Airboating in the Florida Everglades

The mangrove jungles and tropical wetlands that make up the Florida Everglades are an incredible natural wonder that are best explored up close and on the water. In visualizing a few iconic Florida scenes for my travel photography series, the idea of airboating through the Everglades in search of alligators was an experience that I knew I had to make happen.

I chartered an airboat out of Everglades City on the western side of Everglades National Park. While there are a number of airboat tour operators to choose from in the area, I opted for a private airboat charter to somewhat customize the exploration (and because I wanted to guarantee that we'd have enough time to find alligators in the wild). 

I can't fully express just how much fun it all was. From racing through long corridors in the mangroves to drifting in the open water, the airboat ride alone was a rush. The very first bit of wildlife we spotted was a small pod of dolphins feeding. They popped up right next to the airboat and continued to swim around us for about 15 minutes.


We then ventured further into the Everglades in search of alligators. We had been looking for about an hour without any luck, but with a lot of alligator-looking logs pointed out. Then it finally happened. Off in the distance the captain had spotted something. We inched closer and there it was, my very first alligator sighting in the wild. We were no more than 3 or 4 feet away, and as I snapped my pictures and soaked up that moment, in my head I was thrilled to finally be crossing this amazing airboating adventure off of my bucket list. MORE HERE. 

Bowers Mansion in Washoe County, Nevada

Constructed in 1863, the Bowers Mansion in Washoe County, Nevada was once home to Lemuel "Sandy" Bowers and his wife Eilley Orrum Bowers. They earned their fortune through mining gold and silver ore, and became the first millionaires in the Nevada Territory. 

The Bowers Mansion, which is located between Reno and Carson City, is especially notable because of Nevada's storied mining history. Many stately homes began construction following the Comstock Lode mining boom which began in the late 1850s. Today the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is owned and operated by the Washoe County Parks Department. Tours and events are regularly hosted here throughout the summer and autumn months. 

I happened to arrive just following a massive snowstorm. The site was obviously closed for the season, but I still did some wandering. To give you an idea of how deep some of the snow was, I walked out to the fountain in the yard and the snow was nearly up to my waist.  

Three Weeks Exploring Florida & the Gulf Coast

Over the last three weeks I escaped on another incredible travel photography adventure, this time covering Florida and the Gulf Coast of the United States. From gators in the Everglades to a mouse in the Magic Kingdom, from drinks on Bourbon Street in New Orleans to drinks on Ocean Drive in Miami Beach, from epic sunrises in the Florida Keys to epic sunsets on the coastlines of Alabama and Mississippi - the entire experience was really something special to capture.  

I always have a blast travel shooting regardless of where I go, but what was especially fun about this getaway was that it was two unique trips in one go. 

I spent the first week meeting up with friends in a beautiful rented house to take in the Orlando theme parks (Walt Disney World, Disney Hollywood Studios, Epcot, Universal Studios, and Islands of Adventure). I then departed for two additional weeks of road tripping and travel shooting all over Florida and up the Gulf Coast to New Orleans and back again. I covered over 2700 miles and shot over 15,000 new images along the way. 

I flew to Orlando and started the road trip in a brand new 2017 Audi A4.

Part vacation, part working holiday, this adventure was another amazing opportunity to shoot some new content for Editing Luke and for a variety of existing and potential travel partners. What's to follow in the months ahead is sure to compliment some of the incredibly popular work that I've already released in my Middle America, Pacific Northwest, Aloha Hawaii, and Roadside California photo series'. 

In the meantime, thank you to everyone who followed along and engaged as I shared updates on my Instagram account during the course of this latest road trip. New galleries are certain to start showing up here very soon. Keep an eye out for the new series!

A post shared by Luke Fandrich (@editingluke) on Oct 23, 2017 at 5:37pm PDT