Hey Eric,  Nice pics dude.  Really amazing.  Hope you enjoyed your stay here in my home state of Georgia.  Look forward to the calendar when its available as well.  Keep on keepin on!  Dale Karr,  Flowery Branch, GA

In late March, John Moran and I spend about four days photographing Tampa Bay, the Hillsborough River, and the Withlacoochee River.

Raccoon tracks etch the white sand bar lining the lagoon of Georgetown Park, a project surrounded by Tampa Bay – both urban and natural – that the state will hopefully acquire. This image was captured during my photo shoot for the 2011 Florida Forever Conservation Photography Calendar.

Bending shadow, light and color in the warped mirror of the Hillsborough River.

This famous scene at the Hillsborough River normally appears as rocky rapids around the buttress and knees of a cypress. With elevated water levels, the rapids are all but gone.

Morning light streaming through the canopy above the Hillsborough River.

Crystal Springs Preserve is owned by Zepherhills, a company that bottles waters, and is used for nature education, primarily for Florida's aquifer.

This has a funny story behind it. John, being quite spontaneous, asked me if I wanted to climb the windmill tower by his friend's gallery, which is located along HWY 441 near Melrose and provides a stunning view of Orange Lake in the distance. Of course I said yes! So Within a minute we were both near the top of a rusted, thin-metal tower, shooting images of the sunset light on the distant lake and pasture land of north Florida. Within a few minutes after that, a man, disturbed by our brazen act, called the owner, who promptly arrived with his wife. Luckily, John did indeed know the owner. We you chastised with a smile. It was fun while it lasted.

The jungle-like oak hammock of the Tsala-Apopka Lakes.

I brought John to this oak hammock in the Tsala-Apopka Lakes because it was the most beautiful I had ever seen. It did not disappoint. The resurrection ferns stood on end. Everything was moist. And that morning, fog enveloped everything in sight until almost noon.

I enjoy the telephoto look of a forest canopy, because it's easier to avoid the typical point of view of tree and forest photography – looking up from the ground.

A snail kite, endangered in Florida and very rare along the Withlacoochee River, leaps into flight from a branch.

Mating dragonflies. If anyone has any more information on the mating habits of dragonflies, please contact me.

A purple gallinule feeds along the shore of Lake Panosoffkee.

This image is one of my favorites for the way it uses the underexposed water and framing of the highlighted moss to help focus the eye's attention on the cypress buttress.

St. Joeseph Peninsula State Park and St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge are two of the most stunning Florida landscapes I have ever seen. They both feature trackless, wild beaches that stretch on for miles. They both have beautiful dunes. St. Joe's are like small mountains of sand and St. Vincent's are serpentine waves bisected by pine forest. I actually photographed these places just before the BP Oil disaster. Now, soon, they will be lined with the black greed of mankind. Enjoy what you see in these images because soon it will change for the worse and stay that way for a long time to come.

St. Vincent NWR

St. Vincent NWR – Pygmy Rattlesnake

St. Vincent NWR

St. Vincent NWR

St. Vincent NWR

St. Vincent NWR

St. Joe Peninsula State Park

St. Joe Peninsula State Park

St. Joe Peninsula State Park