The ocean front has fewer features than the salt marshes away from it.  Smaller details and man-made structures become more important.  These images are from Castaway Preserve which abuts the Intracoastal Waterway.  It's a tidal marsh much frequented by fishermen who fish for bait to use when they venture out to sea.  At low tide, of course, they have to set their lines well away from the muddy marsh.  This pier serves as a platform for them and a place to launch boats.  (Fim, #15 deep yellow filter)

It will soon be time to visit another environment apart from the ocean, marshes and swamps, but for the moment, there's still some film for what's here.  (Film, #15 deep yellow filter)

I am trying to photograph subjects that don't necessarily include the mud, the beach, the ocean or other water. It's not easy, but in this season at least, clouds simply demand attention. As I've written, clouds are Florida's mountains. They are always different and often compelling! At least one of these two photographs is 'dry'. ;-)   (Film and #15 deep yellow filter)

The flow of water at Dutton Island ebbed at 9:30 this morning and began the slow process of refilling the marshes. I was there with still hot coffee and high expectations. Not a soul was where I wanted to be. After three years here, I don't find the Florida August heat as oppressive as I used to though it's still a lot more tolerable in the mid morning than later in the day.  It's nice to have a few reliable places not far from home that like to have their picture taken and will do their best to look good for the occasion.  (Film)

Every time I photograph in the marshes, there are scores of fishermen in the way both aesthetically and physically. (I know, I know...they can work in a photograph too!). After three years here, though, I've finally discovered how to eliminate them without violence. Take the camera out at low tide! There's no water for the fish and, hence, no fishermen. Besides the wet mud is much more visually appealing than the water at higher tide. This is Dutton Island Preserve adjacent to the Intracoastal (that most people pronounce "intercoastal"...dopey rabbits!). I've made a number of photographs here that I rather like.   (Film)

The weather has been what you'd expect in Florida in July....HOT!!  But, my state park pass lured me to go to the beach because the sky was so interesting.  Happily, there was a pleasant breeze and cooler temperatures near the water so I didn't suffer very much.  Still....October will be a lot nicer.  These are views from Little Talbot Island SP.  (Film, #15 deep yellow filter)

The name, "Alpine Groves Park" is ironical to say the least as it's located in one of the flatest and warmest states in the US.  What's more, it's in the town of Switzerland!  Go figure!

These three photographs were made there a few days ago.  (Film, #15 Deep Yellow Filter)

 

This is the season that's by far the most uncomfortable, but often offers the most beautiful skies.  There was promise of some storms which did fire up and let go torrents of rain, but the clouds before and after were stunning.  I was too late for some of the best that I could see from the car as I drove to Heksher Drive, but I did manage to find what's below.  (Film and Deep Yellow #15 filter)

I have become a 'before the storm' junkie. The wind dies down to nothing and the water gets glassy. Literally, less than one minute later, before I could even advance the film, wind came out of nowhere and the scene was gone forever. Within two minutes it was raining kittens and puppies. At least I got this.

St. John's River in quiet evening light. There is a public dock here (on which I was standing..not the one pictured) where people come in the evening to watch the sunset. Yesterday evening (Tuesday, July 12th) it had rained and was still rather overcast, but still attractive to many. The sky was relaxed and sleepy; the shore was tired too and swathed itself in mist as the evening wore on.   (Mamiya C330, 55mm lens, Delta 100 film in D76 1:1)

                                                                  

I live in a 17 or so mile wide corridor of land between the Atlantic Ocean and the St. John's River. The ocean and beaches are usually more visually interesting, but the river can be worthwhile too. I took this yesterday after a summer squall had moved through.  (Film with a No. 15 deep yellow filter)

This is the season when skies become their most dramatic.  I reiterate that cloud forms are Florida's mountain ranges.  Unlike real mountains, they're never static and predictable.  On clear and cloudless days, one looks for whatever is available on the ground...which isn't as much as I wish there were.  But, the clouds are hard to beat.  This was taken yesterday at Anastasia SP in St. Augustine (FL).  It's not there today for sure!  (Film and red #25 filter)

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.