Airboat in the Everglades

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Airboat in the Everglades by Chip Bunnell Photography

The “River of Grass” is not as difficult to navigate as it may look. From the bank, it looks like an endless field of grass with unknown critters below the line. In reality, it is a very delicate ecosystem that serves as the home to many birds, alligators and other endangered species.  It is critical to travel through these protected waters in the least aggressive means possible.  One solution – the airboat.

Long ago, inhabitants realized the destructive nature of the traditional boat propeller system on the soft river bottom. By moving the propeller above the waterline, the possibility of prop damage was removed.  This giant fan was then mounted to a unique flat bottomed hull to allow the boat to glide over the grass and even muddy land with ease. The airboat was born!

Today, these boats are the primary way to explore deep in the “Glades” and observe this wonderful slice of nature. Not only is it a responsible way to view this National Park, but it is truly exhilarating to seemingly fly across winding canals in search of some of the most remote residents.

Photo Stuff: Single frame, Processed in LR and Topaz Clarity
Fuji X-T1

www.ChipBunnell.com
©2015 All Rights Reserved

Sunrise Flame

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Sunrise Flame by Chip Bunnell Photography

Warmth on a cold day. Light to show us the way. The transformation of raw ingredients into a life giving meal.  Our ancestors, several millennium ago, discovered how a simple fire had almost magical properties.

Fast forwarding to modern days, do we not have a special feeling as we gather around a campfire on a chilly night? Do we not feel security in a well lit path through dark woods? Do we not love the taste of a warm meal after a long day? Even with our modern understanding, fire still has these same magical properties in our lives.

Several hundred years ago, people far smart that most discovered yet another use for fire. By heating air within a lightweight container, it became lighter than the surrounding air. Through the properties of physics, that container of hot air would rise into the sky. Not only did fire help save our human ancestors on the ground, but it also allowed yet others to take flight!

Today, many of our friends and neighbors still use this very same principle, with a few more modern twists, to fill a balloon full of hot air and rise into the sky for a nearly silent flight. Carried only by the wind and powered by heat, entire festivals across our nations celebrate what simple humans discovered more than a few years ago.

This image is a single moment in time showing the flight-giving fire preparing to launch this simple, silent aircraft into the heavens.

Photo Stuff: Single frame, Processed in LR, Topaz Clarity and Topaz Adjust 5

www.ChipBunnell.com
©2015 All Rights Reserved