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A FLORIDA APUG WORKSHOP AND GET TOGETHER

okay I'm back again I was in san diego this weekend, I say have it there ha ha ha. Okay so i will check out some of the past outings doug has had and some of the things around the upper part of the state. I will check camping and hotels. and get some basic info on these places. Then I will get back and see if that is okay. following that a date. sound good?

Mike
 
San Diego is good,my family lives there.Actually,any date/place after Oct.1 is good for me.I need a vacation............Robin
 
It might be a bit early still, but has anyone come up with anything more formal on this? It's a great idea, and I think it would be a real blast. For those interested in driftwood, some of the best I've seen anywhere is at Big Talbot. Although it's not very centrally located, it is well worth the visit if you can afford the gas.

- Randy
 
I live in Gainesville, Florida, and would love to participate. I am really new to this and could not contribute much, but would be a great learning experience for me.
 
I'm for some place with beach dead tress or rapids. old building are great also.
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As Randy said, you can't get much better for driftwood in Florida than Big Talbot Island. As for rapids, there is Big Shoals , a class three white water rapids on occasion. For old Buildings, you can't get much older than St Augustine. Not trying to suggest that NE Florida is best choice, but it does have alot to offer.
 
My Shed-yule

I figger on being out of state near the end of September for several weeks. Worst of the 'cane season will be behind us and I can check out the new
g-kid in Austin and maybe catch a few days in my beloved Colorado.

But if the crew wants a time before then, I'm all ears.

Sarasota.
 
I am very interested. I have been waiting to see if any was going to post a date and time on this.
 
michael9793 said:
doug,
you have given us a lot to look at. The summer isn't the best time due to heat but the most dramatic with the thunderstorms. I'm for some place with beach dead tress or rapids. old building are great also.

is Sept or Oct good for anyone.
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Oct or Nov could be possible, but I am clear down on Big Pine Key
 
While I was out today haunting a local favorite (photography) spot it occurred to me that I had not posted any suggestions for locations in my area (Central Florida, both East and West along the I-4 corridor), so here goes:

Wekiva Springs State Park:

Camping in the park, good nature trails (lots of variety), canoing (for those interested in getting some nice black water shots), right off I-4 near Orlando, food, motels, etc. nearby. I've been there many times and find it, at least for my style, a good place to work. Once you leave the main springs, there are few, if any, people to get in the way.

Harry P. Leu Gardens

Big spot for flowers, near lodging, no camping, 5-10 minutes from two film/supplies sources.

DeLeon Springs State Park

Good nature opportunities, on-site historic grist mill (with good food), onsite camping, canoing, nearby wildlife refuge (5 minutes away), hotels not so close (maybe 15-20 minutes drive tops). Close to other parks (Bullow creek, Bullow Plantation, and others.

Hillsboro River State Park

Nice trails, good nature opportunities, canoing, on-site camping, hotels and food not too far off, rapids (don't get too excited, they were quite small the last time I was there). Still, it's a nice park.

Highlands Hammock State Park

A number of short trails that can be easily access from parking areas, good variety of nature habitats, on-site camping, hotels not so close, food not so close. I can't remember how easy this park is - I've only been there twice, but it's a nice place.

Myakka River State Park

Good trails, on-site camping, canoing, hotels near by, food nearby. Easy access from I-75. They have a concession on site, so campers should be well accommodated.

I have a canoe, and rental are available at all of these places (that have canoing), although I don't like to take it on the highway, so only the first couple of sites will I be able bring it. I've been to these places, the first three many, many times, so I can provide more info if anyone wants it - just holler. I can also provide transportation for one or two people (depending on how much gear we all bring) from a nearby hotel to these spots for those wishing to carpool to save gas - no worries there.

Can anyone who is farther South post some suggestions? If we have a good overview of places around the state we might be able to find something that works for everyone.

- Randy
 
Randy, A few years ago the Jax Camera club had an outing to the Eastern section of your list. Many of us stayed at a hotel in Cassadaga It was quite a relaxing experience.
Your list could also include the wildlife refuges of Merritt Island as well as the Canaveral area in general.
 
Reelliss67, thanks for some good "leg"work. The Wekiva Springs-Orlanda area sounds good, sort of population density central. Myakka Park would be uber-convenient for me, but then, it wouldn't be much of a vacation, eh?

IIRC, we have photogs Tampa down to Naples, could car pool easily. We have Dave down in the keys, but also one each in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. They, or others could car pool northward. We have a cluster on the NE coast, they can pool to the Orlando area. Robin is in Pensacola, anyone else out there in Alabama? Er.......

I like the idea of having canoing available. I used to teach said skills at the Boy Scout camp. Of course, I weighed half of what I do now, so maybe not such a good idea! Although I am an incorrigible camper, too hot/humid for me at that time of the year especially. Cheap motel is my camping lately.
 
Well it looks like a good group of areas to choose from. Myakka is great I have photographed there 10-15 times over the years going up to see my mother in Sun City. Camping is good but if you want to stay in a motel or hotel its a long ways.
Hillsboro well I drove up it took me 2 hours but it was only a 2 hour photo session and I was done there.
Deleon has the mill and wooded area don't know about it but may be a good place.
Wekiva sounda like a tourist hot spot, but sounds like it has some good shots.
Big talbot sounds to me to be the best, several adjacent parks there too so you could make a run to another one during the day or even the next day. It is a long drive, but if you get two to three people in a truck or car gas can be split. I believe it is about 5 hours from Fort Myers.

I'm for Big talbot and some time in Qct November and make it a Friday, saturday, sunday leaving sunday. If friday is out then maybe at the end of the day friday and meet early Saturday Morning.

