Florida Plant Trip !

[ChrisLukhaup]

Hello,
at the moment i am close to Orlando and i would like to know what are the best spots in Florida to photograph underwater. I am looking to see some nice underwater plants.
I have photographed water plants already all over the planet..now it`s time for Florida.
Cheers
Chris

attached some pics from Brasil and Sulawesi

[thefisherman]

chris i am not from florida but your photography is wunderschön! good luck on your expedition here in the US!


- thefisherman

[Geniusdudekiran]

Beautiful. Great photography and subjects.

[mattycakesclark]

Many springs would be great. Rock Springs, Wekiva, Blue! So many. Many lakes are very tanic and turbid, along with some of the bigger rivers.

Here are some pics of Blue Springs in Orange City (45ish minutes north of Orlando):



And Rock Springs in Doctor Kelly Park, Zellwood area (30ish minutes North)

[Crob5965]

http://www.floridastateparks.org/wekiwasprings/

this place is one of my favorite places to go in Orlando also I think there's a bigger place called Blue springs I think it's NE Orlando

never been there cos I think they charge $20 or so to get in

also Egmont Key is really pretty
http://www.floridastateparks.org/egmontkey/

[Crob5965]

of course you could also go to the keys but if your in Orlando that's a bit of a treck.
I lived in Orlando/Tampa for 15 yrs I'd love to see your pictures

Good luck

[mattycakesclark]

Originally Posted by Crob5965

http://www.floridastateparks.org/wekiwasprings/

this place is one of my favorite places to go in Orlando I think there's a bigger place called Blue springs I think it's NE Orlando

never been there cos I think they charge $20 or so to get in

also Egmont Key is really pretty
http://www.floridastateparks.org/egmontkey/

There are two Blue Springs in Florida. The one in Volusia County is 5$ per car I think. The other is in NW Florida. If you goto Blue Springs, there are some really good photo opportunities such as Hontoon Island, DeLeon Springs, in the area of Blue Springs.

A word of advice, some get quite packed in the warm months, especially on he weekends, so hey can get silty. The best times to go would be as soon as they open (or a little later for better light) during a weekday. Also, swimming at Blue Springs closes for manatees this time of the year till March'ish.
Divers frequent Blue Springs, kick up silt at the boil, but might be interesting subjects.

FDEP springs list :
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/springs/locations.htm

SJRWMD list (check other WMDs as well):
http://www.sjrwmd.com/springs/springslist.html

Get a state park pass if you are staying for a while too, it is nice to have if you like to spend time outside.

[Borikuan]

Blue Spring looks awesome! I have gone to Wekiwa, lot of Cichlids, but the water is not so clear, and it think snorkeling in those waters is not a good idea. Check out the Manatee cam , too bad they wont allow people to swim with them. I would pay for such an experience...

http://www.savethemanatee.org/savethemanateecam.html

[mattycakesclark]

If you get lucky, there might be a manatee that wanders in during swimming season. The rangers just tell you to keep your distance.

If you are really lucky, you might be there when Seaworld releases manatees. One time me and a few buddies where up at the boil, and we were surprised to see two manatees. The rangers said they were used to human contact (probably not a good thing), and not to startle them or try to scare them. They would often swim with you brush up against you.

[xenxes]

Definitely head to blue springs, http://www.floridastateparks.org/bluespring/, bring some scuba gear if you can

[ChrisLukhaup]

Hello everybody,thanx for the input !!
Attached some pics from Juniper Springs.
Cheers
Chris

[AirstoND]

There's Wekiva River also that turns into Rock spring Run.

There's also Alexander Springs in North Florida.