I left this past Sunday to spend a couple of days in south Florida, mainly the Everglades National Park.  I arrived early Monday morning, and after taking a nap for a few hours I woke up to a thick dense fog.  I decided not to shoot that morning but to explore some of the areas in the park.  I drove all the way down to the end to a little place called Flamingo.  I proceeded down a short trail that followed the shore.  The low tide had exposed moss covered rocks along the shore and there were some ruins of what may have been a long forgotten pier.  This area had a lot of potential but unfortunately the lighting was much too harsh to capture the type of image that I have in mind.  I will be back to this location when a low tide is near a sunrise or sunset.  It is always good to have something in mind for later.

Most of the day Monday I spent hiking trails.  The trails here in the Everglades are often under water, so wearing some kind of waterproof boots is a must.  Later that evening, I went back to a location that I knew well, the little bent dwarf cypress tree.  I have programmed the location of this tree into my GPS so I would have no problem finding it later.  Here, the sun had set and I had illuminated the scene using a halogen spotlight.

Bent Dwarf Cypress

The next morning I went to Pine Glades Lake.  It was foggy morning yet again, but not as thick as it was the previous morning.  I set up my camera to photograph this scene.

Foggy Morning at Pine Glades Lake

Morning at Pine Glades Lake

After the morning shoot, I went to Big Cypress.  I drove along the loop trail and tried to photograph some of the wildlife there.  I have found that many of the alligators are skittish, and any movement can make them go under the water very quickly.

Alligator in the swamp

I was killing time until it got closer to sunset.  I don’t usually photograph wildlife, but since I was in the Everglades, wildlife is everywhere!  I couldn’t resist to try to take some portrait shots of this beautiful egret.

Egret in the Everglades

Egret

When it was getting closer to sunset, I went to Gator Hook Trail.  I walked through ankle deep water to this one cypress tree that was along the trail.  As the sun was low in the sky, I had taken this shot, and this one is probably the best image from the trip.

Dwarf Cypress at Gator Hook

There are many amazing places to photograph within the park, however most people only see a very small portion of the Everglades.  Perhaps the best way to see the Everglades is to have access to a kayak or canoe.  There are canoe rentals inside the park that the one can rent to see some of the designated areas, but I think the best way to see the Everglades would be to bring your own.  This year, I am planning on purchasing a kayak to do just that.  But for right now, I am limited to the public access areas by land.