Florida is home to over 540 bird species and once you know they're there, it's hard not to see them. But the coolest part of being a photographer and a Floridian is that I was raised appreciating all the bugs, bees, birds, and other living creatures that call Florida home. This was their home first and I want to share the beauty of Florida in hopes that others will build that same love for this state and help save it from overdevelopment.
This series of photos is a final assignment from a photography class that I took. The photos in this collection mean a lot to me, just like the hashtag that accompanies every post I make. Our forests, animals, wetlands, and coasts are in danger. If we destroy them now, we can't get them back. This should matter to everyone. It seems that people don't understand the gravity of losing ecosystems or they simply don't care.
Sir David Attenborough said, "We moved from being a part of nature to being apart from nature." We still have time to fix that. We all have to stand up for nature together.
Look up your local Audubon Society or Sierra Club chapters and go explore with them. Donate to their cause to help save the birds, the forests, the Gopher Tortoises, the Florida Panther, and every other animal that's constantly being killed or displaced by overdevelopment.
Left to right.
Top row: Eastern Ribbon Snake, Baldwin Rail Trail, a Great Egret at Castaway Island Preserve, a Golden-silk Orb Weaver.
Middle row: Mushrooms and a Cuban Anole on a log, a Northern Yellow Warbler, an Anhinga.
Bottom row: A Great Blue Heron looking out over the lake, Virginia Saltmarsh Mallow flowers, and a young Pine Warbler curious about me.
Top row: Eastern Ribbon Snake, Baldwin Rail Trail, a Great Egret at Castaway Island Preserve, a Golden-silk Orb Weaver.
Middle row: Mushrooms and a Cuban Anole on a log, a Northern Yellow Warbler, an Anhinga.
Bottom row: A Great Blue Heron looking out over the lake, Virginia Saltmarsh Mallow flowers, and a young Pine Warbler curious about me.