Florida day 2

The first day we spent in Kings springs at the Crystal river, I had asked the captain if we could go there as it was Sunday and would be very busy, Although Kings Spring has a green water its deep, Around 10 feet which would mean that people could not stand and kick silt up, There are normally many more manatees there as well and so it was, Monday would mean less people although at this time of year it would still be busy it would be much less so than the weekend so i asked to visit 3 sisters springs which is very shallow (you can stand in most of it) but the water really is crystal clear-think gin or vodka clear, I was surprised to see people in the water when we got there just after 7am and a boat right behind me however i quickly swam straight past the group and went to the bottom spring which was like a graveyard of sleeping manatees, Lots and lots and lots of manatees, There were a couple of playful manatees keeping the group happy but i stayed with the sleepers in the cristal clear water and managed to get both playful and normal manatee images in nice clear water, I did have my friends with me and one that was not comfortable in water but at the end of the day she was happily playing with manatees and will have memories to treasure for life, Truly amazed at how the gentle giants made here feel and you could sense the elation,It was indeed a triumph all round and as usual an almost spiritual experience, I could do this forever,It was not all plain sailing though as i quickly filled 24 gigs worth of memory and had to go back to the boat to reload, I could not have sealed the bag 100% and an hour later i got out only to find quite a bit of water in the camera bag but luckily everything seems fine, I used auto ISO for the first time-i am a bit slow- and it worked great,Every image sharp and well exposed shooting from ISO 3200 down to around 400 as the light came up, We went to the beach in the afternoon where there was a good group of birds when we arrived but before i could get the gear out some fuckers-opps sorry lovely young children-chased them away leaving gulls for the whole time that we were there, We did however enjoy the warm 70+ weather,We left the Crystal river after lunch and headed south to Sarasota which was a new area to me and finally time to relax.

Here is my friend Judy how is having fun with a manatee that wants its tummy rubbed whilst behind her 2 more manatees sleep on the river floor

Florida day 1

A big hello from sunny Florida, It took 11.5 hours to get here but its worth every second, The weather is perfect, Clear blue skies and around 70 degrees going up near 80 tomorrow, We went out on the crystal river very early today and instantly was surrounded by manatees, Lots of mothers with young and lots and lots of interaction between the manatees and us, The water was pretty cloudy and green and i knew it would be busy, The light was non existent when we arrived and even when the sun came up it was low shutter speeds all the way, I had set my ISO to 800 which is normally ok but i have set it to auto ISO as i would rather have a sharp grainy image than a blurry soft image, After the manatees and lunch we went to the beach and as we arrived we saw a good size flock of skimmers but before i had chance to get the gear out some kids chased them off and in the 2 hrs we were there they did not return just leaving us with gulls and grackles so i took a handful of images and left, We went back to the river as the sun was setting and found an Osprey on a power pole near the road and managed to get some nice shots, We are off straight after the manatees in the morning for a drive down to Saraosta so i can down load the images and have time to process a few then, Until then just the one manatee shot-more to come


Sorry about the quick processing, I am rushed for time so the vigentting etc will have to wait

Dave

Busy time

The Xmas decorations are up inside and outside the house, The pressy's are wrapped and we are pretty much ready, Our friends arrive from the UK on Friday afternoon and then we are off to Florida early Saturday morning, Its a long drive down to crystal river from here, about 11 hours so we wont get there until the late afternoon/early evening and then 2 early mornings swimming with the Manatees, There wont be much time to think before coming back Xmas eve and then leave for New York 2 days after Xmas, Somewhere between coming back from NY and going to California at the end of January i am trying to fit in a trip to New Jersey to shoot the harlequin ducks etc like i did 2 years ago, I have the use of a beach house there so its just petrol and food so its do able, It always seems that my early year and late year are busy and the middle is quite on the travel front, I dont see 2012 being any different, I hope to get down to Florida when i get back from California and then save hard for the end of 2012 when i will celebrate my 20 years of marriage and all things going well we will get back to Australia, Its 4 years since our last visit and i really want to get back, Its a fantastic place and the shots from there have sold well,
The weather here has changed and the Nights/mornings are cold and frosty, Its bought in some winter visitors to the garden in the way of dark eyed Junco and Robins, The feeders have been much more busy as the normal garden birds are busy feeding, The woodpecker branch is in constant use and yesterday we watched as 2 fed and chased each other around the garden, Dogs still come into the garden at night but the deer and opossum are sill coming, I just hope that next year we will see fox and cubs, This time of year is a great time to start searching for fox dens, The trees being bare means good light in the woodland and the after rain you can see and follow fox and deer foot marks in the mud, Deer and fox use the same paths, I find that fox like an area of woodland near to fields so thats where i tend to start looking, I normally like to find 3 or 4 dens and as spring arrives start to feed near them and then pick the best 1 or 2 that are not to dark, I was at a party last week and was asked out of all the animals that i have photographed over the years what is my favorite which is difficult, My answer was that although Tigers are my favorite animal i have to say that i love to photograph the fox, They are in pretty much every country in one form or another and are real survivors, They can range from the easiest animal to shoot if they are habituated or the most difficult if totally wild, I like the challenge of the truly wild fox, Most people have foxes living not far from the houses and this is an added attraction as it means that where ever you are you have a great project on your doorstep
Here is a Manatee shot from last Xmas, Its a very busy time there and not the best time to go but as we are there what the hell

