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. 

Today, I visited 'Boneyard Beach' at Big Talbot Island State Park. It was my eleventiseventh visit and it's no wonder it's soooo popular with photographers. Some people call the trees here 'driftwood', but they're actually trees that have fallen to wind, tide and general erosion in this place...they're natives! Here are five from today for which I used a #25 Red filter that dramatically darkens blue skies. 

Today, I experimented further with long exposures. I also made a few as indicated by my light meter. It's going to take a while and a lot more work to not only learn how to apply this technique, but when it makes sense to use it.  Here are two from today's adventure; the first with the meter as indicated, and the second with a 6 stop ND filter for 23 seconds. 

 

These two photographs are important to me. The first is a kind of 'establishing' shot that depicts the area. The second is my first attempt with a long exposure...10 seconds in fact on a bright day at f22. I have a lot to learn, but this was my first lesson.

I think I've made more photographs at Little Talbot Island State Park than anywhere else in north Florida. It's always worth the trip, and as the southern end of the park has been closed to vehicles for more than a year, it's even worth the several mile walk. Here are several from yesterday, July 18th 2021,

One of my favorite places to photograph in this area is Dutton Island Preserve. I've quite a few images from there on this blog, and I made three more today. 

 As I've written, in my opinion Florida's state parks are its crown jewels.  Inland, Gulf coast and Atlantic coast parks, are all wonderful!  The foresight it took to resist commercial interests in order to maintain their relatively wild state is admirable. I've often visited Little Talbot Island SP, and have made scores of photographs there...these two were made on July 6th.