Critique Welcomed A Few Birds & 'gators From Gatorland

Keith Hollister

Keith Hollister

Well-Known Member
Took my parents (who were visiting for Christmas) to Gatorland. It was the first real field test of the Fuji 55-200 and I was very satisfied. I normally shoot birds there with the Nikon big glass and I don't feel like these were second rate as far as image quality (unlike the 100-300 Panasonic m43 lens). And a hell of lot nicer to haul around.



Great Blue Heron ...


Wood Stork ...


Night Heron ...
 
the 55-200 is a pretty nice lens considering the price and size. it's pretty nice not to carry 50 lbs of gear around for an afternoon out. love the shot of the wood stork, some really nice light and angle. never been to gatorland, though i've been by it a couple of times.
 
Thanks, Beth. Gatorland is cool because it is still 50's/60's Florida, pretty much the anti-Disney.

Speaking of Wood Storks and unusual angles ...

 
Beth Anthony said:
sounds like silver springs theme park.
Click to expand...

Don't know if you are aware, but Silver Springs was sold to the state and they just reopened it as a state park this year (it is connected to Silver River State Park next door). They removed a lot of the "theme park" stuff, including the zoo animals (bears, giraffes, etc) due to the runoff screwing up the clarity of the springs. They still have the glass bottom boats I understand, but it is more of an "eco destination" now than a retro attraction like Gatorland. The state took over another 50's attraction up by Rainbow Springs near Dunnellon back in the 90's. We spend several days at Silver River State Park in our Airstream every year at Spring Break, so we are anxious to see what they have done with Silver River. We used to go there for the free concerts (mostly C&W acts) - not sure what is going to happen with that.

And of course Cypress Gardens was closed years ago and has now been turned into Legoland. Marineland is still hanging on as a shadow of its former self in St. Augustine. The state also took over Weeki Wachee as a state park, but they kept the mermaid show and a bit more of the 30's-70's vibe.

There isn't much left of that era of Florida, unfortunately. At least the state is trying to preserve the land rather than it being turned into more housing developments. Disney, Seaworld and the like have killed off most of the interesting historical attractions in central Florida. I was glad to see a huge crowd at Gatorland when we were there Friday (Dec 27). A similar place without as much retro vibe is the St. Augustine Alligator Farm in (duh) St. Augustine.
 
i'd heard it was sold, but didn't realize the state had turned it into a state park. florida has some of the best state parks ever. i'm not sad about the non indigenous animals going, but i'm glad they kept the glass bottom boats, those were cool. marineland is another place i haven't patronized, but it's next to my favorite beach in florida. washington oaks state park is also fun. we went to cypress gardens many, many years ago when i was a few years old. don't remember it. never been to seaworld or universal studios, been to disney, but the only park we still go to is epcot. the rest are rubbish.
 
Thanks, Pete.
 
Thanks, Ivar
 
@Keith Hollister and @Beth Anthony ....
I went to Florida about 20 ish years ago. The Epcot Centre is one of my fondest memories.
Gatorland is very impressive too, but also the tornados we saw when we in Orlando for 2 weeks. Epic!!
 
You sure that's a heron and not a stork? ;)

Lovely stuff - agree on the 55-200 - punches above it's weight
 
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