Shadleâs Images Capture Wild Florida

While captured in an instant, the image of a bald eagle flying back to its nest near Cockroach Bay or a roseate spoonbill landing with wings fully forward are far more than lucky flukes for award-winning wildlife photographer James Shadle, a frequent contributor to Bay Soundings.

ãYou want to shoot when conditions are optimum so you need to know where birds live and forage at what time of year, what the wind and the tides are doing, even the phase of the moon,ä says the Valrico resident and commercial battery salesman who is three years into a five-year master plan to become a full-time wildlife photographer.

That said, some of his best-known work came about because he was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. Three photos, including a two-page spread of the image above, were published in National Geographic Adventure after a researcher at the travel-oriented publication searched Google for images of the Fakahatchee Strand in the Everglades.

And while many of his favorite images come from truly wild places like the Everglades, others have been taken smack-dab in the middle of suburbia. ãEvery one of my limpkin images was taken in the ditch that runs along Lumsden Road (a six-lane highway that leads to the Crosstown Expressway in Brandon).

Many winter mornings find Shadle huddled at the end of Gornto Lake, just north of busy Highway 60, waiting for one of three bald eagles that frequent the pond to swoop down for a fast snack of coot, a duck-like waterbird. ãThere are a nesting pair of eagles and a juvenile that is probably about three years old all living somewhere just to the east of the lake.ä

Still, Shadle is quick to point out that protecting ö and restoring ö habitat attracts wildlife. ãRestoration works,ä says the Hillsborough County native who grew up enjoying the wilderness. ãIt wasnât long ago that Cockroach Bay and Wolf Branch Creek were practically barren of wildlife but theyâve come back and are going gangbusters.ä

In fact, some of his most productive workshops take place in the newly restored preserves. ãMost of my tours are to Îsure thingâ locations like Fort DeSoto or the Everglades because I know weâll get great images there. My favorites though are places off the beaten path like Cockroach Bay and Wolf Branch Creek ö the overall odds for a great photo arenât quite as good, but the odds for a unique shot are much better.ä

For more images and information on upcoming workshops, visit Shadle at www.wildflorida.net.