National Treasure

Artist: Benjamin Dimmitt

Project: Chassahowitzka Saltwater Intrusion

Description: For more than thirty years, photographer Benjamin Dimmitt has visited a fragile spring-fed estuary on Florida’s Gulf coast. In this time he has known the dense hardwood forests festooned with moss, the ferns and bromeliads and azure freshwater creeks that inhabit the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge. These days, rising sea levels and Governor Rick Scott’s “minimum flow” policies are destroying the estuary’s unique ecosystem. In Chassahowitzka Saltwater Intrusion, Benjamin Dimmitt travels to areas unreachable except by boat and, with high-speed film and a handheld, Dimmitt writes his elegy for this national treasure.

Eyes on the South is curated by Jeff Rich. The weekly series features selections of current work from Southern artists, or artists whose photography concerns the South. To submit your work to the series, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..