Cypress Trees With Spanish Moss on the Silver River in Central Florida.
On April 24th of this year, my wife and I visited Silver Springs State Park, while visiting family in north central Florida.
We travel to Florida from time to time and I always take the opportunity to photograph Florida wildlife when it’s possible. Florida is a great place for wildlife photography.
My travel camera was the Sony a6700 with two lenses, the Sony E 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 OSS and the Sony E 70-350mm f4.5-6.3 G OSS. It’s a great little travel kit that gives me an affective focal range of 27mm to 525mm. And the whole kit fits in a small camera case that is smaller than most women’s purses. I love this setup.
As promised in an earlier post, here’s a bit of information on the park and some of the photographs I made that day.
Silver Springs State Park, located in Marion County near Ocala, Florida, is a significant natural and historical site. It encompasses the beautiful Silver Springs, which is recognized as Florida’s first tourist attraction, dating back to the 1870s. The park spans over 4,000 acres and includes the entire five-mile Silver River and surrounding sandhill forests.
In the late 19th century, the springs became a draw for Northerners, with steamboats bringing tourists up the Silver River. It gained national recognition and became a key stop on the “grand tour” of Florida.
The late 1870s saw the development of glass-bottom boats, offering visitors a unique underwater view of the springs. These tours have remained a signature attraction for over a century.
Silver Springs became a popular filming location starting in 1916. Notably, the area was frequently used for Tarzan movies in the 1930s through the 1950s, as well as the “Creature from the Black Lagoon” and the “Sea Hunt” television series.
Over the years, various attractions were added, including Ross Allen’s Reptile Institute, a Seminole Indian Village, a jungle cruise, and a deer ranch.
While privately owned for many years, the State of Florida acquired the land in 1993, and in 2013, it was merged with the adjacent Silver River State Park to form the present Silver Springs State Park. The park was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1971.
The river is a fed by a very large natural spring and the water is quite clear, which is one reason movies and television shows were filmed there. It’s an excellent environment for underwater filming.
We took the boat ride down the Silver River. We were lucky enough to get the open air boat which didn’t have windows, so I was able to shoot with no obstructions in just about any direction from inside the boat.
Of course, the river and surrounding area provides fantastic habitat for all types of wildlife. We didn’t see everything that lives there but we got a good look at many of the local critters.
Lots of turtles too.
And these Red-Bellied Cooter Turtles were resting on about every log along the river.
A great surprise was finding Manatee in the river. Our boat Captain told us he didn’t think we would see any as it was late in the season and that they were normally gone this time of year. To our surprise, we found three of these gentle giants floating in the shallows just off the port side of the boat. What a treat. These animals have been in distress over the past 10 years. It’s good to see them making a resurgence. Such gentle creatures.
There area is host to other wildlife too. Deer, wild boar, monkeys, and many other bird species. We didn’t see everything, but what was there made for a great day of photography.
When it was all over, we treated ourselves to some ice cream at the park center cantina and I even bought me a new baseball cap to add to my collection. A great way to end a perfect day with my family.
Over the years, I’ve been to many prime locations for wildlife in Florida and having never been disappointed, I’m sure to return again.
