Got a chance to do some photography around town in a helicopter yesterday and grabbed some interesting images including this one of Government Cut with the Port of Miami, the Causeway, and the Miami Skyline Visible.
Please take a moment or two to check out and Like my Facebook Page where I have posted a few images from my Helicopter Flight over Miami along with some shots I took a week ago in my Seaplane Flight and Landing to the Dry Tortugas National Park.
Any of the prints you see here, on my website, or my Flickr page are available as prints or stock. Just drop me an email. And if you're into the whole Twitter thing, you can follow me here to get my daily photo update.
Let's hope and pray that the Florida coast is spared from Isaac and that our birds along the Gulf Coast can have a tranquil summer. They've already been devastated by tropical storms enough this year.
The above White Morph was taken last weekend at Fort De Soto in St. Pete which is right in the cone of uncertainty right now. De Soto has been very productive this year especially this summer. The landscape has totally changed since the last storm earlier this year. Hope we are spared.
Blue Cypress Lake is one of the last vestiges of old Florida that has not been ruined by development. One of the last places where gators and osprey can share their environment with bass and other fish. One of the last places where you can enjoy peace and quiet. And for my fishing friends, you can catch some nice largemouth bass there too.
Make sure you follow me on Twitter at @MAP_Photography and go to and Like my Facebook page and you'll see more pics from Blue Cypress Lake as well as some of the other gems we have in the state.
Among the many types of birds we get here in Florida, we have our share of burrowing owls. Folks come from around the world to see them, especially those who nest at the Cape Coral Library and to a lesser extent, Marco Island. But for South Floridians, we have a large colony of owls literally in our own backyard in Western Broward County.
I am fortunate to have my office right around the block from the burrowing owl colony and thus I've had the opportunity to visit them every Spring. If you've followed my images, you can see pics of these cute little guys. It's still too early for the babies, but to get the season started, I prepared a short 2 minute video of the antics of these cute owls and it served as a perfect excuse to test out the new Canon EOS 5d Mark III. All I can say is that I'm very impressed with both the imaging and video qualities of this new camera especially at high ISO's. See for yourselves. Also, because our owls in South Florida have been immersed in Latin culture for many years, I've prepared the perfect theme music for them from Perez Prado.
So folks, enjoy the Mambo Owls of Broward County.
And while you're at it, follow me on Twitter @MAP_Photography and Facebook at www.facebook.com/MichaelPancierPhotography.
Take a moment to check out my website for some of my latest images. I sell prints in all sizes including ready to hang gallery wraps. And for my latest pictures or videos of the day, follow me on Twitter and visit my Facebook page and press "Like" if you enjoy my images.
It's got to be close to 8 years since I got hooked on photographing birds. For many years I had what I called my three nemesis birds: bald eagles, roseate spoonbills, and scrub jays. I photographed my first scrub jays this year after trying to find them for nearly six years. It seems that everytime I went to the scrubs, they weren't there. Well they finally cooperated. I now have my fill of images of these friendly and rare bird endemic to our state.
I wish they would change the Florida state bird from the Northern Mockingbird to the Scrub Jay. The mockers are all over the place, but this guy is truly a native Floridian, found only in a few scrub areas in Florida such as Brevard County, where I found this guy and his buddies.
So do I have any new nemesis birds to photograph? Hell yeah! Need to find me some wild screech owls, or any other owls (other than Burrowing Owls, Horned Owls, and Barred Owls) .... but I'll likely have to leave the state for some of them ...
One of my must stops whenever I'm driving up I-95 through Georgia is the historic town of Savannah. And when there, besides stopping by Paula Dean's for a hearty meal, I always head out early in the morning to the Tybee Light Station before all the tourists are there. The lighthouse traces its roots to the colonial days. It poses a challenge to photograph given the powerlines and houses in the area. But I found that early morning is best. You can find more information on the light at the Tybee Light Historical Society.
I have a collection of lighthouse photos from Florida and the Atlantic coast on my website. Please visit www.michaelpancierphotography.com and check it out.
Meteor Crater in Winslow Arizona is kind of a tourist stop off of I-40, but it is worth a visit as it is one of the few pristine impact craters one can see here in the USA. It's difficult to photograph as it is so damn wide. A pano is usually suggested in my opinion. The photo I took there a few years ago was taken with my 15mm Fisheye on a full frame camera and you can see how you barely capture the entire scene. But just so you can get an idea of how large this crater is, take a look below at the image from space (yes it can be seen from space).....
As the space image shows, probably the best way to get a cool image of meteor crater would be by taking an aerial image. I think I'm adding that to my bucket list. Now time to charge my batteries and head out to the field.
Please take a moment to visit my website at www.michaelpancierphotography.com where I have new images posted from time to time and for daily images, please visit and "like" my Facebook Fanpage for up to date images and photography news. And finally, if you're into Twitter, you can follow me there too at @MAP_Photography
An image I took a few months ago while flying with local pilot Robert Buschel. You usually never see this lighthouse unless you have a boat as the Fowey Rocks Light is located seven miles southeast of Cape Florida on Key Biscayne, Florida. It's an old structure having been completed in 1878. The light has withstood a plethora of hurricanes and storms throughout the years, but it still stands and is in operation today. The light is 110 feet above the water.
