Posted by Aaron Szabo on February 22, 2009 at 5:22 PM
I've been in Florida on a Photo trip with my family for the past week shooting gators, birds, fish and manatees. This shot here was taken on "Loop Road", a 25 mile loop in the everglades that is filled with thousands of gators! No fences here either. The gator in this shot was on the road, and I had my 300mm 2.8 on my camera so I had to take 8 vertical shots for a pano of him at 3 feet away. It's not the greatest shot in the world but the file is huge at 84.5 megapixels and 1.39 GB PSD (lower image shows 100%). Feel free to delete since this shot was not taken in the right region, but if it's not a big deal I'd like to post an underwater shot of the manatees I got to play with. I also managed to shoot over 100 video clips with the 5D Mark II, so I may post a link to a video in a few weeks.
If anyone is headed to Florida anytime soon, feel contact me about some great locations.
Canon 5D Mark II
Tokina 300mm 2.8 @ F/5.0
1/125 w/mirror lock up
ISO 250
Dimensions: 15630 x 5406 after crop
Thanks for looking!
Posted by Merle Cook on February 22, 2009 at 5:37 PM
WOW !!! I don't think I would be that close for a shot. Nice capture and the teeth look like they could do some real damage. The lighing looks optimal for the shots.
Posted by Mike Hall on February 22, 2009 at 6:25 PM
Is that the loop road ( dirt road) off of Tamiami Hwy 41? If so, we travelled that dirt road about three years ago and WOW! There were gators in the water puddles in the middle of the road. It's worth getting off the main road to see this. A little dangerous too! How many times in your life can you drive past gators sitting on the side of the road? Love the pictures! Scary teethe!
Posted by Dena Sanders on February 22, 2009 at 8:58 PM
Do you still have your hand??? Great pano idea, I'm glad he sat still for you.
I for one would love to see the manatee shots, bring 'em on!
Posted by Wayne Rhodus on February 23, 2009 at 12:11 AM
Hey Aaron, what's the minimum focusing distance on that 300? Couldn't you have gotten in a little tighter!
Sounds like it was a productive trip to Florida. No problem sharing travel photos here on CSNP, it's all about the members! Bring 'em on.
Posted by Aaron Szabo on February 23, 2009 at 1:32 AM
Oh no! I was not in the car... I was 3 feet away from his jaws!!! If I was in any tighter, I would have been tight in his belly!
Posted by Mike Spivey on February 23, 2009 at 9:33 AM
Great stuff. I drove that road a few years ago and you are right, it is great to see so much wildlife without being in a park setting. For those who have not been there, the way they built roads in the swamp was to scoop the swamp and pile it up. This means that there is a ditch full of water next to every road. And especially in the dry season, there are gators in every ditch. Along with tons of birds and other interesting things.
I saw the vague shapes of manatees at a viewing station on Merrit Island, but didn't get a close look. I would be interested in your shots.
BTW, what are you using to edit your movie clips? I've ordered Premier Elements, but not sure if that will work.
Posted by Brad Mangas on February 23, 2009 at 9:59 AM
Great capture on the pano Aaron, and the close up is wow, really close up! Very cool.
Posted by Aaron Szabo on February 23, 2009 at 10:42 AM
Mike- I've been using Final Cut Studio for years now and I love it! To avoid hang-ups while editing the file intensive clips of the Mark II, you need to convert everything to 1080p XD cam 35mb VBR, 29.97 fps, 48k audio... and then you've got GOLDEN footage! I've used Premier and Vegas and they both should worth just fine.
Posted by SAILFREE on February 24, 2009 at 10:04 AM
Good stuff!! I would like to take you up on your kind offer to provide some hot spot location info. I hope to be in the Everglades in a couple of weeks. Looking forward to your manatee posts and the link to your video.
Posted by Larry Daniel on February 24, 2009 at 11:23 AM
No way I am getting this close to a gator this big, even with a 300mm.
Posted by Aaron Szabo on February 24, 2009 at 5:55 PM
Robert, here is a list my brother composed before our trip. I'm sure he won't mind if I share it.
St. Andrews State Park – beautiful beach, good snorkeling, birds, alligators, etc. (in northwest Florida, about halfway between here and Naples):
http://www.floridastateparks.org/StAndrews/Photos-Contest.cfm
Rainbow Springs State Park and/or Rainbow River Canoeing – very clear freshwater spring/river, canoeing, snorkeling, birds, etc. (both are only about 30 min. from Crystal River and about 4 hours north of Naples):
http://www.pbase.com/hjsteed/fl_rainbow_river_
Everglades National Park – swamp, alligators, birds, wildlife, etc. (about 2 hours south of Naples):
http://www.nps.gov/ever/parknews/evergladeswildlifeimages.htm
Crystal River Swim with Manatees – about $35 per person (in the middle of Florida, about 4 hours north of Naples):
http://birdsunderwater.com/photo_gallery/index.html
Sanibel Island – best beach to find seashells, shopping, etc. (an hour north of Naples):
http://www.sanibelisland.com/photos.html
J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge – lots of birds and wildlife (on Sanibel Island):
http://www.dingdarlingsociety.org/
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park – beach, good snorkeling, mangrove boardwalk trail, etc. (on Key Largo, about 2.5 hours south of Naples):
http://www.floridastateparks.org/pennekamp/Photos-Park.cfm
Posted by SAILFREE on February 26, 2009 at 6:29 PM
Thanks Aaron, I'll plan on exploring the locations on your list. However, I can assure you I will not be getting within three feet of a gator's jaws
Discussion
13 repliesIf anyone is headed to Florida anytime soon, feel contact me about some great locations.
Canon 5D Mark II
Tokina 300mm 2.8 @ F/5.0
1/125 w/mirror lock up
ISO 250
Dimensions: 15630 x 5406 after crop
Thanks for looking!
I for one would love to see the manatee shots, bring 'em on!
Sounds like it was a productive trip to Florida. No problem sharing travel photos here on CSNP, it's all about the members! Bring 'em on.
I saw the vague shapes of manatees at a viewing station on Merrit Island, but didn't get a close look. I would be interested in your shots.
BTW, what are you using to edit your movie clips? I've ordered Premier Elements, but not sure if that will work.
St. Andrews State Park – beautiful beach, good snorkeling, birds, alligators, etc. (in northwest Florida, about halfway between here and Naples):
http://www.floridastateparks.org/StAndrews/Photos-Contest.cfm
Rainbow Springs State Park and/or Rainbow River Canoeing – very clear freshwater spring/river, canoeing, snorkeling, birds, etc. (both are only about 30 min. from Crystal River and about 4 hours north of Naples):
http://www.pbase.com/hjsteed/fl_rainbow_river_
Everglades National Park – swamp, alligators, birds, wildlife, etc. (about 2 hours south of Naples):
http://www.nps.gov/ever/parknews/evergladeswildlifeimages.htm
Crystal River Swim with Manatees – about $35 per person (in the middle of Florida, about 4 hours north of Naples):
http://birdsunderwater.com/photo_gallery/index.html
Sanibel Island – best beach to find seashells, shopping, etc. (an hour north of Naples):
http://www.sanibelisland.com/photos.html
J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge – lots of birds and wildlife (on Sanibel Island):
http://www.dingdarlingsociety.org/
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park – beach, good snorkeling, mangrove boardwalk trail, etc. (on Key Largo, about 2.5 hours south of Naples):
http://www.floridastateparks.org/pennekamp/Photos-Park.cfm