An Outdoor Lens

What makes Gainesville so special to me is its proximity to a large number of springs. You can drive 45 minutes to an hour in almost any direction and end up in clear, 72-degree water any day of the year.

Some of my favorites are Blue Springs Park, Ichetucknee Springs State Park and Ginnie Springs. Blue Springs is beautiful because of its crystal water and flowing vegetation, the Ichetucknee is great because there are two springs to swim in as well as an entire river to explore and Ginnie is my favorite cave dive in the area.

One thing people may not be as aware of is that we shouldn’t walk on the bottom, especially in areas where there is vegetation. Sometimes, these native grasses don’t grow back after we trample them and then they’re replaced by nuisance algae or sand, which is harmful to the spring and wildlife.

Get really comfortable in the water first. If you can’t control your body position or don’t feel completely relaxed underwater, you’re going to have a hard time getting clear, crisp shots.

Also, know that you can get good photos with most cameras, even if they’re not the top-of-the-line DSLR. If you’re just getting into it, get something small and manageable but with manual control (ability to change aperture, shutter speed, and ISO), as well as a good underwater housing.

Don’t be afraid to go to the springs when it’s cold out! This is when I get my best shots and my friends and I are usually the only people in the water. Plus, 72-degree water feels like a hot tub when it’s 30 degrees outside.

There are numerous parks and preserves with well-maintained trails a short drive from or right in Gainesville, encompassing habitats from mature mesic hammock to river bottom forest, flat woods pine forest, open savanna and marsh as well as creeks, ponds and lakes. This variety of habitats sustains vast wildlife, including alligators, deer, bobcat, otter, coyote, opossum, armadillo, fox and more than 200 hundred species of birds.

The gem of the area, of course, is Paynes Prairie State Preserve, which has herds of wild Cracker horses, bison and thousands of migrant sandhill cranes in the winter.

Yes. It was taken at La Chua Trail at Paynes Prairie, probably the best place to encounter one of the herds. These horses are completely wild and are descendants of those brought to Florida by the Spanish Conquistadors and later adapted by the Florida Cracker Cowboy. This mare was just off the trail in the marsh with half a dozen of her herd. She was just begging to have her photo taken!

My two top spots—hands down—would be La Chua Trail and Sweetwater Wetlands Park. Both are a short drive from downtown Gainesville and the variety of bird life is unparalleled. Newnans Lake and the Bolen Bluff Trail in Paynes Prairie are very good, too.

Do a little homework to learn the parks and trails. The best time for wildlife spotting is early morning, when the parks first open, or late afternoon—these times have the best light for photography. Patience and quiet are your tools. Look around at the edges of trail, in the bushes and trees, in the water and sky. Look for movement or anything that stands out—a different shape or color.

Just come check it out. You will not be disappointed!

There’s been a push to keep Gainesville a “Tree City USA,” which is an initiative to keep the urban tree canopy intact. So, there are all these natural areas the city has been built around. The city parks are almost like nature preserves. There are the standard manicured parks, of course, but a lot of them are left natural and you can see a lot of wildlife.

It was a chance for people to get together, enhance their passion for photography, meet other photographers and find new places to shoot. I planned a route that included architecture, nature and landscape subjects, along with people and street photography subjects.

The Morningside Nature Center is beautiful and there aren’t a lot of people, so it’s good for wildlife spotting. They have a nice upland area, wetlands and pine forest so there’s a lot of different flora and fauna.

Don’t miss out on the city. Check out the university campus, the parks, even the buildings. You’ll see a lot of beautiful things you’d miss otherwise.