Brew's other other hobby... some recent pics I took...

[AmberC]

Nice Job Al! Love the raptor w/lunch pics!

[brewmaster15]

Thanks again Everyone!

Joe,

But dont waste your time with the everglades

St. Johns is a good destination as are many other in Fl... but The Everglades is recognized as one of the most unique eco-systems in the world... and its the USA's only subtropical one..which means you get to see most of whats in Southern USA to some extend and then alot of the plant communities from the West Indies... Its one of our most special natural areas... If anyone is going to see Florida's Natural Areas...you really get an appreciation if you drive thru... I'm really fond of the tracts of Forest Pine lands in the pan handle and the black water rivers there....then head south to Highland Hammocks State Park...one of Florida's first parks and a perfect example of a hardwood hammock.... next visit Myakka River state park..Florida's Largest state park which covers a variety of habitats.. Continue South... Hit up Sanible Island/captiva island..The beaches there are awesome and JNDing Darling wild life drive and preserve is a must see.. then continue south , Visit Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Big Cypress preserve, and hike into the prestine Fakahatchie Strand in which you can see some of the rarest orchids in Florida among everything else...... Next stop ... drive across Tamiami Trail and stop at the numerous trails and drive ins to the everglades.... continue to Homestead FL, and Enter The Everglades from that point... From there on South to the Campground at Flamingo....theres at least a weeks worth of exploring but I could easily spend 6 months there... must sees... Anhinga trail, ecopond, Gumbo Limbo trail, and my Favorite snakebite trail. Sunsets in Florida Bay there are stunning. If you do go.. plan on going November thru March the dry season... or the mosquitos will destroy you.. even then..if the breeze dies down... prepare to donate blood. when you leave return up the east coast on I-95 , and stop at the parks along the way...I like Jonathan Dickerson state park and Theres Merritt Island National seashore next to the Space Center...The wildlife drive there is great.

Years ago a friend and I used to make that trip in about 12 days...sleep was something we did when we got back to CT.



Hans, I did not know that about Walter...small world it is we live in!

Kenny my friend...Thanks! Been awhile , we need to catch up bro.

Amber... That fish was so heavy the Osprey was having trouble carrying it... Its amazing what these birds can pick up.. a few years ago I saw one snag a fish off the Sanibel Island Causeway and the osprey practically went under water from the sky high dive and came up with something twice its size...Birds have hollow bones and strong muscles.....but still...its just amazing..

Hi Karen,
Nice to meet another Bird watcher! I spent a week birding in texas along the coast about 13 years ago...I went to Aransas National wildlife refuge, Bentsen-Rio state park, Big Bend National Park, Falcon Dam and I even went and birded the Brownsville Dump for Chihuahuan Ravens.. South Texas has an amazing cross section of habitats as well and in many ways is very similar to South Florida.. I saw many of the same birds there and similar plants communities....but then you get the overlap from the west and Mexico...I really bumped up my bird count there... I need to return to that one again.. I'ves spent only a week there... In Florida I've spent accumulated months birding over the years.

-al

[t_j]

Amazing pictures Al!! Why can't I get the same kinda pics on my SLR

[brewmaster15]

Hi Tiffany,
Thanks! What model SLR? is it digital? I may tread on some toes here..but most cameras are basically the same... sure a few may shoot a few frames faster or have some neat eye candy added... but from a Hobbyists point of view...They are just a recorder of an image... what usually makes or breaks a photo , at least in my case is the lens used, the light present, and how stable the camera and lens is.. Sturdy tripods rated for the total weight of your camera and lens are really critical.... My tripod for the 500MM lens weighs almost 30 lbs ...lol...Its Heavy!!,... most of the bird shots were done using a Pentax 300 mm 4.5 ED IF Lens... Its got very good optics...I'd love to be wealthy as theres some killer lens out there...almost all mine though were bought used thru B&H photo or ebay.

hth,
al

[terps]

You can make money selling your photos online. It could help pay for your hobby.

