I've found very few places in north Florida where a sense of grandeur can include the land as well as the sky.  I'm using 'grandeur' in the majestic sense since some would consider a vast salt marsh to be 'grand' as well just because it's so enormous.  But, my life in the northeast has prejudiced me to regard 'flat' as the antithesis of anything that thrills and inspires.  But, once again, Huguenot SP came through with its marvelous dunes which, on the day I made this photograph, were graced by enough of a dramatic sky to warrant attention.   (Film)

One of the nicest things about the Jacksonville area is that the beaches are easy to access, free of user fees or parking permits, and public.  In fact the free parking lots have porta-potties making their use even more convenient.  This photograph was made in the area I come to most often, and always is interesting.  I usually see fishing poles rooted in the sand with their lines extending into the water as far as the fishermen can cast them.  But, I've never seen a fish reeled in though I guess they must be getting caught as the fishermen return again and again.  (Film)

The beach at Big Talbot Island SP is littered with trees and tree limbs that are not washed ashore driftwood, but are native to the place.  The wind, surf, storms, and tide take their toll on the trees too near the water, and little by little they succumb and topple onto the sand.  It would be fascinating to come back a century from now to see what's left of the parts I am familiar with...but, hehe..that ain't gonna happen.  However, photographs will inform those who do visit a hundred years hence of how much has been claimed by the sea.  Of course, there may not be much left of Florida altogether as the earth warms, the ice caps and glaciers melt, and the ocean rises.

I did not make this heart, but thought it deserved a picture before the incoming tide made it a memory.   (Film)

Again, from Huguenot State Park,  I explored the west side of the dunes on foot this time.  The dunes are quite spectacular and off limits to those who would disturb their nesting grounds.  But, even from the 'road' around them, there is much to see and photograph.  I wanted to be there in the afternoon because it was low tide and easy to traverse, and because the sun was to my back and the polarizing filter at its most effective.   (Film)

This is a photograph I wish I had taken, but my grandson's mom is the guilty party.  The happy little cutie is sitting beside his dad.  He is watching a video of me playing Happy Birthday with some flashy embellishments on my cello for him.  I'm told he watched it several times, and, as this is one of the latter ones, I'm really pleased that he continued to find it entertaining.  Now, if he'll just ask his father to get him cello lessons.  After all, he is now two years old and will soon be about the right age to start on a viola with an end pin!! 

There are several interesting parks that front on the ocean in this northeast corner of  Florida.   I've posted several images from Big Talbot Island State Park before, but none from Huguenot Memorial Park which is where the two photographs below were made. The park is essentially a huge array of dunes that are roped off and patrolled by rangers to protect the nesting grounds of a variety of sea birds.  But, between the dunes and the sea is a vast beach that permits vehicle access and is quite popular with visitors who sun  themselves, picnic, and bathe in the ocean never very far away from their cars.  (Film)

This photograph presents an odd perspective for this part of Florida.  It was taken from a high vantage point.   Since moving here, I've missed the hills and old, worn down mountains that give the Hudson Valley such character and beauty.  The Jacksonville area seems to be one vast, flat sandbar with little variation, but the Jacksonville arboretum boasts a rather high overlook of the pond below, and a ravine beyond the pond.   I've visited three times now, and look forward to going again later in the day, and later in the season as the trees leaf out.  (Film)

Here are two delightful woodland sprites I discovered dancing beneath a magic mushroom at the Jacksonville Arboretum.   (Film)

It's been a while since I've posted anything here.  I just haven't made any photographs I'm happy enough with to share.  There is an arboretum in Jax that I discovered a week ago or so that was interesting to visit.  Within is an actual ravine with at least thirty feet of drop off that is the first inland place I've encountered here that isn't dead flat.  But this image is about something much simpler.  (Film)

It's been about two months since my last post. (sounds like I'm going to Confession...lol!)  As I've written several times before, I am finding Florida a difficult subject away from the ocean.   True, there are places one can travel to that are interesting, but in NY I found much to photograph within a mile of where I lived.  So, this is in honor of that kind of proximity.  It is a scene from behind our house.  The trees are loblolly bays that are as close to the light bark of birches or aspen as can be found around here.   (film)

As I've written, the beach is just a 20 minute drive from where I live.  Unlike the New Jersey or New York seashores, access is unfettered by fees, windshield stickers, or "No Parking" signs except in some exclusive residential areas.  In fact, Jacksonville Beach has free parking lots with porta-potties.   So, to not take advantage of what's there is to really waste an opportunity.  Rather than go to the gym today,  I walked on the beach below.  I didn't realize how strong and steady the breeze was until I turned around to go back.  Yikes!    (digital)

Since posting this in color, I was curious to see it in monochrome.  In Photoshop Elements 11 it was simple to extract the chroma, futz with highlights, midtones, shadows, contrast and brightness with the following effect.  Better?  Not really....just different.

