The boardwalk to the beach is somewhat of a cliche, but I like this nonetheless.  This is one of five pathways to the ocean at Little Talbot Island SP.  People don't really come to this end of the beach to swim, so it's often possible to be the only soul on the sand even in summer.  I love it for it's beauty.  I've never so much as waded in the ocean here.

Sunday morning, June26th, just after dawn at low tide. Despite the clear looking sky, just to the left (west) a squall stopped by and gave me a good soaking. With temps in the upper 80s, even this early, I was dry soon enough. Had to go over the camera with paper towels, though. No harm done. It was a Pentax 67 FILM camera that's nearly bullet proof.

I haven't been using my 45mm (very wide angle) lens recently as I didn't have a red filter for it.  I used a less wide angle lens instead until two days ago when I finally got the 25A filter I've been wanting.  These two photographs were taken from the walkway on  a bridge on  Route A1A with that lens and filter.    (Film)

I began this blog in 2008.  During the years since, it's been my favorite forum for sharing the photographs I make.  But, according to Google Analytics, there are very, very few daily visits. I also post to facebook.  Every photograph I send to that site is typically viewed twenty or more times, often with comments.  Obviously, in terms of my 'graphs being seen,, it's a much more gratifying venue. So, facebook will be my principal forum for the likely future.  But, I will continue to post here from time to time.  My fb posts are always open to 'public', so if you're interested, join me there.

For the moment, though, I want to share a group of images from a site near my former NY home.  It's called 'Round Lake', and it is just that...a round lake with an island in the middle.  I made these over a period of years.  Most have already been shared here, but never in the way they would be on a website....as a group.  So...here is series I made during my last decade in NY.  (All film)

To my great surprise, northeast, coastal Florida has almost no naturally occurring rocks.  The closest things to them are coquina, but they are not strictly stones...rather, they are aggregates of tiny limestone shells.  So, these photographs of the jetty at Vilano Beach employ imported boulders from who knows where.  (Film)

A friend in New York once mentioned how lucky I was to have found some big, puffy clouds to include in a photograph I had made there.  The mountains, forests, reflective lakes, foggy mornings, and golden afternoons often made whatever was in the sky an afterthought.  But, in Florida, there's not as much else to embrace.  The skies are the great compensation!  When I look through my portfolio of Florida photographs, the majority of worthy ones rely on a dramatic sky. So, even though the clouds here are rather simple, they aligned themselves nicely for these two images.  (Film)

Hoary, gnarled old coot
knows to slough his long dead leaves.
Impatient for spring.

(I am learning that, in Florida, certain trees hold their dead leaves during the winter, and drop them about now with new growth to follow quickly.)

I am beginning to find order in the chaos of Florida's cypress swamps and near jungle-like vegetation.  It's a hugely different visual vocabulary from what I learned to 'see' in New York.  I've posted a number of photographs on this blog that I found away from the ocean and beaches which are so much easier to embrace.  This is one of them on the vast campus of the University of North Florida where I now teach as an adjunct...a way to still be of use in retirement.

The St. John's River is home to the Mayport Naval Base, and a huge and growing commercial port for container ships and other freighters.  But, it is also host to quite a few commercial fishing enterprises, particularly shrimpers.  I posted a photograph of this pier a while ago sans ship when the tide was in.  Obviously, the tire and other debris lodged in the mud indicate low tide for this photograph.  Some might feel the debris sullies the image, but I will disagree.  This is the reality of a working waterway that gets some pretty heavy use.  It isn't always pretty!  (Film)

I developed a roll of film from a camera I've not used in weeks in favor of a much older one that uses a square format, and no battery.  I was surprised to find this there...I had no immediate recall of having taken it.  Of late, I've been attempting to add haiku to images that I think can benefit.  Doing so often explains some of the reason I took the picture in the first place.

                                                            In gathering dark

                                                            A brilliant halo of light

                                                            graces an islet. 

I love my state parks pass because it feels like every visit is free, and I can go as often as I like.  It's not free, of course, but if I go a lot it more than pays for itself.  Last week I went out with my camera to photograph in one place and ended up in another...Little Talbot SP.  These are two photographs from the far end of the beach.  Across the way is the U.S. Naval base at Mayport.  Sometimes warships clutter the view, but not on this day.  (Film)

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)