The Passion Of The Pursuit

World Cup weekend at my parents

Diego — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 20:38:54 +0000

The kids spent the night at their grandparents house this past weekend and I got to watch the final and 3rd place match of the 2010 world cup at their house.
Also had a chance to play with my camera a bit more. Used the 28mm and 70-300mm lenses and tried to see what kind of bokeh capabilities they each have.

Link to all the pics: World Cup Weekend

Philadelphia

Diego — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 04:46:06 +0000

Had a chance to travel to Philadelphia for business in June and wow am I glad I volunteered. Had no idea Philly was such a great city. So much history, so much to see and so much to do. Not only that but, the food was ridiculous.

I was only there 3 days but I got to spend the last day site seeing and spent one night out on the town taking pictures. I used the trip as an opportunity to finally apply everything I’ve been reading about in my photog books. Still have a looong way to go but I had blast playing with the camera and I know feel comfortable using my tripod just about anywhere.

My two favorite restaurants were Honey’s sit ‘n eat and Silk City Diner. Also had a great steak and dessert at the always reliable Capital Grill.

My favorite spot to photograph was City Hall at night. Such a great building with incredible lighting.

Link to all the trips pics here: Philly on my Smugmug page.

Hope to one day make it back and have more time to enjoy the city….

Missed opportunities….

Diego — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 01:59:11 +0000

Finally got back to fishing Flamingo on my yak this morning. It’s been a loooong 6 months since the last time I even touched a rod and was itching to get into some action. Decided to keep take it easy and only bring 3 spinning rods and minimal gear. It was HARD not bringing the long rod but, I wanted to keep it simple and just bend a rod by any means necessary.

Did not get out as early as I wanted but the Mingo ramp was not busy at all at day break. The 45 minute paddle out to the flats was pretty uneventful. Was thinking I’d see a few tarpon rolling like I did all last summer but it was dead quiet. Things changed quickly once I hit the flat. There were Redfish all over the usual spots. Unfortunately, they were super spooky. Must have seen at least 2 dozen cruisers and tailers in under 2 hours but only got one of them to eat and he popped off as I was putting my anchor down. Probably spooked a good dozen others either by casting too close or they’d simply spook upon seeing the lure.
I was hoping to get more shots as the tides got better but a major thunderstorm started rolling in from the Keys that had me running back to the marina earlier than anticipated. Of course, the damn thing turned North at the last moment and I could have probably stayed on the flat all day. Frustrating but better safe than sorry I guess.
Oh, definitely bringing the fly rod next time. Couldn’t help but wonder if I would have had better luck with a quieter presentation? Of course, that means getting a lot closer, so who knows….
Time to start practicing with the fly rod again!

Camping in the Everglades

Diego — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 19:29:00 +0000

Took the kids and Charlene on their first camping trip this past weekend. We hit the campground in Flamingo and had some great weather. The mosquitoes got bad around dusk but other than that it wasn’t too bad.
The kids had an absolute blast and Charlene did pretty well too considering it was her first time camping and she is not an outdoor person.
Unfortunately we had to cut the trip short and left early Sunday. We wanted to go hiking and take a canoe trip but Charlene and I got ZERO sleep thanks to the winds that kicked up around midnight. Kids slept through the entire night but us old folks were way too tired that morning and decided to call it a day early.
Will definitely be planning another trip once fall rolls around. Getting too hot and buggy already for another one this season. Next time I’ll most likely head north and inland a bit to keep away from the winds. Thinking of something near the springs at the center of the state.

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Dead fish, high winds, locked gate = no fishing!

Diego — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 23:17:58 +0000

Finally made it down to Flamingo again this morning. My plan was to hit the newly cleared Bear Lake trail for a few hours and be home in time for the NFL play-offs. Got to Flamingo while it was still dark and of course the damn gate to the trail was locked again. Was hoping that they would unlock it at dawn but I waited almost 2 hours and no one came. Winds were way too high to try going out front so I just called it a day and worked my way back home. I stopped at a couple of the hiking trails on the way out of the park and found some nice short ones that I think the kids will enjoy.

I also had a chance to check out the fish kill from this months cold snap and it was ridiculous. So many nice fish belly up at the marina. Even found dead fish at some of the small lakes along the park road. Really sad to see. Most worried about the snook populations as I have not heard of a single person catching or even seeing a snook since the cold snap. I saw dead tarpon, snook, grouper and all kinds of baitfish. May have been a few redfish too but they were so bloated and discolored that I’m not really sure what some species were.

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Disney in December

Diego — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 22:06:55 +0000

Hit Disney with the family last weekend and had a great time. I was a bit under the weather but we still managed to ride 19 rides in one day and did not leave the park until after 1:30 AM in the morning. Longest wait time we had was probably 25 minutes. I am the FastPass master!
Ethan was excited for every single ride. Don’t think I’ve ever seen him as happy as I did that Saturday night. He was even signing the Christmas songs he had learned in school while we waited in line and got a few cheers from the crowd.

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Kayak Camera Mount

Diego — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 04:34:24 +0000

Finally ordered a replacement waterproof camera so I should start posting again soon. Here is a nice video of a mount I want to make for the kayak so I can take pics.

How to make a Cheap and Easy Hands Free Kayak Camera Mount!! from Florida Kayak Angler on Vimeo.

Best dunk I’ve seen in a while – Dwayne Wade gives facial to Sideshow Bob!

Diego — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 03:39:45 +0000

This was one of the most vicious & thunderous dunks I’ve ever seen. It looked and sounded amazing as it happened. The tiny youtube video does not do it justice.

Dwayne Wade’s dunks on Varejao:

Link to larger HD view here.