Paul Marcellini Photography

The cypress swamp is an amazing ecosystem in the Everglades. Maybe the more typical type of scenery when people think of the Everglades, dark and mysterious. The water is usually almost crystal clear, filtered by all the plants, or yellow stained with tanins from fallen leaves.

A small “collection” I have mentally kept in mind to develop will eventually be called “Scenes from the Swamp”. The idea was to show the details. My go to lens typically was the ultra-wide. The wide angle scenics certainly have appeal, but I got tired of them. They became easy and predictable.  Many photographers do very well with only one type of photography, but I want to have strong images at all ends of the millimeters. You also can’t tell the whole story with just one focal length.

So here are some images from the slowly developing collection. Enjoy!

The Architect

Alligators are sometimes referred to as the Architects of the Everglades, because they actually help create the cypress domes by moving around the soil. By pushing it up, they create deeper holes for water, and deeper soil around the hole. This in turn allows the cypress more nutrients and they can grow larger.This image was taken with the ultra-wide, but very close to the alligator, to get a close-up with some habitat in the background.

The Puddle Hunter

In the dry season, it can be a time of plenty for the predators. The fish and frogs are all bound to the water, which is shrinking in size. This Water Moccasin was takin advantage of the newly concentrated food supply in this small puddle.  This was taken with my 400mm and extension tubes to allow for closer focus.

A Good Father

A Barred owl also uses the time of plenty to raise some owlets. This one was keeping an eye out as its fledgelings were hopping about. Also taken at 400 mm.

Looking For Light

A more intimate shot at about 28mm.

Secret of the Swamp

Not the shot I sell as a fine art print, but one that shows how hard it would be to find a ghost orchid when not in bloom. It is a leafless orchid, so for 11 1/2 months of the year, you would have to look for a few roots, hidden among the mosses. My 180mm macro was used here.

A more recent shot to add to the set. Wild Grape on a cypress trunk.  This was taken at 75mm.

If you know me at all, you know I spend a lot of time in the Everglades and Big Cypress. This means my feet are wet a lot.

As a photographer, this can pose some problems: digital camera equipment and water don’t mix well. There are many types of dry bags and hard case that are completely water proof, and they have their uses, but for hiking(wading) in the swamp, I have found one bag that really works well for me.

The problem with all the waterproof gear arises when I want to swap something out. I only have 2 hands and when there is water everywhere, it becomes a fun little juggling process. You may find a stump to rest things on, but that’s never a guarantee. After some research, I found the Lowepro Flipside 300 AW. Perfect! What sets it apart is that it unzips from the “back”. To clarify, the part that faces your back is what would open up. So, combined with a waist strap, you can take off the shoulder straps and swing it around to the front, and have a “table” to rest things on in front of you. This allowed me to rest my camera, lens, filters, whatever on the back and have a free hand to switch out whatever I needed.

When I purchased the Flipside 300, it was the largest Lowepro made. It was a bit cramped for my gear, but I made do. Then the 400 came out. It was pretty much the same bag, but a bit wider, allowing for more lenses, and now an extra pocket on the “front” of the bag.

This pocket is really a huge upgrade, as the 300 was a bit sparse on storage for the little stuff and extras. This pocket on the 400 will usually be packed with a rain jacket, compass, snack bars, head lamp/flashlight, and notepad. It can really hold a lot. Another thing I consider and upgrade is dual water bottle holders. The 300 had 1 and a zip pouch on the other side for memory cards and small stuff.

Lastly, the 400 now comes with  padded waist straps, which, given its larger capacity, was a necessity. I have done 7 miles through knee to waist deep water with the 400 and it stays moderately comfortable when the waist straps are cinched in tight. I would never imagine doing that with the unpadded straps of the 300. Oh, and the AW in both means you get a packed and attached rain cover that can be deployed pretty quickly when the inevitable summer storm hits. Both also have a tripod strap on the back, its adequate, but not perfect.

Here you can see the 400 packed. Clockwise from top left is the Tamron 180 macro: then Canon 100-400, empty slot sometimes with cable release,  extension tubes, 50 1.8, 5d2 with 16-35, 1.4x, and Tamron 28-75. This is what I regularly take with me. Hope this is helpful, and if you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

Sometimes said to be the same as the Greater  Flamingo, most taxonomists now regard it as a separate species.  Sightings in the Everglades and Southern Florida are rare and many are considered to be escapees from the Hialeah Race track. One specimen banded in the Yucatan Peninsula was sighted in the Everglades, so I like to believe these were birds of wild origin. Regardless, this specimen and 4 of its friends were found in the Everglades in the winter of 2008.  The whole trip is written about here. For March you can purchase this image at discounted rates.

This past weekend I went up to Jonathan Dickinson State Park and kayaked the Loxahatchee River. It is Florida’s first “Wild and Scenic” river. It is is confusing at first, but the best part of the river is not really accessible from Jonathan Dickinson State Park. If you don’t have your own canoe/kayak and decide to rent one, they won’t even let you up to the good cypress lined parts. For this you need to put in at Riverbend County Park. It is off Indiantown Rd and is open from sunrise to sunset.

If you put in at Riverbend, the first 5 or so miles is a twisted cypress lined tanic river. The water is stained by all the fallen leaves, and when the light hits the shallows, it glows orange. The river was full of wildlife, I saw many limpkins and other birds, wild hogs, turtles and gators.  It is also lined with several species of ferns, the most impressive being the leather fern, which had fronds over 6 feet tall.

At about the 5 mile mark, you will hit Trapper Nelson’s. He was known as the “Tarzan of the Loxahatchee” and had built a much visited zoo, until his mysterious death by shotgun in 1968. After this, the river opens up and you can see the transition from cypress to mangrove, with pines and sabal palms mixed in.  I don’t consider it as scenic but there are several active Osprey nests that keep it interesting.

I didn’t spend as much time in Jonathan Dickinson State Park, but did wander around for one sunset. I actually had pretty bad weather, but did manage this, showing the pine flatwoods, home to the endangered Gopher Tortoise.

I have decided to start doing an image of the month, where I give a little info on an image and offer it at a discounted price for that month. So to kick-start it, this macro of  a baby sea turtle is up for February 2010.

This image was made back in August 2009, shortly after sunrise. My friend Rick Gomez had found it trapped in a tide-pool up by Blowing Rocks, in Jupiter, Florida.  It is illegal to touch them, but we decided that these little guys need all the help they can get, and so we picked it up and released it at a less rocky area of the beach. I believe about 1 in 100 survive to adulthood, and 1 in 1000 actually get to breed.

I used my Tamron 180 macro, and got down on my elbows and fired away hoping for some sharp shots in the low light. The rough rock took a toll on my elbows, but when you are in the moment, things like that don’t really register. Mosquitoes on the other hand, are pretty hard to ignore. I was lucky to get a handful of shots to pick through and liked this the best. In larger prints you can see the sky and fading sunrise colors in the sea turtle’s eye.

If you would like more info on sea turtles or want to help you can go here: Defenders of Wildlife