American White Pelicans commonly winter in Alachua County during the winter and it is easy to spot large flocks of them around Paynes Prairie. On this particular day it was very windy and it was difficult to photograph these birds with the high degree of chop in the water. I took several dozen images of this individual and this was the best image. I like this image because it has relatively calm water, decent lighting, and a desirable head angle with the bird’s head turned slightly toward me.

On one of my trips to the La Chua trail, I was fortunate to find this American Alligator resting patiently on the trail while I stood a safe distance away and photographed him. There are three elements to this image that I liked. First, I was able to photograph this alligator at ground level which makes for a far more intimate portrait compared to photographing at an upward or downward angle. Second, the background was far enough away to be almost completely out of focus. This provides a nice separation from the subject and background and makes the alligator stand out well. Third, at the time I took this picture there were some high cirrus clouds diffusing the sun which provided a more pleasing, softer light for this portrait.

When driving down Florida State Route 24, my girlfriend noticed these interesting patterns in the sand along with the receding water from high tide. We stopped to photograph them and I carefully looked for the best collection of patterns in a single frame. In post processing I converted the image to black and white for an artistic feel and contrasty look.

With the high water levels in Paynes Prairie, many terrestrial mammals are spending more time on the La Chua trail itself. I have made many visits over the course of several weeks trying to photograph the Marsh Rabbits that are visible on the trail. After several unsuccessful attempts, I managed to get 1 picture (1 click of the shutter) on this individual before it turned its head and ran away.

In July, I traveled to Rocky Mountain National Park with my family. I got to see beautiful scenery, cool wildlife, and of course spend time with my amazing family and girlfriend. From the wildlife perspective, my favorite find were the American Pikas. These animals are not only incredibly cute, but they are social animals and are fun to watch. Pikas are limited to inhabiting arctic tundra habitat and spend the very short growing season hoarding food. Contrary to their appearance, Pikas are not rodents; they are lagomorphs, the same order containing rabbits.

Recently Gainesville has had a large amount of rain which raised the water levels in Paynes Prairie considerably. This has forced many terrestrial mammals to higher spots of dry land on the prairie. The La Chua trail happens to be a high spot on Paynes Prairie and these Hispid Cotton Rats have been frequently seen on the trail for the past couple of weeks. Normally they allow a close approach if you move slowly; however, some individuals are more tolerant than others. This particular rat adjusted to my presence quickly and allowed me to get close for a picture.

Florida has an excellent state park system and many of their parks in the northern part of the state are based around springs. This image was taken at Manatee Springs State Park in Levy County. Manatee Springs is famous for two things as its name suggests: its springs and manatees that take advantage of the warm springs water during the winter time. One of its lesser attractions are the cypress swamps that are present within its boundaries. I took several images in this swamp, looking for different compositions of trees, water, and green foliage. This composition was my favorite.

Although not uncommon, this Tufted Titmouse proved to be the highlight of the trip as far as birds go. In certain locations in Cape Cod, the chickadees and titmice are used to being fed by people. Therefore these birds often approach hikers hoping they might have food. Although I did not have any food for this individual, I did take advantage of its tameness and curiosity to secure several good photographs. This image was taken with a mere 200mm lens, something that’s very hard to do with most small birds. Most small birds such as the Tufted Titmouse are photographed with 500mm and 600mm lenses.

While visiting Cape Cod recently, I of course took some time to explore the area and look for photo opportunities. This beach south of the Cape Cod Canal was the location I finally decided on for a sunset image. With the exception of some slight shadow enhancement to bring out some subtle detail in the rocks, this image is shown, as is, straight out of the camera. I kept the shadow adjustment small to preserve the natural appearance of this photograph.

I received a report from a friend about a Leucistic Carolina Chickadee coming to a feeder in town. I went to his house and tried to photograph the bird, but I was unable to get a good image of the bird on a natural perch. I was able to get several keepers of other species including this Female Northern Cardinal. As common as Cardinals are, they can be wary of people and thus hard to photograph. Although I used too much flash in this image, I still found the result pleasing enough to keep.