I had the pleasure of going to Lido Beach this week to photograph the nesting Skimmers. I do not photograph birds on a regular basis, but I must say I tremendously enjoyed the few hours I spent with three other photographers photographing these fascinating birds. I was told there were over 200 adult Skimmers and over 100 baby chicks. This particular adult Skimmer provided warmth and protection underneath its wing in a very “cozy/comfortable” way for its baby chick.
The Blackburn Point Bridge is an historic swing bridge located near Osprey, FL and listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. It is a one-lane swing bridge located on Blackburn Point Road at the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. It is the northernmost of the two bridges connecting the barrier island Casey Key to the mainland of Florida. Constructed by the Champion Bridge Co. and opened to traffic in December 1926, it is “aged to perfection” and traffic crosses it daily. Because of its age, I have elected to process my photo with a vintage look.
I have recently become interested in mastering bird photography and have found it to be quite challenging. To “stop action” and prevent an unsatisfactory, blurry image, I used a fast shutter speed (1/1600 sec) to capture this photo of a pelican flying over the azure water of Sarasota Bay. I elected to isolate the pelican and add a little punch to the water by applying a painting filter in Photoshop.
Blue hour, my favorite time of day, provided me with this scene one evening as I was traveling to my office on Longboat Key. In addition to the lighting, the movement of traffic crossing the Ringling Bridge was a perfect “photographer’s choice” for a long exposure.
Curiosity got the best of me while touring the Danforthe Chapel on the Frank Lloyd Wright campus of Florida Southern College in Lakeland, FL a few weeks ago. Many people have heard the organ and have seen the pipes from the first floor but my guess would be that few have seen them from the balcony so I ventured upward towards the balcony to get a peek. I am not “musically inclined” but as I stood there sizing up the pipes and looking at the organ, I felt a bit sad that I never learned to play a music instrument.
This past week, I went with three other photographers down to Cape Coral to photograph the burrowing owls. We had a blast photographing these adorable little owls. The one in this photo kept giving me “the eye.” It was difficult to select only one photo which best represented this week’s theme, but I chose this one for the composition and hint of spring that the wild flowers represented. Some history of the burrowing owls in Cape Coral: Cape Coral also has the distinction of having the largest population of the Florida species of the Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia floridana) in the State, with an estimated 1000 nesting pair.
At only 5-8.5 ounces and7.5-11 inches tall, the Burrowing Owl is one of the smallest of all the owls, and of the 171 species of owls worldwide, the only owl that lives underground. Unlike the Western species of the Burrowing Owl (athene cunicularia hypugaea) that lives in abandoned prairie dog burrows, here in Florida our Burrowing Owls dig their own burrows. Cape Coral has upwards of 2500 burrows within the City limits, but not all of them are actively being used by owls.
Photographers and birders alike come from all over the world to see our Burrowing Owls, and everyone is amazed at how easy it is to see and photograph these beautiful little birds. This doesn’t come without a price. Over the years, one of the main locations to see the Burrowing Owls is the Cape Coral Library. There were multiple burrows located on the streets surrounding the library, all of them very active. Today, only one burrow is still active and it is thought that there was just too much human activity for the owls, and they moved on. While the owls are quite tolerant of humans, getting too close to them too often will cause them to abandon a burrow and move on to a quieter location.
While some of the Western Burrowing Owls migrate, the Burrowing Owls here in Cape Coral do not migrate. They are here year round, but often hide in the summer to avoid the hot summer sun. The best time to see the owls is from January through June, and the best time to see the chicks is late April through June. REFhttp://www.ccfriendsofwildlife.org/burrowing-owl/
Nighttime along the water and places downtown are my favorite times for photography because it allows me to practice long exposure. On this particular night, I went to Bradenton with several photography friends and just as I was setting up to photograph the manatee sculpture and Pier 22 in the background, a tour boat with brightly colored lights pulled into the harbor adding a splash of color in my frame. Perfect timing!
When we relocated to Sarasota in 2001, one of the first things I did was purchase a small staghorn fern and secured it to the crotch of my shady live oak tree at the corner of the driveway. Despite the fact that I pay no attention to it other than toss it a banana peel on occasion, it has thrived and is now a very large, beautiful fern, thanks to the humidity we have here in Florida and the afternoon showers. As I pulled into the driveway early one morning, following a trip to Starbucks ;-), I noticed how its fronds were backlit by the bright morning sun.
Not only do I really like this photo because of the summer cloud formation, I like it also because it reminds me of my daddy whose idea of summer fun was to grab his rod and reel and wander off to a little spot near our home. My eyes travel to the end of the pier and, seeing the fishermen, I can’t help but think of how daddy would have turned guys like this into his fishing buddies. He was a good natured man who made friends easily. As a little girl, I remember him making lures and pouring melted metals into a mold for sinkers. Of course, I was right beside him “helping.”
Every year, the Sarasota Yacht Club has the Lighting of the Fleet in preparation of the Christmas season and it’s one thing I try not to miss. This year, however, I took a side trip up to Tarpon Springs with several photography buddies and it just so happened that the Lighting of the Fleet was held on the same night, so I missed it. 😦 I did not miss out on a lot of fun, however, because the people in Tarpon Springs were in the holiday spirit. Boats, storefronts and people were ready for Christmas!
I’d like to take this opportunity to wish my friends and family a joyous Christmas and a Happy and prosperous New Year. Thanks for the love you have so freely given to me throughout the year.
A 52-Week Photo Journey 