Hidden Creek. Tosahatchee State Reserve Orange County.
by Chris Kusik
Title
Hidden Creek. Tosahatchee State Reserve Orange County.
Artist
Chris Kusik
Medium
Photograph - Medium Format Film
Description
The ancient palm hammocks in Tosahatchee have remained relatively untouched through the years and probably look much as they did when the first settlers came to Florida. As I explore the forest I feel as though I am walking through a fairyland. I've loaded a high contrast black and white film into the camera hoping to capture the textures and patterns of this tropical hardwood forest. After several miles of hiking the weight of my equipment is starting to take its toll. I come across one of the many creeks that wind through the property. This magical scene unfolds before my eyes. I carefully focus the composition on ground glass and make the exposure. The original name of Tootoosahatchee was simplified by the previous owners of the property to the present Tosohatchee (pronounced Tos-uh-hatch-ee). Native Americans named the creek, which roughly translates to "fowl" creek.Tosohatchee State Reserve covers 30,701 acres along 19 miles of the St. Johns River in eastern Orange County. Meandering creeks, lush cabbage palm hammocks, slash pine flatwoods, cypress swamps, and freshwater marshes form an integral part of the 3600-square-mile St. Johns River watershed. These habitats, and those of adjacent public lands, are essential to clean and store the water supplying the St. John's River. An abundance of birds, both resident and migratory, and wildlife such as white-tailed deer, bobcat, fox squirrel, alligators, and otters flourish here. Bromeliads and orchids festoon tree trunks and limbs, ferns carpet the hammocks, and wildflowers such as spring blooming irises add swaths of color to the landscape.
Uploaded
October 14th, 2013
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