@@heathen_7 Thank ya! I’ve been trying haha, not always easy to get folks to switch platforms. But I’m planning some cinematic short films in addition to the usual YT vids soon so hopefully that will help pull some more over!

@@MarekMikuowski Thank you! 🙏🏼🤙🏼

@@alexuselysemarroquin7712 Glad to hear it! Thank you so much - more to come for sure!

Thank you so much! More to come for sure :)

Yeah! They are pretty bitey - I've handled quite a few helping out with turtle surveys in various springs and they pack quite a punch, so it makes sense they get mistaken for snapping turtles. Oh no way! Haha yep, can always rely on the gar hole to deliver the goods

Dude that means so much you have no idea. I know it's a long road ahead, but I'll keep at it. Wildlife/Conservation/Adventure filmmaking is where my heart is at so the passion's there just gotta keep chipping away :)

This is either part of the Leon sinks group or somewhere near Orlando

Thank ya!

That's awesome! Always a good day when I see a carnivorous plant

Definitely a balance to be struck between allowing people to have access to wild spaces so they can learn to care about them and also protecting them from over-use.

@@meatymouse9600 Appreciate it mate! I’ll keep at it 💪🏼🤙🏼

@@jakesnyder8990 Thanks! Gotta work with what I have, trying to make it go far 😅

Oh yes! I love them. Unfortunately, we were a little far north on the Gulf Coast side to see them.

It's a beautiful spot! Not sure I'm familiar with the cave swim-through - did it survive the collapse that happened in the last year?

@@squarecracker It’s a great spot!

@@OutoftheOfficeCreations Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

Thank you so much, Jessica!

@@Warrenwilds All thanks to you, Captain Warren! I think about this day a lot and just smile :)

Hey thank you so much, Dan! That really means so much coming from the turtle man himself! Haha I probably would have fallen asleep but I was melting in my wetsuit and was too miserable to do so

So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the kind words!

Thank you! I definitely prefer traveling by boat when I can. I do think this particular spring is tough to get to by kayak - not saying it's impossible though, just lots of downed limbs in the run.

@@josephrickettsphoto I went the first time launching around 2:00am at a landing. I went early because we had some bioluminescent in the water. I was there trying to get those and the Milky Way. After I couldn’t get what I was wanting I decided to paddle to the spring. Just before daylight, I noticed the water was colder and I finally notice clear puffs of water. There was a lot of pull overs, but it wasn’t too bad. Anyway, it’s a nice kayak but getting to where the spring starts is a long stretch to get to. I’m glad you got to go. It is a great place for gar and snapper in the winter. FYI, the spring that runs parallel to it is a beautiful paddle also.

@@Caston1705 Great to hear! And I’ve been hoping to make it up to the nearby spring sometime in the next year. It is definitely high on the adventure list!

Thank you!

@@ericsbraun Certainly can’t hurt to be ready for anything! For better or worse, Florida doesn’t have a lot of rocks

@@PeteRimkus A great question (and observation). I don’t have a flat port right now for my R5 housing and I’m cheap haha. I do have an extender that lets the 100mm fit though, and I haven’t noticed any loss in image quality for my uses. But flat port is definitely the standard way to go for sure!

@@PeteRimkus biggest downside is probably that it’s harder to get close to a subject with the giant dome port

@@josephrickettsphoto yeah that was what I was thinking, because at least since it’s a macro lens it could focus close enough for the virtual image inside the dome. Great shots and video though! I also totally understand as I also try to find the cheapest option that works.

Thank you so much! That's a beautiful part of the state for sure - I hope it stays that way forever

It’s in Florida. I don’t give out specific details as the spring is ecologically sensitive and doesn’t have the infrastructure to handle large numbers of visitors. The Florida Springs Institute has lots of info on their website if you are looking for springs to visit. Thanks for understanding 🤙🏼

​@@josephrickettsphotoBelieve it or not I know more about Sprinhs in Florida than you do probably. Anyways keep hiding.

