Shorewoods Photography-Boarding Group 2 Travel Blog

Today we leave West Palm Beach and begin our travels through the Florida Everglades towards the Florida Gulf Coast. Our first stop of the day is at Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in Boynton Beach.

As we were walking down a path, a family of Sand Hill Cranes emerged from the side of the road and paraded down the middle of the street. This was our first sighting of a colt, the Sand Hill young. It was a treat to capture some images of these magnificent birds.

Today as we capture photos, we are using Snap Bridge: an app that connects with our cameras and adds GPS information into the metadata. When we transfer our images from our camera, Lightroom shows us where each photo was taken on a map! How neat is that?!

Our next stop in Loxahatchee was to walk the Marsh Trail. This trail is a large rectangle with views of birds and animals from both sides. In the early morning hours we captured many birds leaving their roosts from the night and flying overhead.

On our way back to the parking area we passed this massive alligator sunning itself on a walkway one ditch away. The walking path was easily 9-10 feet across, so it gives you an idea of how big it was. You can see from our Lightroom map the location where we took the photo.

We left Loxahatchee and began the drive across the state through the Florida Everglades. It was fascinating watching the different landscapes. I felt like I was learning to see all over again, as the vegetation, and the way the wildlife interacts in the vegetation is very different than what we are used to in the Virginia and Delaware wetlands.

We stopped at the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk and ventured out over the glades.

It was pretty busy, but did not feel crowded due to the expanse of the boardwalk. I noticed a young girl, perhaps 6 or 7, walking towards me with her family. Art and some of our fellow photographers were walking ahead carrying their large lenses. She stared as they passed by, and then she turned and saw me. Her eyes got wide, and she burst into an excited smile. She tugged on her dad’s hand and said “Look Daddy-that lady has a big camera too”! She then turned to her dad and asked “Dad, can I take a picture with your phone”? I think we may have witnessed inspiration in its truest form, and maybe even the making of a photographer.

If you are ever traveling through the Everglades, you might enjoy visiting Clyde Butcher Gallery. Clyde is truly an inspiration for photographers. We spent some time at his gallery, awe-ing at his photos and work.

We made another stop at Daggerwing Nature Center where we saw turtles and another variety of Florida landscape. The swamp was dry and we were able to see the base of the trees and the water condensed into smaller ponds.

We arrived later in the day to Fort Myers, where tomorrow we will visit Ding Darling. As we settle into our hotel for the evening, and begin sorting through our photos, my thoughts return to the varied experiences of the day, from colts and pelicans and girls making photos. A pretty great day!