Red Sailboat at Bahia Honda state park

Bahia Honda clear waters and Red Sailboat

I have seen some stunning pictures from Bahia Honda State Park.  When I visited the Florida Keys in February, this was on my "must-do" list.  I arrived on a sunny afternoon.  The water is beautiful.  There are lots of birds to photograph here.  For quite some time, it seemed like that was all there was.  That is okay but nothing spectacular.

Then my luck changed: small red sailboat arrived as the tide was going out.  A sandbar just underneath the water level was easy to look right through.  Crystal-clear waters were spectacular.  I tried several compositions with this sailboat and some distant clouds.  Then my luck improved again and a small piece of seaweed rolled by with the outgoing tide.  It got stuck on the shallow sand.  This provided a wonderful foreground object.

All the elements aligned in my favor.  I took several pictures and found this one to be my favorite of them all.  I was certainly lucky.  I was also prepared when the moment arrived.