| December 5-7 , 2009: We spent a long weekend at Disney. Besides photographing my daughter with all of the Disney characters I also took some other shots. The castle was the most photographic icon, especially when it was lit up at night. With a telephoto lens I was able to photograph the fireworks over the castle from our balcony at the Contemporary hotel.Gallery is here. |
| October, 2009: Set 5 is from our return to Massachusetts. We wandered all over Boston including from one end of the Freedom Trail to the other. The graveyards were probably my favorite photographic subjects. We visited the Science Museum, Children's Museum and Aquarium. The last night I photographed the Chinatown Arch and got some night views of downtown Boston. We spent another day or two in Amherst before returning home. Gallery is here. |
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| October, 2009: Set 4 is from New Hampshire. We passed through on the wasy to Maine but I posted them out of order. We traveled the Kancamagus Highway and visited Crawford notch State Park, Pinkham Notch State Park, and Franconia Notch State Park. There were some nice fall colors. The Flume Gorge was interesting and had the Flume Gorge Covered Bridge and the Sentinel Pine Covered Bridge in addition to Avalanche Falls. The Silver and Flume Cascades were both low on water but pretty anyway. The Albany Covered Bridge was beautiful and in a nice scenic setting. We traveled up Mount Washington but were only allowed about half way due to the weather. There was a blowing snowstorm at that height which was definitely a change of pace from what we had been seeing. Gallery is here. |
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| October, 2009: Set 3 is from Maine. We spent 3 days in Bar Harbor. I photographed Bass harbor Head Lighthouse at sunrise one morning (not easy) and then again on another afternoon. We traveled the Acadia loop multple times. I also made it to Cadillac Mountain for sunrise and got some nice shots through the breaks in the fog. On the way down to Boston we stopped at Pemaquid Point Lighthouse which is really cool and has a great area for phtographing reflections. We spent one night in Portland and I photographed the Portland Head Lighthouse in the evening and for sunrise the next morning. We made one more stop at the Cape Neddick (Nubble) Lighthouse. The time of day wasn't tehbest for photography but it was still worth the visit. Gallery is here. |
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| September, 2009: Set 2 is from vermont. We traveled a few backroads and saw some nice streams and rapids. We visited Quechee Gorge near Woodstock, Vermont. Of course we traveled up to the Ben & Jerry's factory near Stowe, Vermont. Also found a beautiful waterfall called Moss Glen Falls near Granville, Vermont. Gallery is here. |
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| September, 2009: This year we vacationed in New England. This first set of pictures is from Amherst and Shelburne Falls in Massachusetts. The parade is the 250th Anniversary of the founding of Amherst. Gallery is here. |
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| September 20, 2009: Today we went to Homosassa Springs State Park. We had a good time and got to see a lot of different animals. They have a 3600 lb manatee which was pretty impressive. She is 12 feet long and 12 feet around. The other highlight was Lucifer. He is a very large hippo who is almost 50 years old. We watched him munch on some melon. Gallery is here. |
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| September 16, 2009: Headed out to Ballast Point Park this AM for sunrise. There were some nice clouds and I got a nice pink and orange sky. The pier is very cool and goes way out into the water. I also took a nice panorama. Gallery is here. Afterward I stopped by Sawgrass Park. Not much exciting going on so I tried a little macro photography. |
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| September 9, 2009: Went to the Skyway Bridge for some night and car trail shots followed by a sunrise just off the causeway. Skyway and Sunrise Gallery is here. Saw a nice red ball sunrise. Afterward I stopped by Fort Desoto. Fort Desoto Gallery is here. The Long Billed Curlew was in his normal spot near the roped off nesting area on North Beach as were a couple of Roseate Spoonbills. Along the beach I followed a White Morph Reddish Egret as it pranced in the surf fishing. |
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| August 26, 2009: Out to Fort Desoto this AM. Gallery is here. There were a variety of interesting shorebirds. There were a good number of red knots along the beach. At the spit area there were a couple breeding plummaged Black Bellied Plovers along with 3 Marbled Godwits, and a pair of Reddish Egrets displaying some courtship type interaction. The Curlew was not present at this time. Later a Reddish Egret I was following crossed paths with a white morph Reddish Egret. At the main peir there was a feeding frenzy going on with pelicans and terns and gulls fishing everywhere. |
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| August 16, 2009: Chrissy, Lindsay and I went to Lowry Park Zoo today. Gallery is here. We saw all the animals in about 2 hours. The highlight was definitely the baby rhino. He was running a little bit and other wise just walking around and eating a bit, then layed down for a nap. |
