Wekiwa Springs SP Landscape

Wekiwa Springs SP
Canon PowerShot S100

Yesterday I was at Wekiwa Springs State Park with a mission: find a Bachman's Sparrow and photograph it. Then I had other birds I wanted to find too: Red-headed Woodpecker, Brown-headed Nuthatch, etc.  Sometimes I get so focused on my goals, that I forget how wonderful my surroundings are.  Occasionally, though, I have a momentary lapse of focus and I notice the beauty of my surroundings even with no visible wildlife.  On one of these moments, I photographed the pines and grasses without the Red-headed Woodpecker I was looking for.

Wekiwa Springs SP
Canon PowerShot S100

These two photos also illustrate how changing the angle of the camera and the focal length of the lens can radically change your image.  The first image was shot looking pretty much straight into the trees at a focal length of about 57mm (35mm equivalent).  The second was angled looking up to the tree tops at a focal length of 24m.  As you can see, the trees no longer stand straight.  They converge toward the top of the frame.  If my momentary lapse of focus on wildlife lasted more than just a moment, I might have decided to try something creative with this.  But instead, I heard a Brown-headed Nuthatch and went about my business. So I much prefer the first image over the second.

Virginia Trees in Fall
Canon Rebel 2000 with Sigma 17-35mm lens, Fugi Velvia 50

Years ago, though (Oct. 2001), before I was so wildlife-obsessed, I would sometimes take more time for this sort of thing.  On this shot, I laid down on my back, looked up at the trees with a 17mm lens and had some fun.