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The Lineup by Rob Hanson on 500px

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Again at the Silver River in Florida.

This was taken on the back side of an island that used to be a tourist attraction. Whether the boat was used for ferrying guests, or was used as a prop for greater realism, I’m not sure, but it makes for a great haven for turtles.

I think that turtles make fascinating subjects. Even though they don’t move very much — which is good — the way they huddle together on exposed logs can make for interesting compositions.

I had any number of funny albeit puerile titles and captions in mind for this one, but Susan said, “Oh, don’t be such a boy.” So I promised I wouldn’t.

Suffice it to say, I wonder what’s inside that they’re willing to wait for so long?

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Grouch by Rob Hanson on 500px

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After the chill of the evening wears off, a number of cold-blooded animals climb out of the water to warm themselves in the sun. Alligators tend to favor land or vegetation mats, turtles tend to climb up on logs that stick out of the water. In both cases, the chosen location is a good one in case a quick escape is needed.

This little guy — a Suwannee River Cooter, I believe — is actually only a few inches long, perhaps 5″ at most. I slowly nudged my kayak toward his carefully chosen log and snapped a few frames at 210mm.

Why “Grouch?”

This was the look he gave me just before grudgingly dropping into the cold water.

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While paddling kayaks along the Silver River near Ocala, Florida, one can see a wide range of wildlife, often in interesting combinations. Here, a Great Blue Heron, taking a break from wading, shares a bit of dry space with a turtle.

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Work the Camera, Baby!

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Shortly after taking the picture of the turtle and hare featured in It Really Happened, I decided to get a closeup shot of the slower of the two. Getting brackets of the rabbit were difficult… they’re kinda skittish.

The best thing about HDRing this turtle is that she didn’t move much, and didn’t seem to mind the camera being so close. It’s very likely that she had just deposited a clutch of eggs near the deck, and was simply exhausted. Still, she worked the camera like a pro.

To get this shot, I mounted the camera upside down on a reversed tripod, hovering just over the grass. I used the Nikkor 18-105 lens at 105mm f/6.3 so that I didn’t disturb her too much and fired off 9 exposures using the Promote Control. Post-processing involved Nik Color Efex Pro, Alien Skin Bokeh, and other bit crushers.

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