Orlando just got a breathtaking reason to visit its museum district. The Orlando Museum of Art presents Carlton Ward Jr.: Hidden Lands and Waters, Our Unifying Bond, a stunning new exhibition by acclaimed National Geographic photographer and explorer Carlton Ward Jr.
Every vista in the show hides in plain sight: none of the photographed sites sits more than 200 miles from the museum. Yet for decades, Ward has watched people mistake his images of wild Florida for faraway places like Africa or Montana. This exhibition sets the record straight and reveals the Florida we don’t always see — ranchlands, rivers, swamps, springs, and the Everglades, all pulsing with life on our own doorstep.
Ward has spent his career documenting and protecting the state’s natural beauty, from his beloved Florida cowboys to his award-winning work on the Florida panther. Here, his camera traces the connected themes of land and water: aquifers, watersheds, lakes, and marshes tell one intertwined story of a living heritage worth cherishing.
Plan your visit soon: the museum welcomes guests Tuesday through Friday from 10am to 4pm and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4pm. It is the perfect family outing — a chance to see Florida’s wild heart in glorious large format and leave inspired to protect it.
Photo: Orlando Museum of Art
