Classroom of the Sea

You can only learn so much from a textbook. My daughter's recent school field trip to Tampa Bay Watch in Fort De Soto, Florida brought the classroom directly to the ocean. Number 2 pencils are replaced with life jackets and hands on experience with sea life from ocean to your lap.



A ten minute boat ride to open water surfaces salt water creatures of all shapes and sizes. From slimy algae, to spiky puffer fish, to angelic starfish and adorable dwarf sea horses, the mystery of the deep is unlocked to sea legged students.



I lied. There has to be some classroom time in a real building. Microscopes are not conducive to a marine environment, especially when examining smaller than life plankton.



Marine sciences were overwhelmed by the culinary arts for the moment. Scalpel and tweezers were replaced by flour and a touch of salt for deep fried calamari. You cannot learn new things on an empty stomach!



Tampa Bay Watch with their Estuary EDventures program educates through hands on experience environmental responsibility. Life, big and small, need love also. Who would not love my baby daughter with a dirty diaper? Tough love.



You can view more in my Tampa Bay Watch Experience Gallery shot with the Canon 5D Mark II paired with the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS lens.



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The Fruits of Our Labor Day 2011

Labor Day sparks the end of summer and the day off from work for most but for my newborn daughter Serena, this holiday weekend celebrates her 6 month old milestones. Sitting up on her own, grabbing objects with her hands and recognizing her own name are just a few recent developmental skills of this very happy baby.



With 10 pounds of Rib-eye steak and Pork ribs to grill, we officially ended summer with a windy trip to our favorite Fort De Soto Beach Park. The family loves the beach and everything that comes with it. The waves, the splashing and the seashell hunting tops the beach favorite's list. For me, it is the uninterrupted charcoal grilling with the ultimate final reward of consumption. One juicy bite at a time.



Okay, we did not spend all weekend grilling meat and soaking up all the sunshine. We journeyed long and far to various eating establishments. Of course, all this culinary research is for the greater scientific good. The good of our appetites.



We hit a Food Network favorite of Guy Fieri, Taco Bus in Tampa, Florida. I would not consider this Mexican Food Truck restaurant as a "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" hotspot, but more like a school bus authentic Mexican kitchen attached to an air conditioned dining area.



All that matters to me is that the kids like it with the convenience of 24/7 yummy dining. My daughter's Food Network choice is definitely the fried fish tacos with all the trimmings. Scrumptious!



Capturing my newborn daughter's six month milestones is naturally a labor of love. Every month comes with a new shining baby moment and an overwhelming photo gallery of cute and adorable baby portraits.



Labor Day for my son means a few short weeks closer to the upcoming iPhone 5. Call my son the King of anything Apple and an Honorary Soldier of the soon to be released, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.



Almost every week my daughter Serena surprises me with some new baby skill. Everyday my daughter's adorable smile makes everything worthwhile one photograph and dirty diaper at a time.



You can view more fruits of our Labor Day 2011 shot with the Canon EOS Rebel T3i/600D and the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV in my Labor Day 2011 Gallery.



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Happy Easter !

The Ides of March have come and gone. From Supermoon to Spring Jubilee, Easter arrives to the delight of many including my chocolate bunny craving kids. You can thank the Pennsylvania Dutch settlers of early America for their egg carrying bunnies bringing egg decorating and hunting antics to children all over.



The Resurrection of Christ and the Exodus of Israelites from Egyptian slavery are a tough sell to everything chocolate and colored eggs for my kids in this festive time of Easter. Bring out the white vinegar and food coloring and let us make a colorful hard boiled egg mess.



My idea of Spring has nothing to do with bunnies or eggs. Warmer days bring beach filled sunsets and the sound of crashing waves. Easter weekend kicks off with a trip to Fort De Soto Beach. Serena's first trip to the ocean began with hesitation but with a few dips in the warm sea changed her newborn mind.



Who can resist the lure of the warm Gulf encapsulated with the orange glow of the setting sun? The "Golden Hour" as photographers call this natural and appealing ambient light blessed this photographic moment. I definitely took advantage of this special time with my handy Canon EOS Rebel T3i/600D paired with the EF 35mm f/2 lens.



Yes, I am in the salt water with a DSLR. Anything for the shot, right? Wide open at f/2 and a noise free ISO 100 gives me that dreamy bokeh that everyone desires. The sunset menagerie has only begun on the sandy shores and continues with glistening crests of ocean waves. You will be hard pressed for a bad image in this glorious beach. The sun behind you gives a warm pleasing light. The sun in front of you offers a nice backlit silhouette of your subject with a great setting sun in the background. What could go wrong?



