Lake Okeechobee

We decided to grab another 'get-away' and head to Lake Okeechobee for some photography. Clyde has always wanted to photograph the lake, and we finally did it.

Clyde with his Leica M10 monochrome digital camera with a Voigtlander 12mm lens and orange filter

Clyde is having fun with his new Leica M10 monochrome camera. It only shoots black and white. It does NOT have the ability to shoot color. Because he is shooting black and white he is able to use color filters to enhance the contrast of scenes, just as he did when he was shooting black and white film. He’s having so much fun, and is very impressed with the tonal range he is getting.

Lake Okeechobee 1 —- for sizes and prices CLICK HERE

Lake Okeechobee is the largest freshwater lake in the state and the eighth largest freshwater lake in the USA. 

The lake is also one of the critical environmental issues in the state of Florida.  The lake is heavily polluted. When the rains come, and the extra water is drained off the lake into the Caloosahatchee River to the west, and the St Lucie Canal to the east, the resulting pollution results in horrible red tides in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic ocean. The red-tide causes severe fish die-offs and breathing issues for humans. It is an on-going problem that we hope is resolved before it pollutes our waters so severely that tourism comes to a halt.

It was once a beautiful lake that was the bass fishing capital of the world. There are very few of those fish left in the lake, and if you should catch one, for goodness sake, don't eat it!  With help, we hope it can retain its natural environment and become the bass fishing capital of the world once again. 

We drove through some beautiful cattle country on our way to the lake.

Found a nice shady tree to park our motorhome in a mobile home/RV park

The town of Okeechobee has a wonderful pier out over the lake where we spent our days

We spent several days enjoying Lake Okeechobee and the beautiful pier the town of Okeechobee created that stretches out over the lake. The view is magnificent, and it felt good to sit quietly and watch nature create art in the sky.

Niki photographing ~ I had a great time photographing too! However, it takes a while for me to hand-paint an image. In the meantime, I enjoy sharing our experience with you all.

Yummy mango tree alongside the pier

Manatees are often hanging around the pier

Yep, that’s Clyde out there in the orange shirt. Another day of photography

Clyde with his Leica M10 monochrome and Pentax 645 35mm shift lens

Lake Okeechobee 3 for sizes and prices CLICK HERE

We had two good days of photographing from the pier and then decided to take a drive around the lake to see if we could find some other angle. We did find one, but Clyde preferred the pier because the angle of the sun was better. However, the drive was wonderful, as were the clouds.

A most beautiful cypress tree on a cattle ranch

Lake Okeechobee Canal ~ a great fishing location

This is the area we found on the east side of the lake with photographic possiblities

This short road led to the walking area around the rim of the lake. Clyde can’t walk very far, so he decided not to check the rim out for photography. I imagine there are some great places along the rim. The Florida Trail does a walk around the rim once a year. If you’d like to check it out here’s a link to their website: Florida Trail

As we drove back to the main road I looked up and there was this magnificent cloud. I HAD to take a photo! Not exactly a scenic shot, but that cloud was impressive!

We returned to our motorhome site and plugged in our VOLT. It was great to be able to charge our VOLT from our motorhome!

I just can’t resist photographing flowers! :)

Yep, that’s Clyde in the orange shirt heading out to take a photograph

 On our last day at Lake Okeechobee, we were gifted with a beautiful and powerful storm. Clyde and I got several shots as the storm formed, 

Lake Okeechobee 2 —- for sizes and prices CLICK HERE

We stayed on the pier as the storm grew in intensity, until the strong wind that came ahead of the rain began. I grabbed all the camera gear and ran to put it in the car, and then went back to be with Clyde. We got in the car just as it began to pour! Whew!

We had an enjoyable time at the lake and are thankful we both managed to get some good photography accomplished.