Photographing a Necklace of Flowers

Karl does a lot of flower photography. He did macro photography portraits for a series on Florida Wildflowers, which someday we plan to publish in book form.

Recently we hiked at O’Leno State Park shortly after a rain. We walked by a tree, and the flowers forming a necklace around the dark, still wet bark attracted both of us. We kept walking, but then Karl turned around and went back, shooting from several different angles and zoom lengths.

This beautiful photograph is unlike his prior flower portrait photography. Maybe a new project or book is on the horizon?

Dine at Susan’s

Driving along the ‘Blue Highways’, those roads that go through villages and towns rather than the bland sameness of the interstate highways, increases travel time but also increases interesting experiences. We started the morning with a large breakfast, with the intention of driving as far as possible toward our destination and then enjoying a late lunch.

We look for local restaurants wherever we go. After years of interstate travel to visit family in the western New York region, which usually meant lunches and sometimes even dinners at one of the chain family restaurants, we realized that the food all started tasting the same regardless of which one we chose. We often exited the highway looking for local venues, but after the financial crisis of 2008/2009 we saw more closed restaurants in the smaller towns than open. On one memorable occasion, we searched for a place to have breakfast, and after finding all the local restaurants out of business we asked a local who told us the new McDonald’s off the interstate was the only breakfast place left.

This time the road we chose provided nearly any chain imaginable, and plenty of fast food. Getting hungry, we just decided to head a little closer to the highway, choose one and eat, when we passed a small yellow building with a tiny parking lot, and colorful sign:

Karl turned around, and we went inside. As soon as we entered and saw the cheery décor, we knew we made the right choice. A board showed the days’ specials, and a waitress brought us the regular menu. Karl ordered his usual burger, and I ordered the beef tips blue plate special, which was delicious and really hit the spot. We enjoyed the meal, and the surroundings. After paying the very reasonable check and leaving a tip for the waitress, we headed back to the van. I asked Karl about his burger, and he gave it the highest praise he can give a burger, and he is a burger expert: “It tasted like one I would make”.

Susan’s Restaurant in Holt, FL is in our travel journal, and will be a stop anytime we are in that area.

Hike on April 29 at Brooker Creek Preserve

From March hike at Brooker Creek Preserve

Karl and I will be leading a photography hike at Brooker Creek Preserve starting at 8:30 a.m. on April 29. We will not be doing the short classroom session before because of a conflict with another program, so for this one we will be hiking right away and stopping occasionally to talk about tips and techniques.

Last month we saw one of the otters that had been making its home along the creek, but it moved so fast I don't think anyone got a picture. The Irises were blooming everywhere, and still had some dew on them when this shot was taken.

After this we will have one more hike at the end of May, and then we break for summer in June, July and August.

If you are in the area, we hope to see you there.

Midnight the Cat Again

Our ongoing venture to tempt our 3 ½ year old rescue cats to pose for photographs, or at least not run as soon as they see a camera, continues. Karl worked a little with Midnight, the spookier of the two and not just because of her jet black coloring. She panics at anything, hid for a longer time than her sister Sassy, and runs anytime we tried to touch her. Over the last few months she will tolerate some stroking of her incredibly soft fur, but any attempt to pick her up results in an immediate run out of the room and hiding under the bed. She likes to be near us more, just not in close physical proximity. Part of the problem we noticed involves her sister. Sassy is alpha cat, considers us her people, and doesn’t share well. Ah, sisters!

I grew up in a household in the standard American suburb, with my parents, siblings and any number of pets. At any time we had one or two dogs, a couple of cats, an aquarium of fish (my father’s hobby) and later a bird that my one brother wanted. Karl grew up with dogs, and considered himself a dog person. That changed when our first rescue cat came into our lives. After her another rescue, a small kitten dumped near Karl's office, who lived with us over 13 years before passing away. When the that cat died, Karl said he thought we should have two from the same litter if we ever had cats again. "Ever" ended up a little more than a year later. The two sisters were tailor-made.

Karl found Midnight comfortable and partially sleeping, and took a couple of shots. As you can see, her black fur makes lighting any photo of her a challenge. She opened her eyes just a slit to let us know that she was allowing this, but maybe just this one time. She immediately got up, did the turn around a couple of times, and plopped down with her back to the camera. The shoot came to an end, but at least he got this one shot.

Limpkin of Wakulla Springs

As we looked out at the Wakulla River, the boat captain called out the names of the various birds sitting, flying, or swimming by. I saw a bird in some tall grass, and as I steadied my lens and framed the shot, Karl called out to the captain “Limpkin!” The boat captain slowed to be sure everyone saw the limpkin, and then told us a story. 

Limpkin

 He told us to look at the original Wakulla Springs sign as we left the park. The limpkin appears on that sign. He explained that the limpkin represented Wakulla Springs for years, and the river became known for them. Unfortunately, they disappeared many years ago. Occasionally one might stop by, but not the many who called the area home. That day in March, 2017 we saw two limpkins, and the captain mused out loud that he hoped they were coming back.

Intrigued by the story, I did some research on the limpkin and Wakulla Springs. Susan Cerulean, a well-known Florida writer, wrote “The Silence of the Limpkins” which appears in the 2004 book she also edited “Between Two Rivers: Stories from the Red Hills to the Gulf”. Her essay asks if the hydrilla which appeared there in 1997 and quickly spread contributed to the bird’s disappearance. Hydrilla  (Hydrilla verticillata) is a water plant imported into the United States for the aquarium trade. Unfortunately it found a welcoming home in the wild in our rivers, streams, and ponds where it crowds out the native vegetation and clogs the waterways.

Cerulean quotes a 1997 bird count which found only one bird when normally the birders see, or more likely with the limpkin hear many more. A 2016 article in the Tallahassee Democrat by James Call puts the disappearance of the Apple Snail on which the limpkin feeds  at around the year 2000. This article talks about nitrates in the groundwater contributing to the decline of the Apple Snail. No Apple Snails mean no limpkins.

Along with the boat captain, here’s to hoping that the sighting of two during that hour long boat ride is a sign of a comeback.

Further Information:

http://www.floridasprings.org/downloads/flash/wakulla_main/pdf/limpkins.pdf

http://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/politics/2016/02/28/wakulla-springs-brink/81000780/

http://myfwc.com/media/673720/FWC_applesnails_FLMS_handout.pdf

Looking Out a Window: Reflections

Looking Out a Window is the theme of one of my personal photography projects which I post here occasionally. This photograph captures a different mood than others I shot.

In this case, the reflection of the lamp and bird ornament pre-empted the outdoor scene. As I moved to take the photo, I saw the foliage from a palmetto leaf in the porch area outside the window frame the bird ornament. I admired the lamps and ornaments earlier, never thinking that the change from day to night would change my perception of them so completely.

One tip on taking photographs of this type: Look carefully at the entire scene and everything in the frame. As I shot the first time, a couple wearing black and white plaid jackets had descended the stairs behind me and stopped at the bottom of the stairs. As I prepared my second shot, I clearly saw a blurry plaid white and black reflection in the bottom right of my frame. I wandered around a bit until they moved off, then did the shot again.