Marsh Rabbit Run five foot American Alligator

This Alligator was seen on the Marsh Rabbit Run trail at the Circle B Bar Reserve. I was busy capturing the first image of this blog and telling another passerby about the "little (under one foot long) Alligator I was shooting. Less than a minute later he told me that there was a bigger one on the other side of the trail. The was right about it being larger, this one was about five to six feet long. Unfortunately, it was also back lit by a fairly strong sun. The on board flash unit wasn't able to compensate enough to give a truly outstanding picture of this 'gator. I however think that it is still an interesting picture.

I do a large part of my nature photography at one of the under discovered jewels of Florida, the Circle B Bar Reserve. The address for those of you who need it for your GPS or map search is 4399 Winter Lake Road, Lakeland, Fl 33803. The great thing about the Circle B Bar is that it is only about ten miles or ten minutes from my house. I have never been disappointed in the photographic opportunities while there. Normally, I come home with at least 150 photos that need to be sorted and categorized. My most recent trip there was Friday, March 21, 2014 and I ended up taking about two hundred fifty photos overall. This one was of an approximately four foot long American Alligator with a fish in it's mouth. I think that this is the best photo out of the dozen or so that I shot.

Introduction

Hello, I am an amateur photographer who lives shoots in the central Florida area. I am entirely self taught and proudly admit that I have much more to learn about this addiction. I am thoroughly enjoying practicing what I am learning and will be proudly displaying some of my work here. I have had a life long love of nature and the great outdoors. I was born and raised in Northwestern Pennsylvania farm country, where it was necessary only to step out the door to be in nature. I grew up hunting and fishing in their seasons before I was bitten by the camera bug. It came to my attention that the hunting seasons were too short and it was too long between them. Life and times changed for me and I found that I no longer had the time or inclination to hunt for many years. I have absolutely no problem with those who enjoy hunting and or fishing, and probably will go back to the blood sports at some time. The greatest advantage to photography is that it can be practiced year round, you don't go to jail for poaching, there are no bag limits and no closed seasons. I intend to post one photograph per day here. Should you fall in love with one or more of the images that will be posted here, you can email me at chrismercerimages@gmail.com and we will come to an agreement. Currently I intend to do a theme for each week . The first week is Alligator Week