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Bruce Mozert

Bruce Mozert / University Press of Florida

  • Travel

The Life Aquatic with Bruce Mozert

When the photographer gazed into the crystalline waters of Silver Springs, Florida, in 1938, he saw nothing but possibilities

  • By Gary Monroe
  • Smithsonian magazine, April 2008

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    Central Florida has many clear springs, but in the 19th century, Silver Springs also had location, location, location: connected to the outside world by the Silver, Ocklawaha and St. Johns rivers. After the Civil War, steamship-borne tourists including the likes of President Ulysses S. Grant and Harriet Beecher Stowe would flock to the springs to marvel at the sight of aquatic life seemingly suspended in space. Through the first few decades of the 20th century, whether they came by rail or by car, tourists continued to go to Silver Springs. But by the 1930s, the place needed a new image—or images—to keep them coming. For almost half a century, Bruce Mozert supplied those images.

    Mozert was born in Newark, Ohio, in 1916 and followed his sister Zoë to New York City in the mid-'30s; she became a renowned pinup artist, he a photographer. On his way to an assignment in Miami in 1938, he detoured to Silver Springs because he'd heard that Johnny Weissmuller was filming one of his Tarzan movies there. Mozert says that when he stuck out his hand to shake Weissmuller's, the former Olympian responded by hoisting him in the air. Eventually, the movie star left; Mozert stayed.

    He likes to say that he "took to photography like a duck takes to water." But "like a fish" might be closer to the mark. At Silver Springs, Mozert pioneered underwater photography, building waterproof housings that allowed him to go deep with a camera in hand. For some 45 years (except for service with the Army Air Forces during World War II), he created scenes of people—comely young women, for the most part—talking on the phone, playing golf, reading the newspaper...underwater, all the better to show off the wondrous clarity of Silver Springs' waters.

    "Everything has a picture in it, a sellable picture," Mozert says. "All you got to do is use your imagination." To create bubbles in a champagne flute, he would stick some dry ice or Alka-Seltzer in the glass; to simulate smoke rising from a grill, he used canned condensed milk. "The fat in the milk would cause it to rise, creating ‘smoke' for a long time," he says. With his meticulous production values and surreal vision, Mozert cast Silver Springs in a light perfectly suited to postwar America—part "Leave It to Beaver" and part "The Twilight Zone." His images anchored a national publicity campaign for the springs from the 1940s through the '70s; competing against water-skiing shows, dancing porpoises, leaping whales and hungry alligators, Silver Springs remained one of Florida's premier attractions, the Disney World of its day. Then, in 1971, came Disney World.

    It's hard to compete with the corporate colossus 90 miles south, but Silver Springs is still in business. So is Bruce Mozert. Almost every day he drives the 11 miles between his Ocala home and his studio near the springs, where he mainly digitizes customers' home movies. In 2004, he published a calendar featuring his work—photographs of young women posing under preternaturally clear water. He also takes the occasional commission for aerial photographs; at 91, he pilots the plane himself.

    Gary Monroe wrote Silver Springs: The Underwater Photographs of Bruce Mozert, published in April.

    Central Florida has many clear springs, but in the 19th century, Silver Springs also had location, location, location: connected to the outside world by the Silver, Ocklawaha and St. Johns rivers. After the Civil War, steamship-borne tourists including the likes of President Ulysses S. Grant and Harriet Beecher Stowe would flock to the springs to marvel at the sight of aquatic life seemingly suspended in space. Through the first few decades of the 20th century, whether they came by rail or by car, tourists continued to go to Silver Springs. But by the 1930s, the place needed a new image—or images—to keep them coming. For almost half a century, Bruce Mozert supplied those images.

    Mozert was born in Newark, Ohio, in 1916 and followed his sister Zoë to New York City in the mid-'30s; she became a renowned pinup artist, he a photographer. On his way to an assignment in Miami in 1938, he detoured to Silver Springs because he'd heard that Johnny Weissmuller was filming one of his Tarzan movies there. Mozert says that when he stuck out his hand to shake Weissmuller's, the former Olympian responded by hoisting him in the air. Eventually, the movie star left; Mozert stayed.

    He likes to say that he "took to photography like a duck takes to water." But "like a fish" might be closer to the mark. At Silver Springs, Mozert pioneered underwater photography, building waterproof housings that allowed him to go deep with a camera in hand. For some 45 years (except for service with the Army Air Forces during World War II), he created scenes of people—comely young women, for the most part—talking on the phone, playing golf, reading the newspaper...underwater, all the better to show off the wondrous clarity of Silver Springs' waters.

