Discussion Forum
         

I realize that many of these photos would benefit from a bit of processing, such as cropping for a better composition and perhaps some color adjustment.  Heck, some of them aren't even particularly great photos, they may just have an interesting subject.  I have friends who enjoy looking at the photos, and my family members who live out of state like to keep up on what I'm doing; it's more important to me to get them online for viewing than to try to perfect each image.

All photographs contained in the photo galleries are copyrighted material and may not be copied, duplicated, or otherwise used without written permission.   All gallery photographs are the copyrighted property of Joseph Price, unless otherwise specified.  If you are interested in any photograph in the gallery please contact me by eMail.

       
2010 03 14 - My backyard.  I woke to find a group of six female turkeys right outside of my dining room window, that didn't get me too excited.  I then looked out into the pasture behind my house and saw two males strutting their stuff; that got me pretty excited.  They were a fair distance away but I did manage to get a few photos that I'm pleased with.

2009 10 10 - Lake Kissimmee State Park.  Hot doesn't even begin to describe it.  I think the temperature was reported at 91°, add to that the humidity and the weight of camera gear...the portions of the trails open to the sun were almost unbearable in the afternoon.  Even though it was rather hot, there were a large number of deer moving around.

I've heard reports of a large buck which had been seen around the park and he was one of my main targets for the day.  I did see a "button" buck, but no luck on the big guy.  Perhaps another day.

Despite the heat it was really an enjoyable day.  All sorts of critters were moving about, and I managed to snap a few photos that I'm happy with.  Enjoy!

2009 10 02 - Sun 'n' Lake Preserve.  ONE DOWN!  Well, sort of.  I have a list of animals that I would love to get photographs of in the wild.  Bears, panthers, bobcats, and venomous snakes.  On this short hike I nearly stepped on a rattler before I saw it, and I mean that I was very close and within striking distance...I'm glad that he chose "flight" over "fight."  It's not the monster Diamond Back that I'd like to find, but a thrill none the less.

 
2009 06 13, The KICCO Wildlife Preserve, Lake Wales, Florida.  I took my good friend Allen to the KICCO area to do some exploring for some possible camping trips.  I only a carried a small Canon Powershot camera on this trip, mainly to save weight and let us cover more ground.  As is usual when I don't have a good camera, I see something awesome.  I found a fawn stuck in the mud of a canal which we attempted to free.  There was also a black snake which caught a frog and was in the process of eating it.  I tried to get closer with the small camera and the snake fled, apparently thinking that I wanted to steal it's lunch...

 

2009 06 06, Circle B Bar Reserve, Lakeland, Florida.  My friend Jeanette invited me to join her at the Circle B Bar Reserve located between Lakeland and Winter Haven.  It was definitely not wilderness; it had approximately seven miles of very well maintained trails...along with a ton of birds, turtles, and alligators.  We walked every trail in just a few hours and saw many different birds and other animals.  The light was very harsh so I didn't get a lot of photos that I was pleased with, but I've posted a few that were acceptable.

The Circle B Bar Reserve would be an excellent place to take children or older folks.  Most of the trails are very well maintained, some are even concrete and wheelchair accessible.  The trails wrap around a central location that contains a visitors center and excellent, well maintained facilities.  A little tame for my taste, but I will go back due to the abundance of wildlife in the area.

 

2009 05 02, The KICCO Wildlife Preserve, Lake Wales, Florida.  This was my first trip to this area, located approximately 25 miles east of the town of Lake Wales, Florida.  As it always is this time of year it was hot, and the wildlife must have been napping in the shade.  I did get a fly-over by a Swallow-tailed Kite which circled and watched me for a few minutes.  On this trip I also got my first sighting of a panther in the wild!  It was a brief sighting with the animal trotting away from me rapidly, but it was very exciting.  The size and speed of the panther was incredible; a very humbling experience.  Unfortunately there is no photo of the panther; I got my camera raised to about shoulder height and the cat was out of sight...it was fast, and it wasn't even running!

 
2009 04 10, Lake Placid, Florida. My good friend Tim and I spent the afternoon taking macro shots around the Lake Placid area. Tim is an old-hand at macro photography and has some incredible shots.  For me the day was trial and error.  I've had a macro lens for several months now but have only taken a handful of test shots; this was actually my first time out for dedicated macro shooting.  I managed to get a few shots that I'm fairly pleased with but it's obvious that I need a lot of practice.  Please enjoy the photos and try not to laugh too loudly!

