I am not quite sure if this is the right place but any other than that it fits the best. We just booked our flight to Miami 02/07/08 - to 02/21/08 to escape winter darkness, work and sometimes family ;-)
We spent our honeymoon in 2004 right at the time I started getting into photography. We traveled with the EOS Digital Rebel XT (Canon EOS 300), the kit lens and the 70-300mm DO lens.
This time we will travel with full equipment from lenses starting from 16mm up to 500mm. My primary interest is definetely shooting wildlife and I wonder if I could get some additional tips from here. What I have on my list so far (as point of interest and where I have been already) is: Sanibel Island, Shark River NP, part of the Everglades, hopefully the launch of the space shuttle.
If you travel over to Sanibel Island, plan a stop at Corkscrew Swamp, too.
If you head up to see the Shuttle launch, bring your gear...right after the launch they'll open the bridge crossing over to the Merrit Island Wildlife Drive (closed during launches). Even if the shuttle is on the pad, the Wildlife Drive is open...it's just during launches that the don't allow civilians out there.
When I go I usually go down the Gulf side and visit The venice Rookery, Ding Darling on Sanibel, Fort DeSoto, SP, Corkscrew and finally the Everglades. You might visit www.birdsasart.com for further info. This is the web site of Arthur Morris a wildlife photographer who lives in Florida as well as a Canon contract Photographer.
On my return trip I come up the Atlantic side and stop at Merritt Island,
The Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, Fort Clinch, SP in Fernandino Beach, Cumberland Island National Seashore near the Florida Georgia line and then the Okefenokee Swamp before heading home.
Miami Airport is just above the top of the Keys...you could pop down there for a spell before heading north. There's no place quite like the Florida Keys. The top of the Keys, the '10,000 islands' area, and the Everglades are all right there relatively close together. It would be a CRIME not to get out on a boat (and an airboat) to see some of that. Florida is all about water and being out on the water (of course I'm partial...I'm a native S. Floridian).
Florida is a loooong state, so give yourself plenty of driving time.
It's slow driving along the coastlines with a lot of lights, bridges and tourists this time of year... the fastest way up and down the state if you have a lot of ground to cover is usually via the Turnpike (payroad)... I-15 can be a madhouse. Be careful where you go in the Miami area, there are some dangerous areas.
Have a great trip!
If you have any general Florida questions feel free to e-mail me -
Thanks for the unput so far. I added a couple of items to my travel wishlist. I know Art Morris' website for quite a while and his bulletins are worth reading. His recent releases for Ding Darling do not sound too promising but we will consider spending some time in that area.
