Homestead/South Dade Scavenger Hunt, July 27, 2019

The final tally sheets have been added up, and the winners were announced at our last meeting.

The winners of the 2019 Scavenger Hunt are……..

1st place - Ernesto Rodriguez
2nd place - Barbara Livieri
3rd place - Patricia Botero

Hugh and Robert said:

“it was a very difficult judging process. Everyone should be very proud of the wonderful images submitted.”

High praise indeed!

This was our 3rd annual scavenger hunt and members are given 15 ‘clues’ to find and then to photograph creatively within the time period given. In this case it was from 12:01am till 11:59pm on Saturday, July 27th. Below I’ve listed each of the clues and then each participant’s submission. Enjoy!

(You can click on the image for a full size view.)


#1 - Visitors start here for a map of the Historic Redland Tropical Trail and photograph an orange fish.


#2 - Stop HERE for a fruit smoothie and photograph a flightless “bird”.


#2a - Bonus – Get a photograph with the owner or family member


#3 - Robert helped UM’s Intermediate Electronic Media Production students with a documentary on this cryptozoology legend.


#4 - Is that a Dragon Fruit plant?


#5 - Farmers call it a pivot


#6 - Billy-Bob painted a 10’ heart in this color on a foam blue water tower.


#7 - It’s hot; you should stop for a brew – is that graffiti?


#8 - Glide in and photograph a burrowing owl.


#9 - Stop in at this Historic Redland Grocery Store for an RC cola and a moon pie.


#10 - Opening in 1970, stop here for Rare and Fascinating Orchids. Anyone can photograph a bloom, but what about the support system of this epiphyte.


#11 - This schoolhouse in the Redland, was built in 1906 and destroyed by a hurricane in 1992. This schoolhouse facsimile was completed in 2002.


#12 - Photograph Homestead’s Phantom.


#13 - Share a photo of the most common sign on your hunt.


#14 - An abstract with red.


#15 - This Historic Railroad Village was established in 1903…Is that a photo of you in a swamp buggy?

Fakahatchee Field Trip June 22, 2019

Lots of folks braved the high heat and humidity during one of the early summer Saharan dust plumes that crosses our paths occasionally. But they certainly did find some beautiful things to photograph. Click on the images to view them in full screen. Enjoy!


Images below provided by Bob Richardson


Images below provided by Julio Balcells


Images below provided by Ken Johnson


Images below provided by Marta Cubillas


Images below provided by Robert Chaplin


Images below provided by Sue Martinez


June 2019 Newsletter

Here’s a link to our June newsletter sent out on June 6th. It was short and to the point.

https://mailchi.mp/5356db8e4a0d/f21p03fw77-2965293

I also sent out a special notice on June 7th regarding the 4th of July celebration at the Homestead Miami Speedway.

https://mailchi.mp/887677f4e952/f21p03fw77-2965297

I then published an addendum to the newsletter on June 19th about the field trip.

https://mailchi.mp/0038fb3b9e14/f21p03fw77-2970733

Next month we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled newsletters. Thanks for your patience!

Okeechobee Weekend May 31-June 2, 2019

Folks from the SFNPCC descended upon the central Florida city of Okeechobee for some fun and (hopefully) storm chasing. Well, the storms never really materialized as we hoped but we enjoyed ourselves immensely.

Friday night we met at the hotel and caravaned down to the lake for sunset.

Saturday morning we gathered at the hotel for sunrise, but there was nothing more than a steady rain. Some of us went back to bed, others ventured out and explored. Saturday afternoon we met at the lake and went looking for storm clouds in hopes of lightning. We saw some interesting clouds, but nothing materialized. Later on a few of us went to a new location to see if we could squeak out a sunset shoot, but it was very cloudy and threatening rain. Others had gone back to the first sunset location and did get a few images. That night a few people went back out to the lake to shoot the storm that had sprung up. Not sure if any images were processed or not. The rest of us turned in early to get up for sunrise.

Sunday morning a few of us ventured out to another undisclosed location for sunrise. It was a beautiful foggy morning drive. Perfect conditions for a sunrise. Ethereal and mystic. This location is definitely a keeper!

Enjoy the photos! (click on the images for a larger view)