photo by Rob Witzel

“If Florida had a Photographer Laureate,
John Moran should hold that title.”
--Gary Mormino, Florida Studies Program, University of South Florida

Traveling the Sunshine State with his cameras, John Moran seeks his vision of natural Florida as it must have appeared to Ponce de León and other early strangers in paradise. Moran's work celebrates the magic of a unique landscape born of water and blessed with beauty beyond measure.

His portfolio of landscape and wildlife photography ranges from the Gulf to the Atlantic with an emphasis on Florida waters: our springs, rivers, lakes, swamps and coasts, and the creatures that inhabit them.

A University of Florida graduate, Moran has been named Photographer of the Year for the Southeastern U.S. by the National Press Photographers Association. Following a 23-year career as a newspaper photographer and writer, Moran left the world of daily journalism in 2003 to concentrate full time on photographing the best of natural Florida. His photography has appeared in numerous books and magazines including National Geographic, Life, Time, Smithsonian, The New York Times Magazine and on the cover of the National Audubon Society Field Guide to Florida. He is the author of Journal of Light: The Visual Diary of a Florida Nature Photographer.

Concerned about the changes we've seen in our iconic springs, Moran partnered with artist/art historian Dr. Lesley Gamble and designer Rick Kilby in 2012 to create the Springs Eternal Project, a deep meditation on water and Florida's future.

Moran's decades-long love affair with the springs is chronicled in a compelling museum exhibition. Springs Eternal: Florida's Fragile Fountains of Youth opened in 2013 at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville.

Moran's speaking programs, detailing a photographer's search for the soul of Florida, have been called “exquisite,” “lyrical,” “eye-opening” and “like nothing I've ever seen.”

On photographing the nature of Florida, Moran says, “Truly a universal language, photography can help us better understand and appreciate the incredible gifts of nature bestowed upon this great state we call home.”

Read a profile of John Moran by Jeff Klinkenberg of the St. Petersburg Times:
https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2005/04/05/photographer-laureate/

Read an Outdoor Photographer magazine profile on John and his work at:
http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/locations/north-america/florida-explored.html