LITTLE SHARK RIVER 5 © 2005

The Everglades

Visiting the Shark River area by boat is always fun. Being surrounded by the beauty and quiet sounds of nature is good for the soul. Niki and I had taken our catamaran for a week’s stay in the area and anchored in a small alcove of Shark Valley River. The mosquitoes were strangely nonexistent, so we spent time in our dingy exploring the environment. When we came across this repeated pattern of mangrove roots, the rhythm just begged to be photographed. Shark Valley Slough Originating from water conservation lands 60 miles to the north of where it drains into Florida Bay, the Shark Valley Slough received its name from boat pilots who saw the fins of bull sharks in brackish water near the outlet to the sea. This mostly freshwater channel occupying a linear, low-lying area of the Everglades is one of the two main throughways that funnel the bulk of the “River of Grass” to the saline waters between the Florida Keys and the Ten Thousand Islands. Little Shark River 5 was taken with a Clyde-O-Wide 4×5 (hand built by Clyde) 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/22 | 47mm Schneider Super-Angulon XL lens | 1/4 second Disclaimer – Cropping, contrast, and image density may vary. To learn more about the darkroom printing process, click here.