    "Everything has a picture in it, a sellable picture," Mozert says. "All you got to do is use your imagination." To create bubbles in a champagne flute, he would stick some dry ice or Alka-Seltzer in the glass; to simulate smoke rising from a grill, he used canned condensed milk. "The fat in the milk would cause it to rise, creating ‘smoke' for a long time," he says. With his meticulous production values and surreal vision, Mozert cast Silver Springs in a light perfectly suited to postwar America—part "Leave It to Beaver" and part "The Twilight Zone." His images anchored a national publicity campaign for the springs from the 1940s through the '70s; competing against water-skiing shows, dancing porpoises, leaping whales and hungry alligators, Silver Springs remained one of Florida's premier attractions, the Disney World of its day. Then, in 1971, came Disney World.

    It's hard to compete with the corporate colossus 90 miles south, but Silver Springs is still in business. So is Bruce Mozert. Almost every day he drives the 11 miles between his Ocala home and his studio near the springs, where he mainly digitizes customers' home movies. In 2004, he published a calendar featuring his work—photographs of young women posing under preternaturally clear water. He also takes the occasional commission for aerial photographs; at 91, he pilots the plane himself.

    Gary Monroe wrote Silver Springs: The Underwater Photographs of Bruce Mozert, published in April.


     
    Comments

    I read this article in the Smithsonian I got in the mail today. I thought these pictures were fascinating and I decided to go to the website posted in the book. What a great article idea!!

    Posted by Hannah on April 26,2008 | 02:45PM

    To my surprise, I opened up my Smithsonian magazine only to find an article about my uncle, Bruce Mozert, "The Life Aquatic With Bruce Mozert". As a child, I can remember traveling down to Silver Springs and watching him photograph so many scenes under water. It was a nice trip down memory lane, and a nice tribute to his accomplishments in underwater photography.

    Posted by Jim Meyer on April 28,2008 | 11:33AM

    We went to Silver Springs about a year ago while we were visiting our son, who lives in Gainesville. We lingered over the many photographs of the movie stills in the museum/gift shop when we were there, but today looking at the photos by Mr. Mozert was enchanting. Silver Springs evokes a sort of melancholy memory of time gone by and yet the water is still stunningly clear and beautiful and the park is quite an enjoyable place to see. Thanks for the glimpse into the past that has a strangely surreal feel to it.

    Posted by Kim Strausser on April 29,2008 | 06:12PM

    Why don't we have more people like this? This man is incredible.

    Posted by Julie Blanchard on April 29,2008 | 10:37PM

    We lived in Ocala for almost 10 years and were pleasantly surprised in finding the springs, not just Silver Springs which is one of the most famous. The natural springs of Florida are one of the states' best kept secrets. Most tourists have a view of Florida just from the coastline. The natural springs are a whole other world and one that shouldn't be missed. Visit as many as possible!

    Posted by Shannon Fuchs on April 30,2008 | 06:57AM

    Wow! Bruce Mozert is truly a genius. What imagination! Thank you Smithsonian for bringing his work to your readers.

    Posted by Barbara on May 1,2008 | 02:37PM

    My mother learned to swim in the 1930s at Silver Springs. Her brother lured her out onto the diving board to look at the fish, pushed her in, told her to swim and walked away. She knew he wouldn't come in after her, so she swam. Silver Springs was a frequent Sunday afternoon destination for my family, and I thought I was truly grown up when I was allowed to ride my bike the five miles from home to the Springs by myself. The Springs are part of my soul. It was always so amazing to look down into that clear deep water.

    Posted by Ellen Lindow on May 1,2008 | 06:16PM

    Great article...How can I get a print or two of the photographs???

    Posted by Steve Perry on May 3,2008 | 08:22AM

    Being a fifth generation Florida native with first generation arriving in the Marion County area in the 1860's, I was especially proud to see our area highlighted in the Smithsonian. Perhaps this will add to the incentive to continue to protect and preserve our beautiful natural resource, Silver Springs.

    Posted by Laura Priest-Roberts on May 4,2008 | 07:55AM

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    In The Magazine

    May 2008

    • Acadia Country
    • Ancient Citadel
    • The Life Aquatic with Bruce Mozert
    • Back to the Frontier
    • End of the Road
    • Who's Laughing Now?
    • Hidden Depths

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