This is the tallest Black Mangrove in Florida. It is located on the highest spot in South Florida at 26 ft and it’s not easy to reach! In order to get to it, I climbed over an Indian Mound, lots of small Black Mangroves, Red Mangroves, sunk in the muck several times and struggled not to inhale mosquitoes. It took the majority of the morning to reach the site, but the beauty of the mangrove was worth the struggle.
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.
Moonrise was the first photograph I took after the death of my son. Ted was only 17 years old when he was killed by a drunk driver in 1986. In my grief, I disappeared into the Everglades for days at a time. I fell in love with the land and let it be the sanctuary I desperately needed. My time in nature led to a turning point in my career. I realized color photography was not my passion; it was not expressing what I felt. I loved black-and-white photography and knew that was my calling. Losing Ted reminded me that life is short, and if you have a dream, you should pursue it.
Turning Point
Clyde purchased his first large-format 8×10 Deardorff view camera and headed out into the Everglades. Moonrise was his first try at returning to black and white film and became one of his classic photographs. It won many awards, which intrinsically told him that black and white film was what he should be doing. Moonrise changed his life, just as Ted’s death made him look at life differently.
Moonrise was taken with a Deardorff 8×10 camera on Tri-X 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 | 360mm Schneider Symmar lens | red filter | 4 seconds
Disclaimer – Cropping, contrast, and image density may vary. To learn more about the darkroom printing process, click
here.
Marie Selby Botanical Garden in Sarasota, FL – I had the pleasure of being invited to Selby Garden’s Orchid House early in the morning before they opened to photograph some of their orchids. This was unusual photography for me, as I rarely do close-up photography. My customary imagery is large wide-open landscapes. However, now that I’m getting involved in digital photography, I can have a better depth of field and faster exposure times than with a large format camera, so I gladly accepted the invitation. To photograph the orchids I used my Sony A7R and Cambo Actus with an 80mm enlarging lens. This orchid is native to the Costa Rican and Panamanian cloud forests.
This photograph is printed on a large format Epson printer using genuine Epson ink and archival Harman Hahnemuhle paper. Each photograph is digitally signed, then mounted and matted to current archival standards. This is a limited edition series and each photograph is numbered.
Among my many photographic endeavors, this one easily stands out as one of the least challenging and most comfortable. While out boating, Niki and I saw a cloud formation forming over the still waters of Charlotte Harbor. We pulled our pontoon boat onto a sandbar, and I set up my camera while Niki prepared breakfast. The rhythm was simple; I captured an image of the cloud, savored a pancake while waiting for the cloud to change shape, and took another shot. Of course, it didn’t end with two shots and one pancake. In the end, I may have captured more pancakes than photographs!
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.
This guy is the resident gator of the pond in my backyard. Why is he called Loosescrew Gator? Well, when I bought the property in the middle of the Big Cypress National Preserve to build my gallery and home, a friend said I had to have a screw loose to build so far away from civilization. So, I called my property the Loosescrew Sanctuary…and this impressive creature became the Loosescrew Gator.
Loosescrew Gator 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 second
Disclaimer – Cropping, contrast, and image density may vary. To learn more about the darkroom printing process, click
here.
Florida’s Kissimmee River stretches from Lake Kissimmee to Lake Okeechobee, which is near West Palm Beach. I took this photograph before sunrise, while I was in water up to my waist. Occasionally, I could see a gator slowly cruise by looking for breakfast. I’m glad I didn’t qualify for a meal! Kissimmee River was straightened by the Corps of Engineers but has since been discovered that wasn’t a good idea. They are now trying to let the river reshape itself into a more normal flow. This area is one of the restoration areas they have worked with.
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.
Hurricane Andrew deposited many dead trees onto the beaches of Ten Thousand Islands in the Everglades in 1992. When I photographed them years later, the trees were bleached white by the sun, creating beautiful white sculptural pieces that lay as monuments attesting to the strength of this storm. As I set up my camera, I wished I had some clouds in the sky to help the composition. Strangely, just as I finished setting up, the clouds seen in this image appeared. By the time I had finished photographing, they were gone.
The Positive Effects of Hurricanes
While hurricanes have a destructive legacy in most regions where they occur—including eroded coastlines, toppled vegetation, and sand-smothered oyster beds—their winds and rainfall do have positive effects in the Everglades. As hardwood hammocks are nearly impervious to wildfires, only the most intense winds will topple an established canopy enabling a diverse array of native wildflowers, grasses, vines, and ferns to reestablish themselves. Seeds of endangered native air plants and orchids, the size of a speck of dust, are spread to new areas with high winds. Heavy rains from these storms enlarge fish and amphibian habitats and populations, feeding and fueling a seasonal supercolony of wading birds. Life in the Everglades has not only endured hurricanes for centuries but has learned to thrive in response to them.
Indian Key 5 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 | 90mm Schneider Super-Angulon XL lens | orange filter | 1 second
Disclaimer – Cropping, contrast, and image density may vary. To learn more about the darkroom printing process, click
here.
Highlands Hammock State Park – This scene was perfectly composed by Mother Nature. It was as if it was just waiting until someone opened their eyes and realized its beauty, and then took a picture. I’m thankful that I was there just at the right moment. It isn’t often that close-ups of nature provide good composition along with good texture and light.
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.
Finding and photographing the elusive ghost orchid in 1999 was special, but finding it three years in a row was a unique experience. In 2001, a film crew for the PBS documentary, The Wild Heart of Florida, joined Oscar Thompson, Jeff Ripple, biologist Mike Owen, and I as we explored the Fakahatchee Strand and searched for the rare plant. The only ghost orchid we could see was 13 feet up in a tree, so we hauled several ladders into the depths of the swamp, and I got the shot!
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.
Ghost Orchid High 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 Super-Angulon XL lens | 1 minute.
Disclaimer – Cropping, contrast, and image density may vary. To learn more about the darkroom printing process, click
here.
Finding and photographing the elusive ghost orchid in 1999 was special, but finding it three years in a row was a unique experience. In 2001, a film crew for the PBS documentary, The Wild Heart of Florida, joined Oscar Thompson, Jeff Ripple, biologist Mike Owen, and I as we explored the Fakahatchee Strand and searched for the rare plant. The only ghost orchid we could see was 13 feet up in a tree, so we hauled several ladders into the depths of the swamp, and I got the shot!
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.
Ghost Orchid Dancing 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 Super-Angulon XL lens | 1 minute.
Disclaimer – Cropping, contrast, and image density may vary. To learn more about the darkroom printing process, click
here.
