Big Talbot Adventure

Well, our weekend adventure took us to Big Talbot Island State Park. We walked a long trail that was not well-travelled. I had to lead the way to clear the spiders for the rest of the troops. We found a large turtle on the trail. But, not much else. In the parking lot at “The Bluffs,” we found a very thin and hungry raccoon. After the walk we went to a pull-off and watched the birds in the marsh. Storms were rolling in and the heavy winds felt great on a hot summer day. As always it was great to be outdoors and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. I hope everyone else out there had as much fun as I did this weekend. This image is of our little bandit friend in the parking lot. It was captured with my 70-200 f/2.8 VRII.

Black Point Wildlife Drive & New Friends

I’d like to first thank my family for the best Father’s Day ever. They got up at 3:00 am this moring to go with me back down to Merritt Island for the sunrise. The water has bounced back nicely since our last visit. However, they could still use some rain. While on our little adventure we came across some gentlemen with a vehicle in the center of the drive. As we approached one of them came running toward us frantically waving for us to stop. I pulled over and my wife and I stepped out of the Suby to investigate. There was a nighthawk sitting in the road. This is extremely rare because it was close to 10 in the morning and they are nocturnal animals. The gentlemen at the side of the road photographing the bird (Ken Blye, Wayne Bennett & friends.), had a wealth of information about the wildlife drive and the animals that reside there. They shared good conversation and their knowledge. It was a truly remarkable day. You can see more of the images at my site: http://www.tobygant.com/blackptwildlifedr

Suwannee River Outing

It’s been a little while since we’ve been able to get away to a park. This weekend we went to Big Shoals State Park in White Springs, Florida. The park sits against the Suwannee river. The park is off of the beaten path, which makes it even more alluring to me. We got off to a late start on the day. Which means we weren’t able to take advantage of the trails. Fortunately, the river is easily accessible from the parking lot. This image is an HDR created from 7 images using the LRenfuse plugin for Lightroom. It was great to be back outside even if just for a short time.