Hillsborough River State Park, Thonotosassa, Northeast of Tampa, FL –
I was told that the Hillsborough River, near Tampa, has rapids. Florida has no mountains, so I couldn’t imagine rapids in Florida. I was very curious about how they would look. As I hiked toward the rapids, the sound of the water rushing over the rocks took my mind back to the rivers of California, which I had photographed when I was young. However, the Hillsborough River is not like any river in California. It had been a dry spring, so the rocks stood out of the river, creating wonderful photographic opportunities. I chose a long exposure for this photograph so that the movement of the water would ‘soften’ and contrast with the hard forms of the rocks.
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.
Disclaimer – Cropping, contrast, and image density may vary. To learn more about the darkroom printing process, click
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Governor Chiles is one of the few politicians who I have admired in my life because of all he did for Florida. He loved the people, the history and the environment of Florida. When I was honored with the most prestigious cultural honor that can be bestowed upon an individual in the State of Florida – The Artist Hall of Fame Award, Governor Chiles was at the event celebrating with me. He invited me to come out to photograph his cabin. I was sure his cabin was a very large modern house and that he misunderstood what kind of photography I do, but I said yes. The next day we drove to the Governor’s cabin. As I drove up to what I thought was the Governor’s cabin all I saw was a large two-story house. I assumed I was going to have a problem. When the Governor greeted us, he walked us down the hill to his ‘cabin’ and told us the story. When the interstate highway I-10 was being built, this cabin of the 1800s was going to be demolished. Governor Chiles (who wasn’t Governor at the time) had the cabin carefully removed piece by piece and then rebuilt on his property. The rebuilding was done using the same tools and equipment of that time period. It was beautifully completed and it was worthy of a photograph!
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.
Disclaimer – Cropping, contrast, and image density may vary. To learn more about the darkroom printing process, click
here.
I am an ardent fan of NASA, and anything that has to do with the stars and the universe. I was invited to photograph the shuttle that carried John Glenn’s second trip into outer space. It also carried a scientist friend’s project: pregnant fish. They were the first species to give birth in space. The object was to see if fish could be a renewable food source for space travel. Watching the shuttle liftoff toward the heavens was a very powerful experience. While watching, I was inspired to the realization that we can do anything we set our minds to and this gave me a wonderful hope for the future. It was a great experience.
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.
Disclaimer – Cropping, contrast, and image density may vary. To learn more about the darkroom printing process, click
here.
The Ghost Orchid is a very rare native orchid of Florida. It has many unique features, but one of the features I find most fascinating is that it doesn’t have any leaves. If the plant isn’t in bloom, you’d have no idea there was an orchid on the tree. At night the orchid emits a beautiful gentle scent. It is pollinated by the giant sphinx moth. The moth has a 6″ proboscis that enables it to reach into the long spur of the orchid flower. The orchid is on the state list of endangered species.
Ghost Orchid Twin 2 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 | 72mm Schneider XL lens | 20 seconds.
Disclaimer – Cropping, contrast, and image density may vary. To learn more about the darkroom printing process, click
here.
The Ghost Orchid is a very rare native orchid of Florida. It has many unique features, but one of the features I find most fascinating is that it doesn’t have any leaves. If there weren’t a bloom on the plant, you’d have no idea there was an orchid on the tree. Another feature is that no one has been able to propagate the Ghost Orchid. It does not survive outside of the environment in which it is born. This mystery is being studied by the Smithsonian and Naples Jungle Garden.
One of the Rarest Orchids in the World
Poaching is the main reason rare orchids, like the ghost orchid (dendrophylax lindenii), have diminished to fewer than 2,000 plants in the wild. A mature epiphytic orchid’s delicate, spider-like root system securely clings to the bark of a tree. A poacher will often saw that portion of the tree to a manageable size for easy transport, leaving the tree damaged. The destruction of the tree disrupts the fungi-containing lichen, and the rare plant soon dies. To compound the difficulties of its survival, only one insect, the giant sphinx moth, can pollinate the ghost orchid.
Disclaimer – Cropping, contrast, and image density may vary. To learn more about the darkroom printing process, click
here.
Although alligators are often depicted as ruthless and violent, they also have a soft side, as Niki and I have seen over the years while surrounded by more than a million acres of Everglades wilderness. We’ve witnessed the courtship of the resident alligators and the protectiveness of the female as she watches after her hatchlings for their first two years. She discourages gators other than her mate from entering the pond, driving off intruders with a territorial bellow and physical displays while welcoming her mate with soft rumbles. Like the majority of wild animals, these ancient reptiles can be dangerous and should be respected. When it comes to wildlife, never take your safety for granted when you’re out in the wild.
