Professor Edmund C. Arnold of Syracuse University used to tell his photojournalism students that the perfect picture story was one that needed few words, other then brief captions, to get the message across to the reader. Pensacola photographer Michael O'Donovan and veteran travel writer Robin Rowan have taken the professor's theory one step further; they have produced an entire book about Northwest Florida with minimal text.
His book, "Florida's Northwest" is a “picture story” of a part of the state that is sometimes overlooked by tourists and state officials alike. Beginning at Perdido Key near the Alabama state line and traveling east to Tallahassee, O'Donovan takes us on a 200-mile journey through rare coastal dune lakes, miles of white sand beaches, tannin-tinted rivers, wet prairies, scrub, red bluffs and valiant last stands of old-growth pine forests. Along the way we stop just long enough to enjoy the beauty and serenity that is Northwest Florida. It offers beauty and serenity that most visitors and many natives have never seen.
A fourth generation Floridian, O'Donovan's photo excursions have given him a deep love and respect for the natural beauty of the area and, as his photographs show, a strong sense of concern for its fragile environment. Although the more than 135 spectacular color photographs in the 130-page hardcover book make a near perfect picture story, the book is greatly enhanced by the superb writing of Rowan.
A resident of the Pensacola Bay Area since 1982, Rowan said she and O'Donovan hope the book will make people want to get out and see Florida's Northwest for themselves.
“The area between Perdido Key and Tallahassee is the most biologically diverse in North America,” Rowan said. “We want people to get out and explore the entire region; to hike its forests, canoe its inland creeks and rivers and discover for themselves what an amazing place Northwest Florida really is. We hope this book will serve as the catalyst to get them to do that.”
By relying on the beauty of photographs to tell the story, the authors make readers aware of what Northwest Floridians have to lose if growth and development is allowed to go unchecked. Their challenge, therefore, to residents and politicians alike, is to step back and see what is being gained and what may be lost.
“The natural beauty and miles of wide-open space that first captivated us are diminishing as more people grab their slice of paradise.” O'Donovan said. “The signs of 'progress' throughout the region have placed us squarely at a crossroads, leaving us to ponder whether or not we're on the right path.”
The book is a wonderful insight into why residents and visitors consider Northwest Florida to be a special place with a lifestyle that is certainly worth saving for future generations. Through words and pictures, especially pictures, O'Donovan and Rowan, attempt to explain why we so cherish an area that indulges our eccentricities, where it's acceptable to mix barbecue joints with sushi bars, mullet-tossing with fine arts festivals and tar paper shacks with gleaming high-rises.
“I never realized there was so much to do and see in Northwest Florida,” said former Atwater, Calif., resident Pattie Waters, after reading “Florida's Northwest.”
“There are all sorts of amazing places to see and things to do. The book shows a Florida most outsiders are totally unaware of.”
