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Table of Contents / Index

Intro

I’m a photographer living in the Central Florida area.  My main photography interests are nature and wildlife.  I enjoy writing about interesting places around here that I’ve visited and photographed.  In addition to sharing my experiences, I try to make each blog entry helpful to visiting photo enthusiasts by including links to information about the place as well as some hints on what and how to photograph there.  I also include some of the photos I’ve taken and links to additional photos in galleries so that readers can get a better idea of what’s there and what the photo ops are.  My hope is that photo enthusiast visitors to the Orlando area can use these pages as their “photo scout” resource while they’re here.  I also hope that local residents will find the information useful.

In addition to the photographic opportunities in the Central Florida Area, I also write about my photo experiences in other areas.  These too may be useful to photo enthusiasts.

I tag the photo opportunity blog posts as either “CFL Photo Ops” or “Other Photo Ops“.  You can filter the blog by clicking on these (and other) tags in the side bar on the right side of each blog page.

This blog has been up and going since May of 2007. As of August 2010, there are about 105 posts covering a broad variety of (mostly) photo related subjects. With so many entries it’s becoming harder to locate information, so I decided to add this Table of Contents / Index page to organize the photo-op information.  I’ve divided it into the four tables below so you can more easily find information you’re looking for.

Although I can’t promise to keep blogging forever, I do very much enjoy it.  Comments and constructive criticism on how to improve the blog, or suggestions for places to visit are welcome.  And if you have questions on the area, please feel free to ask.  I’ve lived here for many years, and just may have the answer you’re looking for.  Leave a comment or email me at ed@rosack.com.

Photo Ops in the Central Florida area:

Place What’s there? Travel time from Winter Springs / Oviedo Blog Entry Galleries Sample photo
Audubon Birds of Prey Center – Maitland, Florida Captive Birds (eagles, owls, hawks, etc.), some flowers & plants ~ 25 minutes Audubon Birds of Prey Birds of Prey eagle
Black Point Wildllife Drive – Titusville, Florida Wildlife (birds, gators, wild pigs, Bobcats(?)), some wetlands landscape ~ 1 hour

Blackpoint, etc, May 08

Blackpoint, Jan. 09

Blackpoint, May 09

Blackpoint, Aug. 09

May ’10 update

Blackpoint 1

Blackpoint 2

Blackpoint 3

Sunrise reflections
Butterfly Rainforest – Gainsville, Florida Butterflies, Flowers & Plants ~ 2 hours Butterfly Rainforest Butterfly gallery Butterfly on flower
Canaveral National Seashore – New Smyrna Beach, Fl Ocean, surf, few  birds ~ 1 hour Canaveral National Seashore CNS on Flickr CNS_-2
Disney’s Animal Kingdom – Orlando, Fl Many captive animals, scenic displays and attractions, rides ~ 1 hour

Animal Kingdom, May 09

Animal Kingdom Lodge, Aug. 09

May ’10 update

Animal Kingdom gallery

Animal Kingdom on Flickr

Adult Silverback gorilla profile
Disney’s EPCOT – Orlando, Fl Displays,  attractions, rides, and occasional special events ~ 1 hour EPCOT, March 2010 EPCOT on Flickr Coke truck
Emeralda Marsh – Lake County, Fl The crown jewel of bird watching in Lake County – at the right time of year ~ 1 hour Emeralda Marsh, June 2010 Some of the photos in this set on Flickr Old plow and horse
Fort Christmas – Christmas, Fl Old Florida Settlement ~ 30 minutes Ft. Christmas Ft. Christmas on Flickr Fort-Christmas__DSC3956_Old hides on the side of a cabin
Gatorland – Orlando, Fl.
Gators, and other captive animals, many wild birds at the rookery ~ 1 hour Gatorland

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Comparing Gatorland to the Alligator Farm

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May ’10 update

Gatorland on Flickr A great blue heron portrait
Gaylord Palms – Orlando, Fl.
Resort hotel, with scenic atrium, etc. ~ 45 minutes Gaylord Palms Gaylord Palms photo set on Flickr A waterfall in the Everglades portion of the Atrium.
Kennedy Space Center – Titusville, Fl Space memorabilia, attractions / rides ~ 1 hour KSC KSC on Flickr IMG_0865
Lake Eola – Downtown Orlando, Florida Cityscapes, sunsets, street scenes ~ 20 minutes Dusk at Lake Eola Lake Eola set on Flickr Dusk, Lake Eola, 8:14pm
Lake Jessop Conservation Area – near Sanford, Florida Flowers in late September / early October ~ 20 minutes

Lake Jessop wildflowers

Lake Jessop storm and flowers

Lake Jessop on Flickr

Lake Jessop gallery

_DSC3667
Orlando Wetlands Park – Orlando, Fl Wildlife (many birds, gators, deer, raccoons, otters, etc), some wetlands landscapes ~ 30 minutes

