Matheson State Park Photograph by Andrea Santamaria In April
2010, 15 students from Miami's South Dade Senior High School got
the chance to participate in a National Geographic Photo Camp.
For four days, the teenagers explored South Florida's Biscayne
National Park, creating a portrait of local water use,
conservation, and marine biodiversity through photography and
writing. They were mentored by National Geographic magazine
contributing photographer Raul Touzon and other leaders. While
at Biscayne, the students also chronicled the 2010 BioBlitz, a
24-hour inventory of the park's plant and animal species. This
photo gallery features the students' photos and writing.
"Through the lenses of these cameras, the wonders that lay
behind the tiniest of leaves, beneath the smallest of ripples.
How the tiny blades of grass turn into your newest fascination,
even if for only a few minutes. I appreciate the things that
were once right underneath your nose. I have seen, the way you
learn how to understand the ways the pl