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| July 8, 2009: Lindsay and I went to Lowry Park Zoo today. Gallery is here. We saw the new Koala first and then walked through all of the other animal exhibits. Lindsay seemed most intrigued by the penguins and the manatees. I wasn't able to do as much photography since it was just me and the baby. |
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| July 4, 2009: I took a couple of turns around Viera Wetlands on the morning of July 4th. Gallery is here. Not a whole lot going on. I did see 5 Least Bitterns including one that got chased into the opening and posed for me for 1-2 minutes. There were also baby and juvenile common moorhens, a juvenile sandhill crane, and a beautiful perched Northern Harrier Hawk. The highlight was definitely a family of Black Bellied Whistling Ducks with approximately 25 ducklings. The difference between the parents and ducklings is a bit comical. |
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| June 8, 2009: The next morning we attempted to go to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History only to find that it was not open on Mondays. We instead walked around the University of Pittsburgh campus and surrounding area. Gallery is here. The Cathedral of Learning was especially impressive both inside and out. The Heinz Cathedral was also very nice. We walked past several fountains and saw Carnegie Mellon University. Lastly we went to Phipps Conservatory. The glass exhibits were more impressive to me than the plants and I took a few pictures there also. |
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| June 7, 2009: Our next night in Pennsylvania we went to Station Square for dinner and rode the Duquesne Incline down and back up Mt Washington. There was a beautiful viewpoint of downtown from the top. Gallery is here. We stayed and photographed until about 9:15 when the sky was getting pretty dark and the city was lit up pretty well. I like the photographs better as the evening went on. I also took a nice panorama. |
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| June 6, 2009: During our stay in Pennsylvania I spent one morning at McConells Mill State Park. Gallery is here. It was very foggy all morning. There were some nice rapids and I really liked photographing the covered bridge. I also found a meadow with some more cooperative birds including the bobolink which I had not photographed before. |
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| June 4, 2009: This is the first of my photos from Pittsburgh. We spent a day at the Pittsburgh zoo. It was a lot of fun and the animals were pretty active for us. Gallery is here. The lion roared a few times for us. There were also a couple very young elephants. We really like watching the beavers. There were two babies that the parents kept trying to put back in the dam and they kept climbing out. |
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| May 30, 2009: Back to downtown Tampa for sunrise. Took a few panoramas, HDRs and a few closeups. Gallery is here. Afterwards I stopped by Sawgrass Park and practiced my macro photography. |
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| May 28, 2009: Took a quick trip to Fort Desoto this morning. Gallery is here. Basically just walked over by the roped off area on North Beach. The Curlew was still present in this area. There was also a white morph Reddish Egret fishing in the area. A Marbled Godwit walked by but not as close as the other birds. There were tons of Least Terns, Laughing Gulls, and Black Skimmers flying about. At one point a young Great Blue Heron walked through the Least Tern nesting area (I did not see him mess with any of the nests) and he got dive bombed almost continuously by a lot of unhappy little terns. |
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| May 3, 2009: Took a quick trip to Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park this morning. I walked from the entrance just a short distance in. I saw many Bobwhites, Meadowlarks, and Shrikes. Other sightings of note include 1 turkey, 1 deer, a Brown Thrasher, a Eastern Towhee and an unusually cooperative Common Nighthawk.
Gallery is here. |
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| April 29, 2009: Spent about 2 hours at Fort Desoto this morning with my daughter, Lindsay. Highlights included many Ovenbirds, Black Throated Blue Warblers (probably the most numerous bird today), Rose Breasted Grosbeak, Blackpoll Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Quite a few Cape May Warblers, Black Hooded parakeets, several Black and White Warblers, several male and female American Redstarts, Palm Warblers, Veery, Scarlet Tanager (Beautiful male), juvenile European starling in mulberry tree, and of course the ubiquitous catbirds. On the way out a Magnificent Frigatebird was seen circling over one of the bridges.
Gallery is here. |
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| April 22, 2009: Spent about 2 hours at Fort Desoto this morning with my daughter, Lindsay. In the large tree on the corner of the Rangers house closest the parking lot I saw a cuckoo but couldn't ID as it was looking right into the sun. Got a picture but really poor quality. I'm pretty sure it is a Yellow Billed Cuckoo. There were also at least two Kentucky Warblers and numerous Summer Tanagers both male and female. Also had both male and female Rose Breasted Grosbeaks by the fountain. There were quite a few Ruby Throated Hummingbirds flitting around. Also seen in the area were Indigo Buntings and a flock of Cedar Waxwings. Near the visitors center was a Yellow Warbler, more Summer Tanagers, and a couple of Swainson's Thrush. On the way out a Magnificent Frigatebird was seen circling over one of the bridges.
