GASKIN BAY © 1989

Everglades National Park, FL

I had seen this old mangrove—which survived Hurricane Donna in the 1960s—several times while taking photographs in the Ten Thousand Islands. It expresses the lonely, primal feeling that I love to experience in the wilderness. I had been struck by this mangrove’s sculptural beauty before, but the light had not been right for me to take a photograph. Finally, one summer morning, everything came together and I was able to take this picture. Unfortunately, when Hurricane Andrew hit South Florida in 1992, this mangrove was destroyed. Damaging Extreme Wind The coastal area of the Everglades is protected from winter frost by the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. However, these same waters, which range from the low 70s in winter to nearly 90 degrees in summer, are known to fuel numerous tropical storms and hurricanes that can wreak havoc on living organisms. These extreme wind events not only tear leaf and limb from the tropical trees that line most of the shore but their effect on the water itself stimulates tidal surges and pounding waves that can topple many of the salt-tolerant, stout mangroves. Gaskin Bay was taken with a Deardorff 5×7 camera on T-Max 100 film. This photograph is hand-printed in Clyde’s darkroom on fiber-based paper, selenium toned, then mounted and matted to current archival standards. The photograph is a limited edition and signed by Clyde. Camera settings f/45 | 75mm Nikkor SW lens | orange filter | 1 second. Disclaimer – Cropping, contrast, and image density may vary. To learn more about the darkroom printing process, click here.