Nature & Wildlife

Double Headed Cabbage Palm of Cape Coral Florida State Tree

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A rare double headed cabbage palm in Cape Coral Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/320thI would say that this double headed cabbage palm is the most famous object in all of Cape Coral, Florida.  I cannot even think what the second most would be.  The cabbage palm itself, in normal single head form, is the Florida state tree.  Personally, I think the cabbage palm is perhaps the least good looking of all palm trees in Florida.

While visiting Cape Coral a few years ago someone tipped me off to the existence of this most unusual tree.  I was able to find it, but I cannot recall the reason why I did not photograph it at that time.  This time I sought it out prepared to shoot it. 

It does not hold any hallowed ground, living its life in a very humble bit of land that serves as the median of a suburban road in a little traveled part of Cape Coral.  

If you would like to visit the most famous denizen of Cape Coral, you can find it here:


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The Moon besides Venus astrophotography

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Moon & Venus side-by-side - Nikon D300 with Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D lens @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/200th on Induro CT214 with Nikon MC-30 cable releaseAs I was driving home from the dog park yesterday evening with Kiki, I noticed the Moon and Venus in unusual positions:  side-by-side of each other.  Usually I find Venus to be below the Moon.  In the above photograph this does not look as peculiar as it did to the naked eye, but in order for Venus to show up in the shot at all, I had to fill the frame with them as much as possible.  It kind of looked like they were friends, just hanging out next to each other.  

This is a very easy kind of astrophotograph to make, if you use manual mode.  One must choose a shutter speed carefully.  Too long of a shutter speed, even like 1/80th of a second will result in the moon looking just like a white disc.  So the one tricky part was finding a balance of exposing the Moon as well as possible while still having Venus be visible.

Also, even though I used a relatively fast shutter speed of 1/200th, handholding this type of shot is not advised.  Using a stable tripod makes it much easier.  In addition, I used a cable release to further reduce shake.  There is no money better spent in photography than on a no-compromises tripod.

this image is available for commercial license & fine art print - contact Jason today

Egret takes flight from Shinobazu Pond Ueno Japan

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Egret takes flight from Shinobazu Pond in Ueno, Tokyo Japan - November 2008 - Nikon D80 with Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D lens @ f/2.8 ISO 400 1/4000th -0.33 evThis photograph was a mistake.  I could not react fast enough to catch the egret fully in frame as it took off from Shinobazu Pond in Ueno Park, Tokyo, Japan when out shooting with old friend Can. Mike.  I may have never paid this photograph any attention if not for someone saying they liked it when I showed all the shots of the day to a group of friends.  This was early in my DSLR photography career.  My culling process was not as refined as it is today.  

Now when I look at the image I get a sense of potential, of Freedom, of the unknown.  All I can see is that the bird is in flight and headed to a place I cannot see.  I wonder if it was late in starting its migration?  Now living in Florida, it is a place birds migrate to about this time of year.  It would perhaps be a nice bookend to make an image of an egret landing in water.  

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    • Horseshoe crab continues the cycle of life

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    Farewell, my friend . . . Nikon D300 with Nikkor AF 50mm f/1.8D lens @ f/2.8 ISO 200 1/5000th natural light; lying on my stomachA horseshoe crab is perhaps the first creature of such size I ever saw dead in the wild.  I think as a child though I never really thought of the ones I found on the beach as being dead.  I think I probably just thought that's how these creatures exist.  I mean, by all outward appearances a horseshoe crab on the beach with its solid eyes still open and unblinking, appears alive.  

    I came across this horseshoe crab on a hidden beach in Bradenton as it was preparing to continue the cycle of life.  I got down on my stomach and laid flat on the sand to see life from its perspective.  It was also the best angle to photograph the horseshoe crab from.

    Photography Tip -- lie on your stomach for a unique composition and viewpoint

    At my current age and in my present mindset I did not view this horseshoe crab as being dead, nor do I other of nature's creatures.  I think of them as merely continuing the cycle of life.  Afterall, if everything lived for ever, then there would be no meaning to life.  It is a very clever system, one that requires some to die so that others may live.   

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    • Sunset Beach Florida Panorama Landscape at Twilight

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    Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida at Twilight - click to view at 1800px - 4-shot panorama image - available for commercial license and fine art print

    I have heard that Montana is called Big Sky Country.  Picturing that in my mind has fascinated me for years.  I have lived in claustrophobic places, where glimpes of the sky are all that is allowed.  Fortunately, for a majority of my life I have been able to gaze westward across a 180 degree expanse of the Gulf of Mexico.  The horizon is not infinity, it is Texas.  Still, since 1992 when I first discovered Sunset Beach, it has become a sacred place to me.  

    A whole novel could be written about my time on that half mile strip of sand over the past 19 years, though I would not want to share those stories, at least not yet.  For now I will only share the view that has given me solace and freedom of mind.  

    Two heads are better than one - Florida Pelican Fine Art Photography

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    quizzical brown pelican - Florida Fine Art Photography - Nikon D300 Nikkor AF-S 105mm VR micro f/2.8G lens @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/160thThe many brown pelicans that make St. Petersburg home are a frequent photography subject of mine.  These birds are often very approachable, allowing one to look deep into the bird's eye, a rare human-non-human-animal close-up encounter.  I am always curious what animals are thinking.  Since they supposedly have a much different perception of time, how does this affect how they think?  If pelicans cannot think of the far future and who knows how far back their memories of past events go, what occupies their minds?  Perhaps nothing enabling them to live in a blissful present?  I often get the impression pelicans look upon humans with contempt, "go on with your life and quite gawking at me," I imagine them saying.  Are humans the only animals that feel wonder toward other animals?  Does a pelican look upon a great blue heron and think it is beautiful or merely a competitor for food?

    unimpressed brown pelican - St. Petersburg Fine Art Photography - Nikon D300 Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D lens @ f/4 ISO 200 1/1250th


    Mt. Fuji above the clouds

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    Mt. Fuji above the clouds as seen from the summit of Yatsugatake - blue color is natural - 200mm focal lengthMy friend i-cjw is the premiere mountain summit photographer in Japan.  He has the photography skill to produce such images, but what makes his images all the better are how rare they are because few have his mountaineering skills to get to the mountain tops he does.  His most recent photo story (view here) made me miss being around mountains even more than I already had been.  In case you did not know it, Florida is basically a pancake.  So I had to dig into my archives to find my own mountain summit images of Mt. Fuji taken from the summit of Yatsugatake.  The above photograph shows Mt. Fuji peaking just above the clouds.  It was not visible again the rest of the time I was at the summit after I made this shot, so I am glad I took out my Nikon first and sandwich second!

    Mt. Fuji photographed from the same Yatsugatake summit but at a 42mm focal lengthAs you can see, Mt. Fuji was actually quite a distance away.  The lead photograph is a good example of how a 200mm lens can actually be a very good lens for landscapes.

    Japanese Alps from the summit of Yatsugatake JapanThese photographs have no editing done to them other than vignetting removal (due to the not so great 18-200mm lens I had at the time) and some cropping on the above image.  The blue tones are natural.  

    It is an absolutely unique feeling to stand atop a mountain summit after spending the previous hours hiking up it.  When you finally return to the base and look back up at the summit, I always do not believe my legs had just carried me up to such a high place.  I have always enjoyed a view.

    These Mt. Fuji photographs are available for as fine art prints & commercial license, inquire today!