Day 0 - Travel to the Keys

This year we are only doing a short vacation down to Florida Key, because there is a lot of uncertainty in Washington. Thus, we left DC at 6:00 AM on a flight to Miami via Atlanta. After a slightly bumpy flights we arrived in Miami around 10:30AM and delt with the confusion of the Miami airport. We had to then navigate a very unclear indirect route to the rental car location; the signage was horrible in the airport. After picking up our Mustang Convertible (why wouldn’t you drive a convertible in the Keys) we were on our way.

First stop was a grocery store and lunch. We ate at Senor De La Taco. They had very good tacos. Then we stopped at Publix to grab some water and snacks. Since it was still relatively early and we couldn’t check into the resort before 4:00PM we headed to Everglades National Park.

We drove out to Everglades National Park and stopped at the visitor center to get a few recommendations on short hikes and pick up magnets for the fridge. We asked about the hike to the Nike Missile site, but it was “closed for the season”. So, we did a short 1/3-mile Anhinga boardwalk hike. Amazingly enough I saw wildlife, usually I don’t see any wildlife beyond the stand squirrel or chipmunk. We saw several types of birds, giant grasshoppers, and several alligators. After the hike we started on our way down to keys, with a quick stop at Roberts roadside stand to get Key Lime milkshakes.

We got to the resort a little after 4:00PM and it was busy due to a wedding taking place and a lot of late check outs. I went to check in and our room wasn’t ready. We killed a little bit of time by running over to the gas station but came back and the room still wasn’t ready. They did give us our welcome drinks, I had champagne, and Jim had the pineapple mojito. Then we sat in the lobby for a while then went down to the hotel restaurant for dinner. Right after we ordered they called me to let me know the room was ready at 5:38PM. So, I ran up to the check in desk to get our keys and room information before finishing dinner. Since having to wait an hour and a half for a room is unacceptable, the hotel gave us $100 resort credit. I don’t think they would have given me the resort credit if I didn’t complain and site, I was a platinum member. Sadly, they couldn’t give us a room upgrade. We got to our room a little before 6:30PM.

It was a long day. I also started to pack up my bag for the snorkel trip I thought I had scheduled for the next day. But I had it scheduled for the following Monday, not good. I scrambled and rebooked for Tuesday as Monday was supposed to be rainy with thunderstorms all day. So, the problem was solved.

Not sure what we are doing tomorrow as it is supposed to rain all morning.

Comments

Cobwebs Everywhere

On October 7 th , I did a studio spooky session with Coralinx Cosplay . The central theme of this shoot was a pretty goth girl who had a fondness for spiders and decorating with cobwebs, making it a perfect Halloween session. Note: Cobwebs are defined as abandoned or old spiderwebs that have collected dust. Many cobwebs are the result of comb-footed spider (i.e., black widows) that make irregularly shaped webs. Spiderwebs are active structures built to catch prey. (Source: Western Exterminator Company) For these sessions, I used: Photography Equipment Other Equipment Cannon R6 24-105 mm Lens Transmitter/Trigger 2 Westcott FJ400 2 Phottix Strobes 2 strip boxes 2 rectangular soft boxes 2 c-stands 3 light stands Backdrop stand Black seamless 2 Westcott silicon gels Tether cable Laptop Laptop holder Sandbags A-clamps Spyder Color checker Fake cobwebs Table ...

2025 Year in Review and Looking Forward to 2026

This year was a bit interesting especially since during the day, I’m a government employee, which resulted in a lot of stress and a 42-day furlough. I didn’t attend as many cosplay events with the D.C Cosplay group, now Costume and Camera, as I normally would have, due to schedule conflicts. However, I traveled up to Poughkeepsie, New York for two photo events, one of which I was a featured photographer. I attended two conventions, one of which didn’t turn out as expected and the other just confirmed my decision to take a break from it. Though happily I did a lot of studio work this year, which I enjoyed. But on the other hand, I lost my dear “studio supervisor”, my dog Teddy. He liked to great clients and then “supervise” while lying/sleeping in his bed. I also started to work on the business side of my photography work, by investing in a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) site to manage bookings, schedules, and payments. No more trying to juggle...

Spooky in the Morning

On October 5 th , I did an on-location spooky session with Rebecca at Claude Moore Park. The theme was Victorian ghost; however, it is hard to be a ghost at 9:30 in the morning on a bright sunny day. I did my best to get a spooky look. For these sessions, I used: Photography Equipment Other Equipment Cannon R6 24-105 mm Lens Transmitter/Trigger 2 Cannon Speed lights 1 30-inch umbrella Light stand Assistant Smoke Genie The setup The set up was relatively easy. I mounted a Canon speed light on a light stand with an umbrella. My assistant then held the light in the appropriate spots as we made our way around the park to different locations. Camera Settings This session was held outdoors in bright morning sun and was intended to look spooky, so I tried to keep the images dark. Thus, I used ISO 100, which is great for sunny conditions. I wanted to maintain a soft background as much a...

The Munchkin's Notebook

Search This Blog