Escape Winter Malaise with Balarama Heller’s Stunning Photos of Miami’s Waterways

The New York photographer went deep with Miami Waterkeeper, the non-profit duking it out to protect our waterways.
Water is more than just a ubiquitous presence in Miami—it defines the city’s way of life. Whether gazed upon, sipped, swum in, fished, or raining down in one of those glorious tropical gales, water is so intrinsic, so fundamental that it can be overlooked…until something bad happens, like pollution, reef damage, or climate change. 

Our best defense in the fight to protect Miami’s waterways is Miami Waterkeeper, a non-profit doing diligent, science-focused work and duking it out with polluters. Miami Waterkeeper is part of the Waterkeeper Alliance, an umbrella organization comprised of over 300 such organizations from the Hudson River to Senegal to Iraq, that brings the threat of legal action to those doing damage to waterways. 

At The Standard Spa, Miami Beach on Belle Isle, we are hyper aware of the blessing that our waterways bestow. Water plays a role in practically everything we love most about our Miami hideaway. So we sent one of our favorite photographers, Balarama Heller, out on a deep dive with Miami Waterkeeper as his guide so that he could bring home the awe-inspiring beauty that is the city’s waterways. For the past year, Heller has been working on Zero at the Bone, a stunning photographic series of the Florida Everglades that upends conventions of nature photography. 

With a brutal storm and frigid temperatures bearing down on the East Coast, we couldn't think of a better moment to share these remarkable photos. 

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