Shortly after sunrise on December 14, 2011, I went to Tuscawilla Prairie Preserve south of Gainesville, Florida, hoping to find wildlife or early morning sunlit landscapes to photograph. After arriving at the preserve, I could hear Sandhill Cranes nearby, but could not see them. The vegetation in the prairie was very tall and mostly shades of brown from the fall and lack of rain. Its height blocked any distance viewing or photography.

As I walked the trail, I noticed a nearly perfect and abandoned spider web that was covered in the morning dew. It was glistening in the morning sunlight, and the dew drops on the web looked like tiny pearls. After setting up my tripod and mounting my camera, I captured that special moment. It was special because the web would be gone shortly and most likely not seen by anyone else. It also was special because I did not see anything else on the trail worth photographing. Regardless, it was a beautiful, cool morning in an unspoiled natural setting that was peaceful, relaxing and refreshing.

Double click on the images to zoom in on the web

Last night, I processed more of my images that I shot in December at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park focusing specifically on a River Otter that was hunting and catching fish, and then bringing them to its nearby den. I was not able to see the den, but I able to photograph the otter as it was working the nearby shoreline. I will be posting an article with those images this weekend.