Floridiana Gloriana

'hazy, hot, and humid' by Joiseyshowaa (B. Katz) | Gainesville | Creative Commons

Here is a breath-taking photograph of palm trees on a summer night.   It was apparently taken in Gainesville, so the title is apt; don't let the cool, silvery color fool you.  Note how each tree is surrounded by a ghostly silver aura, but of an aura of what?---reflected moonlight?  Electromagnetic energy?  An exudation of heat from the day? A distillation of moisture from the leaves?  My imagination? 

No--they're quite distinct.   Perhaps the photographer has an unsuspected gift for photographing auras.  I never really believed they existed till I saw this.

A magnificent shot, which has deservedly received much praise at Flickr.

"hazy, hot, and humid" by joiseyshowaa (B. Katz) | To see his Flickr photostream, click here | To see the larger version of this image at Flickr, click here

I do not own the rights to this photograph, but am using it in compliance with a restricted Creative Commons license which allows limited noncommercial use.  Do not save or download it without consulting the terms of the license (shown here).

'Sea Oats in St. Pete' by Kevin Trotman | St. Petersburg | Creative Commons

I haven't yet posted any photographs from St. Pete---an amazingly beautiful city on Tampa Bay.  This amazing, strangely lighted photograph with its pewter colored sky seemed a good starting place...

Sea Oats in St. Pete by Kevin Trotman (The Rocketeer) | click here to see his other photos | website: Radio Active Geek  | Click here to go to Flickr for the larger version

Seabirds flying on the St. Johns River | Palatka, Florida

   

Nick took this photograph in December 2005, during his parents' historic visit from England. He wasn't that happy with it. We had stopped in the town of Palatka---a town with a magnificent view of the St. Johns River and a truly beautiful bridge---to take a walk in the Park. Unfortunately, the weather was unseasonably grey and dreary. It did clear up later, just around sunset when we arrived in St. Augustine, but you can see that it was pretty cloudy and misty when he photographed these gulls. There were a lot of them whirling around overhead. These were a pretty small detail in a pretty large photo, so the resolution isn't all I hoped for. Nevertheless, I think it captures very nicely the action of birds in flight.

I realize that gulls are about as popular as pigeons with some people, but I can't help it; I love pigeons and gulls.

There are some beautiful photographs and some interesting information about the St. Johns River here.