The area of Jacksonville where I live has quite a few corporate parks.  They're landscaped to a fare thee well, but not very interesting to photograph (and...I've tried...a lot!) as the design isn't from nature, but from an architect.  All the housing and corporate developments built in the last several decades are required to include retention ponds to compensate for the acres covered by buildings and pavement.  The effect is nicely verdant with trees, shrubs and ponds, but not visually compelling.  This little tree was difficult to isolate, and it's the best I could do with it.  (film)

It's been a while since I visited Kingsley Plantation.  I wanted to wait until the light was different than it had been last spring and early summer.   It's now more oblique, and casts shadows that weren't possible when directly overhead.  There's much more visible texture now, and forms are better defined as well.  These were taken somewhere close to noon, and I want to go back at an earlier hour for even more oblique light.  It is my intention to make as many images as I can, and then choose twenty or so of the best.  So, there may be repetitions in the meantime!  (film)

 

I've not gone to the ocean for a while...stupid, really, because it's only 20 minutes away, and it's always different and always a pleasure.  So, I thought I'd take my mountain bike to the beach and ride it there on Friday instead of going to the YMCA gym.  When the tide is out, there is a lot of packed wet sand that's perfect for biking, and the knobby tires and rear fender are great for traction and avoiding splashed butt syndrome.  I rode a good long distance and came across the posts I photographed below.  I hadn't known they were there until that ride, and was eager to return with the camera the next day.  Here's one from that second visit.  (film)

I don't think I've ever included an acknowledgement of another photographer's work here.  But, hey...it's my blog, and I shouldn't feel restricted as to what I post, so here's something different.

 I have at least five books of Michael Kenna's work, two retrospectives, one anthology, and two monographs of singular subjects.  France is the most generous and sumptuous monograph I've collected by any photographer.  Knowing his work from these books, I've concluded that Kenna's so-called minimalist, long exposure images are just one segment of  his overall body of work.  The majority of the photographs are just superbly composed and interesting images of subjects that are a pleasure to look at.  (In fact, the long exposure minimalist images do not appeal to me with nearly the power as the rest.)

As I've written before, I am utterly disgusted by what passes for contemporary 'art' photography.  It's boring, careless, and poorly crafted in every sense.  It should be an embarrassment to those who champion it, but they're intent on proffering what hasn't been seen before even though it likely wasn't worth seeing in the first place. But, it's new! And...there are legions of visually illiterate viewers who will follow anyone that appears to be an authority no matter how flimsy their credentials and background. 

I am a classical musician, and have the utmost respect for excellent intonation, tonal purity, beautiful sound, and expressive interpretation.  Kenna meets parallel visual standards with supreme virtuosity.

 (digital, and with a tripod! lol)

These towers are often very compelling to look at with billowing steam jetting into the clouds.  I expect to photograph them as often as I can when the conditions make them particularly interesting.  From up close, they're huge, and their exhaust impressive.  (film)

I never imagined that there would be a vibrant wine industry in the south.  New York wines are middlin' at best, and don't really compete with California wines I think.  But, Georgia?  Who knew? 
These two photographs were made at Wolf Mountain Winery ...the real deal and truly on a steep-to-access mountain top.  The place is exceptionally elegant and beautiful, and the members of the family I met who own it were really, really nice.  (film)

 http://www.wolfmountainvineyards.com/

After seeing my son in Atlanta, Georgia, the rest of my eleven day trip focused on photography.  I didn't shoot nearly as much as I'd hoped to, but did make a few images that I'm happy with.  This is the film version of the digital image I posted on October 10th.  It's interesting that the aspect ratios of the two pictures are so different.  The digipic is nearly a panorama, while the film image is much less wide (both were cropped a bit on the sides).  Even online, the difference between a hand held p&s image, and one made with a medium format (6x7) film camera on a tripod with an excellent lens is quite obvious to me at least. 

Having only glimpsed cotton fields after they'd been harvested, my recent trip to Georgia had me there when 'the cotton was high'.   It's an interestingly heliotropic crop whose bolls aren't even visible from the side away from the sun.   As I drove past a field, I only realized what was growing there when I glanced in my rear view mirror and saw the vast ocean of white.  It's a crop that has very powerful associations with slave labor, and seeing the density of the planted field, visions of men, women, and children with sacks suspended beside them with straps, laboring in the broiling sun were quickly called to mind.  The irrigation apparatus is, of course, a contemporary device.  (film)

I almost missed this as I zipped along a two lane rural road approaching a little Georgia town.  It caught the corner of my eye, and I turned the car around and went back to it.

One of the pleasures of using a point and shoot camera is the sense of freedom to photograph anything at all.  My 'serious' film camera sits on a tripod ready to expose a frame to a carefully metered and focused scene.  But, the little digi gets handheld, and manages exposure and focus on its own.  That's a treat!