Located just south of Everglades City, they were completely
surrounded by nature. Capturing photos of pristine natural
Florida, they waded through waste-deep water glimpsing
vibrant colors and listening to a few mysterious sounds.
During the early hours of the morning, the photographers
ventured out on a guided journey on the property behind
Clyde’s gallery in Ochopee.
“The beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” Dusty said.
“Each person will see something different as they explore
the wetlands.”
In the Florida Everglades, Cypress trees are often found
growing in one of three distinct formations.
“The unique shapes of the Cypress give the opportunity to
get some very distinctive photos,” Dusty said.
The richly diverse wilderness of subtropical Florida can be
found nowhere else but the fragile Everglades ecosystem.
“We found a few surprises out there, including a root of
one Cypress that was shaped like a teddy bear,” Dusty said.
“And we saw a lot of small alligators, so we knew the mom
was close by watching.”
They started out at dawn to capture sunrise light over the
terrain of the swamp, and headed out again later that afternoon
to take some mid-day photos. Both trips were photo
excursions covering different parts of the swamp.
“We were looking to catch the morning light on certain
things, and then in the afternoon we had different light to get
a change of perspective on the landscape,” H said.
The idea for the trip in December was to celebrate H’s
birthday last year, and conquer his fear of wading in water
laden with alligators. Luckily it was December and there
hadn’t been too much rain, so for much of the trip the group
only had to trudge through ankle-to-thigh-deep water.
“I had to wade away from the others to get close photos
of some of the small alligators, and the bottom of the swamp
was becoming less solid so that was a bit scary,” H said.
60 GASPARILLA MAGAZINE November/December 2019