Fowey Rocks are named for the Royal Navy frigate HMS Fowey which was wrecked on a different reef to the south in 1748.The deadly Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 washed away the first deck of the lighthouse, 15 feet above the water, but the tower survived. The lighthouse is currently inside the boundaries of Biscayne National Park.
I haven't been updating this blog much, but thought it was time with a little video slideshow I made.
Please check out my new website at www.michaelpancierphotography.com. The holidays is a great time to give art and there are a lot of new photos available.
Also, check out my Facebook Fanpage and press "Like" if you enjoy the content. Always some latest images and news on that site as well as on my Twitter feed.
Have a great holiday season and hope to see you out in the field.
My photos and video slideshow of the Rocky Mountain State put to music. You can hear John Muir's call in the Rockies. If you're smart you will listen to it and go.
I haven't updated my Blog much since the death of Tony Lopez. But in the interim, I managed to get out and experience Autumn in one of my bucket list places, the Maroon Bells. It's a place that's well worth getting up at 4:00 a.m. to get there and stand out in the cold to capture it in early light before the sunrises and makes the scene too difficult to photograph.
If one has a chance, this is a place that must be experienced once in your life.
An icon in the history of Cuban artists Tony Lopez left us this morning at age 92. For me, this is a person who has been part of my life since I was born. He was one of my parents best friends, and as a kid, we always saw each other every week at the beach. As I rediscovered photography 13 years ago, I made a point to visit Tony and photograph him. I've put those photos in the above slideshow. I've also been lucky to have had my bust as a child sculpted by Tony and you can find that in the slideshow and in my Flickr gallery. Tony was always there for Thanksgiving and Xmas Eve at my moms. Of course that ended when my mom passed away in December 2008. But those memories will always remain in my memory. (In the slideshow, I've included a pic of him with my parents in the early sixties with a pic of myself as a young todler). I'm sure he's having a great time with my parents in the other world catching up on things and hearing all of Tony's latest jokes. No one could tell a joke as well as he could. I'll sure miss them.
------------------------------------
There's a good write up on his life here in Spanish. From his Bio:
Born in Cuba in the early 1920s, Tony Lopez was exposed to the art of sculpture since the beginning. His father and grandfather were both sculptors and Tony spent much time modeling clay.
"I can't remember which came first to me, crawling or drawing, When I was in school, art was my favorite subject and I excelled in it." Tony Lopez smiled mischievously, "My father couldn't keep me away from his studio. Many times he would tell me to go and play ball with the other kids."
Tony's father was a sculptor, and little Tony learned to shape clay and carve, while others his age were learning the alphabet. By the time he was a teenager, he was quite skilled in what was to be his profession. His father died while working on a commissioned monument, which was finished by the eighteen-year old Tony.
He has sculpted all his life. "There is nothing else I want to do; sculpture is my only means of expression. It is my passion in life."
"I have never followed one school of sculpting or sculpting trend. In politics and philosophy as well, I cannot align myself with one discipline. There is good and bad in everything."
An abstract expressionist, Lopez' works are soft, rounded and sinuous. Wavelike swellings ripple within the works. Strong and tender, almost vibrant with emotion, they reflect the intensity of the artist. "When working the feeling is ecstatic, it is almost indescribable."
In 1958, he and his family fleed Cuba's revolution and came to live in the USA.
"The most important thing is to be free... to express yourself. Although the environment helps to determine the creative process, the evolution my work has undergone was inevitable."
For the last forty-four years, his Miami studio has become more than a place of work. Other artists often worked there, while visiting the Untied States, "I delight in lending a helping had to these sculptors who otherwise would be unable to pursue their creative talents in this country."
Tony Lopez sculptures can be seen around the world. He has exhibited in galleries from to the Museum of Modern Art in Washington DC to Rockerfeller Center in New York City to the homes and business of private collectors around the world.
Historical landmarks include: Holocaust Memorial - Miami Beach, Florida
The Torch of Friendship - Miami, Florida
St. Mary's Cathedral - Miami, Florida
Governor Boden Monument - Grand Cayman
Jose Martà - New Orleans, Louisiana
Oregon is a waterfall wonderland. I was only able to scratch the surface while there. Hopefully this video and photo montage will give you a taste of what is known as the Waterfall Wonderland. During the dog days of summer, the falls will definitely cool you off.
By day I am a civil rights and Florida Bar Board Certified Labor & Employment Lawyer in South Florida.
The rest of the day, I am an artist/photographer.
I photograph nature in my home state of Florida, primarily avian subjects and landscapes. And when outside of Florida, I photograph the landscapes of the American Southwest and the National Parks of the United States.
I also enjoy photographing people and I supplement my nature photography with portraiture and commercial photography as well.
