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I have moved this blog to another address. This old blog will no longer be updated, so please go to vicmicolucci.blogspot.com for an updated blog.

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Vic Micolucci

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The Search for Haleigh

Tuesday, a little 5-year-old girl disappeared from Satsuma in Putnam County. Her family reported it to police around 3:30 that morning. An endangered/missing persons alert was issued around 7:20 a.m. I was working at WUFT-FM doing Morning Edition. I got this story on the air within five minutes. I knew in my heart this was a serious thing, and she didn't just wander off. Unfortunately, she still hasn't been found. Investigators still haven't much. I covered this story for WUFT-TV today, showcasing day three of the frantic search. My photographer, Nicole Alvarez, and I spent the day down there and rushed back to get this story on air for the 5:30 newscast. Here's the piece that came from our trip. I truly hope they find this little girl safe and sound.

http://www.wuft.tv/news/index.php?id=292

BCS National Championship Game!

The Gators are champions again! Oh how sweet it is. I was lucky enough to have been able to cover the 2008 BCS Championship Game in South Florida betwen the Florida Gators and the Oklahoma Sooners. I was working for WUFT-TV Sports, so I wasn't there as a still photographer. Nonetheless, I toted my camera with my smallest lens, the 50mm f./1.8. I was able to snap a few. By the way, in case you live in a bubble, the Gators won 24 to 14.

The WUFT crew... Tim Tebow in the postgame press conference...

Major Wright's gear amidst the victory confetti...

Louis Murphy does a dance...

Lousi Murphy and Tim Tebow before the game...

Tim Tebow to Percy Harvin just before kickoff...

The trophy in all its gloriousness...

Before entering our police escorted media bus...

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, my friends. Here are some pictures I took from the Acosta Bridge over the St. Johns River in Downtown Jacksonville. Photographing fireworks is difficult at first, but once you learn, things get a lot easier. First, I set my ISO to 100. The lowest possible ISO reduces noise. I can only have this low sensitivity because I use a tripod. No tripod= no good photos in this case. Next, I set my focus to manual and manually focused on the buildings in the background. I was usually zoomed out to 28mm. I used a small aperture, usually f./ 8 to f./ 11, so there weren't many depth of field issues. I used a shutter speed of 1/10 second to 10 seconds. This allowed the fireworks to "do their thing" as my camera's sensor recorded it. If I could do it again, I'd back further up. I wish I had a wider angle lens, like an 18mm or wider.

The important things to remember are a tripod and a longer shutter speed. You don't need a DSLR to shoot fireworks effectively. You can use a simple point and shoot if it has manual settings or a fireworks setting. If you don't have a tripod, try to find a stable ledge or table.

Gators slam Stetson

New Camera

I switched my camera body. I sold my Nikon D50 digital SLR and bought the newer, a little upgraded Nikon D80. I managed to make the trade only paying about $25 out of pocket and a lens. I'll miss the good ole' D50, but I needed the better ISO, more focus points and additional features of the D80.

The D50... (photo by zonnet.nl) The D80...

(photo by regenthilldesigns)

Macros in the Yard

Here are some macro (close-up) shots from a few different places. Most of them are from my parents' yard, which is run by wasps and lizards. To get these shots, I had to get my knees, and sometimes the rest of my body. I used my 70-300mm Sigma telephoto locked at 300mm in the macro position for close focusing. I used auto white balance, the widest aperture possible to freeze the bugs and minimize camera shake. I usually shot between ISO 400 and ISO 800 to get the fastest shutter speeds possible.

Thanksgiving in the Everglades

I took a trip to visit the relatives in Miami for Thanksgiving. The weather was beautiful, so we decided to bike 15 miles in Shark Valley in the Everglades. There weren't any sharks, but we saw tons of these reptiles. I brought my D50 with just my old fixed 50mm f./1.8 Nikkor because it's tiny and weighs practically nothing. I cropped some of the pictures to make the subjects bigger. That's where more megapixels count. Just goes to show you don't need to use a $4,000 telephoto to get some decent wildlife shots. Most shots are ISO 200, auto white balance, f./ 4 and shutter about 1/1250 second.

Okay, I understand this wasn't the smartest thing to do. It was a one time deal. Kids, don't try this!

The Last Home Gator Game

Florida Gators vs. Citadel Bulldogs

Here are a few shots from way up in the nosebleed section with my 70-300mm telephoto...

For those who want to know: I was shooting at ISO 400, usually at 300mm f./ 5.6 ( I'd use lower aperture if I had a lens that could) on my D50. Sunny white balance and spot metering. I used as fast of a shutter speed as possible to freeze the motion. Most shots were about 1/2000 second.

Louis Murphy and Ahmad Black with fans...
Aaron Hernandez...

Chris Rainey...
Chris Rainey...
Torrey Davis...
Jonathan Phillips...
Brandon James...
Tim Tebow...
Mr. Two Bits' last dance...

How to make an HDR

For more than a year, I've toyed with the idea of making an HDR, which is basically a picture with all details and colors shown. However, I have yet to do one. My excuse is that I don't have Photoshop or Aperture to do it, but I should find a way. Hopefully this video will help me. (I did not make this video.)

Lake Alice on a cold evening

I used specially panoramic software to piece several images together, yielding this picture of Lake Alice on the University of Florida campus at dusk. This is not an HDR. Click on the picture to enlarge it and see the lake in all its greatness.

Photography in Words

This is a podcast. You can download it in iTunes by copying and pasting the link.

My dogs being friendly...

I guess Comet and Zoe weren't agreeing on something. I shot this at 300mm with my Sigma telephoto. ISO 400, shutter speed 1/2000 second, vivid color, auto white blance, and f./ 5.6.