blog posts

Other bird pictures being added into the “i like birds” gallery here: http://visualoutdoors.com/i-like-birds/

A very nice misty morning in the woods of north Louisiana- Kisatchie National Forest:

Southwest of Marianna, FL lies Merritts Mill Pond.  Nice backdrop for some cypress trees, spanish moss and overall swamp.  If ever in the area, be sure to visit Florida Caverns State Park as well.

This image was taken at sunrise on the Chipola River in northwest Florida.  Using a tripod, I took four separate exposures of the same scene, keeping iso, focal length and aperture the same.  Shutter speed ranged from 0.6 seconds to 2.5 seconds.

The first picture shown below is my opinion of the best single exposure at 1.6 seconds:

chipola river at sunrise

The next image of the same scene is a hdr rendering consisting of all four exposures using photomatix hdr software:

chipola river sunrise hdr

The first single exposure photo to me has a bit more contrast, while the second hdr photo better reveals the river banks and some of the forest beyond the river.  In this case, the initial single exposure photo may be more indicative of what I actually witnessed, as the shadows beyond the river banks were likely less visible than the hdr photo renders.  In scenes with greater variations of contrast, the hdr photo may very well be closer to what the human eye absorbs.

Live Oak during foggy sunrise close to Chipola River, FL:

Chipola River live oak

Took the new “river navigator” out for the first spin this week, and am definitely excited to get this boat to a few regional rivers.  At 13′ and 130 pounds, the gheenoe is pretty easy to load in the back of my standard wheel base chevy.  The fully electric torqeedo travel 1003 breaks down into 3 parts and weighs only 30 pounds in total.  For my test spin, I just took it to the Santa Rosa Sound on a pretty flat day and thoroughly enjoyed the outing.  While the motor is not fast, it beats the heck out of paddling, and will be sufficient to take me to the closest grass beds for some redfish and speckled trout.  After going east in the sound for 2.5 miles, I turned around with 68% battery left.  Maybe 1/2 the time was spent at full speed, so the battery life can be extended significantly by not opening the throttle fully.  The extra push wasn’t enough to plane the boat on the sound, but we will see what happens on a small river.  At 1/2 power, the range increases significantly.

While I’ve been talking about a gheenoe for years, the availability of the new torqeedo was the kicker.  The outfits primary purpose for me will be Florida river navigation, such as the Blackwater, Suwannee, Econfina, Apalachicola and even Atchafalaya when I get to Louisiana.  Should be able to navigate many miles upstream, then float back to the truck.  This can also be extended with the optional solar panel that will power the motor while charging.  Indefinite range?

13' Gheenoe with Torqeedo Travel 1003

On the way back, while contemplating my next trip to include this boat, I shifted position on my seat, and simultaneously hitting something lightly with the prop.  Poof!  Motor gone.  Apparently, I had not tightened the unit to the transom enough.  In an instant, it was gone.  Just over 3.5 miles of usage.  Gone.

These puppies are supposed to survive fully submerged underwater (including salt) for at least an hour, so there is time to find it.  My wife was nice enough to bring a mask and snorkel to me from the house, so I tied the gheenoe off to some old pilings close to where the torqeedo came off and started hunting.  The saltwater was only a few feet deep, but pretty murky for the Santa Rosa Sound.  After a two hour search that was beginning to seem like an eternity, there it was!  My brand new shiny silver and orange torqeedo.

By this time, some neighbors of mine were baiting crab traps around the pilings where the gheenoe was tied off.  Really wondering whether the claims to saltwater submersion would live up to the hype, I put the torqeedo back on the gheenoe (really tight this time), got in the boat, turned it on, turned the throttle, and off we went.  Sweet.   My neighbor asked “You just pulled that thing out of the water, right?”

Highly recommend this little combination:

http://gheenoe.net/thirteenft.html

http://www.torqeedo.com/us/hn/products/travel-503-1003.html

Awesome looking boat named Sunhippie from Key West docked in Apalachicola, FL. The rustic colors of the boat sit nicely in front of the springtime setting sun. Multiple exposures used to create high dynamic range (hdr) image.

sunhippie in apalachicola

The Chipola can be accessed via car or foot in the state park.  Here it is seen flowing through the park at a pull off area that includes canoe rentals.

fl caverns chipola river

Awesome park located in the far north central portion of the Florida panhandle.  The park is known for it’s caverns, but offers an abundance of outdoor activities and natural surroundings.  The Chipola river cuts through the park, and can be approached via car, canoe or hiking.  There are numerous trails, excellent camping facilities and service.  Canoes can be rented, and firewood purchased at the park entrance.  Definitely worth a trip to this award winning park:

fl caverns bluespring

A foggy spring morning taken in the Kisatchie National forest in northwest Louisiana.  A real jewel in Louisiana, the national forest consists of multiple districts and is literally covered with roads and trails.  The feel is rural and back country.  Additionally, especially in the Red Dirt section, there are many sweeping vistas, unusual for the generally flat landscape of Louisiana.

kisatchie misty morning