outdoor photography

Green Spring Gardens Five years ago this week I visited Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria, VA.  We were visiting my parents and spend part of the morning here.  These are some of the last images I took with my Canon EOS 10D, which I replaced with a 40D a couple weeks later.  I began using the 10D in 2004, and it was a pretty sweet camera, the first affordable camera that I thought rivaled, and I think surpassed, film.  After using this camera once, I never looked back. Green Spring Gardens At the time I loved macro photography more than anything else, and my favorite subject was flower photography.  Green Spring Gardens and Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD were my favorite places to visit. Green Spring Gardens I was also experimenting with macro photography with shallow depth of field.  My 180mm macro lens can shoot at f/3.5, but all these images were taken at f/16.  Even at f/16 below, as can be seen in the image below, depth of fiel...

Barred Owl This morning I dropped by Lake Lotus Park; I haven't been here in months because they open so late in the morning it's difficult to spend any length of time here before work.  Well, I was driving nearby this morning, so I thought it would be worth walking the trail once to see what may be there.  There was nothing unusual to be found--a first-year Double-crested Cormorant was on the water, I guess too young to go to the coast for breeding.  A Limpkin landed on the boardwalk railing so close to me that I could only photograph its head and neck (not that I'm complaining).  And a Barred Owl was out by the boardwalk, and it was close enough for nearly full-frame pictures.  Right near the owl was a pretty flower, which I'm guessing is a Primrose-willow of some sort, but I don't trust my own diagnostic skills for wildflowers. Barred Owl I'm still sometimes amazed at the difference moving a little bit can do for your compostion.  The above sh...

Water Hyacinth The other day I was walking down a trial by Lake Jesup and found some beautiful Water Hyacinth blooms.  They really are pretty flowers, even though some consider it an aquatic weed. They are extremely fast growing, and they can sometimes cover the entire surface of a lake, choking out sunlight, reducing water flow, and lowering the oxygen content of the lake water.  Water Hyacinth was first introduced into North America in 1884, and in Florida it became a significant problem, but it has since been controlled.  So even though the flowers invasive, I do enjoy seeing them in small quanities. Water Hyacinth

Bobolink This morning I drove out to Marl Bed Flats this morning. I was hoping to see a Long-billed Dowitcher that was reported here a few days ago.  I didn't find him, but I did find a lot of other birds.  I was surprised to see about 100 Bobolinks.  These are the first I've ever seen, so I was pretty amazed to see so many. Bobolink Bobolink Bobolink Bobolink Bobolink I also saw many other birds there.  American White Pelicans and a Red-winged Blackbird on posed nicely for photos. American White Pelican Red-winged Blackbird These pretty flowers were also blooming, which a friend identified as Sensitive Briar. They're so pretty I might have to return with my macro lens. Sensitive Briar

Red Powder Puff Flower I used to visit Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD nearly once per week to photograph flowers.  Inside their greenhouse, you could often find these Red Powder Puff Flowers (at least I'm pretty sure that's what they're called). I think these flowers are pretty strange and pretty wonderful at the same time. Red Powder Puff Flower

Snowy Egret This morning I went to Orlando Wetlands Park with about 5 other people, and we had a pretty great time.  It was cloudy and threatened rain all morning, but it never really did.  Purple Gallinules were out in force--I counted 12. Purple Gallinule A couple Sandhill Cranes also decided to sing their lovely song at close range. Sandhill Crane Cattle Egrets My companions for the morning were also very interested in the flowers and butterflies, and it occurred to me that I often do just pass them by without much thought. Queen Ornate Bella Moth Four-spotted Penant Oats Grama

American Redstart It was a beautiful morning, and I've been to Mead Gardens so many times lately that I decided to try someplace I hadn't been to in a while.  I went to Central Winds Park for about an hour before work.  It was a lovely morning.  The sheer number of birds there made it fun, even though the variety wasn't great.  Easily the biggest highlight of the morning was an American Redstart perched high in a tree. Red-bellied Woodpecker Snowy Egret There were several species of animals other than birds that I found interesting as well.  In particular, an American Alligator was swimming across the pond, and a Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly was fluttering around by the lake as well.  A clump of trumpet vine flowers also caught my attention as I was leaving. Trumpet Vine Spicebush Swallowtail American Alligator Here's a list of all the species I found this morning: Wood Stork 1 Anhinga 2 Great Egret 1 Snowy Egret 1 ...

Atamasco Lily On my way to Dothan, AL this past Friday, I stopped by the Suwannee River State Park near Live Oak, FL, just off of I-10.  I went there last year on the same trip, and I had thought the place was pretty but didn't see much wildlife.  The same held true this year, though the added bonus of seeing a patch of Atamasco "Rain" Lilies near what appeared to be a Cypress swamp that is currently dry.  I didn't have my macro lens with me, but I decided to have some fun seeing what I could do with a 400mm lens shooting from relatively far away.  I thought it would be fun to shoot from below and play with the backgrounds with various lilies out focus and others in focus.  I only had 15 minutes before I had to hit the road, so here's what I came up with. Atamasco Lily Atamasco Lily

Passion Flower I can't think of a more beautiful flower than a Passion Flower.  There are over 500 species of this beautiful flower, and I've only photographed a couple species of them.  The first two photos were taken at Brookside Gardens in MD and the second two taken at Orlando Wetlands Park in FL. Passion Flower Passion Flower Passion Flower