You can see the direction he’s heading. I was standing on the other side of this canal, photographing him. Almost never do they care one way or the other.
There was no threat here, but he swam over with purpose.
While coming over he finally slowed down.
Momentum kept his direction but by now he was already bored.
This was where he sat. Not being a deep thinker he probably didn’t know why he swam over here in the first place.
But it made for some nice ‘gator pics’.
It’s so easy to pass right by and never notice.
This one is around 2 years old. You can guess growth about 1 foot a year for the first 3 years. Not perfect math, but it does give a decent estimate.
Some days it’s Egrets, others it might be Storks or Eagles. And yes, some days it’s Alligators.
One of the best things about shooting outdoors is not knowing what kind of day it might be.
A day like this is not for everybody, but we love it.
I mean really, I could be in a cubicle !
The other morning we went out with no particular goal, just to walk around marshes. We picked a large Wildlife Management Area. A few rangers and photographers might be around but that’s it. This area is 8,000+ acres so there is plenty of room for everyone.
What I found was the Alligators are out and about. Click the above and you will count at least 6 large ones just on this short stretch of a canal bank.
Now I need to go through all the images from that morning. I hope people like Alligator photographs.
I always try to give some type of size perspective when I take these shots. They always look bigger than they are, even the big ones.
Except this one. He is huge.
I took this for no particular reason except this Alligator is very big, usually in the same place in a large marsh, and doesn’t really like to see people.
When he is around, we move on. Nothing has ever happened, he just likes to come up close and intimidate. It works.
Taken when the light was at it’s most harsh and glare. Buried in the reeds was this big Alligator.
Another example of how they blend into their surroundings.
This time of year they spend 90% of their time doing absolutely nothing, 5% thinking about mating, and 5% thinking of food.
Hmmm, sounds a lot like a teenage boy.
Ultimately he won. I moved to the right and walked around him. The gator had a moral victory and I did not loose face.
