Everglades

No post-processing done to photo. Nikon NEF (RAW) files available. NPP Straight Photography at noPhotoShopping.com

I love sunsets and sunrises. The weather on Xmas day was exceptional in South Florida. This particular shot is a HDR composite taken approximately 20-25 minutes after the sun set below the horizon. The colors just kept getting brighter with every minute. Some of you may recognize the location. It is Everglades Holiday Park, home of the TV reality series on Animal Planet appropriately named "Gator Boys." For those wondering, the answer is "YES," a few of the critters were lurking close by, unnerving avid photographers. In reality, the mosquitoes were more pesky than the gators.

Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinicus) Everglades National Park Florida, USA

A beautifully colored bird of southern and tropical wetlands, the Purple Gallinule can be see walking on top of floating vegetation or clambering through dense shrubs. Its extremely long toes help it walk on lily pads without sinking. (Copied from Cornell Lab of Ornithology).

No post-processing done to photo, only cropped. Nikon NEF (RAW) files available. NPP Straight Photography at noPhotoShopping.com

Florida Everglades

A dense area of Cypress trees and native fauna - on the edge of Clyde Butcher's Everglades studio

Cormorant Everglades National Park Florida, USA.

No post-processing done to photo, only cropped. Nikon NEF (RAW) files available. NPP Straight Photography at noPhotoShopping.com

I spent a couple of days in Everglades National Park this week and was able to meet up with Paul Marcellini. Paul knows the Everglades like the back of his hand and was kind enough to show me around. We lucked out at at sunrise with some nice fog and mist. Comps were hard to come by but I came up with this one while trying take advantage of that color. Thanks in advance for any comments/critiques. Also, take a minute to check out Paul's Flickr page to see his awesome Everglades collection:

www.flickr.com/photos/paulmarcellini/

Location:Everglades. Florida (Sunset)

"Little by little the night turns around

Counting the leaves which tremble at dawn

Lotuses lean on each other in yearning

Under the eaves the swallow is resting

Set the controls for the heart of the sun.”.

[Pink Floyd]

Music:

"Set the Controls for The Heart of the Sun; by Pink Floyd

Breathtaking Eye-Catcher 20+fave Choice of calendar week 30, 2009

Great Blue Heron Everglades, Florida, USA.

No post-processing done to photo, only cropped. Nikon NEF (RAW) files available. NPP Straight Photography at noPhotoShopping.com

The full moon rises behind the Z-Tree at Everglades National Park.

Thanks for the visits, faves and comments its greatly appreciated.

Everglades,Florida

Everglades National Park

Cormorant Everglades USA.

Cormorant Everglades Florida, USA.

No post-processing done to photo, only cropped. Nikon NEF (RAW) files available. NPP Straight Photography at noPhotoShopping.com

...Spaziergang um den Kastensee .

Late afternoon thunderstorm at Everglades National Park.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Everglades National Park, Florida

Early morning moonlight and fog over the Everglades.

Liked how the cloud reflection light surrounded this rock there along the bank of this pond there in the Everglades.

Skimming over the lake in the Everglades.

A pretty view there in the Florida landscape with the lovely sunset light.

Morning sunrise at Eco Pond.

Capture made while visiting the southern area of the Everglades.

Morning sky starts to light up above the lush greenery there in the Everglades of Florida.

Storm clouds forming late afternoon at Everglades National Park.

Alligator Florida.

No post-processing done to photo, only cropped. Nikon NEF (RAW) files available. NPP Straight Photography at noPhotoShopping.com

Actually, it was a prescribed fire which is used from time to time to restore and manage the ecosystem of the Everglades National Park in Florida. Prescribed fires are only conducted when weather permits.

Late day there along Eco Pond.

Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinicus) Everglades National Park Florida, USA

A beautifully colored bird of southern and tropical wetlands, the Purple Gallinule can be see walking on top of floating vegetation or clambering through dense shrubs. Its extremely long toes help it walk on lily pads without sinking. (Copied from Cornell Lab of Ornithology).

No post-processing done to photo, only cropped. Nikon NEF (RAW) files available. NPP Straight Photography at noPhotoShopping.com

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We are some 30km up the Noosa River from the sea in the Noosa Everglades in the Sunshine Coast in Queensland.

The Everglades represent an ancient waterway of some 60km that has existed unchanged for thousands of years.

At this point, the river narrows and is slow moving and immensely dense with tea-trees which thrive on the wetland and tropical conditions here.

Their tannins darken the water causing a heavy mirror effect whereby its sometmes tricky to see the water line.

The Noosa Everglades is a wetland of international importance and part of the Noosa Biosphere, Queensland's first UNESCO

Biosphere incorporating four National Parks encompasses 150,000 hectares (circa 570 square miles) with an extensive

diversity eco-systems, culture, flora and fauna.

Sunset in Everglades National Park in the Long Pine Key Campground area.

Capture from this morning in the dark of the Everglades ... with lights from far off Homestead hitting the clouds and fog.

Kept this exposure dark so it shows how it was out there ... at least to my eyes.

Everglades National Park

Late evening view over the pretty Everglades National Park.

Royal Palm Visitor Center by the Anhinga Trail - Much of the Everglades is vast, open and does not have much water showing. Other parts are rich in oases - mangrove and cypress trees. This is an area with waling paths going out into areas inhabited by many species of birds and alligators.