My idea of Easter is a scrambled egg topped with cheese and crispy bacon on toasted Cuban bread with butter. Of course, accompanied by a large Cafe con Leche with heaps of table sugar. This is a perfect Easter Sunday breakfast of Champions.



You can view more eggs, hard boiled and scrambled, in my Easter 2011 Gallery.



11 months or less and counting until Serena can fully participate in my Canon HD DSLR Video tests and reviews. I cannot wait. By then, we will have the Apple iPhone 5 and iPad 3, the Canon 5D Mark III and 1Ds Mark IV and finally the much anticipated Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L wide angle zoom lens. Serena has much to look forward too in her Full HD future.

Fort De Soto Beach Park

Thirteen pounds of charcoal briquettes. Check. Ten pounds of marinated chicken. Check. Large bag of frozen corn on the cob. Check. Canon EOS Rebel T2i with EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens. Check. This may sound like a Thanksgiving feast but it is only a day trip to my favorite Fort De Soto Beach Park with the family.



While the entire Northeast suffers through another record blizzard, the Tampa Bay weather enjoys another 74 degree sunny day. The local beaches invade my ChadSorianoPhotoBlog like Gasparilla Pirates.



As you may have noticed, the "boss" is expecting. Six more weeks to be exact until the cameras are rolling and clicking. I may have to expand my hard drive space. Baby Serena in Full HD coming soon. Do you think the maternity ward has room for an IGUS Drylin Camera Slider?



Somehow this attempt at a family maternity shoot went horribly wrong. Cute sibling kisses turned into "Twilight" turmoil.



Let me leave a favorite video of mine from my past local beach visits.

You can view more pictures in my Fort De Soto Beach Park 2011 Gallery.

A St. Augustine Thanksgiving

The Conquistadors first brought disease and religion to the native people of northeast Florida. The British followed suit with even more pestilence and "Redcoat" rule. The United States brought a Super Walmart. Finally, ChadSorianoPhotoBlog arrived to this east coast community of St. Augustine, Florida with meat. Lots of carne. Raw muscle from almost every meat group for a holiday Thanksgiving.



Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon landed his trade ships near the same shores of our beach house rental. He journeyed long and far in search of gold and new land. My family had sandy pursuits and St. Augustine tourist traps.



The Spaniards had their own weapon of mass destruction to ward off hostile invaders at the Castillo de San Marcos. More potent than gunpowder was hormonal rage complete with Gucci purse and Coach sandals.



We trekked into the Old City via St. George street with eyes wide open. From the oldest wooden schoolhouse to the plethora of "Tourist Trains" encapsulated by Spanish Colonial architecture. I soon discovered the former Spanish buildings now housed a Kilwin's of St. Augustine with my favorite toasted coconut ice cream.



Off to Anastasia Island to see the St. Augustine Lighthouse with it's spectacular topside view. 219 steps later, we made it to the top.



With a quick view of the bay and the inner workings of the Fresnel lens, we descended the 219 steps again in search of lunch. I Googled "fried chicken" which pointed me in the direction of an Anastasia legend called O'Steen's Restaurant.



I ordered the signature Fried Chicken while my family ordered the Fried Catfish, Clams, Liver and Gizzards. Fantastic describes the experience. Topped off with their special "Datil" cocktail sauce and accompanied with their seasoned hush puppies, O'Steen's Restaurant is definitely on my "must do" list while in St. Augustine.



Christmas in November came upon us with ice skating and sledding along with an Elf Village with no elves at the St. Augustine Amphitheater. My kids blasted through the overpriced carnival games and their cousin ice skated for the very first time at the WinterWonderland.



Thanksgiving is behind us with more meat filled photos approaching the New Year. I used a Canon EOS 1D Mark IV with an EF 35mm f/2, EF 50mm f/1.2L and EF 24-105mm f/4L IS lens.



You can view more pictures and videos in my St. Augustine Thanksgiving 2010 Gallery.

Happy Birthday Jude !

My son was born five years ago this very day. The cliche holds true to the fact that time flies right by our eyes. I can list the stages of his life more than my quintuple chins on my face. Opening his newborn eyes, grinning his face, crawling with his elbows, eating solids, walking on his own and the list goes on forever.



