Gulf Shore Getaway

This month's Popular Photography features an article by guest Columnist George Ponder, who lives in North Alabama. In his article George discusses photography in one of his favorite photo spots, the Bon Secour Wildlife Refuge on the Alabama Gulf Coast.

Bon Secour Wildlife Refuge

Living in North Alabama as I do, the Gulf Coast is a convenient vacation spot—only a four-hour drive from my neck of the woods. Typically, I grab the golf bag for our vacations and spend time on the golf course while the wife and kids play in the sand. This year, I decided to leave the golf bag at home and carry the camera bag instead.

For the past two years, the Fort Morgan peninsula has been our destination spot on the Gulf Coast . The peninsula lies on the eastern entrance to Mobile Bay and is the home of the Bon Secour Wildlife Refuge. The opportunity to explore this refuge with a camera was too great to pass up.

The Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1980 and consists of approximately 7,000 acres of coastal lands that range from beach dunes to pine-oak woodlands. The refuge runs along the coasts of both the Gulf of Mexico and Mobile Bay and is home to more than 540 species of animals ranging from herons to egrets to alligators to deer. Birds are the most visible habitant of the refuge and offer tremendous photographic opportunities. I spent my mornings roaming the refuge during our weeklong vacation and barely scratched the surface of what this habitat has to offer.

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