These relics often serve as perches for the myriad of birds who congregate on their limbs.  On this day, they were elsewhere, but maybe next time I visit, they'll cooperate.

A recent New York Times op-ed piece by David Brooks called When Beauty Strikes reminded me how often contemporary art discourages beauty as not gritty or significant enough to be a worthy ingredient.  It's true that it doesn't reflect the angst of the human condition, but does that matter?  Is it really the only mission of art to mirror of the woes of the zeitgeist?  For some, it surely is just that, but for me (and, thankfully, others) revealing an authentic response to what is beautiful is a higher calling. 

These several photographs were taken by the St. John's River one foggy morning recently.  It's rare for fog to last beyond the first hour or so of sunlight here, but on this morning it persisted much longer.  (Film)

Here's another from my drive on Route 21.  One drives for miles with nothing of interest to view other than endless pine forests raised for paper pulp, so it's nice to see something worth stopping for.  (Film)

I continue to try to find subjects that interest me away from the ocean and marshes. Yesterday, I took a long drive on the west side of the St. John's River (quite a bit away from it actually), and stopped for these. It's a challenge to find compositions I like in spite of the chaos, but that's the fun of it. (Film)

Among the many things I miss about NY, is autumn color.  However, the little bit there is here presents itself as a much lighter value than its surround.  In the north, it would be less evident as the context is also a lighter value.  These photographs are from around the corner.  I was hoping for late afternoon sun that would illuminate the trees from the side, but no such luck...near total cloud cover.  But, I did enjoy the contrast the remaining leaves on these plants offered.

        Temporary guests
.       not percolating through sand
        Tide pools take sun baths.

Trying to make something from not very much, it's interesting that, like a painter, manipulating tones can create something that wasn't there.  No, it's not Photoshop, but simple burning and dodging.  (Film)

Another place I've not been to before...Ft. Mose State Park.  Like Kingsley Plantation, it is part of the African-American experience in Florida.  Here's an account from Ft. Mose Historical Society's website:  "Hidden away in the marshes of St. Augustine, Florida is one of the most important sites in American history: the first free community of ex-slaves, founded in 1738 and called Gracia Real de Santa Teresa de Mose or Fort Mose (pronounced Moh-Say)."   http://www.fortmose.org/

Back to the beach!  Anastasia SP in St. Augustine again.  This particular park, while not permitting access to sensitive dune areas, does allow a lot of wandering where there are clumps of sea oats, vines, and other flora I can't name.  The day was actually cold with a strong wind which forced the hood on the hoodie to be on and the zipper pulled up as far as it would go.  Odd, after a lifetime up north, to call a day in the low 50s 'cold', but that's the way it felt.  (Film)

Part of growing in photography is taking chances with subjects and compositions in ways that differ from one's usual approaches.  Including the sun here was risky both because it is at the top of the frame, and because it is such a focal point.  But, that is also what makes it a more interesting photograph, at least to me.  (Film)

Not wanting to rely solely on the ocean and marsh views I've photographed a lot lately,  I drove very slowly on the roads that make a loop on Fort George Island where the Kingsley Plantation and Ribault Club are.  I was trying out a new-to-me lens replacing one that has focus problems - a loose element -  that was about the same price as a repair would have been.  The forest here, as I've often written, is more like a jungle, and nearly impenetrable visually.  Still,  I found enough to fill a roll of film.  Here are the several I liked well enough to scan and process.  (Film)

This photograph was made from a roll of film I started shooting a week or so ago, and finished today.  It's from Little Talbot Island State Park.  As described in a previous post, the Navy's Blue Angels' F18s were tearing up the sky, their roar a thrill to experience though not visible from the beach due to altitude.  The contrast of warplanes heard with serene scenes viewed was dramatic!  (Film)

Now and then, a 'mistake' can be an asset.  'Lens flare' is an aberration to be avoided most of the time, but not always.  In this image, the flare serves as proxy for the much too intense sun which would have been overpowering.    (Film)

I may have posted this a few years ago, I don't remember, and don't feel like scrolling back that far to check   I just rediscovered it among some files, and thought it pertinent to the series I seem to be accumulating about the ocean, marshes, and swamps in this area.  How trees end up this twisted and gnarly is a mystery to me.   (Film)

The beach has become my Zen garden... a daily cycle of renewal that holds no memory of itself yesterday, nor any inkling of itself tomorrow.  Though these words were meant differently,  I think they also lend themselves to this theme  (Film)

  "...of course you are not finished
   how can you be finished
   when the morning begins again
   or the moon rises..."

An excerpt from the poem, to the book,  in, The Lego Poem by W. S. Merwin

There are a lot of these flooded cedar swamps around here.  Fortunately, this was by the side of the road and didn't require slogging into the water wearing snake boots.  This is one of the rare instances where I might have preferred a color image as the leaves were yellow and really stood out against the dark water.  But, this is what I got, and I like it well enough.   (Film)

On my way to the place I photographed in my previous post, I passed this scene.  I turned the car around and came back quickly....didn't want to lose the sun on the water.  (Film)

As I now have an annual pass to Florida state parks, I feel compelled to visit those nearby as often as I can. I made this yesterday at Little Talbot Island SP when the tide was nearly all the way out. As swimming is discouraged, and fishermen gravitate to other places, it's often nearly deserted,  I did, however,  meet some nice people who had an interest in photography which was an unexpected bonus.  The strand is quite large at low tide, and the feeling of solitude is magnified by the vast expanse.  (Film)

It's not always about the ocean here; sometimes it's about the marshes too!   I've photographed at Pumpkin Point Preserve before, but there's never been as much wind as there was yesterday which made the otherwise dreary Spanish Moss a much more dynamic element.  (Film)

 

Well, back to the beaches.  Inland?...not so much.  (Film)