A close-up image of the eyeball of an alligator in the Okefenokee swamp, Georgia.
Laying on a chickie (a wooden platform for pitching tents) deep in the swamp, I had the opportunity to get really, really close (within a foot) of this menacing alligator. I mean, if he'd had any inkling to, I could have easily lost my arm and camera to capture this image. Fortunately, he was apparently content to just float there until a fish or eligible female came by, and allowed me to capture this fantastic close-up image. Each of the past several years I have taken a week to go "swamping" with a friend that lives in Atlanta, Georgia. The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and wilderness are located on the Georgia-Florida border, and the swamp is the largest peat-bog swamp in the US (and one of the largest in the world). The first time that I took this trip I was really wondering what I was getting myself into, having never really been in a swamp before. The first several days that I spent in the swamp were quite eye-opening. The Kabar fighting knife that I brought for self-defense (just in case, you know) was only needed to carve up peppers and onions for omelets in the morning, but my camera saw nearly as much use as the canoe paddle. In the first three days we spotted over 130 alligators, a brown bear, two owls, a cottonmouth (water moccasin), and most amazingly - a clutch of baby gators. After finding the babies, we immediately planned to return and search for more babies the following year. It would be difficult to imagine a more interesting, isolated, beautiful, wild place - although I have been to several, and they all capture one's imagination in the same amazing manner.
Size: 3000px × 3000px
Location: Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia
Photo credit: © DeepEarth Photography / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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