De Coelo

February 15, 2012. De Coelo. Taken at Chez Vincent's in Winter Park, Florida.

A few years back, my wife and I visited Sonoma, California, and fell in love with Benziger Family Winery's biodynamic approach to viticulture.

One of the wines that particularly impressed us was their De Coelo Pinot Noir. We bought a bottle of 2007 and tucked it away for our tenth anniversary.

On February 15, 2012, we got to enjoy it at our favorite neighborhood French restaurant, and I snuck in this low-shutter speed shot in the dim lighting.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/15. f/2.8. ISO 1600. LR 2.

Our Journey

Our Journey

February 4, 2012. "Our Journey."

One of Orlando's most ingenious pieces of street art is on the side of a parking garage outside the Amway Center.

Starting on the ground, eight life-sized cast aluminum figures scale cascading ladders up the side of the garage, culminating in a triumphant figure holding a globe at the top.

The piece is called "Our Journey," and it was commissioned from artist Bill Starke by the City of Orlando.

At night, lights switch on and off to animate the progress of the figures up the ladders. It is quite beautiful.

It's certainly much more inspirational than the half-million dollar "Tower of Light" statue that locals affectionately refer to as "The Giant Glass Asparagus." 

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/60. f/2.8. ISO 1600. LR 2.

Parrot at Rest

Parrot at Rest

February 4, 2012. Parrot at Rest. Orlando, Florida.

A Parrot Head's stuffed parrot hat gets a rest on the bus ride from Margaritaville Orlando to the 2012 Welcome to Finland Jimmy Buffett concert venue at Orlando's new Amway Center.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/60. f/2.8. ISO 1600. LR 2.

Beach Ball

Beach Ball

February 4, 2012. Beach Ball. Orlando, Florida.

A stilted employee of Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville catches a beach ball hit in his direction by a fan at the 2012 Welcome to Finland concert tour stop in Orlando.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/250. f/8.0. ISO 200. LR 2.

Because Exotic Cancer is Cooler

Because Exotic Cancer is Cooler

February 17, 2012. Because Exotic Cancer is Cooler.

By now, everyone knows that cigarette smoking makes your lungs look like a decade old piece of raisin bread (warning... graphic health picture), causes cancer, yellows your teeth, and is really, really bad for you and the people around you.

Thankfully for young hipsters, filtering your pack of cigarettes through a lightly cleansed imported Portalet called a "Hookah" makes your smoke much safer. And cooler.

Or does it? Here's what the Mayo Clinic has to say about Hookah smoking. But hey, what do they know? They're only the Mayo Clinic, right? They probably make this stuff up as they go along.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/500. f/11. ISO 800. LR 2.

Concert in the Park

Concert in the Park

March 16, 2012. Concert in the Park.

This picture was not taken by me.

It was taken by my wife, who asked for my camera. She has a good eye for detail. She was with me at the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival Friday Night Jazz Concert in the Park.

As you zoom down the walkway through the middle of the picture, it is fascinating seeing the multitude of discussions captured in one shot.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/30. f/2.8. ISO 1600. LR 2.

Shadow Puppets

Shadow Puppets

March 16, 2012. Shadow Puppets.

Have you ever had the concert seats right behind that one couple who wouldn't sit down. For hours?

Listening to Peter White play at the Winter Park Sidewalk Arts Festival this past Friday night, I found myself right behind that couple. Nice folks. Just standing in the same spot for hours, and a bit too opaque.

I started taking a few shots to entertain myself.

After shooting one or two, I realized that someone a row or two behind me was even more bored than I was and was using the gentleman's bright white chinos as his private theatre screen for a shadow puppet show.

Ironically, this happened the same day that a woman in Longwood near the Wekiva State Park was bit in the butt by a black bear.

Note: No shadow bears or white men in dockers were hurt taking this shot.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/30. f/2.8. ISO 1600. LR 2.

Stolen Kiss

Stolen Kiss

March 16, 2012. Stolen Kiss.

The Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival, featuring outdoor art displays and live concerts, is an Orlando-area cultural tradition.

This past Friday, as Peter White played jazz guitar in the background, a couple got up out of their lawn chairs and started dancing.

I happened to be doing an initial light metering and focus test shot right as he snuck a kiss.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/15. f/2.8. ISO 1600. LR 2.

Sunglass Hut

Sunglass Hut

February 17, 2012. Sunglass Hut.

A luggage salesman at a mall kiosk, lost in thought, casts a silhouette in front of a Sunglass Hut outlet.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/250. f/11. ISO 1600. LR 2.

