Archive for May, 2011

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This morning was the last launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour. I have worked on the Space Shuttle / Space Station Programs for over 31 years now. Other countries have tried to copy what was done here, but none have succeeded. I wanted to witness history this morning so I was out at the launch site before dawn. I was able to get a spot outside the Launch Control Center (LCC) which is some 3 miles from the launch pad. I used my Canon 1D-Mark IV, Canon 500mm f/4 lens with a 1.4X tele-extender. Launch was at 8:56am. photography wise the conditions were challenging.

The photos show clearing the launch tower, the roll manuever, and then climb out. The clouds were low so we didn’t see it after about 30 seconds.

Clearing the Tower!

In the Roll manuever

Roll Complete - Climbout

I recently visited the Viera Wetlands in Viera, Florida. For those of you not familiar with the location, it is a waste water treatment plant consisting of two parts. The main part is a series of four holding and aeration cells. There is a dike road that people can drive their vehicles and visit each cell. The second part consists of two aeration cells known as the Click Ponds.  You can get more information by visiting the friends of Viera Wetlands web site.

I visited on a morning and afternoon the same day. I was surprised at how many birds were still there. It is getting hot here in central Florida. We had highs in the mid 90s this past week. Another thing that caught my attention were the Cattle Egrets. They were nesting on an island in one of the cells. They would fly over the dike road into the trees and shrubs on the east side. They would then fly back to the nests with nest building material This is a repeatable behavior lasting all day long. I decided to go back in the afternoon with the goal of capturing an image of the Cattle Egret in flight with a branch being taken back to the nest. The images below were taken during the day of my visit.

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron Fledglings

Black Bellied Whistling Duck

Cattle Egret Headed Back to Nest

Cattle Egret with Branch