Florida

I hope you like color…

/ Michael Glover / 28 Comments

 

…because today’s post features a lot of it! 🙂 We find ourselves at the 2012 Epcot® International Flower & Garden Festival where flowers abound. There are so many of them to take in that it’s hard to really see it all in one day and truly appreciate the effort behind it. Breathtaking aromas and eye-catching colors await your visit. The displays they setup are absolutely amazing. A lot of work goes into putting on this festival and it’s definitely something to see. Over 100 topiaries were created with more than 75 of them representing Disney characters. The festival runs a little over 2 months with May 20th being the last day. For more info about the festival you can go here – Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival.

Today’s images are just a small sample of what you will find there. My eyes are drawn to vibrant colors so these two scenes stopped me in my tracks! Up first we have an image I like to call “Roll out the Flower Carpet.” The orange and purple flowers leading to the doors welcome the viewer as if to say come on in.

Up next we find “Radio Flower” – a little red wagon with color spilling all over. I think this was positively one of the coolest displays I have seen at the festival. So much attention to detail makes this scene worthy of a picture.

Well that about wraps up today’s post. I really hope you enjoyed reading about the festival and viewing the pictures as much as liked sharing it with you. Please feel free to leave any comments you might have as I always appreciate hearing from my visitors!

Blue Skies and Butterflies

/ Michael Glover / 17 Comments

This is another photo from my recent trip to Disney’s 24 hour day where I shot the Dolphin Resort. Upon arriving at EPCOT, I setup my tripod in the perfect spot to capture my vision. I waited for the monorail to enter the scene so I could catch the reflection as it passed by. The clouds were plentiful and just added to the dynamic. Disney always goes all out with their flower displays which is evident by the colorful arrangements of butterflies and flower designs in the background. Always my favorite time to visit!

Small Falls

/ Michael Glover / 15 Comments

On Saturday I went to one of my favorite Florida State parks to take some pictures. Rainbow Springs State Park in Dunnellon. Around this time of year the azaleas are in full bloom and this park is loaded with them. It is absolutely beautiful to see it in person. There are several pathways leading around the park to see these flowers as well as the springs where you can go swimming. Also they have three man-made waterfalls from the days when it was a tourist attraction before it became a park. The waterfalls are a bonus when you live in Florida! For this shot I decided to experiment a little bit. I used a specialty lens made by Lensbaby called the Composer. By tilting the lens at different angles it allows for a small area to be in focus and gives a nice blur around the rest of the image. In creating this shot it has the appearance of being a miniature waterfall.

To find out more information about this park please visit this link: http://www.floridastateparks.org/rainbowsprings/default.cfm

Dolphin Resort

/ Michael Glover / 12 Comments

On Wednesday February 29th in celebration of Leap Year, Disney’s Magic Kingdom put on an event called one more Disney day. The park opened at 6:00 am Wednesday and closed at 6:00 am Thursday. 24 hours at a theme park? Awesome!! I decided I wanted to spend the daytime hours taking pictures and the nighttime hours enjoying the park with no camera. I walked around different areas for a while taking pictures here and there until I was satisfied that I accomplished my goal. This is one of the shots from that day.

Situated in the Walt Disney World area just outside of EPCOT and Disney’s Boardwalk sits two hotels across the way from each other. The Swan and Dolphin Resorts are architectural marvels. The design is something amazing to see. You kind of just stand there a few minutes taking it all in. I was standing on the beach area beside the hotel to set up for this shot. The clouds were more than cooperative for me hanging around all day so the sky would be more interesting. I am really drawn to reflections and this angle did not disappoint.

The 2012 Book of Lists Party – My Favorite Night EVER!

/ Michael Glover / 24 Comments
I just had the opportunity to be involved in what was probably the most exciting evening of my life. I had an invitation to an exclusive party at the Tampa Bay Times Forum to celebrate with the people who made it into the 2012 Book of Lists – a book published annually by the Tampa Bay Business Journal. Months back I had entered one of my photographs in the books yearly search for artists. They wanted pictures representing the Tampa Bay area. I entered a picture that I had taken of beautiful downtown Tampa looking across the waterway. I was so excited in October when I found out I was one of the 13 artists chosen to be in the book! As time got closer to the publish date I could not WAIT to see it. The book was scheduled to come out on December 23rd. On December 22nd I received a call from the production director and she said she wanted to congratulate me personally because I made this years cover! I had no idea – it was a complete and awesome surprise! The party was incredible. Close to 800 people comprised of the executives who made it in the book of lists and their guest attended the party. There was tons of delicious food and drinks at every turn. The entertainment included an aerial artist, a band called the Vodkanauts – who were great! – a magician, and an ice carver just to to name a few. I got to walk the red carpet and pictures were taken of all the guests with fresh fake snow! Haha! The book cover was displayed everywhere and the highlight for me was seeing it displayed on the Jumbo Tron right in the middle of the forum through the entire night. It was truly a magical evening I will never forget. I am honored that I got to be part of such a wonderful night. This is definitely something to go down in my memory book.

Click on first picture to view gallery: