Photographing Dragonflies at St. Marks NWR

Many photographers and birders visit Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge to take photographs of birds. Some also take pictures of the beautiful butterflies and moths that are present much of the year.

Another interesting flying insect at St. Marks NWR is the dragonfly. This amazing prehistoric creature can be quite difficult to photograph due to its behavior and the weather conditions at St. Marks.

This blog will discuss the techniques I use to photograph this amazing creature.

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Please keep your dog on a leash at St. Marks NWR

The Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge was created to protect birds and other wildlife. The refuge welcomes human visitors and has reasonable rules to protect the wildlife and the visitors from harm.

One such rule is the leash requirement for pets. Pets must be on a leash at all times. Sadly many people (including people who know better) allow their dogs to run unleashed on the beach and around the lighthouse.

Letting pets run unleashed can have tragic consequences. In 2015 a dog was eaten by an alligator at the boat launch.

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Beautiful red Salicornia plants at St. Marks NWR

Next to the Lighthouse at St Marks NWR is an elevated observation deck that looks over the marshes to the southeast.

At high tide pools of water and marsh grasses are visible and at low tide large sections of sand are seen.

At certain times of the year, particularly in fall and winter, the sand appears to be red. I originally assumed it was red algae but I later discovered color is mostly from a salt loving succulent known as Salicornia (aka glasswort).

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Why I created a new web site

As a photographer I spend a lot of time improving my skills, both in capturing images and developing the raw images.

My two favorite raw developers are “Darktable” and “RawTherapee”. These programs are constantly being improved and are much better than the versions I used in the past.

Looking at my images on this site I often wish I could go back and change them using my improved skills and better software.

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The hurricane, mountain bike, and flamingo revisited

This is an updated post for the second anniversary of the arrival of the Flamingo at St. Marks NWR.

I was fortunate enough to be the first person to see and photograph a wild American Flamingo at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge on October 31, 2018. This was the first verified sighting of a flamingo at the St. Marks Refuge since 1995.

It was by serendipity, that a hurricane, a mountain bike, and a flamingo combined to enable this sighting. By happy coincidence, it was on the anniversary of the establishment of the Refuge (Halloween 1931)!
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Storm at St. Marks NWR

On 7/21/2020 I headed down to St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge to get some sunset pictures. I knew rain and storms were possible which sometimes can make sunsets more interesting.

As I was driving along lighthouse road near the “T-Dike” I saw to the east one of the yellow construction vehicles used to repair the levee sitting near a structure sometimes called the “bus stop”.

The sun was low in the west and illuminated the scene very nicely and there were some dark clouds forming in the east. I left my tripod in my white van (the Vana White) so I could walk faster.

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Sky lantern at St. Marks NWR

On New Year’s Eve 2019 a sky lantern burned down the Krefeld Zoo, in Krefeld, Germany.

The fire killed more than 30 animals including apes, monkeys, bats and birds, many of whom are close to extinction in the wild.

Sky lanterns (AKA Chinese lanterns) are small hot air balloons made of paper with a small flame providing lift.

I first became aware of the damage these balloons can cause when I was picking up trash along the Cedar Point Trail at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. I found a burnt sky lantern lying on vegetation along the trail. Fortunately, it had not started a fire.

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St. Marks NWR Lighthouse Relighting Ceremony.

The relighting of the Historic St. Marks Lighthouse with its newly installed lantern was celebrated on October 31, 2019,coinciding with the 88th anniversary of the creation of the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge.

While volunteers interpreted the Lighthouse Keepers’ Quarters for visitors, the Refuge staff, volunteers, and Friends of St. Marks Wildlife Refuge prepared for the ceremony with an eye on the radar. A narrow squall line approaching from the west delivered a quick drenching rain and then colorful clouds as the sky cleared and the festivities continued on schedule.
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Planning for Milky Way photography

Capturing good pictures of the Milky Way in Florida can be quite a challenge. Rain, clouds, fog, insects, and bright moonlight are a part of life here. Did I mention snakes? Alligators? Lighthouse ghosts? “Area X”?

This year I had made several attempts to frame good shots with the bright galactic core near terrestrial objects, without much success. As the season progresses the Milky Way gradually moves to the west and the galactic core moves to the south. With the passing of the autumnal equinox in September, it looked like I would not get good images this year.
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