My first visits to Key West as a young graduate student were doused in the costumes and Mardi Gras beads of Fantasy Fest. Crowds of boozed up revelers stumbled from one bar to the next along Duval Street, parting only long enough to admire elaborate...
Couples and families clustered along granite boulders at the summit of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park, Maine, soaking in residual heat as the sun poured the last of its golden rays across the waters below. Silhouetted evergreens anchored the foreground as the gold faded...
I could barely see over the ferry railing at the age of 5 or 6 but I remember feeling the sense of freedom the Statue of Liberty represented as I gazed at her across wide-open water. Once on New York’s streets, I clung to my...
Liguus Snail (Liguus Fasciatus) Darkness envelops me as I step from the brightly lit marsh into a tree island, a pocket of hardwood hammock within the Everglades. I wait for my eyes to adjust, then begin scanning trees for arboreal snails. These terrestrial mollusks once glistened...
Muted greens, shades of tan, gray-tinged water – the contrasting head of a Redhead seems to glow against the neutral tones. I track the duck as it swims along the edge of an island, a backdrop of brittle brown grass. I round the corner and...
“I’ve figured it out,” announced my AirBNB hostess just outside Ocala National Forest.“Figured what out?” I asked.“This wildlife photography thing you do,” she said.She and her partner had become embroiled in my quest to photograph bears for my upcoming Wild Florida coffee table book. They’d...
Old Faithful I see crowds gathering in front of Old Faithful Inn’s namesake geyser as I pull up to Yellowstone National Park’s famed historic lodge. I contemplate checking-in and catching the next eruption, but then I see it – a bison meandering across the basin. How...
Sooty terns and magnificent frigatebirds filled the air as I stepped off the ferry at Dry Tortugas National Park. I focused on a single tern as it swooped to the ground, landing out of view where I imagined it being greeted by a hungry chick....
Had I somehow gained some new bird-attracting ability? Two bird hitchhikers in two weeks felt like a sign. ...
From indigenous fisherpeople to Royal Palm State Park, here's a glimpse into the history of the Anhinga Trail area of Everglades National Park....