@@josephrickettsphoto Good for you bro! Wish more people were like this as social media has absolutely destroyed the springs. Far worse than nitrogen and it's not even close.

@@squarecracker yea Ginnie springs has been absolutely wrecked by visitors

@@josephrickettsphotogatekeeping a natural spring is crazy

As a general rule I don't give out locations to these areas unless they have adequate infrastructure to support sudden influx of visitors. This is to ensure that my videos/photos don't have a detrimental effect on theses sensitive ecosystems. I do recommend checking out floridapringsinstitute.org - they have a map of springs around the state of FL as well as tips for minimizing your impact when visiting. Thanks for understanding and I hope you get to visit one of the springs in FL! If you've never been, Silver Springs state park is a great place to start!

I think I'll never subscribe to your channel because of your secret spring. Stupid to not share.

​@@josephrickettsphotoSHARING IS CARING. NO SUB HERE.

@@trackaholic Hey thank you so much! Got some exciting stuff planned for the rest of the year :)

That's awesome! That's how I would also describe my first underwater encounter with them

Of course! I love them too!

Me too! I don't typically give out locations, but this is within a state park so has some infrastructure and is probably already recognizable by the signs - it's Gilchrist Blue Spring. A beautiful little spot.

@@josephrickettsphoto Go look at the run now..... absolutely DESTROYED. FDEP put in a new path to get the kayaks out of the bathing entrance... and didn't put up any no walking signs. 50% of the vegetation was lost between april and may. from may until now another 30% or so has been trampled. It looked so good back in Spring that it makes me really angry every time I paddle there,

@@squarecracker there’s so much destructive tourism in Florida

Okay awesome, thank you! I promise I'm not THAT bad at ID-ing snakes, but when it comes to Nerodia, I often forget 😅

Haha thank you! I thought the water was pretty clear, but yes tannic water often means plenty of gators :)

Thanks!

Thank you, Chad!

Thank you! Haha I have a good bit of experience with wild alligators and crocs as I do a lot of research work with them for my main job. I probably had about 15-30minutes and I believe this was two individuals. I have some more wide angle footage from some other dives I’ll share in another video eventually!

Appreciate it, mate!

Hey thank you so much! They really are awesome turtles. I didn’t quite capture it here, but their bellies have the most amazing flaming red/orange color. Super cool. Yeah, whole new world to explore underwater for sure 🤙🏼

Haha thank you! Glad I can safely provide the perspective :)

Of course! Thank you!

Hey thank you so much! I'll keep at it!

Thank you so much! I'll keep chipping away at it :)

Thank you so much! In most of the freshwater environments I’m diving in, depth fluctuates a LOT so the flexibility of free-diving is nice. I use a dive belt to primarily help with my own buoyancy - my camera rig is just barely positive, so a heavy belt helps me stay down and then I can be pretty nimble from 0ft-30ft. My wetsuit is pretty thick (5mm) so I use 15lbs+ for shallow underwater work

Thanks so much! I usually shoot with a fisheye lens underwater, so has been a learning curve for me as well. Gotta really crank that f-stop up but also make sure you have enough light. Since I do a lot of stuff at night, having some bright dive lights is really helpful!

@@josephrickettsphoto Yes More light would help me out!

@@MrHillbilly I use Big Blue Dive lights and really like them! Very durable and bright. I use two VTL2900s. It’s a good bit of light, but going a little brighter would be helpful for f/11+ with macro

North-Central Florida - I don't give out exact locations because some of these spots don't have the infrastructure or ecological resilience to support sudden influx of visitors. Thanks for understanding!

Thanks, Andrew! Hopefully we can do some night stuff next time you are in Florida

Thanks so much! Amazing what animals have adapted to life in the springs or ones that still have life cycles tied to saltwater. And yes American eels have a wild biology 😂 Apparently it through early biologists off that none of them had reproductive organs, but you just have to find them at the right moment in their life

Those were the goals so that’s great to hear! Thanks so much - glad you enjoyed it!