Michael Andersen
 
The brutal reality

Yesterday I took some time off from my caregiving and thought I'd do some shots in Venice. Not too far with $4 gas, new scenery. The first two parks and beaches were in the open sun, early to midafternoon.

HOLY FLIP, IT WAS HOT!

There's a reason I left here 35 years and 140 pounds ago. I returned here in October to take care of my old parents and have been weather miserable a lot. I do grab the bull by the horns and work outside even when I don't like it, I have become a bit acclimated, but not what I prefer. Never much liked the humidity here (part of the HOT equation, of course.) Sweat dripping onto my camera is not happy times.

I noticed last fall and winter the coolest weather actually came in February and March, October into January amazingly warm.

Anyway, just a realization and reality check that this boy ain't doing hot.....
 
I don't know what subject matter everyone is interested in, so I left out the Space Coast spots which are mostly bird oriented (although you can do some free form nudes on some of the beaches there!) My own preferences are for either black water rivers/streams (something I'm thinking about working with for a bit), or as Michael stated, driftwood (something I've done a few times and enjoyed). I'm not a big landscape person, although some of the fellows that I sometimes photograph with are into that sort of thing. I'll drive anywhere in the state for a get-together of this sort, so I'd prefer to let others make the calls on where to meet. I just wanted to post some places near here since it's a central location and so that people would have a bigger list to choose from.

- Randy

P.S. Paul, the heat index near our place yesterday (when my wife wanted me to mow of all things!), was 105 F...
 
Subject matter doesn't, er, matter too much to me

I'm mostly interested in shapes, forms, textures, lighting. Plenty in my own backyard, but just spending time away from here would be very good. Sure, love catching a good bird shot or whatever, but not my intent.

Reallis, how do you find the heat index? I've looked for Comfort Index in the past and I couldn't find anything official.
 
Paul,

It's on the local news station. They like to go on and on about it - gives them something to talk about I suppose. It hit that again today too..

- Randy
 

come on Paul, suck it up!!!!!!!
go over to Myakka state park with a 8x20 and a horse blanket and go for it. If you don't get bit by mosquitoes and lost 10 lbs in water your not photographing in Florida.

mike a
 
LOL!!!

michael9793 said:
come on Paul, suck it up!!!!!!!
go over to Myakka state park with a 8x20 and a horse blanket and go for it. If you don't get bit by mosquitoes and lost 10 lbs in water your not photographing in Florida.

mike a
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Presume you mean an 8x10, but I get it!

I often think about William Henry Jackson photographing the west. Here's a snippet I just grabbed off of Wikipedia:

Jackson worked in multiple camera and plate sizes, under conditions that were often incredibly difficult. His photography was based on the collodion process invented in 1848 and published in 1851 by Frederick Scott Archer. Jackson traveled with as many as three camera-types-- a stereographic camera (for stereoscope cards), a "whole-plate" or 8x10" plate-size camera, and one even larger, as large as 18x22". These cameras required fragile, heavy glass plates (photographic plates), which had to be coated, exposed, and developed onsite, before the wet-collodion emulsion dried. Without light metering equipment or sure emulsion speeds, exposure times required inspired guesswork, between five seconds and twenty minutes depending on light conditions.

Preparing, exposing, developing, fixing, washing then drying a single image could take the better part of an hour. Washing the plates in 160 °F hot spring water cut the drying time by more than half, while using water from snow melted and warmed in his hands slowed down the processing substantially. His photographic division of 5-7 men carried photographic equipment on the backs of mules and rifles on their shoulders - Siouxess still made scalping - Jackson's life experience (as military, as peaceful dealing with Indians) was welcomed. The weight of the glass plates and the portable darkroom limited the number of possible exposures on any one trip, and these images were taken in primitive, roadless, and physically challenging conditions. Once when the mule lost its footing, Jackson lost a month's work, having to return to untracked Rocky Mountain landscapes to remake the pictures, one of which was his celebrated view of the Mount of the Holy Cross.

And I think I have it tough, at least a cold beer awaiting after sweating!
 
I have to wonder how Jackson would have dealt with our Summers - trekking thru marsh & swamp with temps & humidity near 100, being eaten by chiggers, no-see-ums, ticks, deer flies as well as mosquitoes, and trying to avoid gators, moccasins, rattle snakes and now pythons - while carrying LF & ULF camera gear. Makes me envious of his horse, mule & snow melt.
 
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paul,
I mean 8x20 or if you want to use a 8x10 it is just as bad under the cape. I was in the everglades shooting sunday and I don't think I found one spot on my shirt that was dry all day.


mike
 
michael9793 said:
paul,
I mean 8x20 or if you want to use a 8x10 it is just as bad under the cape. I was in the everglades shooting sunday and I don't think I found one spot on my shirt that was dry all day.


mike
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I don't really know much about LF, but still am amazed at there being an 8x20. As in, wiiiiiiiide format? Or good for skyscraper architectural?? :rolleyes:

Regardless, too damned hot/humid.
 
Wimps. Why I remember the first time going to a neighbor's house and standing in front of that big, noisy box in the window that amazingly blew cool air. Then I went home to be sprayed down with Black Flag just in time to run outside and join the other neighborhood kids running behind the DDT truck. Now that was the real Florida.
juan
 
Ah, yes, the DDT truck


Because our home is on the outside of a sharp turn with water on the other side, the DDT guy used to come down the driveway to blast our property. Then we would run after the truck holding our breath as we went back and forth through the haze.

Yet, here I am all these years later and I'm perfectly normal....perfectly normal....perfect..
 

But you forgot about the well that is next to the septic tank and can't figure out why the water smells like sh.. Lucky for me i have all three ears and 6 fingers on each hand.
 
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