On this trip to Florida we got to visit the Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA) in Clearwater Florida. The CMA is also known as the home of Winter and Hope from the Dolphin Tale movies.

As I was researching this trip to Florida I came across a photographer named Clyde Butcher. I had never heard of Clyde Butcher until I found his photographs online while searching for images of Florida. Clyde Butcher is known as the modern day Ansel Adams, and he primarily shoots in Big Cypress National Preserve. His work inspired me to learn about Big Cypress and want to make a day trip while I was there.

Big Cypress is considered the western part of the Everglades National Park and I’ve always wanted to visit the Everglades, so while getting to the Everglades was out of the question for this trip Big Cypress would do! 

I have been to Florida about 10 times in my life, but it was always to the same destination, The Great Mouse House. So venturing way south of there was going to be a new experience for me and one that I hoped would offer some great photographic opportunities. I have decided to break this post up into several parts due to how diverse this trip was. Let’s begin with the main destination… Sanibel Island.