This is about the only place I know where you can shoot like this, safely, with a short focal length. These were all taken between 100-150mm.

The dike we walked was about a total of half mile long, maybe 15 feet high, and covered in grass and reeds. Both sides are marshes, most Alligators were on the side with shallow water.

In this spot the gators were crowded close because the marsh had dry hummocks, water in cuts like a stream. When I looked close I noticed in placed the gators were actually walking not swimming.

They got along fine until squeezed together in a narrow stream. No real disagreements, but a few snaps and pushes by the biggest ones.

There were a few wet trails across the dike where one of them climbed over to the deeper marsh but I never did see one.

It would be great if this was an every day opportunity. Truth is we only bump into this a few time a year.

This is Ellen (and another local photographer we bumped into) shooting the Alligators from the dike. I was several meters away. We try to space ourselves so not to duplicate images. You can see the swamp grass we have to deal with.