Photographer's World from a Small Boat

My husband adores fishing while I am quite certain the fish would be far happier left to their own devices happily swimming about in their watery world, but I love to come along with my camera. The forecast was horrible on the day of our fishing trip in the back country water in Islamorada, Florida. The boat offered no protection, whatsoever, so I left my SLR in our room and tucked my trusty Canon Powershot in my slicker pocket. I love that little workhorse of a camera! The challenges of taking pictures from a boat are many as the waves toss you about making it very difficult to capture a reasonably crisp image. So often we have zoomed past the perfect wildlife shot before I can even focus, and when I do get an interesting shot, it's like winning the lottery!


Portuguese Man-o-war and one of the little fish that typically orbit the creature: I think the sole purpose for their existence is to strike terror in the hearts of swimming children! As a child, I remember them so well on the Texas coast.


Dolphins enjoying the wake of our boat!


When all I see is water and a faint horizon, I photograph the shrimp in the bait well!


The ecology is so fragile here. The poles measure the slow growth of grass in water just a few feet deep.


Bone fishing is done in very shallow water. What you are seeing in this image are propeller scars through the fragile underwater grass (I boosted the contrast for a better view.) Florida is very serious about protecting its marine life habitat and if you are caught destroying the grass with your propeller, the fine is a steep $350 per foot. Our guide gently poles us along through the shallows so we leave no trace of our presence.



All day long we flirted with distant thunder and the threat of a thorough drenching. We were lucky! The storm arrived in earnest shortly after we returned to the marina.