Crystal River where the Manatees are is a bit of a 1 horse town but there is a very small beach area about 9 miles away which had a lot of birds on it last year so i will be spending the late afternoon there



Dave

On the Road

Just a quick one from me today, As you read this i will probably be on the i95 heading towards Florida, Plans are as follows, Saturday arrive in the afternoon, settle in and have a nose around the area, Sunday up early and grab some breakfast then head down to have a chat with the Manatee guys to make sure all is ok then head down the coast towards St Petersburg for the afternoon and evening shoot-birds on the coast-Monday through to thursday i will be spending my mornings with Manatees hopefully then some afternoon shooting somewhere along the coast-Friday head home for Xmas, So just a short trip but i really hope it will be productive, I have images in my head that i want and will just wait it out until it happens, The batteries are fully charged, The gear is cleaned and packed,I have had the underwater housing soaking in the bath for 8 hours to make sure that its still water tight-it is, I really must make a list as i always forget something-maybe a new years resolution, Keep your fingers crossed for me-The weather looks pretty good for the week-sunny and high 60,s so if it does what they say i wont be complaining

Dave

Florida diaries 2-Manatees

I phoned the captain of the boat i had booked in Crystal river a week or so ago and got some bad news, The weather had made the manatees leave the clear springs and they had gone into open water-water that was very murky, My heart sank, I knew i was late in the season but had hoped to still get a shot or two, I said to my wife that we would still go and do a recce and then return in the winter, First morning out and 17 manatees spotted and 3 shot, The water wasnt as bad as i had thought and one manatee loved to have his image taken and his tummy rubbed, I swam with it for over 30 mins and my manatee dream that i had had for 20 years had come true, Its an awesome experience, over 1500 pounds and as gentle as a new born, The water was clear but with a green tint to it, The second dive bought the same manatee but along with a pup, I shot both but only managed a couple of shots together and the water was very cloudy as we had other people with us and the silt had been stirred up, We ended the dive in one of the springs where the manatees spend the winter-its an incredible place-sooo clear its unreal, two suprises, firstly a manatee was sleeping in there all but in a restricted zone i still managed to get some shots and there was a gator lurking in the shadows so i can now boast that i have swum with both manatees and gators, An added bonus was a gar-a long fish rarely seen in the waters and a clear image, The captain/videograher thought i had golden do das and had luck where ever i seemed to go, I have arranged to go back for a week in the winter to get the manatees in clear water, Its been an almost life changing experience, firstly to realise a dream and to shoot underwater, The EWA Marine bag worked a treat after using 6LB of lead to help it sink, The images have not been effected by it and they are nice and sharp-well most, two dives and 700 images taken its been amazing and well worth the effort,Anybody who has seen the UKNP or Naturescape forums will have seen one of the images but here are a couple more, I have only my uncalibrated laptop here so will have to process them properly when i get home, i am now at St Petersburg near Tampa and have just my first recce at the famous Fort De Soto, An early start tomorrow will see me there for Laughing Gull,Skimmer and Osprey, More to come next blog-keep tuned

Here is the videographer shooting me shoot her

The 2 dives were videoed for me in HD so i will try to get a clip on the web when i return-its the business

Dave

We R off

As you read this i am making my way down to Florida, Its about 10hrs from Raleigh so not too bad but we have decided to spend the evening and following morning in Savannah Georgia before making our way south to St Augustine for a couple of days shooting birds at the Alligator Farm,Then cross country to the crystal river for the manatees,Now this is going to be hit or miss as i spoke to the guys there the other day and as i mentioned before we have had very hot temps here and the manatees have moved out of the springs and into the river which isnt very clear, I am still going as a recce and the chance to be up close to the wonderful creatures but the images may not come this trip, After we have finished there we head south to Tampa bay area for about 4 days before heading inland to see Mickey and Minnie, Its going to be a busy couple of weeks and apart from manatees i am hoping for some spoonbills,osprey,laughing gulls and lots of egrets, We have a trip booked on a fan boat across the central everglades-very csi miami so obviously some gators are on the agenda
Keep watching and i will do updates as when i can

Dave