Around the State

Florida offers so many opportunities to explore. We’ll chronicle our encounters with nature and interesting places and share our stories about the fun events we attend.

Our Most Recent Report

  • 2026 Roar Before the Rolex 24

    The 2026 racing season is underway. We kicked it off with a trip over to Daytona International Speedway to shoot the Roar Before the Rolex 24. The Roar is a 3-day practice session for teams preparing for the Rolex 24, the iconic 24-hour endurance race.

    40 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac Exiting the International Horseshoe at Daytona International Speedway – 2026

    It seems like every year the Roar manages to land on the coldest weekend of winter. This year was no different as temperatures started off near freezing. But skies were clear, so the sun helped to warm things nicely. Although it never reached 60 degrees, the lack of wind helped immensely.

    9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini in Garage Area at Daytona International Speedway – 2026

    The Rolex 24 is an amazing motorsports experience. It brings together drivers from around the world to compete in the ultimate team racing event. Drivers from many of the other top series like IndyCar, F1, and NASCAR join the regular teams in the Weathertech IMSA series for the 24-hour race. The incredible part of endurance racing is that 4 different classes of cars race at the same time. There are 61 cars entered. The high-tech hybrid GTP cars are the fastest. They are million-dollar machines with many advanced features that eventually find their way to passenger vehicles. The remainder of the field is comprised of cars from Lamborghini, Ferrari, Corvettes, Aston Martin, Porsche, Mercedes AMG, Lexus, BMW, and Mustang GT.

    4 Pratt Miller Motorsports Corvette Heading Toward Turn 1 at Daytona International Speedway – 2026
    64 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Mustang Heading Toward the West Horseshoe at Daytona International Speedway – 2026
    93 Meyer Shank Acura and 8 Tower Motorsports LMP2 Exiting the International Horseshoe at Daytona International Speedway – 2026

    The Roar and the Rolex 24 are amazing fan-friendly experiences. Not only are ticket prices very affordable, but fans have open access to the garage areas, and they are allowed on pit lane to view the cars prior to the race. There is even a huge camping event for Boy Scouts during the Roar and parking for all fans during the Roar is free. It is definitely one of the best events for families in all sports. It’s also a great opportunity for photographers without credentials. Using a small step ladder, we can get over the fences around the infield to get clear shots of the cars as they fly past.

    What is truly incredible about this event is that after 24 hours of continuous high-speed racing, from daylight through darkness and back to daylight again, sometimes through periods of pouring rain, the margin of victory for the class winners is often just a few seconds! If a person was looking to attend a marquee auto race, this one should be very high on the list.

    31 Whelen Cadillac Heading Toward the West Horseshoe at Daytona International Speedway – 2026
    7 Penske Motorsports Porsche Exiting the International Horseshoe at Daytona International Speedway – 2026
    10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac Heading Toward Turn 1 at Daytona International Speedway – 2026
    6 Penske Motorsports Porsche and 8 Tower Motorsports LMP2 Exiting the International Horseshoe at Daytona International Speedway – 2026
    93 Meyer Shank Acura Heading Toward the International Horseshoe at Daytona International Speedway – 2026
    52 Bryan Herta Autosport LMP2 Heading Toward the West Horseshoe at Daytona International Speedway – 2026

  • Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

    Thanks to my good friend Art Nadelman, I was able to locate a recent migrant to the area. Scissor-tailed flycatchers are found mainly in Oklahoma, Texas, and Mexico. Occasionally their winter migration route to southern Central America takes them a little off course and they can end up here in Florida. They’re fun to watch…

  • Mergansers

    The hooded mergansers have begun arriving for the winter. We often find them on small retention ponds around the area until February. They are typically wary but this flock of around 15 birds found a small little pond to their liking next to a very busy intersection. I seldom get an opportunity for a decent…

  • Bald Eagles

    Bald eagles have gotten very active as the mating season has begun. This always offers some good photo opportunities. The birds are active hunting for food and nesting materials. We are fortunate to have a pair that built a nest a few years ago that is very easy to photograph. A few pictures from this…

  • Snail Kites

    Yesterday we endured a 2+ hour ride with hopes of finding some beautiful scissortail flycatchers. But the flycatchers apparently decided to move to a different undisclosed location. So instead of photographing flycatchers, we had the pleasure of watching and capturing some images of 3 snail kites. These are amazing birds that glide across shallow waters…

  • Central Florida Hummingbirds

    Last Friday we went to Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales, FL to photograph a rufous hummingbird. They are most likely to be found in the western US. But they are appearing more frequently in other parts of the country. Their copper and green colors are striking. More photos have been uploaded to the following…

  • Wood Ducks

    This past Friday we visited Lake Morton in Lakeland, FL. It was a great day for photos. We saw several beautiful wood ducks and mallards. There were a few ring-necked ducks that have arrived from their northern summer homes. The lake is famous for its flock of mute swans and black swans. For anyone visiting…

  • Whooping Cranes

    On Wednesday I had the opportunity to catch a glimpse of another endangered species. The whooping crane was near extinction in the 1940s with fewer than 30 birds alive. Today there are still only about 800 of these beautiful birds remaining in North America. There have been substantial efforts to increase their population over the…

  • Florida Scrub Jays

    Last week, thanks to some help from good friend Art Nadelman, I finally got the opportunity to photograph a family of Florida Scrub Jays. The jays are only seen in specific areas of central Florida and are on the endangered species list. They are curious and friendly which makes for some fun action. Several companies…

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