Everglades Photo Mis-adventure by Patricia Brundage
The day dawned with the anticipation of leaving the dreary, gray world of a snowless New England winter and arriving in sunny Florida. The prospect of my taking prize-winning photographs of the most beautiful birds in the world at the Florida Everglades National Park awaited me. Everything, so far, was running smoothly.
Things began to turn sour upon arrival in Florida. When we went to pick up our rental car we offered payment with our debit card. Absolutely not! We offered cash. Again, a resounding no! We offered a credit card … too low a limit …Oops!!! How about using three credit cards for the total? No way!!! When we hinted about using a competitor, the clerk chuckled, and we were told that all rental car agencies needed one credit card that could hold the total car rental. So much for that idea.
Now frantic … what could we do? Hitch hike? In a strange place, with no car … and it was a long walk to the Everglades National Park, especially with children and tons of camera equipment. Finally the not-so-sympathetic clerk suggested calling VISA and asking if our limit could be enlarged. Thanks VISA! The first hurdle cleared. Okay, now we could begin relaxing. Right?
After an expensive dinner overlooking the ocean, there was a sunset worthy of at least a roll of film. Early the next morning we began our trip to the Everglades. We got as far as Homestead and took a wrong turn … OOPS … so much for the rental car. After being broadsided by a very lovely couple from New Hampshire, no fault of theirs, the state of my ribs and the car was, to say the least, as bad as the town after the hurricane. After spending the morning with the kindly policeman, we called the rental agency to seek another vehicle. OOPS. No dice. They wanted nothing to do with us. Now what? Again, stranded in the middle of the road with luggage, kids, camera equipment and no vehicle. Hours went by before the tow truck driver arrived and drove us to the competition. Thanks ENTERPRISE! We were back in the driver’s seat. (PS buy the insurance).
After arriving in Everglades, we moved into our cabin and tried to resume our enthusiastic attitudes. We had seen lots of wildlife on the way in and I was anxious to get all that camera equipment out. The next morning, while the rest of the clan took a boat ride, I got my tripod and my seven pound 500mm Canon f4.5 lens out and headed for the ponds and trails. After about five feet, I could tell that my bruised ribs were going to be a big problem. So much for the long lens. After taking only a few pictures on the Anhinga Trail I packed it away and used a 75-300 IS lens. Lots of film was used.
After hearing the stories of dolphins, the fish that got away, and all the pictures I missed because I didn’t go with them, we turned in early. CRASH, BANG! Ocean waves sounded like they were right outside the cabin. Trees were falling, windows crashing, wind was howling, but the cabin stayed almost in tact. No roof and a few broken windows. We had been in the direct path of a tornado. OOPS! Tents were hanging from the trees, people from the campground were searching for their belongings, telling tales of doing summersaults inside their tents and worrying about being blown into the ocean. Luckily the second rental car was not damaged by the falling branches. Not everyone was so lucky. The damage provided great photo journalism opportunities. Unfortunately I was too upset to take many.
The day dawned with the anticipation of leaving the dreary, gray world of a snowless New England winter and arriving in sunny Florida. The prospect of my taking prize-winning photographs of the most beautiful birds in the world at the Florida Everglades National Park awaited me. Everything, so far, was running smoothly.
After an expensive dinner overlooking the ocean, there was a sunset worthy of at least a roll of film. Early the next morning we began our trip to the Everglades. We got as far as Homestead and took a wrong turn … OOPS … so much for the rental car. After being broadsided by a very lovely couple from New Hampshire, no fault of theirs, the state of my ribs and the car was, to say the least, as bad as the town after the hurricane. After spending the morning with the kindly policeman, we called the rental agency to seek another vehicle. OOPS. No dice. They wanted nothing to do with us. Now what? Again, stranded in the middle of the road with luggage, kids, camera equipment and no vehicle. Hours went by before the tow truck driver arrived and drove us to the competition. Thanks ENTERPRISE! We were back in the driver’s seat. (PS buy the insurance).
After hearing the stories of dolphins, the fish that got away, and all the pictures I missed because I didn’t go with them, we turned in early. CRASH, BANG! Ocean waves sounded like they were right outside the cabin. Trees were falling, windows crashing, wind was howling, but the cabin stayed almost in tact. No roof and a few broken windows. We had been in the direct path of a tornado. OOPS! Tents were hanging from the trees, people from the campground were searching for their belongings, telling tales of doing summersaults inside their tents and worrying about being blown into the ocean. Luckily the second rental car was not damaged by the falling branches. Not everyone was so lucky. The damage provided great photo journalism opportunities. Unfortunately I was too upset to take many.