Seasonal Devotion
Scientists have made the surprising discovery that some female alligators repeatedly bond and mate with the same male. During mating season, a female alligator selects one male to mate with for the season. They call to one another from distant ponds as water levels lower in late winter and early spring. The male, or bull gator, travels over diverse and exhausting terrain, responding to the call. Through elaborate courtship actions of rumbles and petting, they mate. He stays with her several days to several weeks and frequently returns over the next two to five months.
Gator Love was taken with a Deardorff 8×10 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 | 19” Dagor lens | 1/4 second.
Disclaimer – Cropping, contrast, and image density may vary. To learn more about the darkroom printing process, click
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I set out into the swamp during the winter dry season, when water can only be found in the deepest holes, to capture the textures on the exposed bases of the cypress trees. As I set up my camera, an alligator lying at the end of the pond eyed me suspiciously. This small water hole was the animal’s only source of water for miles around, and he didn’t take kindly to me invading his territory. While I ducked under the black cloth focusing my camera, my wife, Niki, kept watch. She stayed ready to alert me if the gator started moving because gators can move fast when they want to.
Gator Holes
The American alligator is an architect and the apex species of the Everglades wetlands. Alligators excavate deep holes in the muck for their comfort. In the dry season, these excavated areas, called gator holes, hold the last remaining waters until the spring rains return. These depressions create aquatic habitats that allow fish, turtles, frogs, and invertebrates to survive the drought-like conditions of the dry season. Some of these small animals become the alligator’s prey, yet many survive to repopulate the wetlands when the rains return.
Gator Hook 1 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/64 | 120mm Nikkor SW lens | 10 seconds.
Disclaimer – Cropping, contrast, and image density may vary. To learn more about the darkroom printing process, click
here.
When I first moved to Florida from California, I was surprised trees could grow in saltwater. From that time on, I have loved the sculptural quality of mangroves, especially red mangroves, surrounded by water. As I traveled through the Everglades’ Ten Thousand Islands by boat, I passed these mangroves often. On this day, everything came together—the light, the clouds, and the stillness of the water. Today these mangroves have all but disappeared due to several hurricanes.
Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge
At the southwest edge of the Everglades lies one of the world’s most productive and biodiverse estuaries, the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge. This coastal wetland, spanning 35,000 acres, is a labyrinth of mangrove islands. Mangroves contribute to a rich source of nutrition in the form of leaves, bark, and twigs— debris that becomes colonized by microorganisms and eaten by small fish, shrimp, crabs, and their larvae. The plant’s ability to trap and accumulate debris creates new islands and habitats for other vegetation and allows juvenile creatures to flourish. The mangroves, with their sprawling, submersible root structures, offer a hiding place to a diverse array of inhabitants from both larger predators and the pounding destructive forces of seasonal storms. These sturdy barriers are essential in protecting the coastline from tidal surges and pounding waves, as hurricanes and tropical storms roll through.
Gaskin Bay 5 was taken with a Wisner 12×20 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/64 | 210 Schneider Super-Symmar XL lens | orange filter | 2 seconds.
Disclaimer – Cropping, contrast, and image density may vary. To learn more about the darkroom printing process, click
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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.
Winter always brings out the structural beauty of the naked cypress tree. This winter was unique due to a tropical storm that passed through Florida late in the hurricane season. Tropical Storm Gordon swept from the gulf across the Everglades to the Atlantic, leaving higher than usual water levels across the state throughout the winter. I was able to capture the water flowing through the grass between the bare trees offering an unusual moment in the environmental history of the Everglades.
Dwarf Cypress Trees
In the wide-open spaces of wet prairies, where soil depth is scant, and mineral-rich resources are negligible, grasses, sedges, and forbs dominate. The few cypress trees that have managed to cling to life in these regions are often gnarled, stunted, and ancient. They have survived some of the Everglades’ driest conditions as moisture in the prairie evaporates quickly in the absence of a protective tree canopy. The logging industry in the mid-twentieth century that removed all the large, old-growth bald cypress trees saw no value in these small, twisted old trees. They left these enduring forms that we enjoy today.
Gannet Strand 2 was taken with a Wisner 12×20 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/64 | 210 Schneider Super-Symmar XL lens | orange filter | 2 seconds.
Disclaimer – Cropping, contrast, and image density may vary. To learn more about the darkroom printing process, click
here.