Gallery is here. |
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| April 15, 2009: Took a quick trip to Fort Desoto this AM with Lindsay. At the mulberry tree area at Fort Desoto this AM I saw several male and female Orchard Orioles including the one pictured without the tail, Red Eyed Vireo, Gray Catbird, Ruby Throated Hummingbirds, Prothonotary Warbler, Black Hooded Parakeets, Indigo Bunting, Male American Redstart. The surprise for me was the Least bittern sitting in a tree near the rangers house. On the way out of the park there was a Pileated Woodpecker on one of the telephone poles. Gallery is here. |
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| April 11, 2009: Returned to downtown Tampa to continue to practice HDR shots and to try to improve my shots of the Florida Aquarium. The clouds did not cooperate as expected per the weather report but I still got a few good shots. Gallery is here. My favorite is definitely the cruise terminal shot. This is part of Channelside and is right next to the Florida Aquarium. |
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| March 30, 2009: Back to my current favorite area for photography. The area just south of Kissimmee, FL. Gallery is here. I started at Cypress Lake road. There wasn't much of a sunrise but the nice clouds helped with my HDR shots. Afterwards I went to Joe Overstreet road. There were a couple of bald eagles, several meadowlarks and at least one caracara. Next I explored Three Lakes WMA. The highlight here was definitely finding a pair of barred owls calling and grooming each other. Also seen were a semi-cooperative bobwhite and eastern towhee. In the early afternoon I headed out to Lake Kissimmee State Park. I saw a few fox squirrels, cardinals, and another caracara. I mainly practiced a few more HDR shots in there Cracker Country living history area. I am really pleased with how some of these turned out. |
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| March 7, 2009: I took a return trip to Orlando Wetlands Park this weekend. I see a lot of potential here, but it will take some more exploration. Gallery is here. Not a whole lot that was easy to photograph. There were a good number of birds, but most were very skittish and not approachable. Surprisingly this American Bittern was very cooperative. I think he thought he was blending in. |
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| February 28, 2009: This morning I traveled to Sawgrass Lake Park. Gallery is here. I mainly went looking for the short tailed hawks which had recently been seen there. I did see them, but was not able to get great photos. I did get a few nice shots of a yellow rat snake who was hanging his head out of a birdhouse (I hope nobody was home). |
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| February 21-24, 2009: We took a long weekend to visit Savannah, Georgia. Gallery is here. We did a lot of exploring including the river district where are hotel was all the way down to Forsythe Park. Highlights were the trolley tour and the Beautiful Chapel of St John the Baptist. We also visited Paula Dean's restaurant and the Pirate House. Photography was a bit limited on this trip due to the 9 month old bundle of trouble we had with us. |
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| January 24, 2009: This morning was very cloudy as I traveled to Viera Wetlands. Gallery is here. The main subject today was a family of pied billed grebes. The two parents were bringing crayfish back for their two chicks to eat. They also chased the coots when they got a little too close. |
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| February 10, 2009: Time for my yearly Everglades trip. I did a day trip this year due to Lindsay and it is definitely a lot of driving for one day. Gallery is here. First stop was Anhinga trail. I caught a heron with a large fish and a pretty prairie warbler and an American bittern which are usually very shy. At Pinelands I photographed an Everglades Racer, my first one of these I have seen. Mrazek Pond was hopping with tons of bird life including some close spoonies. Eco pond had a small croc. There were numerous osprey nests in the Flamingo area and of course were some bigger crocs by the marina. After a stop at Robert is Here for a milkshake I returned to Anhinga Trail. This time there was another very cooperative bittern and the place was covered with gators. |
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| February 3, 2009: Down to the trifecta of Green Cay, Wakodahatchee and Okeheelee, three of my favorite photography locations and coincidentally all within about 5 miles of each other. Gallery is here. All of the normal birds were around although nothing out of the cardinal. What made the day for me was the three iguanas that I spotted sunning themselves at Wakodahatchee. They posed nicely and although they are an invasive species I still think they are neat to see in the wild. |
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| January 24, 2009: A Fort Desoto morning. And beautiful weather for it to be sure. Gallery is here. Not much bird life on the beach. I spent some time with a flock of gulls and terns attempting to get some close ups and flight shots. I also found some nice sand dollars and a pretty conch type shell with something still living in it. The best picture for me is the huge fish being carried by the osprey. On the way out I saw the broad winged hawk that has been hanging out at Fort Desoto, checked out the duck ponds, and saw the eaglet just peeking over the nest. |
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| January 18, 2009: Back to Viera Wetlands. Gallery is here. I was able to capture some very nice silhouettes at sunrise of a great blue heron and a cormorant. The highlight though was a young otter that I followed along the weed line. He finally came out about 15 feet from me and stood on his hind legs to look around. He then proceeded to take a dirt bath in the road before returning to his search for breakfast. Other notables included a very cooperative egret and a caracara flyby. |
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| January 17, 2009: Traveled to Merritt Island NWR for the first time in awhile. Gallery is here. Didn't see anything super exciting, but I am continuing to learn about my new flash and it is really helping to take some of my pictures to the next level. There were quite a few ducks including blue winged teal, northern shovelers, and more northern pintails than I have ever seen. |
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| January 10, 2009: Trying something new here to display the photos from my most recent trip. Gallery is here. Let me know what you think. These are from Venice Rookery which is not as good right now as most of the heron nests are not in real visible areas. Afterwards I went to Myakka River State Park and photographed vultures, wild hog, gators, and turtles. I got to experiment with my flash a little and it helped on several pictures. |
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Check out past trip reports (old to new) Page 1 or Page 2 or Page 3. |
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© 2001-2008 Matthew Paulson |
