I am Florida's Panoramic Scribe. "Panoramic Scribe" is an honorary title given to me by a distinguished group of Tri-railers that disbanded years ago. Let me explain.

In the early 1990's, on my way to work between Hollywood and Miami's 79th Street Station, I showed my newest photos to fellow commuters I had come to know. At 79th Street most of the group changed to the Metrorail, heading toward Miami's Civic Center and Downtown. There were a few added onlookers on the Metro, and the show continued.

I had something interesting to offer--news from the front, the Everglades Backcountry, as it is known. For all present, the show was one last distraction before entering the workplace.

I am a Photographer only in the sense that I use a camera. First and foremost I am a waterway advocate-sportsman-outdoorsman, living far from Manhattan by choice (a 1982 decision). I use photographs to tell the story of Florida's waterways. My photos constitute the ongoing record of what I find.

Photos are taken mostly during expeditions by kayak, canoe or motor boat, along the Wilderness Waterway, on Florida Bay, the Ten Thousand Islands and the Gulf Coast--and on waterways throughout the State, such as Arbuckle Creek and Peace River.

Some of these waterways are more dead than alive, and all of them are in trouble, in my view. My photos call attention to their beauty, although I have a few highly unpleasant shots of what is visibly going wrong.

I reaffirm the outlook of the first known Western philosopher, Thales, who argued that water is the underlying reality of all things. Thales knew something. Water is everything. But water is not appreciated until it turns bad or dries up.

I recall my early years living nearby polluted sections of New Jersey's Passaic River. A freshly caught bass tasted rotten. It was no surprise to me later to learn in graduate school of northern New Jersey's cancer rates.

The power and beauty of water are mostly unseen in modern, urban life. The tremendous life-giving nature of water is hardly noticed. Yet, one needs only to be present where streams meet, where the tides rush in, where dolphins play, to experience the power of water. People, by their circumstances, are distanced from the greatest visual manifestations of what gives them life--water.

I explore Everglades waterways, shooting photographic scenes rarely seen by others as well as sites more familiar to Glades enthusiasts. I try to show the subtle but stunning beauty of South Florida's better side, highlighting the water, its all-encompassing nature, its colors, its grandeur.

Years of oil painting, outdoor sports, and my father's example (a science teacher/bird-watcher) led me to take an interest in the adventure of the Everglades. But nobody is prepared, really, for the Everglades challenge. And no other project for me has been as problematic as finding my way around the Everglades backcountry.

I climbed the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta in Colombia, I spent a year on the Sahara Desert near the juncture of the Blue and White Niles at Khartoum, I paddled part of the Amazon River in Peru, where I lived three years, I navigated the jungle waterways of Colombia's Pacific Coast, where I lived and worked, and I sailed along the U.S. West Coast (where I was rescued in a storm). But kayak expeditions in the Everglades--such as paddling from Flamingo to Everglades City on a "marked" route known as the Wilderness Waterway--were greater challenges. Everglades camping and fishing experiences are beyond the ordinary.

I received advanced degrees in Public Health (Columbia University) and Philosophy (Albright College and The City College of New York). I completed doctoral coursework in Public Health at the University of South Florida.

In recent years my reading has included the novels of Peter Matthiassen, John D. MacDonald and Carl Hiaasen, insightful writers who relate to the circumstances of South Florida and recognize what is at risk with the decline of Florida's natural environment.

Published Photos in--
National Geographic Adventure
Field and Stream
South Florida Adventures

Photography Awards--
*Hollywood International Art & Music Festival--first place in photography
*Cooper City Art Exhibit--photography award

Note: The photos above are--
*The Scribe arriving on Highland Beach on the Gulf Coast
*The Scribe swimming on a sunny afternoon on Harney River near the entrance to The Nightmare

E-mail: scribephotos@earthlink.net