This creek is a tributary into the Caloosahatchee River. We canoed up as far as we could go and finally got past the houses and into the wilderness to take this picture.
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.
Rarely do people think of wildflowers when they think of Florida, but we have many beautiful varieties. I captured this image of a storm gathering over a field of Swamp Lilies a few weeks after Hurricane Andrew had hit south Florida. The ‘stress’ the hurricane put on the environment caused an abundant explosion of wildflowers throughout the Everglades. I was pleased to be able to capture them in their fullness to share with others.
Tamiami Trail 3 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 | 120mm 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.
I often drove by this scene along the Tamiami Trail highway. I’d been eyeing this area for a long time but wanted to photograph it in both morning light and with clouds. The two never seemed to happen simultaneously, as summer thunderstorms typically roll in during the afternoon. On this rare summer day, thunderstorms popped up in the morning, and the sun lit the trees. It was precisely the moment I had so long been anticipating. Even though I was on my way to an appointment, I stopped to capture this view.
Hunting Grounds for Florida’s Wading Birds
While the shallow waters may lay hidden from view at the base of these prairie grasses, this open, expansive area represents prime hunting grounds for Florida’s once-massive population of wading birds. Wetland prairies are among the first habitats to dry up after summer rains have ceased, and cool, dry northern winds begin to blow in mid-autumn. However, massive loss of wet prairie habitat over the past century appears to be one of the prime factors affecting significant declines in egrets, wood storks, herons, and ibis.
Tamiami Trail 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 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.
I feel that if you keep your eyes open, the world will present an endless amount of photographic opportunities, and very often, those opportunities are right alongside the road. The Tamiami Trail (Highway 41) stretches from Tampa to Miami, much of it through towns. However, between Naples and Miami, it becomes a two-lane road crossing the width of the state, passing more than a hundred miles of the Everglades, the “River of Grass.” Ready to capture an opportune moment, I always keep a camera with me while I travel this road with its vast vistas, beautiful rolling thunderheads, and gently swaying grass.
Water’s Journey Through the Everglades: Prairie to the Gulf
Here, in the Big Cypress National Preserve, open waters are the deepest, lying six to twenty-four inches below the prairie. As water travels across the entirety of the Everglades on a barely perceptible slope from the prairies to the Gulf, a mosaic of distinctive plant communities grows at an elevation, never rising much more than 20 feet above sea level.
Tamiami Trail 12 was taken with a Deardorff 11×14 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 | 150mm Schneider Super-Symmar XL lens | orange filter | 1 second
Disclaimer – Cropping, contrast, and image density may vary. To learn more about the darkroom printing process, click
here.
I wanted to capture a photograph of the grassy plains, edged by palms and backlit with clouds, that was reminiscent of what I often encountered while traveling on the Tamiami Trail. I hoped the image would communicate the peacefulness I experienced many times when I made the scenic drive. On this day, clouds rolled in and created the image I had envisioned in my mind. I quickly attached an extra length of tubing to my tripod legs to get the camera up 10 feet. Of several photographs I took, I chose this one to print because I liked the crisp line where light clouds met the dark sky.
Delicate Balance of the Everglades
In this image, the dominant plant is sawgrass, a plant that should be in the Everglades. However, this image reminds us of the delicate balance of the Everglades. Today this area has been taken over by exotic species. Many foreign and invasive grass species were introduced through the nursery trade and the importing of cattle manure when tomato farming was practiced in the Everglades. These new plants changed the balance of plant life in the Everglades, as well as the hydrology.
Tamiami Trail 1 was taken with a Deardorff 5×7 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 | 75mm Nikkor SW lens | orange filter | 1/4 second
Disclaimer – Cropping, contrast, and image density may vary. To learn more about the darkroom printing process, click
here.
I took this photograph at the mouth of the Suwannee River where it flows into the Gulf of Mexico. It was a calm, clear day that made for a sharply defined reflection.
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.
St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, Florida – Sand dunes are a fun and challenging shape to photograph. If the light isn’t right, they become flat…so it takes a lot of sunshine to make a good picture. The day I photographed these dunes it was hot, bright, and sunny, with storm clouds hovering over the horizon that gave the picture a small amount of tension. With the yellow sea oats standing out against the black storm cloud, they became a focus of attention. It was perfect and I took the picture.
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.
When I saw this lonely cypress tree in Big Cypress National Preserve, I just had to photograph it. Its structure was beautiful.
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 captured this photo at daybreak as fog lingered over the Caloosahatchee River. I was so engrossed with setting up my camera that I hadn’t noticed an alligator until it was suddenly darting toward me! Fortunately, my tripod was in front of me, providing a protective barrier, as the gator swam past me in hot pursuit of a school of fish!
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.
Taking photographs of birds with a large-format view camera is difficult because setting up the camera can take as long as ten minutes, and birds don’t usually wait around to have their pictures taken. However, when I took this photograph, the bird population was abundant. They were so busy eating that they didn’t mind my intrusion, giving me extra time to set up the shot.
Snowbirds of the Swamp
Florida is known for its wealth of birds, yet many of the birds are seasonal. Each year, during the fall and winter, flocks of great and snowy egrets converge on the Everglades accompanied by great blues, little blues, and green-backed herons, wood storks, roseate spoonbills, ibis, double-crested cormorants, anhingas, and other smaller birds. These birds arrive at the beginning of the dry season, allowing their mating and nesting season to take advantage of the multitude of fish trapped in shrinking water holes. By early spring, the dry season is at its height. The birds leave Florida, returning north or south until the following winter.
Skillet Strand was taken with a Deardorff 8×10 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 | 210mm Schneider Symmar lens | 1/30 second.
Disclaimer – Cropping, contrast, and image density may vary. To learn more about the darkroom printing process, click
here.
