I’ve been fascinated by the colors in the clear, fresh water springs of Florida.  Yes, I love the manatee...., but I think my “love affair” with the manatee is almost as much a love affair with the ever changing colors of our Florida springs.

Note the photograph above - all blue.  This was taken on a rare morning when the thick fog didn’t quite burn off but the sun was still strong.  Usually at this time of the day the sun rays are casting rainbow patterns on the springs and manatee but in the case above things stayed all blue because of the haunting quality of the lingering fog.  This doesn’t happen often and the photograph above is exactly how it looked.

But it is not just fog that effects the colors in the springs.  Direction of the sun plays a huge role in what water colors come to the fore and also the water itself changes color dramatically, sometimes even from minute to minute.  The springs are so dynamic, especially the ones that are connected to the Atlantic or the Gulf of Mexico (like Crystal River).  Lower visibility water of varying colors (usually greenish), makes its way up to the springs and mixes with the spring flows to produce a totally vast array of colors.  I don’t think we even have enough colors to catalog all the variations that occur.  And the “mix” is not constant.  Depending on weather and environmental factors the amounts of the water from the Gulf and the springs mix in different amounts constantly, sort of like a mixed drink never made the same way twice.  Then you add in a few shots of strong Florida sunlight at different times during the day, filter it through different trees, maybe add a cloud or two, and you begin to get the idea that yes, the color combinations when the manatee meet the clear water springs are endless.  (Then again if the weather conditions are tough it can be absolutely murky in this exact same spot - got to love all the drama and anticipation as you don’t need to take up extra sources of gambling when you try to predict the water clarity of the springs!  That is truly “game-on”.)

The photograph below is an additional peek into the possibilities.  Note it is the same spring, just a bit of a different angle.  Of course the effects of no fog and a different time of day can clearly be discerned.  And the “mix” of the spring’s “cocktail” was different - that laced with the rainbow rays.........., well you get an idea why I’m hooked on photographing manatee in the springs.  It is probably like being in the mind of a painter who is creating a piece and the colors are swirling around in his imagination being created for the canvas, ever changing, ever striving for more aesthetic beauty.  Then you add into it a wonderful animal like the Florida manatee and you see why I go time and time again trying to observe it all and then, always....... there is another new color.  Carol

Rainbow Manatee