 

2009 02 28, Lake Kissimmee State Park, Lake Wales, Florida.  I spent about an hour watching a Snail Kite hunting along the edge of Lake Kissimmee, and watched it capture several snails.

I saw a Bald Eagle flying inland from the lake carrying a large fish.  I assume that it was flying into a nest that I found on previous trips, but that is only an assumption based on the direction of its flight.  I posted a few photographs of the eagle, though they are of no value except for the subject matter.  The shots were handheld and the eagle was a long distance away.

 

 

2008 12 20, Paynes Creek State Park, Bowling Green, Florida. There was an "odd" feel to the day.  There were numerous red shouldered hawks that spent hours soaring off in the distance.  They performed acrobatic maneuvers while screaming nearly continuously.  This display may have been the reason that there weren't many smaller animals and birds out and about.

I also made a few attempts using a new macros lens....boy, do I need to practice!

 

 2008 12 07, Bald Eagle.  The best photos that I've taken to date of a Bald Eagle in the wild.  This is my favorite bird, but trying to get close to one for a good shot is not easy.  These are crops from long-distance shots, but you can still see that it's a beautiful bird.

 
2008 10 04, Payne's Creek State Park, Bowling Green, Florida.  It was a rather pleasant day.  The air wasn't excessively hot and there was a nice breeze most of the day.  I managed to get some neat shots of insects on this trip.

 

2008 08 16, The Avon Park Bombing Range, Avon Park, Florida.  There wasn't a whole lot of wildlife around for some reason.  I ran into an alligator who was crossing a field from the river to a canal, and a few birds.  The main purpose of the trip was to check on the condition of my usual campsite, which was found to be rather overgrown.

I have several more photos from this trip which I may post at a later date, but I'm just getting back into the swing of things after several months dedicated to home repairs.

 
2008 07 29 - Crested Caracaras.  I stumbled upon a pair of Crested Caracaras who were eating a dead snake along the roadside.

 
2008 06 27, Payne's Creek State Park, Bowling Green, Florida.  A very long hike on a very hot, humid Florida day.  The sun pounded down all day long and the air felt like a sauna; it was great!  Despite the heat and humidity, along with a very bright gray "nuclear winter" sky, it was a great day of watching wildlife.  The little snake pictured at the left was about 2' from the side of the trail; it sat for about 20 minutes while it was photographed.

 

 

2008 02 16 & 17, Avon Park Bombing Range.  I arrived at the Kissimmee River at about 10:00pm on Friday night to set up camp, and was greeted by the calls of two Barred Owls who live in the woods beside the campsite.  The owls appear to be a mated pair.

On Saturday one owl called to the other and I watched as the second owl flew over to the first.  These two owls then "cuddled" while perched on a branch, at one point it actually appeared as if they were kissing...this was a really neat sight to witness.

Saturday and part of Sunday were spent exploring and photographing wildlife.  I didn't see as many animals as I would have liked, but I did locate several areas with fresh tracks including turkeys, raccoons, and birds.  I found what appear to be bobcat tracks, and a ton of coyote tracks.

Saturday night there were several groups of coyotes around the campsite and they howled for what seemed like hours.  There is an embarrassing story involving the coyotes, but I'm not sure that I'm ready to tell it just yet...

I also have to admit to photographing several different samples of animal droppings I located in the woods; I haven't yet identified the animals that made them.  Enjoy the photographs!

 

2008 02 09 & 10, Avon Park Bombing Range.  This was an interesting trip.  Military exercises were running on sections of the range and we were over flown by a Marine Corps helicopter for most of the day on Saturday.

 

2008 01 26 & 27, Avon Park Bombing Range located east of Avon Park, Florida.  Another night in the deep, dark woods near the Kissimmee River.  Arrival and setup were pleasant enough and the evening was quite enjoyable.  During the night things changed as a storm blew in with a period of hard rain.  I was sure that Sunday was going to be a muddy mess.  To my surprise the ground had soaked in most of the water, things were wet, but dried off quickly. The sky cleared and it stayed breezy and cool.

 

2008 01 12, Lake Kissimmee State Park located east of Lake Wales, Florida. While I didn't get to photograph any larger animals, I did see many beautiful birds, including two Bald Eagles in flight.

 

2007 12 29, Colt Creek State Park located north of Lakeland.  (Photos are not yet online)

 

2007 12 22, Lake Kissimmee State Park located east of Lake Wales, Florida.

 

2007 12 01, Lake Kissimmee State Park located east of Lake Wales, Florida.