Schoolbus

Schoolbus

February 17, 2012. Schoolbus.

A tourist shops for bargains at the Orlando Premium Outlets near International Drive.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/250. f/11. ISO 1600. LR 2.

Birds NOT of a Feather

Birds NOT of a Feather

March 2, 2012. Birds NOT of a Feather.

Some real, live members of Lake Eola's flock of black and white swans blend into a background of swan-shaped paddle boats for rent by local romantics to visit the fountain in the middle of Orlando, Florida's iconic lake.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/500. f/16. ISO 800. LR 2.

Black Swan

Black Swan

March 2, 2012. Black Swan.

A black swan casts a silhouette on the banks of Lake Eola in Orlando, Florida.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/250. f/16. ISO 800. LR 2.

Naptime

Naptime

March 2, 2012. Naptime.

A white swan takes an afternoon nap on the shores of Orlando's Lake Eola while her lover stands guard.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/500. f/16. ISO 800. LR 2.

Lake Eola

Lake Eola

March 2, 2012. Lake Eola.

For those who live in Orlando, there is probably no more iconic spot than the fountain in Lake Eola.

At Lake Eola, you'll see farmers' markets, Shakespearean theatre, weddings, funerals, joggers, dogs, lawyers, bicyclists, the homeless and the downtrodden, and a large population of city supported black and white swans that will be the subject of my next three posts. Lake Eola is our Central Park; our English Gardens; our Borghese Gardens; our National Mall; our wide open space where the city comes together in all its disjointed pieces.

According to local legend, it is also the place where Orlando got its name.

Originally, Orlando was known as Jernigan after a prominent cattle family in the area. It became Orlando in 1857. There are two versions to the story. I'll relate the official version endorsed by the city first, followed by what I consider the more likely story.

According to the city, Orlando got its name from a soldier named Orlando Reeves in the Seminole War who was killed on the banks of what is now Lake Eola in 1835. The problem is that there are absolutely no records that a soldier named Orlando Reeves ever existed. Some have tried to explain around this fact by pointing out that it may have been a landowner in the area called Orlando Rees, an associate of John James Audubon, but the dates of death are all wrong to fit with the legend.

Another version of the story is that the name was chosen by Judge T. G. Speer, who arranged for Orlando to become the county seat through some creative vote manipulation. Judge Speer was a huge Shakespeare fan and named the city after his favorite character in "As You Like It." This version is very well documented by his descendants, and it also helps explain the naming of Rosalind Avenue.

In either case, the remnants of both legends live side by side in Lake Eola Park. The road in the background of this shot is Rosalind. The teal Walt Disney Amphitheater to the left in the picture is the original home of the Orlando Shakespeare Festival, overlooking a bird sanctuary lake that would have made Audubon and his friend Orlando Rees proud.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/250. f/8.0. ISO 100. LR 2.

Tea Break

Tea Break

March 2, 2012. Tea Break.

Loved how the light played off of the three groups of people in this photo, each in their own world.

This shot was taken at Pom Pom's Tea House in Orlando's Bohemian Milk District near Bumby and Robinson. (It's called "The Milk District" due to its proximity to a milk processing warehouse near the Executive Airport).

This was the first stop on a Vespa-powered photo walk across town. The rest of the week will feature pictures from Orlando's iconic Lake Eola fountain and its fine feathered residents.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 1/25. f/8.0. ISO 800. LR 2.

Egret at Night

Egret at Night

February 16, 2012. Egret at Night.

Taken just outside the Castillo de San Marcos park boundaries along with waterfront in Saint Augustine, Florida. A lone egret fishes along the retaining wall late at night.

This long-exposure shot was taken in the pitch black, using the retaining wall by the water to keep the camera steady. Thankfully, I got 8 seconds of the bird staring at a fish! Not a second after the shutter closed on this shot, a Rodent of Unusual Size scurried along the seawall, almost running up my arm.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 8 seconds. f/8.0. ISO 1600. LR 2.

Castillo

Castillo

February 16, 2012. Castillo.

The Castillo de San Marco in Saint Augustine, Florida, is the United States' oldest masonry fort. It was built just down from where Pedro Menendez de Aviles founded the city in 1565.

After the city was attacked by British pirate Sir Francis Drake in 1586, the first fortified structure was built on this site. In 1668, the city was attacked by another pirate, Robert Searle, and work began on upgrading the fortifications to the current masonry structure in 1672.

This long-exposure shot was done hand-held, but steadied against a retaining wall outside the fort's moat.

Leica X1. 24.0 mm. 2 seconds. f/8.0. ISO 800. LR 2.