The Jacksonville Camera Club has long been (since 1935) the place to go for both amateur and professional photographers to nurture their passion. The group provides a myriad of opportunities to learn and share camera expertise. Through bi-monthly meetings, technical and creative workshops, photo contests, inspirational speakers, and local (or not so local) photographic outings, you are certain to find a way to exercise your skills.
One of the locales enjoyed by the club membership is Paynes Prairie Preserve, a Florida State Park in and south of Gainesville. Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park | Florida State Parks. If Nature is a direction your heart points you and your camera, this is one place you need to check out. Hiking and biking trails throughout the nearly 23,000-acre park will take you to a variety of photo opportunities. The resident wildlife can include nearly 300 species of birds, alligators, white-tailed deer, wild turkeys, otters, snakes, wild roaming horses and bison, introduced to the park many years ago, and more. The visitors’ center and most of the amenities of the park are found at the southern main entrance. This includes a 50-foot-high observation tower that provides panoramic views of sweeping landscape dotted with the horses and bison queuing up for inclusion in your photographs. The Park can go from wet to dry, depending on the seasons, altering the photo ops, variety of inhabitants and access to them. But you cannot have a bad day at Paynes Prairie unless the heavens open up. Even then, being Florida, that probably won’t last for long. Just make sure you have a way to keep your camera dry and perhaps yourself. Then keep on shooting.
Visit https://jaxcameraclub.com for full details of what the club has to offer and how you, too, can get in on the fun.
This is a very nice and informative article, Charise!