~Robert Southey
Oh boy what a whirlwind my life has become!
Monday May 21st I set off once again from Pensacola, FL. It was a hot clear day and smooth sailing. We stayed our first night at a lovely little Hipcamp spot outside of Tallahassee. It was beautiful and shaded with a pool and lots of nature to enjoy, which, due to event crud from the previous weekend, we did not get to partake in.
We arrived at Bill Frederick Park in Orlando late Tuesday night and spent a beautiful few days camped at their nicely shaded RV park while I scrambled to get ready for the coming weekend. It was beautiful and very inexpensive and I highly recommend checking out all the park has to offer. I hope someday to be able to do so myself as I was so busy I didn't even get a chance to photograph any of the oodles of wildlife that ventured into camp daily! It was enough to keep a Disney princess in helpers for days! I guess being this close to Disney World has its perks. Ahh well, next time...
What followed was an incredible weekend with a big chunk of the best people in the world! If you aren't already a part of it and have any passing interest in photography at all you should check out The Photography Scavenger Hunt I wont go into a ton of detail here but for the purposes of this blog I will tell you that every couple years the scavengers meet up (as many of us as can) to have a crazy fun weekend of shooting, learning, and just being together. Here are a few of the precisely 35 zillion photos I took from this years gathering.
DAY 1
Everyone arrives and I present a scavenger related video I had been up all night working on among other presentations from some amazing photographers.
At this point I spent some time catching up on the missed sleep from the night before. Once I awoke, some of us went on a walk to do some night shooting..
My first attempt at a long exposure shot of the needle without a tripod.
Thought it turned out really fun actually!
DAY 2
I discovered this awesome texture of a pathway at the beginning of the gardens and it resulted in several of us laying on the ground getting photos like this. We definitely got lots of odd looks.
Bob came along to help me.
This was an endangered plant garden which wasn't much to look at but made for an interesting panorama and made my botanic heart squee :)
My very first successful wildlife photo with my new baby zoom lens!
And then my second, he spotted me and gave me an odd look!
We happened to be there at the same time as a GoT cosplay event and at one point we all gathered together for a group pic and they decided to join us!
The manor house.
The band was called Ancient Sun. They are a fantastic Groove Rock band that can be found playing at spots all over Orlando. Follow the link for more info!
The strange things we find on a late night walk...
I capped off the night with another attempt at the needle, this time with a tripod!
We began the day with a trip out to Bok Tower Gardens. The whole experience was quite interesting and full of lots of beautiful scenes and wildlife. The tower was majestic and surrounded by vast pastoral fields with towering shade trees full of dripping moss and stunning views of the countryside. The manor house was very interesting and blessedly air conditioned!
I discovered this awesome texture of a pathway at the beginning of the gardens and it resulted in several of us laying on the ground getting photos like this. We definitely got lots of odd looks.
Bob came along to help me.
This was an endangered plant garden which wasn't much to look at but made for an interesting panorama and made my botanic heart squee :)
My very first successful wildlife photo with my new baby zoom lens!
And then my second, he spotted me and gave me an odd look!
We happened to be there at the same time as a GoT cosplay event and at one point we all gathered together for a group pic and they decided to join us!
The manor house.
That evening, after we returned to the hotel and had some time to relax, we went out to enjoy some live music at spot down the street.
The band was called Ancient Sun. They are a fantastic Groove Rock band that can be found playing at spots all over Orlando. Follow the link for more info!
The strange things we find on a late night walk...
I capped off the night with another attempt at the needle, this time with a tripod!
DAY 3
The final day we headed up to the beautiful Lake Eola. I think the pictures may speak for themselves on this one :)
Tortuga enjoying the park.
There happened to be a March while we were there that went 3/4 of the way around the lake!
Tortuga looking derpy checking out something in the tree above.
Tortuga gets all the girls!
Mischief enjoying the view!
We ran into somebunny wearing the same outfit as Tortuga so we had to get a pic.
Eventually it got too hot so we had to hit the road. Spotted this shop on the way out of town. Good thing I didn't have any extra cash cause this place would have been dangerous!!
It was a sweltering afternoon but we only had a quick trip up to Jacksonville to spend the evening with my Goddaughter, quick and easy, no big deal..
We headed north out of Orlando and made it to about an hour south of our destination when I started to critically overheat and had to stop for a break or pass out. Normally I can't run my ac for more than a few minutes unless I'm plugged in but I was in a bad way so I took a gamble....and fell asleep....
Great pictures, Traci. I have so many favorites! The waterfall at night, especially. And I have to say I like the needle without the tripod even better than with the tripod! It sounds and looks like you are having a wonderful time. Lots of love! Mom
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