What Can a Photographer Get on an Airboat Tour?
This family booked an ordinary tour and one of them brought a real camera along. Every photo on this page is hers.
Look at where the boat is sitting. That is a cypress slough with the canopy closed overhead, water like coffee, knees coming up all around the hull. We shut the engine off in there and it goes so quiet you can hear the boat settle. You are not getting that shot from a road, and you are not getting it from a big packed tour boat that never leaves the main run.
A private airboat tour is what makes it work. When the boat is yours, we stop where you want, hold where you want, and back up when you missed it.
How Do You Get Close Enough for a Real Wildlife Shot?
You cut the engine and let the boat drift in the last thirty feet. There is nothing more to it than that.
An airboat under power is loud, and every gator on the bank knows exactly where it is. Under no power it is a piece of aluminum going wherever the wind pushes it, and gators sit right there. This one sat still. That gave her a profile at eye level, which is the angle you want. Shooting down at a gator from a high deck makes it look like a lizard on a lawn. Shooting across at it makes it look like what it is.
The other half is patience. Fifteen minutes not moving beats an hour of driving past things. On a good morning guests see 30 to 50 alligators out here, so there is never a shortage of subjects, only a shortage of good angles on them.
Bring a long lens if you have one. Everything on this page came from a real camera, and the difference shows against a phone at the same distance.
Shoot from the seat you are in rather than standing up to get a better angle. Standing changes the boat trim, the boat rocks, and the gator you were about to photograph goes under. Every guest learns this once.
Our photo gallery is mostly guest work for the same reason. People keep sending us better shots than we take ourselves.
When Is the Best Light on the St. Johns River?
First hour and last hour. Same as anywhere, except out here the last hour has no buildings in the way and nothing on the horizon but grass.
This cypress stands by itself on the prairie edge, knees ringed around the base, and the water in front of it went flat enough to hold the whole reflection. Midday would have flattened it out to nothing. Late light gave it a silhouette and a sky worth putting behind it.
Middle of the day is not wasted, it is just different. That is when the small stuff pays off, and the white peacock butterfly below came off a patch of weeds nobody else on the boat had looked at twice.
If your one goal is color, book the sunset airboat tour. The prairie out here does things at sunset that people do not believe until they see the file on the back of the camera.
Weather helps more than time of day, honestly. A completely clear evening gives you a plain orange band and not much else. Give me broken cloud sitting over the marsh and even a mediocre hour turns into something worth the drive.
Bringing a Camera on the Airboat
You do not need a photography package or a special tour. You need a private boat, a captain who will stop, and a few things worth knowing before you get on.
Bring the Long Lens
Something in the 100mm to 400mm range covers gators on the bank and birds across the water. A wide lens handles the cypress and the sky.
Expect Vibration
The boat idles rough and the wind moves it. Shoot faster than you think you need to, and take the shot again once we are fully stopped.
Ask Us to Stop
Say something. We will cut the engine, hold the boat, and back up if you missed it. That is the whole advantage of a private tour.
Protect Your Gear
Spray happens on the run and the marsh throws dust in dry months. Bring a bag you can close and something to wipe a front element with.
Pricing for 90 Minute Airboat Eco Tour
* Call for pricing on the night and lunch/dinner tours.
Book Your TourWho Is Taking You Out There?
Captain Seth Whitaker holds a Master Captain license from the U.S. Coast Guard. That is the highest level of professional mariner certification, and it takes thousands of hours of documented sea time, written exams, and regular renewals to hold onto.
He has been running the channels and marshes of the St. Johns River for over 15 years. This is not a side job. He grew up here, raised his family here, and knows which slough holds water in a dry spring and where the eagles nested last year.
All Switchgrass Outfitters boats are inspected and meet U.S. Coast Guard safety regulations, including fire extinguishers, life vests in every size, communication equipment, and maintenance logs.
You are not getting a seasonal hire reading off a script. You are getting somebody who lives on this river.
Real Reviews from Real Guests
"I'm going to tell you, this is the airboat guide you want. We had Seth, he was great. Showed us around and we saw well over 100 gators... A++++"
Erik B., Oviedo
(Google Review)
"Captain Seth has extensive knowledge of the area as he not only grew up there, but he is also raising his family and uses the land for sustainability... I highly recommend if you're in Christmas, Florida."
KeiLani B., Titusville
(Google Review)
"Just amazing, first time and it was the greatest experience ever. Seth was a fantastic guide... You won't regret it!"
Jessica S., Orlando
(Google Review)
Switchgrass Outfitters holds 314 five-star reviews across Google and TripAdvisor. We've earned TripAdvisor's Traveler's Choice Award, which places us in the top 10% of attractions worldwide based on traveler ratings.
Read More Reviews on GoogleFrequently Asked Questions
Can I bring a professional camera on the airboat?
Yes, and plenty of guests do. Bring a bag you can close, since there is spray on the run and dust in the dry months. A lens somewhere in the 100mm to 400mm range covers most of what you will want.
Will the captain stop so I can take photos?
That is the point of a private tour. Ask and we cut the engine, hold the boat, or back up to whatever you missed. Drifting the last stretch with the engine off is also how you get close to wildlife in the first place.
What is the best time of day for photos on the river?
The first hour after sunrise and the last hour before sunset. The sunset tour gets the strongest color, since the open prairie has nothing on the horizon to block it. Midday is better for close subjects like butterflies and detail shots.
How close do you actually get to the alligators?
Close enough for an eye level profile shot with a moderate lens. We shut the engine off and let the boat drift in, because a running airboat moves every gator on the bank long before you are in range.
Service Area: Nearby Cities We Serve
Switchgrass Outfitters is located in Christmas, Florida, and serves guests from across Central Florida. We are the premier choice for Port Canaveral airboat tours, offering a quick and straightforward drive from the cruise terminals. We're an easy drive from:
- Chuluota (9 miles)
- Bithlo (10 miles)
- Mims (15 miles)
- Geneva (16 miles)
- Titusville (17 miles)
- Oviedo (18 miles)
- Port Saint John (18 miles)
- Sharpes (19 miles)
- Cocoa (20 miles)
We're also convenient for visitors staying in Orlando, Sanford, and Altamonte Springs.
Book a Tour Built Around Your Camera
Tell us when you book that you are shooting. We will run the boat differently, favor the shaded sloughs and the open prairie edges over speed, and stop as many times as you want.
Ninety minutes, six people maximum, and the whole airboat is yours. We launch from Christmas, FL, about 30 minutes east of downtown Orlando, and the light out here beats anything you will find closer to town.
