Pixiq

The boatload of tourists thought I was crazy when I stepped into the murky, alligator-infested waters of the Everglades.

The water was shallow. About knee-deep. But once your feet hit the muddy bottom they start sinking as if it were quicksand.

Within seconds, my feet were submerged in the mud and my ankles were slipping under. Had I not kept walking, I would probably have continued sinking. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling considering I was barefoot.

I had tried wearing my flip flops, but they got sucked into the mud as soon as I stepped in. Luckily, they float, so I was able to retrieve them and throw them back onto the boat.

I was shooting a commercial video for Miami Tour Company, which is owned and operated by my friend, Gus Moore, of Miami Beach 411. If you come down to Miami, mention Photography is Not a Crime and you will get a discounted tour.

To set this video apart from what is already out there, I needed to get off the boat in order to shoot the boat from an off-board perspective rather than just stay in the boat and shoot from an onboard perspective, which is what most videographers would do.

Yes, the water is home to gators and snakes, but most of the snakes are not poisonous from what I hear. And luckily, there didn’t appear to be any gators around at the time. They showed up later.

I also shot plenty of onboard footage, which will also be part of the final video, but the most interesting footage is when I got off the boat. At least that is what the tourists said, who took several photos of me. Maybe they’ll send me some.