Fried Chicken and the SuperMoon

Now that's a combination, and my Saturday.
I cleaned the grill, fried some chicken,
and pulled out some cameras to shoot the moon.



I bought an open box Sony HDR-CX 150 a few months ago
but have not really tested it out.
It has a 25X zoom, and I'd have to say for a tiny camera
it packs a hell of a reach.



In comparison, here is a time lapse of the SuperMoon
shot with my Canon EOS 40d with a 70-200 2.8L.
Time lapse was shot at 1 frame every 5 seconds.
I used DPP Pro to crop each frame for the close-ups.
You can see there is a limit to how far you can go
with the hardware and software I had available.




Now if that has not filled your appetite for "SuperMoon"
my friend chadsorianophotoblog posted this
very cool Canon EOS Rebel T3i test on his blog and youtube channel.


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Spin that GoPro Miami style

O.K. I know, I'm spinning my GoPro all the time. But hey its fun.
I am an admitted time lapse junkie and the GoPro is the easiest way to get my fix.
On a recent trip to Miami, I mounted my GoPro Hero to the car roof and cranked her up.



For you detail folks, no, that is not the same car but it is the same GoPro Hero
mounted on my egg timer time lapse thing-a-ma-jig.
The video was shot at two frames per second, the white thing blowing in the wind is a shoelace.
The mount stayed put at 70mph, but I tied it off with the shoelace just in case.


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Plant City Strawberry Festival 2011

Last Friday I took the day off and headed out to Plant City, Florida for the 2011 Strawberry Festival.
The festival runs through this week with rides, sideshows and plenty of strawberries.

I put together a quick video, shot with my Canon 7D and Gopro Hero HD mounted
on my egg timer time lapse thing-a-ma-jig.




Here is the video.

Teco Manatee viewing center

For twenty-five years, one of the best Tampa Bay area getaways has been the Teco Manatee Viewing center.

You could spend as little as fifteen minutes or a whole day checking out the manatees for free.

The manatees show up every winter to lounge in the warm water coming out of the power plant.

The center has a deck above the discharge canal so the manatees have a good buffer away from all the people.

Did I mention that its FREE!





When the weather gets chilly there can be dozens of sea cows hanging out.
The center is open from November till April but the best time to visit is when its cold. Every year the manatees all over Florida head to warm springs and power plants as soon as the bay and gulf water gets to cold to survive.




Coming up for a breath.




Not only is this one of the best places to see manatees, its one of the only places I know of to see a coal fired power plant up close.
Teco has done a great thing making the viewing center available, I'm sure they did not have to do it. I'm also sure they would rather me not mention "coal" but the fact is everyone in this country gets power from coal and it's good for people to see it up close.

So enjoy the manatee show, and sneak a peek at a massive power plant, both very cool and a must see.




As usual, I shot a gopro time lapse movie with my egg timer time lapse panning unit.
Here is the result.




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Dali Museum Opening Weekend

There is a new jewel in the crown of St. Petersburg, Florida.

Dali!

I never had a problem with the old location, but the new museum looks amazing.
The location is perfect, a visitor can stroll right out of the museum onto the
waterfront park showcasing downtown St. Pete.




The Museum's exterior design is fun and connects perfectly with the Mahaffey Theater. Now truth be told, I did not make it inside this weekend. Long line, big turnout, see the video. I was content to take in the new facility from the outside. I have seen the collection several times, and will wait a few weeks for an interior look when the crowds subside.

If I were to make a short list of things one must do in the Tampa/ St. Petersburg area Dali would be near the top. You don't need to be a fan to appreciate this collection. While you're downtown, don't miss the waterfront. St. Petersburg has done it right, saving most of its waterfront for parks for all to enjoy.



These photos and video are from photo safari Sunday .... destination .... Dali.



The time lapses were shot with a GoPro Hero on a Gorillapod using my eggtimer time lapse thing-a-ma-jig.



I think Salvador would like his new digs, don't miss it.


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Monarch Butterfly Pupation Time Lapse

I finally got it.

The final piece of the Florida Monarch Butterfly life cycle.

Pupation.

Monarchs caterpillars don't stay still, they are always on the move.
With one exception, pupation. But it always seemed to happen when I was at work.
I found a victim that started the process on a movable plant, I put him indoors and set up my old Canon G5.

See him sneaking a peek?




Another Monarch inspects the camera and time lapse settings.
As I said, they are always on the move.

Monarchs Eat, shot with Canon 7d and 65mm MP-E

Ahhhhhhhhhhh, a new tool for my ever expanding camera bag.
In this case a super cool but really hard to operate lens.



As regular readers of this blog know I love to shoot insects and such.
For about a year I have been using a canon 100 2.8 macro.
The 100 2.8 is a great lens for the money but there comes a point when you want to get closer. That is where the 65mm MP-E comes in, this is a macro lens and only a macro lens. The 100 2.8 can substitute as a sharp telephoto, the 65mm is only useful inside a couple inches.



Did I mention this lens is a grower?
It starts at 4 inches, and the more magnification you get the longer it becomes, maxing out at 9.25 inches. Its focus starts at 4 inches an goes down to 1.6 inches.
Therein lies the problem, the outside lens element is always moving so you need to be able to slide the camera back and forth to compose your shots.
Did I mention shooting really small things is really really hard?
Especially when they are moving?




Well, here is my first attempt shooting
video with this really bad-ass
but challenging piece of glass.