Blog: Fisheating Creek
In central Florida is one of my favorite places in the state. Fisheating Creek is the last free-flowing tributary that feeds into Lake Okeechobee, the largest lake in Florida. It offers over 40 miles of cypress-lined shore and is best explored by kayak or canoe. When out on the creek, you truly feel like you are going back in time, to an unspoiled Florida. The main access is at the Fisheating Creek Outpost in Palmdale. There you can launch a boat and explore on your own, or you can also have them take you 9 or 18 miles upstream so you can take your time and float with the current. The 18 mile trip is a great overnighter which allows a landscape photographer to plan a location for sunrise the day before and camp right at it. My favorite aspect of the creek is that the land bordering it is either publicly owned or part of conservation easements so you can camp anywhere. Another great thing about Fisheating Creek is how much the look changes as the water fluctuates. In high water in the summer wet season, the creek can overflow its banks and create a vast flooded forest. But in low water in the winter, the sandy banks are exposed as well as all the unique cypress bases and twisted roots and knees. Low water also concentrates the wildlife around the creek, allowing for views of deer, hogs, raccoons, multiple bird species, turtles and of course alligators. The cypress are also deciduous, so the whole landscape changes in color throughout the year. South Florida doesn't get the best fall color but with the right conditions, the cypress can take on a nice orange to rust tone instead of going straight brown. In the winter, it can be very barren, but that gives you an opportunity to create compelling black and white images emphasizing the architecture of the tree and the contrast of the white sand and the tannic black water. In the spring the fresh greens are amazingly vibrant and that black water reflects them very well. Inlcuded are some of my favorite images I have taken at Fisheating Creek and all are available as prints.