Eaten Alive in Florida

Sinister was taken at Turner River in Florida Big Cypress National Preserve. I noticed the American alligator at a crossover when exploring the area. Excited about finally coming across what I was looking for all morning I set up tripod and camera. I then started composing around the gator and its Reflection, keeping my eyes on the ball, or better on the gator. Although my goal was to get as close as possible and as low as possible, I was not ready to be eaten alive by this predator. It did not take long, perhaps a couple of shots when I suddenly felt a bunch of burning bites on my feet. When checking out what was going on I realized that I was standing in the middle of a colony of nasty biting ants. I immediately left tripod and camera behind and jumped backwards on one leg whipping the ants off and then switched to the other leg to work on the other foot. Needless to say that I had to take my sandals off to get rid of them all. During this endeavor I kept one eye on the gator which did not move a bit and probably enjoyed the stupid photographers' pitfall or was hoping for an easy breakfast. Turned out to be quite the painful morning but after all so worth it ... because it's not all about the next pic, it's equally about the outdoor experience ... and I sure had my dose for the day!