Butterfly World - Butterflies, Birds & Beautiful Flowers in South Florida

On my way home from Miami a couple of weeks ago I stopped at a place I had visited a few years ago.   Butterfly World in Coconut Creek, FL is an adventure in butterflies, birds & flowers!
There are several enclosures that are filled with many species of butterflies and small birds.  You walk amongst the tropical plants while water flows by and mist rises.   The butterflies & birds are going about there daily routines of feeding and flying about.  

This place is a great place for kids and adults to learn about insects, birds and plants.  I highly recommend that you visit!
To see the originals and more images:  http://www.lynnwiezyckiphotography.com/Places/2015-Butterfly-World/

That is all for now! 
Lynn

A Short Trip South to Hot Miami!

Last weekend I joined a large group of photographers for Trey Ratcliff's Miami Photowalk.!  I met some S FL folks and even a couple from the Tampa area!    The best part was meeting some of the folks I have met online only, from The Arcanum!   

The Arcanum is a new way to learn & share the photography experience that +Trey Ratcliff , +Peter Giordano  & +Curtis Simmons started about a year ago!   All three of these great guys were in Miami plus +Ollie Dale!  It was great to talk to them and spend some time with them!   

The Arcanum learning experience is based on the Master & Apprentice setup with a one-to-one learning environment but the component even these smart guys did not see coming was the community.   We are literally spread all over the globe and interact with each other as a family.   I started in a cohort of 20 people plus our Master a year ago.  Now I have increased that family to over 100 people, some I have interacted with online only but others I have met in person and even gone on a photo adventure with them.

This experience has been a life changer for me... I have improved my photography & post -processing skills over the past year but I also feel more confident in my work & my art.   I was really surprised when my original Master, +A.D. Wheeler suggested that I apply for the Path of the Protege, which is The Arcanum's training track for future Masters!   I am working my way through the Path now and at the same time I was privileged to be invited by one of the first Arcanum Masters, +Ron Clifford , to join one of the first of two Sphere 2 cohorts,  which are the next level of learning in the Arcanum.   They are the more intense, challenging & focused levels.  

I would encourage all photographers to take a look at The Arcanum for the learning & the community!

Back to Miami for the Photowalk.   If you have never been on a Photowalk with +Trey Ratcliff it is a bit different!  First there are always a lot of photographers, which is fun and a challenge all at once!   Then during the walk Trey will find a spot he particularly likes and he will talk about how he is thinking about shooting that scene.   By the way, Trey is one of the most friendly and sharing people you will ever meet!

We all met at an art gallery in McCormick Place and then walked through downtown to the waterfront park where there is a fountain.   The skyline was pretty awesome from the park.  Then we walked over a couple of blocks and went back to the art gallery.  

They had several drones flying around filming the walk as well as video along the route so they could put together a highlight video.   They have done this at all the walks so the videos for the 13 cities should be pretty cool to watch once they them all done. 

If Trey does this again, I would highly recommend it!  It was a lot of fun!   Maybe next time we can get him to stop in Central Florida!

Here are some of my images from the Miami Photowalk.   The originals and more images can be seen at http://www.lynnwiezyckiphotography.com/Places/2015-Trey-Ratckiff-Miami-Photowa/

That's all for now!  

Lynn

Tampa Bay Auto Museum- A Great Rainy Day or Sunny Day Place

For the first time , I joined some fellow photographers at the Tampa Bay Auto Museum yesterday and I was not disappointed.

This is a privately owned museum full of old cars and a few other mobile vehicles.   These are unique in that they are not your normal classic cars.  These are all something different, such as a different way of combustion, early front wheel drive, etc.  

The docents are knowledgeable and friendly & they really like cars!   Also, they are OK with photographers as long as you are very careful around the cars.

Here are a few images from my visit during a day when it was pouring rain outside!

There are lots of details to photograph which is one of my favorite things about old cars...they have so many interesting parts!  

I would recommend a tripod or flash as it is pretty dark for normal photography.   With the tripod you can use longer exposures and there will be no camera shake.   To make sure there was no tripod shake I also used a wireless trigger to trip the shutter.   I shot multiple brackets (same  f-stop but different shutter speeds) so I could either process via HDR (which is great for cars) or I had various exposures to pick from depending on the look I wanted. 

When shooting in this type environment, you need to be mindful of the background.  This is a bit less of a problem in this building compared to shooting cars outside at a car show, for example.  But if you don't want to have distractions in your image you may need to move around and go up or down in your position to get the least cluttered view.    There is always Photoshop but its best to get as much done in the original shot as you can.  

So if you are looking for something to do in the Tampa Bay area on a rainy day or a hot sunny day, I recommend this very interesting auto museum.

To see the original images & more car images please check out my website: Lynn Wiezycki Photography

Safety Harbor, Florida- the Marina & Pier

I joined the others in a local meetup group at Safety Harbor Spa & Marina for a sunset shoot.   Since the sun was basically behind us the lighting was on what we were shooting rather than using the sun as part of the subject matter.   There were a lot of clouds that evening, some helpful to photography and some, not so much!

I wandered around the small marina and along the beach & sea wall  to get different views.  I also, walked up toward the Spa buildings to see what was there.  

 The clouds were a subject all on their own!

 This was a small mangrove all by itself growing out of a small batch of open beach. 

 I always look for subjects that I can get close ups of.  The Spa had a couple of these lion statues. 

 Look around carefully when exploring a new place.  These flowers were over a low wall and I had to hold the camera over the wall to get this shot. 

After the sun set I caught this colorful reflection in the marina water.   Keep moving and looking as the the scene changes minute by minute. 

Stick around!   The others left and went to get some refreshments!  I fought off the bugs and waited for the lights to light up the pier.  This is a long exposure so there is some movement in the clouds and the water is very smooth looking. 

Safety Harbor has some other interesting areas and I am looking forward to going back to see what other images I can find! 

These and more images can be seen at http://www.lynnwiezyckiphotography.com/Places/2015-Safety-Harbor-Spa-Marina--P/.

Enjoy!