret having a Cricket for Breakfast. Image taken with an Nikon D300 and 200 mm f/2 VR lens with TC-20 II (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/11, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)
White Egret having a Cricket for Breakfast. Image taken with an Nikon D300 and 200 mm f/2 VR lens with TC-20 II (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/11, 1/400 sec).
Osprey Landing on Nest under a Nearly Full Moon. Image taken with an Nikon D300 and 200 mm f/2 VR lens with TC-17 II (ISO 200, 340 mm, f/11, 1/340 sec). (David J Mathre)
Osprey Landing on Nest under a Nearly Full Moon. Image taken with an Nikon D300 and 200 mm f/2 VR lens with TC-17 II (ISO 200, 340 mm, f/11, 1/340 sec). (David J Mathre)

Friday (23-November-2007) — Hawaii

Gone to See Hawaii. Big Island Photography Workshop with Thom Hogan. Day 6: Kona.

The workshop team stopped at Lighthaus Camera in Kona before being dropped off at the Kona airport. This was “Black Friday” — the infamous shopping day after Thanksgiving. We noticed a pile of just delivered Nikon D300 cameras behind the counter, but assumed that they were all preordered by local camera enthusiasts. After some discussions, we found out that they were available for purchase and with a 5% discount as part of their “Black Friday” sales event. At least three of us walked out with a new D300 camera body that day. I wasn’t planning of getting a D300, and had to pay cash since they didn’t accept AMEX. In his D300 review, Thom did comment that he was the last of us to get a D300. I took a few pictures with the new camera while waiting for my plane back to the mainland at the Kona airport, and had many hours to read the manual.