Photography in the Southern Everglades Pinelands

I failed to realize that there are pinelands in Florida, not just in New Jersey. Paul Marcellini has a great blog of the pinelands area and has some awesome work, here’s a link to his blog.
via Notes » Photography in the Southern Everglades.

The pine rock lands are a special ecosystem in the Everglades. They used to cover over 180,000 acres in Miami-Dade County. Now only about 2% remains and most are protected within Everglades National Park. Like all forests, the pinelands can pose a compositional challenge for photographers. Fortunately, bands of marl prairie, dominated by lower growing grasses, run intermixed through the pinelands. This allows for “edge shots” that contain the full height of the pines. This way, the tall trunks do not lead the eye out of the photo. Saw palmetto also make wonderful foregrounds, and their bold green palmate leaves contrast well with the surrounding grasses and undergrowth. As always, consider the best light to complement your scene. Keep in mind that pine bark is quite reflective, so use it to your advantage; be it the nice warm light at the ends of the day, or the blue sky in the middle.