Apple Snail Shell

Posted on February 8, 2011 by admin

Apple Snail Shell

I have been incredibly busy and have not posted is some time. So, now I will begin with the most recent image.

This one is the shell of an Apple Snail. It was collected in the Wellington Preserve last month, but I took a set of photos a few days ago to exhibit in my advanced fine art photography class.

The Apple Snail (Pomacea) is fairly common in Florida and in Central and South America). It is the favorite food of the Limpkin and the Snail Kite. They are often cultivated as “pets” and kept in an aquarium. According to some references, they were originally cultivated in Taiwan for human consumption.

Limpkin with Apple Snail

Limpkins are quite fastidious when capturing Apple Snails. They use their specially adapted beaks to remove the animal and leave the shells intact. Snail Kites, on the other hand are not so kind to the shells.

The Limpkin (Aramus guarauna) is found in Florida to the northern part of Argentina. It is hard to tell the male from the female since their plumage is identical. You know when Limpkins are around by their very loud screaming call. The Limpkin and the Apple Snail both have fresh water subtropical to tropical ecosystems. Hence, the large majority of the Limpkin diet is the Apple Snail. Yum!

The image of the Apple Snail was taken with the Canon 100mm Macro (tripod) using natural light supplemented with fill flash. Post–processing with LR3 and Color Effects Pro. Conversion to black and white in Silver Effects Pro. The Limpkin was captured with the Canon 300L f/4 handheld.

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I’m a Winner!

Posted on January 22, 2011 by admin

The Post Office

The Florida State fair sponsored a photo contest in conjunction with the PBC Photowalkers Meetup Group. Prizes were awarded in several different categories related to Fair activities.

The accompanying photo of the old post office display at the Fair won me four free tickets to the Fair!

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Portrait of Raymond Gehman

Posted on January 19, 2011 by admin

Raymond Gehman

While working as a photoshoot coordinator for a FOTOfusion photoshoot to Morikami Gardens with photo pro Raymond Gehman, I shot this silhouette of him on the lake. He loved the photo and I sent him a copy. Raymond responded with this gracious message (in part): “Thanks so much for the picture … I love it!  It’s a very well-seen moment, and really captures “me”.” Very nice compliment from a real gentleman and working pro.

Raymond was a staff newspaper photographer for 10 years before becoming a contract and freelance photographer for National Geographic. He has been a contributing photographer for fifteen National Geographic books and has numerous photos published in National Geographic Magazine and National Geographic Traveler.

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Little Haiti – Delray Beach

Posted on January 16, 2011 by admin

A Resident of Little Haiti

I was one of the assistants on a FOTOfusion 2011 photoshoot of the Haitian community in Delray Beach, Florida on Saturday afternoon. It was a warm and bright day and the group explored “Little Haiti’s” streets and stores.

This photo of one of the residents is part of a “mini” photo essay I put together. You can see the entire series of images in my photo gallery at http://bit.ly/hSG0MQ. The original was converted to black and white using Nik Silver Effects Pro.

Little Haiti is home to the largest Haitian population by percentage in any city in the US.

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Morikami Photoshoot

Posted on January 12, 2011 by admin

Bonsai

I was photoshoot coordinator on my first 2011 FotoFusion master workshop yesterday. The group, lead by National Geographic and fine art photographer, Ray Gehman, went to Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach, FL.

There were 10 in the group with varied levels of experience but with good spirits and lots of expensive equipment! The weather cooperated and everyone seems to have a good time. Today we had the photo critique session and there were many good photos.

My image here is of a bonsai plant in the garden surrounding the Tea House. Bonsai are Japanese miniature trees usually grown in low pots. The Morikami was founded in 1977 as a center of Japanese culture. It is owned by Palm Beach County but run by a private board of trustees.

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Lady Gouldian Finch

Posted on January 7, 2011 by admin

Lady Gouldian Finch

This is the Lady Gouldian Finch (Erythrura gouldiae). These beautiful birds are native to Australia and named after the wife of their discoverer, James Gould. This bird is the male with its purple chest.

Gould’s Finch is endangered in the wild but are bred in captivity for sale as pets. The male has a distinctive mating dance and both male and female parents held care for the young (on average 5-6 to the “clutch”).

Captured using the Canon 300L f4 with a fill flash.

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The Cairns Birdwing Butterfly

Posted on January 7, 2011 by admin

Cairns birdwing (male)

This is nice example of a Cairns Birdwing (male) butterfly. Its scientific name is Ornithoptera euphorion and it is found in Australia. Adults live for 4-5 weeks and feed on nectar in the rainforests where they normally live.

In neighboring New Guinea, the Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing is considered to be the largest butterfly. My little guy was taken at Butterfly World.

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The Boat-tailed Hummingbird

Posted on January 6, 2011 by admin

Broad-tailed Hummingbird

I led a group of photographers to Butterfly World yesterday and took some great photos of butterflies, hummingbirds, flowers, lorikeets and parrots. I thought I would post these hummingbirds first.

The one to the left is a male broad-tailed (Selasphorus platycercus) hummingbird with a reddish gorget (or throat patch). This little guy is about 10 in long and is native to the western US, northern Mexico and parts of Central America. They eat both insects and flower nectar.

 

 

 

Female Boat-tail

 

The second photo I believe is the female boat-tailed. Both males and females have green backs and a white crest. The female is duller with a rust-colored neck. Females usually lay but two eggs at time and gestation is about 16 days.

Taken with the incredibly sharp Canon 300L f4 lens and post-processed using Lightroom 3 and Nik Color Effects Pro.

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Weeds in the Lake

Posted on January 4, 2011 by admin

Weeds in the Wellington Reserve

This image is an entirely interpretive piece based on what I saw on one of the lakes in the Wellington Preserve. There were many weeds near the shore with interesting formations.

I pre-visualized this photograph. By that I mean, I decided to emphasize the way the weeds were reflected in the water. I converted the photograph to black and white. I added a split filter to separate the weeds from their reflection (in Nik Color Effect Pro)

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Female Boat-tailed Grackle

Posted on January 1, 2011 by admin

Female Boat-tailed Grackle

Happy 1-1-11. To start the New Year off, here is a good example of a female boat-tailed grackle. It is a large blackbird with a long tail. Although the male has a shiny black color, the female is brown. It is typically found along the Gulf and Atlantic coast.

There are a number of members of the grackle family but this one is known as Quiscalus major. They eat most anything – insects, small shellfish and amphibians as well as seeds.

This young lady was taken at the Wellington Preserve.

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