Photographer John Moran travels the Sunshine State with his cameras, seeking a vision of natural Florida as it must have appeared to Ponce de Leon and other early visitors to paradise. This exceptional collection of images highlights Moran's 20-year odyssey to discover the soul of one of the most photographed states in the country. His photographs celebrate the magic of a unique landscape born of water and blessed with beauty beyond measure.

The exhibit is based on Moran's popular book, Journal of Light, and is a mid-career retrospective featuring his unusual and creative photographs of the alligators, beaches, birds, blackwater rivers, freshwater springs, palms, live oaks, turtles, flowers and night-time landscapes that make Florida the amazing place we call home.

"My goal is to show people the Florida they've never seen," Moran says. "Or else I want to show them familiar Florida in a new way."

About the Photographer
A University of Florida graduate, Moran's photography has appeared in numerous books and magazines including National Geographic, Life, Time, Newsweek, Smithsonian, Outside, Sierra, The New York Times Magazine and on the cover of the National Audubon Society Field Guide to Florida. Moran has been named Photographer of the Year for the Southeastern U.S. by the National Press Photographers Association.

Says Gary Mormino, co-director of the Florida Studies Program at the University of South Florida:

"If Florida had a photographer laureate, John Moran should hold that title."

Download a PDF of this fact sheet

View a slide show of John Moran images

Other FLMNH exhibits available for rental

Exhibit Sponsors: Museum purchase; funds provided by museum visitors. Additional support provided by the Florida Museum of Natural History, Digital Technology Group of Tampa.