Butterfly Estates

We discovered a really cool place in Fort Myers called the Butterfly Estates. For my Gainesville friends, it's like a miniature version of the butterfly rainforest at FLMNH. Still a very big adventure for us, though. Love how close to the butterflies we can get and we often get to release newly emerged specimens as well. Check out some of the great shots I took last time we were there.

In My Own Backyard

I am really loving the nature I get to see in my new backyard! And it's truly surprising since we live in town. But it's so neat to see the raccoons that cross the street at the same time every evening or this interesting raptor of some sort that was perched on the wire over our backyard. And also the barred owl that I got to see atop our neighbor's pool cage. As you can see, the picture of the owl was of poor quality because it was foggy and raining. Still, very cool!

In the swamp...

...only gators get out alive! (Sorry, couldn't resist using a little UF segway!)

Well, I figured since I started with some landscape photography, I should move forward with my other favorite--the flora and, in this case, fauna. While this picture wasn't taken out in the swamp, I have many more of these impressive creatures that I have taken while out in the untamed wilderness, as it were. This particular gator, however, is proud to call the Naples Zoo it's home. It is a wonderful facility and they truly make the animals' best interests it's first priority ALWAYS. I have a degree in biology, and still always learn something new and fascinating. Kudos to the Naples Zoo and I advise you to go there if you ever have the opportunity.
This American alligator is one of several that you can find drifting through the area, including one that currently has a nest. She is fascinatingly dedicated, by the way. The mother rarely (if ever) leaves this one spot on the bank, about 10 feet from her nest. She was in basically the same spot the last 3 times I've been (over the course of about a month).

While we're at the Naples Zoo, one of the other things I love about it are the little things. This bird, which I think may be a green heron, was at the edge of the lagoon. He's not an "official" resident of the Naples Zoo, but he was so fun to watch.

Reminiscent

I wanted to begin with a simple photo. This one wasn't even taken with an SLR...just my dad's Nikon point & shoot, out on Lake Trafford. But it captured the same emotion that first made me fall in love with photography. I took a photography class in college because I thought it would be interesting and a heck of a lot better than the silly general art classes they want you to take to meet requirements. But it really turned out to be so much more. As I was taking pictures for my first assignment, I searched for inspiration--something to define WHY I was out there snapping photos of random people, animals, places, things. It was a rainy, overcast day and we stopped at a little park & public boat ramp near Sharptown, MD. I walked out to the dock and was suddenly and quite surprisingly captivated by (of all things) the way the rainwater laid on the boards and how, when I knelt down and looked out to the end of the pier, there was this amazing perspective created. The reflection of the distant trees on the water of the river, the reflections of varying degrees of light on the pooled water on the walkway, and of course the pilings and how they perfectly lined up and seemed to get closer together the farther you looked, as if they were leading you somewhere, beckoning you to follow the path. Ever since that moment, I have found great peace in capturing what God has allowed me to see through His gift of sight and, hopefully, relaying how I see these subjects to others. I tend to focus on nature photography, with my favorite subjects being the life God created (animals & plants) and also the world that He has crafted (landscapes and such). This blog is my first "official" foray into sharing these photos with more than just family and close friends. I hope you enjoy. All constructive criticism is more than welcome.