OWP, Jun 07

OWP, Jul 08

OWP, Apr 09

OWP, May 09

OWP, Jul. 09

OWP, Oct. 09

OWP, Nov. 09

OWP on Flickr – 1

OWP on Flickr – 2

OWP gallery – 1

OWP gallery – 2

OWP gallery – 3

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck in flight
Paynes Prairie – Gainsville, Florida Wildlife (Bison, wild horses, many gators, many birds including whooping cranes) ~ 2 hours Paynes Prarie Paynes Praries gallery
Ponce Inlet Beach and lighthouse – Ponce Inlet, Florida Shore birds, surfers, sunsets, lighthous ~ 1 hour Lighthouse and Night Photos Ponce Inlet Gallery on Flickr Ponce Inlet lighthouse, sunset, bird
Ravine Gardens State Park – Palatka, Florida Azaleas, Rose Garden, Ravine, Suspension Bridge ~ 2 hours Ravine Gardens Ravine Gardens set on Flickr The suspension bridge over the Ravine
Seaworld – Orlando, Fl Many aquatic captive animals, wild birds, rides ~ 35 minutes

Seaworld, Dec 07

Seaworld, Nov 08

Seaworld, Nov 09

Seaworld on Flickr

Seaworld gallery 1

Seaworld gallery 2

Seaworld- Seal__DSC3828-nx2
St. Augustine, Fl. & the Alligator Farm Gators, and other captive animals, many wild birds at the rookery, old town, Ft. Matanzas, lighthouse, many other attractions ~ 2 hours

Alligator Farm, May 07

St. Augustine, Jul 07

Alligator Farm, Apr 08

Comparing Gatorland to the Alligator Farm

June ’10 update

July ’10

St. Augustine gallery 1

St. Augustine gallery 2

Spoonbills

St. Augustine on Flickr

Lightner Museum
Viera Wetlands – Melbourne, Florida Many birds, some gators ~ 1 hour Viera Wetlands, Jan. 10

Viera Wetlands, Feb. 10

Viera Wetlands on Flickr Some winter color in the trees at Viera Wetlands

Photo Ops outside of Central Florida:

Place What’s there? Blog Entry Galleries
Alaska by cruise ship from Seattle Glaciers, wildlife, mountains, landscapes, culture

Other Alaskan photos

Glaciers

Wildlife

Home from Alaska

Alaska on Flickr Breaching humpback whale near Juneau
Cincinnati, Ohio Scenic city, parks Ohio to Kentucky and back Cincinnati gallery
Evansville, Indiana Casino, Ohio River, Not too far from St. Louis Evansville, Indiana Photo Ops Evansville Gallery

The night time Ohio River at Evansville

Garden of the Gods – Colorado Springs, Colorado Landscapes, rock formations

Denver, Dec 06

Garden of the Gods

Denver on Flickr

Denver, Mar 09

091126_IMG_1095_Dawn in the Garden of the Gods, Thanksgiving day, 2009
Mount Evans, Colorado Wildlife (Elk, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, marmots, pika, etc), flowers, landscapes Mt. Evans Mt. Evans gallery Mt. Evans Trees and Flowers
San Francisco, California and Muir Woods Very scenic city, major photo ops close by San Franciso and Muir Woods San Francisco gallery
Muir Woods gallery
SanFran Seal
Wisconsin Scenic countryside Wisconsin Port Washington gallery
Yosemite, California Premier landscape photo ops, wildlife Yosemite Yosemite gallery

Links to Florida Photo Op info on other Web sites:

Here are some links to articles that I’ve found on other web sites describing Florida Photo Ops.

Place Link to articles on another site
Florida Animal Attractions Guide http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/attractions/orl-travel-animal-attraction-guide-mg,0,5300815.gallery
Multiple destinations in Florida http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/destinations/florida
Multiple destinations in Florida http://www.placesaroundflorida.com/
Multiple destinations in Florida http://www.sharingflorida.com/
Bird watching / photography sites http://www.spacecoastbirding.com/iras-sites/index.html
Everglades photography sites http://digital-photography-school.com/where-to-photograph-in-the-everglades?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DigitalPhotographySchool+%28Digital+Photography+School%29
The Gatorland Bird Rookery Blog http://www.gatorland.com/blogs/rookery

To do

A list of locations that I hope to report on in the future. I’ll add to this list as I hear about additional spots in the area.

Place What’s there?
Lieu Gardens Flowers, plants
Lukas Nursery, Butterfly Encounter Flowers, plants, butterflies
Bok Tower Flowers, scenery

This page was last updated on August 21, 2010.

©2010, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved.