Cormorant Everglades Florida, U.S.A.

No post-processing done to photo, only cropped. 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

The wonderful colours and detail of this Snowy Egret are well shown here. They are great birds to watch and mostly unconcerned when in close contact with humans.

Cormorant Everglades, USA.

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

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

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

Swamp Walk from Clyde Butcher's Big Cypress studio (Reworked from a previously posted image)

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

Everglade -- Antony and The Johnsons

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

Everglades,Florida

Captured this image of a Green Heron in the Florida Everglades. They are usually seen in the underbrush making it difficult to achieve separation.

Sunset lighting over the southern Florida landscape.

Everglades National Park

Cormorant Everglades USA.

Everglades National Park, Florida

...Spaziergang um den Kastensee .

Late afternoon thunderstorm at Everglades National Park.

The Shiawassee NWR is the Everglades of Michigan, which is clear in this view from June 29, 2022. When the sun gets lower in the sky, this place just lights up.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Early morning moonlight and fog over the Everglades.

Cormorant Everglades Florida, USA.

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

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

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

Everglades National Park, Florida

Great Blue Heron on Hammock

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

Everglades Dawn

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Storm clouds forming late afternoon at Everglades National Park.

Some great colors all around in the sky for a few glorious moments there in the Everglades.

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.

Everglades National Park, Florida

Everglades National Park, Florida

This is another one from the vault. This is from a Florida trip a few years back in the Everglades National Park. I was actually setting up the camera to shoot this location not even knowing the alligator was there. Once I saw him there was no time for a tripod, he was swimming right into my frame. So this is a quick handheld image.

We had to get off the beaten path to find one of these guys in nature, but we ended up finally finding several. We kept our distance to respect their habitat, oh, and because they have those massive teeth. There is always that.

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