With their unusual shapes, carnival-worthy colors, and the fact that they ensnare and digest insects, pitcher plants have always struck me as the type of fantastical creature that might’ve emerged straight from the pages of Alice in Wonderland. ...
The first time I flew over the matrix of tree islands scattered across the Everglades’ famous grasslands, I was struck by how low and wet the environment was. Star bursts reflected up at me from what appeared to be standing water underlying the vast stretches...
Sedges swished as I picked my way along the edge of the marsh, freshwater to my left, the Gulf of Mexico lapping on my right....
Leatherback sea turtles were on my mind as I pulled into Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge’s beach-side parking lot. My quest for nesting sea turtles to photograph for my Wild Florida book had begun several weeks prior, before summer settled in. I knew where to find Florida’s...
It was still dark when we gathered in the small office. Dressed in long-pants and long-sleeves with steaming coffee mugs in hand and headlamps shining from our foreheads, we headed to the boat ramp. In an early morning daze, we talked in unnecessarily hushed tones...
It was the new moon and it was dark, the type of blackness one never sees in the city. I squinted at the dirt road glowing in my headlights, hoping to spot a snake soaking in the last warmth of the day, or perhaps a...
I arrived at Jonathan Dickinson State Park with no real agenda. It had been the closest camping spot I could find to Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge where I intended to take pictures of sea turtles early the next morning for my forthcoming book Wild...
For me, 2019 was packed with adventures as I explored Florida beyond my southern base in pursuit of animals to photograph for my new book project with the University Press of Florida, Wild Florida: The Animals of the Sunshine State. As I continue my quest...
On land the town of Steinhatchee offers visitors little more than a food mart, gas station, and a smoked mullet stand, but on the river things are different. Marinas are well-equipped, the public boat ramp runs like clockwork and every accommodation is booked from June...
Bold blue and yellow flowers, as well as delicate pink and purple, peeked through brown grass. South Florida’s native blueberry offered small but luscious fruits. Young, new leaves promised renewal of a cowhorn orchid that was thought to have been lost to the previous year’s wildfire....