Here's an article on how to do it.
http://www.dphotojournal.com/sell-photos-online/

Here's one of the websites that will try to sell your photos:
http://submit.shutterstock.com/

http://www.shutterstock.com/

If you're talented and have good photography equipment to meet the minimum requirements for submitting photos, you could make some nice spare change.

[brewmaster15]

Thanks for the Info... I've never sold a photo in my life except one to a Biology bud of mine ..she wanted a copy of a dead raccoon picture I took..made a whopping $5.00 on it to cover the cost of the print!

I'll have a look at the info, not sure if I would rate well enough to sell..Theres a world of a difference between enjoying taking pics and being good enough to actually sell them... But it would be nice... it would be real nice.

thanks again,
al

[terps]

http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-1873...on-street.html

[brewmaster15]

lol... Then I guess I am in the running...

-al

The dead coon shot was rushed..I snapped it quick with Print years ago.....I should have taken my time, looking back... I could have really done alot with that scene... I really regret that... but like I said... it was along time ago and I was a bit green.

The other was shot in fakahatchie strand in Fl years ago also... I think the little was sick... he stumbled around alot and sort of fell in a few times..but I couldn't catch that.

[terps]

I certainly would try submitting photos to some of those photo services. You might make enough money to buy more equipment(lenses, flash, new camera, editing software).

Here's the guidelines for submitting photos to Shutterstock.com.

http://submit.shutterstock.com/guidelines.mhtml

You now need a camera that shoots photos 4 megapixels or larger for it to be accepted by shutterstock.

You can search their database to see what others submitted. They have photos on almost everything. The quality varies.

http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtm...umb_size=large

http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtm...htermx=&color=

http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtm...htermx=&color=

I found out about shutterstock by reading this article in Smart Money.

http://www.smartmoney.com/spending/t...eat-a-goliath/

[Jennie]

Wow Al, just saw this..Makes me miss my home! You are missing a picture or two of the giant mosquito!!!! They are huge in Everglades!!!

[brewmaster15]

Thanks Jennie,

Oh yeah... we used to have the round Bumper sticker on our cars from the glades that "we gave" and shows a giant mosquito.

The best time to go the Everglades is December- February...its relatively dry and the mosquitoes are bearable. I camped there in late april one year with a buddy of mine.... out of several hundred or so availible campsites.. there was one other tent and about 5 bazillion mosquitoes to go around... 4 humans...talk about giving blood!

Another time My wife and I were down in Flamingo at the tip of glades..this was winter and the suckers were not to bad in the open. We went for a hike down a trail called "snakebite" that went thru a hardwood hammock and then to ocean...being familar with the vampires there we wore mosquito headnets,jackets and pants..quite the sight I am sure. Down the trail came 2 bike riders in their spandex shorts and shirts..leisurely riding and smirking and laughing at us as we walked in nets... I looked at my wife and said "5 minutes...watch this." The trail goes thru some pretty swampy areas...the vamps are bad there even in winter...sure enough 5 mins go by and here comes the bikers back towards us, no longer leisurely and not laughing at as they swatted in vain at the hundreds of mosquitoes on their backs, arms legs, etc...my turn to laugh.

-al

[Jennie]

ROTF! I gave my fair share there too. Are those dirt roads still 1 car wide?? you were smart to do that, those mosquitos carry disease.

[brewmaster15]

Some are...Theres some that are in real bad shape...lots of erosion and not great maintenance. Probably the worst thing is the hurricanes a few years back wiped out the Lodge/restaurant at flamingo....they have plans to rebuild but I don't think its started.
info and plans here... http://www.nps.gov/ever/parkmgmt/loa...&PageID=303992

The camping is as rustic as ever... showers are cold water and pretty open to the skeeters...

Still its my favorite place on Earth.....Those fresh water marshes, hardwood hammocks, birds, gators and bugs... I could spend forever there.

-al

[Jennie]

Showers?? Holy, fancy smancy! We had water holes..but first had to (remove) the snakes before we got in..wow..5 star accommodations out there now!

[Jennie]

Al, I also wonder did you get to go deep in by airboat??