Spidery shadows of cattle yawn across green pastures in the Wheelchair Highwaymen’s photograph “Dali Cows.” “Blue Cross Roads” reveals Florida waterways’ icy azure veins and “Santa Fe Blush” cruises over reddened fall leaves.

Highwayman J.R. Harding relishes these quiet moments he co-captures with his “brothers” and fellow Wheelchair Highwaymen and Florida State alumni Gordon Palmer and Max Lee. 

Their “Beloved Florida” exhibition at the Tallahassee Museum welcomes visitors to experience the state’s natural beauty from new heights as they merge drone technology with the environment. Each photograph’s painterly quality portrays stunning landscapes that are awash in every imaginable hue.  

“Photography is yet another way I can give back and express my appreciation to the community,” says Harding, a quadriplegic, faculty member at FSU’s College of Business, and author. “This town and the state of Florida has enabled me to be unshackled from the perceived bondage of paralysis and be free to live to explore life’s endless possibilities without fear.” 

Harding has been asked to speak and testify for the United States Congress and the Florida Legislature for persons with disabilities, making significant contributions to shaping public policy. As he straps on a headset, he soars high above local parks as the drone becomes both his legs and lens.

Photography is yet another platform for Harding to share his perspective and advocate for the disability community’s inclusion in outdoor recreation. It was through meeting and learning from Lee that Harding found a love for drone photography. 

At the beginning, Harding says they were simply “boys being boys playing with toys.” But soon, they sought to share their experiences and adopted their moniker, the Wheelchair Highwaymen after the Florida Highwaymen — a collective of 26 African American landscape artists who persevered in the face of great racial adversity during the civil rights era.  

“The disability community learned from women and people of color on how to fight for your rights, tear down barriers and express yourself,” says Harding. “We use technology as an equalizing tool in this form of expression and civil rights. We want to remind people that everybody is not treated equally in all aspects of life.” 

For Harding and the Wheelchair Highwaymen, this means bringing awareness to how local and state parks must either maintain or provide accessible pathways in outdoor facilities and nature trails. 

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