The sanctity of the delivery room did not hold my picture and video gathering abilities. With one hand with my camera and the other on my wife's leg, my son emerged to the world of standard definition video. Little did I know that HD DSLR's would be all the rage very soon.



My son's birthday festivities started late last week with a celebration at his school. His teacher gathered all the May birthdays and had a big party. I guess you could call it a small graduation to Kindergarten for next school year.



What would kick off my son's special weekend better than cake and ice cream at school? Star Wars Weekend at Disney's Hollywood Studios! Minus the skin burning heat and the mobs of wanna-be Boba Fett characters, my son enjoyed every minute of it through his sweat soaked head.



I have to apologize. My Star Wars picture gathering abilities were dampened by the large crowds of tourists. Too make up for it, you can view my Star Wars Gallery of 2009. There is more than enough Star Wars eye candy to go around.



All weekend I used the Canon EOS Rebel T2i and the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens. The T2i makes a small comeback because I have been busy with the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV. You can view more in my Canon EOS Rebel T2i Photo and Video Gallery and the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV Photo and Video Gallery.



The crowds at Hollywood Studios and the heat forced my family indoors most of the time. The refuge of "The Great Movie Ride" inspired me to create another Canon EOS Rebel T2i Video Test. With no lines to the attraction and the comfort of cold air conditioning, the tribute to the movies emerged in my PhotoBlog.



Our weekend would not be complete without two more things. Yummy House and a trip to the beach. A quick impromptu birthday lunch at our favorite Chinese restaurant and then an hour drive south to Fort Desoto for some beach fun. Finally! The birthday marathon weekend is over...for now!



Despite personal drama and setbacks in my life, I consider myself blessed when it comes to my family. My son is my mini-clone and my daughter is my wife's clone. What could be better? You can watch a family home video I made last year with the Canon EOS Rebel T1i in Pass-a-Grille beach, FL. I used Nikon AF-D prime lenses with a Fotodiox adapter to overcome the automatic exposure in video mode.



You can view more of my son's birthday weekend in this Photo and Video Gallery.



I am not kidding when I say "my son is my mini-clone".

Fort Wilderness Resort

A physical and literary paradox smothers our new adventure into the Magic Kindgom. The irony I am talking about is the word "Wilderness" and "Resort" describing the outdoor Disney refuge in Orlando,FL.



Your eyes are not fooling you. Those are mobile homes disguised as authentic log cabins. The same log cabins that early pioneers of America settled their restless spirit to discover the wild west. I think Disney removed the trailer hitch to give the Wilderness log cabin some authenticity.



The kids could care less of the wilderness menagerie because there were bunk beds and a swimming hole to play in for hours on end.



I overcame the simulated wood grain with endless opportunities of picture taking and non stop charcoal grilling. With 40 pounds of marinated meat,3 bags of charcoal and a bag of real hickory chunks, I began my photo and BBQ odyssey. 20 pounds of leg quarters, 10 pounds of ribs, 5 pounds of italian sausage and 5 pounds of burgers challenged my grilling skill for two days. Why so much meat? The in-laws were invading in droves with savage hunger. Plus, I love grilling meat in the great outdoors. This was the closest to "Wilderness" as we got in the Disney Resort.



After the grilling and swimming, the family ventured to other parts of the Walt Disney World Complex. We traveled via train,monorail,bus and boat to different Disney themed resorts. Our first stop was to the Grand Floridian Resort with its Victorian style buildings.



We took the Resort Ferry boat to Disney's Polynesian Resort in the pouring rain. We joyously discovered in the Captain Cook snack bar of the resort with all you can eat Dole Pineapple soft serve ice cream. The only other place at Disney World that served Dole Pineapple soft serve was across the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House for a $5 small dish with no refills. As a side note, we visited an actual Dole Plantation in Hawaii that served the same Dole Pineapple soft serve.



Fond memories of Hawaii...it seemed only like yesterday we visited the islands. Sandy beaches,tropical winds, L&L BBQ and Costco souvenirs fill my mind when I think of paradise. You can view the golden treasure for yourself in the Hawaii 2009 Photo and Video Gallery.
The Hawaiian Gallery is shot exclusively with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II.



The tacky souvenir shirt and fake flowered lei will have to suffice for now in replace of the real thing. Hope was not lost during our "Wilderness" visit, we discovered all you can eat Dole Pineapple soft serve ice cream!

You can view more images in the Fort Wilderness Resort 2010 Gallery.
Shot with the Canon EOS 1D Mark III with the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 IS and Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 IS lenses.