South Florida/ Keys/ Key West Questions

[Eaton Photos]

Greetings everyone,

As I put in the Subject, I am headed to South Florida & the Keys. However, I do not have any ideas, of what to shoot.

Our trip will be going down I-75, from KY to KW. Not looking to make any shooting stops, till we get to the Tampa/ Clearwater Areas. I was thinking of taking the old road (tamiami route), from Tampa to Naples, then hook, 75 over to Miami. From Miami, take US-1. Things to see & do in the Keys? Any Input.

Aside from the suggested things, like Sunset @ Mallory Sqr., the Lighthouse, AKA the known attractions, in Key West. What else is there to see & shoot? I love shooting Architecture, Sunrises/ Sunsets, Cityscapes & Landscapes. My primary reason, for the trip, is to shoot the SBI Offshore Worlds in Key West, at the end of this week, for several of the teams.

Route back, will be up 95. Maybe stopping in the Miami area, for a night, then up to Titusville, for a Shuttle launch, then up A1A to St. Augustine, then to Savannah, then up to Asheville, NC. Points of interest' in Georgia/ Savannah. Things, that do not cost' money. Architecture once again. Locations of Historical significance.

After Asheville, I'm looking at taking the old road (441/ 71), over the Smokey's, instead of taking 40 over. Any things to see, do in the Smokey's. I haven't been to the Smokey's since I was 3. I'm 28 now. :)

Thanks for any input.

[rklepper]

There are some nice beaches around Panama City. Not sure if that is on your path.

[Thalagyrt]

The Everglades National Park is directly on your path down to Key West/back up. If you have the time to take a day and go around there - drive down to Flamingo and back and stop and take time at all of the offshoots, maybe do some hiking off trail if you're feeling adventurous - I can almost assure you that you'll have some photo ops you won't find anywhere else in the world. :)

[Eaton Photos]

James,

Thank you for your input. However, time is going to be the big question. I do not know if I will have enough time, to go exploring, off the main route to KW. I definitely will not have a day, or enough time, to go hiking. If I did, I would gladly do so, but, I am also taking my family with me, and having two kids under two years of age, is not too conducive for hiking. When, I have the chance, to make another trip, to South Florida, I will build in enough time, to hit Everglades, and maybe do an Airboat ride.

Since, your in the Miami Area, what is there to see & do? I'm looking for Historic Architecture (Art Deco District comes to mind), Scenic Landscapes/ Cityscapes, Lighthouses, off the beaten path, so to speak.

[Thalagyrt]

Hrm, well, there isn't much off the beaten path in Miami itself that doesn't involve going on a boat, however the Art Deco district is an interesting place.

One place of note is Matheson Hammock Park. It's kind of off the beaten path, hidden away in Coral Gables. It's a beach with a giant lagoon in it, complete with a restaurant that's a burger joint by day and a fancy seafood dinner restaurant by night, and I personally can vouch for it being good food. If you look up the Red Fish Grill you'll see how to get there.

Just down the road from that is the Fairchild Tropical Garden, but I don't think you'll find too much photo worthy stuff there. Pinecrest Gardens, which is on Red Road and also nearby has some beautiful scenery and ever since Parrot Jungle moved out of there it hasn't been too full of people. The funny part is that most of the parrots flew back there after being released in the new location, so you'll see a lot of wild parrots there. If you've got an UWA there is a beautiful old banyon tree there.

Also of interest might be downtown Coconut Grove if you're stopping by at night.

[johnj2803]

i'm not sure if you have time but Vizcaya is nice to picture architecturally...

from US 1 (south dixie) you take brickell ave instead of i95 going back. Vizcaya is at the end of Brickell. You can find your way back to i95 after vizcaya, there is an exit to the interstate after you exit vizcaya.

I would also recommend downtown miami, so instead of exiting to i95 from vizcaya, go straight to US1 (biscayne), thats a good place to shoot too :D

[Thalagyrt]

Doh! How did I forget Vizcaya! Beautiful, that's another place to see for sure!

[wrussi]

in miami:
vizcaya
south beach
miami skyline
key biscayne

and on the keys:
7 mile bridge.. the old bridge
old railroad bridge
mile marker 0

[TheMissouriShooter]

This is well worth the trip http://www.corkscrew.audubon.org/

Also when you head east out of Naples, FL across the Everglades look for a small park on the north side of the road. It's an outstanding walk into the Everglades (and it's free). Look for gators along the road (in the ditches) sunning themselves