Manatee Park Ft. Myers, FL - Discovery Day

[ukcatfan]

Took the DW and kids to a yearly event we have here called Discovery Day at Manatee Park in Ft. Myers, FL. I posted this last year as well. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1341649. We did not see as many manatees this year, but it was a great time. They set up a butterfly tent, which gave me time to play with my new DA 50-200mm. Hope you enjoy.

Kevin

 

[jann1033]

wow, number 4 butterfly is amazing, never knew they had such big teeth !
we took granddaughter to a garden (indoor naturally since there is a foot of snow here) and they release butterflies daily..she hated the way they felt on her hand but kept saying she wanted one but as soon as they put one on she'd shake it off... she let this one get far before she started waving her arm

 

[ukcatfan]

The two youngest DDs were trying to get them to land on them, but only the youngest was successful while I had the camera pointed her way.

They kept landing on my head, but obviously I could not get that shot!

Here is a link to the complete album. http://s22.photobucket.com/albums/b309/kmhobs/Manatee%20Park%201-26-08/?start=all

Kevin

 

[donaldduck1967]

Nice shots. Too bad you didn't see any manatees.

 

[ukcatfan]

Nice shots. Too bad you didn't see any manatees.

Thank you. I did see a few and there were supposed to be fifteen in the canal, but I did not spend much time looking. I did saw manatee bones! That is the skeleton above.

Also, I was mistaken as a professional for my first time. This guy just kept wanting me to take shots of his kid. I didn't want to disappoint him, so just asked for his E-mail to send him the shot.

Kevin

 

[AndrewWG]

.

Also, I was mistaken as a professional for my first time. This guy just kept wanting me to take shots of his kid. I didn't want to disappoint him, so just asked for his E-mail to send him the shot.

Kevin

Isn't that awkward? I got hit up many times this past Disney trip. People wanted their pics taken just about everywhere for their Christmas cards. I used their cameras to take them though, not my own. I think the white lens really got their attention. Most said "you must know what you are doing". If they only knew me better, they would have passed on the opportunity!

 

[ukcatfan]

Isn't that awkward? I got hit up many times this past Disney trip. People wanted their pics taken just about everywhere for their Christmas cards. I used their cameras to take them though, not my own. I think the white lens really got their attention. Most said "you must know what you are doing". If they only knew me better, they would have passed on the opportunity!

It is awkward. There was a girl with the county parks taking shots of a bunch of different people, but she had on a parks & recs shirt and ID badge. I was wearing a Disney shirt and only taking pics of my kids. Just trying to get his kid published or something I guess As it turns out, his E-mail address has come back with a DNS warning that it might not go through. Oh well, I tried.

Kevin

 

[AndrewWG]

It is awkward. There was a girl with the county parks taking shots of a bunch of different people, but she had on a parks & recs shirt and ID badge. I was wearing a Disney shirt and only taking pics of my kids. Just trying to get his kid published or something I guess As it turns out, his E-mail address has come back with a DNS warning that it might not go through. Oh well, I tried.

Kevin

That figures! Now you have pics of his kid and he can't even get them! Oh well for him. I used many peoples different point and shoot cameras on my trip. I usually got asked when I went and tried to actually set up a shot, not so much while walking around. I think that for the most part, people were happy with their results. I just hope I returned some of the cameras to them in the "P" mode again as I took the time to set up their cameras to take the best possible shot, not AUTO or P.

 

[Groucho]

Nice shots, makes me think that maybe I should use my 50-200mm a little more... it hasn't been getting much use lately since I got a high-end manual-focus zoom in a similar range.

They do look just a hair oversharpened though maybe? Mainly the shot of the butterfly in the hand.

As for manatees, I'll keep my eyes open when we're down in Cape Coral in three months... we will be out on my father's boat down there a few times.

 

[ukcatfan]

Nice shots, makes me think that maybe I should use my 50-200mm a little more... it hasn't been getting much use lately since I got a high-end manual-focus zoom in a similar range.

They do look just a hair oversharpened though maybe? Mainly the shot of the butterfly in the hand.

As for manatees, I'll keep my eyes open when we're down in Cape Coral in three months... we will be out on my father's boat down there a few times.

I just used my standard sharpening routine and was worried it might be too much on the fine details of a butterfly. When I have the time I plan on doing them one by one.

If I remember, you have not been down here in a few years. This town has really changed in that time. We actually have restaurants over here now, so you do not have to go to Ft Myers for everything anymore.

Kevin

 

[Groucho]

Well, every time we've been down there, it's been with my parents, so they usually end up figuring where we go. We'll usually just eat at the condo, or somewhere unusual like on Sanibel or Captiva, and at least once we ate at that little island restaurant that's wallpapered with dollar bills... but yeah, we were last in Cape Coral back in 2003, it'll be interesting to see what's different. There were still a good number of new houses being built at the time.

 

[ukcatfan]

There were still a good number of new houses being built at the time.

It is not that way anymore! There are five empty homes on my street. Four were never lived in at all. I do feel bad for all the people that lost so much $$$, but it is not like the analysts were not warning them a year or more before the market dropped. In the long run, the bust was good for my family. We were priced out of any hope of upgrading our home while it was going on and still retain some of the boom equity.

Also, let me know if you want any recommendations on places around here for good picture taking.

Kevin

 

[Groucho]

Just for kicks, we took a tour (back in 2003) of an open house that had just been built but not sold yet - very fancy, I wonder if whoever bought it was able to keep it. My parents had some friends who lived nearby in a gated community and finally just couldn't afford it any more - it isn't cheap to live like a rich person!

I'm not sure if we'll do much Cape Coral-area photography, but who knows... my wife took my K100D with her on a cruise she just did and now she's shopping for a camera sling bag and wants to buy another Op/Tech strap (so both the K100D and K20D will have one) so that she can use it in Florida more. So who knows, maybe she'll be on a full-on photography kick then too.

 

[ukcatfan]

A few people have expressed interest in this park through posts and PMs, so I thought I would share something that I found on the calendar at News-press.com, our local paper.


"All About Manatees" Program

Learn about the biological characteristics and habitat of the Florida manatee presented daily at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. through March 31, except major holidays

Manatee Park
10901 Palm Beach Blvd.
Fort Myers, FL 33905
694-4397 or leeparks.org

$1 per hour parking, maximum $5 all day


Kevin