Here are some photographs from near where I lived in New York that are all about winter in ways that are never represented here in north Florida. These were taken between 2006 and 2010 I think. 

Yet another visit to Pumpkin Point on a cloudy, cool day in December. North Florida is what people sometimes think has typical Florida weather, but it's cooler and a bit less tropical than the southern part of the state which is the palm tree cliche perception. 

 

It's been quite a while since I first photographed the tabby walled slave cabins at Kingsley Plantation. Once again, I could not quash the overwhelming sadness I feel coming here...these ruins had been the homes of enslaved Africans brought to this country in chains to spend their long, exhausting days working in the fields for the benefit of their 'owners'...a term I consider abhorrent, but all too real!!  Here are four views of the cabin ruins and one of the ancient tree that must have been a gathering place for the community. 

In my post of December 3rd, I mentioned the Bach Goldberg Variations. Written for a contemporary keyboard instrument (probably a clavichord or harpsichord) they have been transcribed for string trio by Dmitri Sitkovetsky.  There are some really excellent performances of that arrangement on YouTube, but in recognition of a frequent visitor to this blog from Sydney, Australia, I've chosen an excellent performance by members of the Australia Piano Quartet who are from....Sydney! 😊 (I am, by the way, a conservatory trained professional cellist, not a professional photographer)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4ihxM4Pf-4&ab_channel=LOFTmusic

I've photographed and posted quite a few images from this place...Cedar Point.  My most recent visit was in late afternoon winter light with dead calm air and some wispy clouds...perfect!! ;)  

"Anyone can take pictures. What's difficult is thinking about them, organizing them, and trying to use them in some way so that some meaning can be construed out of them. That's really where the work of the artist begins."  Lewis Baltz

What I've quoted above is intriguing because I hadn't thought about the why of making photographs from that point of view..  I look for compositions all the time...images with or without a camera...and try to preserve what I've seen so I can continue to enjoy them and share with others either as prints or online. But, deriving or imposing meaning has never been a factor. I suppose it involves making the images fit into a project that can wear a title.  It's a challenge to be free of an imposed theme before making the photograph, but creative enough after the fact to find one if one is there. I have to think about what's quoted above some more to even fully understand it in its several dimensions. I'm familiar with some very well known photographers whose images strike me as quite weak, but because they've put them in a book with an organizing principle, they're celebrated. I have no such ambition, but I am going to pursue this notion anyway and see where it takes me. 

Bach's Goldberg Variations are brilliant, all in G major, organized and varied by tempo, but there is no meaning whatsoever; their storied soporific genesis is a lie. They're just deeply satisfying to listen to!  

Here are three images of NC waterfalls near High Point.  Two are of Dry Falls which would seem to be an incongruous name except the 'dry' part refers to one's ability to walk behind the waterfall without getting wet.

My last two posts have been in color...I used my phone and it was all so automatic I didn't have to do anything much. However, I shot eight rolls of monochrome film that I've finally finished developing, so the rest of what I post will be in my customary monochrome...slightly toned in sepia. These are from Nantahala National Forest which is incredibly beautiful. I'll not post all at once...just what I've scanned and worked on a bit in Photoshop Elements 11 thus far.

Here are two more from our stay in the mountains of North Carolina. These two and the one I posted on November 17th  are phone cam photographs.  Though I vastly prefer using my film cameras and monochrome film, for use on line, the phone cam seems perfect!

Every autumn, we spend at least a week in the mountains north of Florida.  The terrain gets really high and rugged going through Georgia to N. Carolina and Tennessee. Driving near the Nantahala Gorge, we saw this stunning scene that I photographed with my phone. Sadly, the 'mist' that contributed to its beauty was actually smoke from a forest fire, but it's been contained and no further damage is being done.

As visually attractive as many other places are, 'boneyard beach' at Big Talbot Island SP is also that with the added appeal of constant change. If I decide to wait a week to photograph something that interests me, it's likely to be different when I return.  Here are two from this week.

Even though I've photographed parts of this particular place more than once, this was the first time I did so in late afternoon light. It was magical...the Spanish moss was warm and glowing!  I confess that I did alter the horizon in one of these, but I did it to improve the design of the photograph so I forgive myself! ;)))

 Cedar Point Preserve is a place I keep returning to. Here are three more photographs from today.

The clouds and sky at Little Talbot Island SP were vividly dramatic on Sunday (October 5th).  Here are two images from that outing.

I love Little Talbot Island State Park! !  It's rarely crowded and always looks a bit wild. I was there yesterday and the beach was deserted. The ocean is wonderful, of course, but I also love the dunes and the way they look with an interesting sky. 

Again, here's a place I've previously photographed that's nonetheless always at least a little bit different.  These two photographs were taken about a dozen or so feet from each other.  The blasted tree really caught my eye!

 

 

 

Even though these photographs were taken in a place I've photographed quite often, as so often happens, the reality of them is different than any others I've made. I may add more images to this post after another visit tomorrow, but it or they will also be different. 

                                 

 For those of you who have left comments, I must apologize as I have had no luck publishing them for quite a while now. Thank you for your responses; I hope I can resolve the problem sooner than later!

We visited Kanapaha Gardens yesterday in Gainesville. It was uncomfortably hot, muggy and buggy, so we didn't stay as long as we'd have liked to.  I had never seen giant bamboo or enormous water lilies before, and this was a first. We'll have to return when the weather gets cooler.

As often as I've walked this trail, it's always been on the way to or from the Boneyard at Big Talbot Island SP. Though I've noticed its features, I've almost never stopped to make a photograph. A few days ago, I returned to do just that, with no thought to the beach at all!  Here are three of them. 

Still, I just had to walk out on the beach and was greeted by a sky full of mares tails!

Returning to Big Talbot Island SP today, I walked in a different direction.  Here is a little of what I saw.