Floridiana Gloriana

'Stand Firm' by Ralph Orona | Miami | Used by Permission

The photographer wrote:  "This guy was battling the wind all day!"  I love the petals blowing in the wind like hair, and I don't think I really need to say anything about the effect of that brilliant yellow against that celestial cloud-streaked blue, do I?

'Stand Firm' by Ralph Orona | To see other photographs in his Flickr photostream, click here | Website:  Ralph Orona Photography | To see the largest version of this photograph at Flickr, click here

This photograph is used with the express written permission of its owner.  Please do not save or download it without first obtaining his permission.  You can write to him here.

"Downtown Lakeland" by Josh Hallett | Lakeland | Creative Commons

Since I love photographs of buildings against that indigo-tinted Florida sky, I was immediately drawn to this photograph by photographer Josh Hallett of a golden-colored building in downtown Lakeland.  From this angle, it is striking, monumental, like one of the pyramids.   

'Downtown Lakeland' by Josh Hallett |   To see other photographs in his Flickr photostream, click here |  Website:  Hyku | To see the full-sized version of this photograph at Flickr, click here

I do not own the rights to this photograph, but am using it compliance with a restricted Creative Commons license.  Please do not download or use it without first consulting the terms of the applicable license. The link to the license is here. 

'An Eye' by Etrusia UK | Tampa | Creative Commons

I was mesmerized by the golden eye of this snowy egret set against the blue-green background.  Look at the luminousness and delicacy of its feathers, and the streaks of paler blue against the slate-colored bill.  Taken in Tampa, it's just an awesome capture and has deservedly won all sorts of Flickr awards and honors.  Gorgeous.

'An Eye' by Etrusia UK  | To see his Flickr photostream, click here |  Website:  WhyDon'tYou; also Etrusia--British History  To see the largest version of this photograph at Flickr, click here

I do not own the rights to this photograph, but am using it pursuant to a restricted Creative Commons license.  Please do not save or use it without first consulting the terms of the applicable license.  The license can be viewed here.

'Florida Keys Sunset' by James Good | Creative Commons

When I visited the Keys a couple of years ago, we drove through a sunset much like this one, but for some reason neither of us can now remember didn't pull over to take a photograph.   If we had, our camera could not have rendered the scene with this delicacy of detail.  For me, it's the pattern of the leaves against the serene blue of the sky that really sets this one apart from other Florida sunsets---that and the shimmer of apricot in the water.  This is another of those Florida sunsets you have to be careful of.  The ineffable beauty just might be too much for you. 

 

Florida Keys Sunset by James Good | To see his other photos, click here | To see the full-sized version of the photograph, 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).

'Orange Beach Fenced' by Kevin 'Elvis' King | Pensacola | Creative Commons

This...is a work of art. How many colors can you see in this?

'Orange Beach, Fenced' by Kevin 'Elvis' King |  Website | To see his other photographs, click here |  To see the full-sized version of this photograph 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.  Before saving or using it, consult the terms of the applicable license (shown here).

Light on the St. Johns | Jacksonville

This photograph was taken---I think by my late husband, Don, meaning pre-2000) from a water taxi on the St. Johns (<correct spelling!) River in Jacksonville in Duval County (along Jacksonville Landing).  I don't think there is a photograph in my personal collection that is more illustrative of how ordinary sights---the rather standardized urban landscape of the 21st century---can be transformed by the fall of the light.

"Kissimmee Sunset" by Travis Church | Kissimmee | Creative Commons

I lived for years in Kissimmee, but I haven't posted any of my beautiful photographs because I thought initially that I would limit myself to North Central Florida.  Kissimmee isn't exactly unspoiled----it's right in the midst of Theme Park World---but off the main highways and bypasses and expressways that take you to and from hotels and tourist attractions, there is still plenty of naked nature for those who are looking for it. 

I thought I'd start with this beautiful sunset.  This IS a Florida sunset:  blue, gold, and apricot, deepening to violet.  Not so much red as I was used to before I moved here----but sublime.  You can see why people believed in ancient times that God lived up behind the sky.  It really looks that way here.

He writes:  "Taken between the engine shutdown checklist and the securing aircraft checklist. Sometimes moments like this don't wait until the gear pins are installed."

"Kissimmee Sunset" by Travis Church (Kaptain Krispy Kreme).   "I fly airplanes & sometimes I take pictures.  Not always concurrently." | Website:  TravisChurch.net | Click here to see his other photographs | click here to see a larger version of this photograph (at Flickr)

I do not own the rights to this Creative Commons photograph, but am using it in compliance with the terms of the license.  Please don't save or use it without first consulting the terms of the applicable license (here).

Florida Winter Color--Dawn at St. Augustine Beach 2.

  This is the second of two beautiful photographs I made of the sun coming up at St. Augustine Beach one December morning a long time ago.

Florida Christmas Color.---Dawn at St. Augustine Beach.

I took this photograph at dawn one morning in early December a few years ago.   I was at the beach with my husband and his children;  he and they were still asleep, so I grabbed the camera and went out before the sun had even started to come up.   Something prompted me to get out of bed early one morning.  These photographs ended up being a gift I made to myself, completely inadvertently.  It was one of two photographs; here is the other.

I didn't have much hope when I took them they'd come out.  The water---it was high tide---looked much darker, roiling under the rising sun;  I didn't notice that the dark gray surface was glazed with reflected sunlight or that the foam on the waves was pale blue.  It was a gorgeous moment I'll always remember.

The old house in the late afternoon 2 (c. 1997)

   IMAGE HOSTING BY FLICKR.

Another old house.  This photograph is one of my favorite photographs of all time.  I have it on the wall in my office.  It was the FIRST old house I ever photographed and the first time I noticed the apparently magical ability of the late afternoon light down here in this part of the world to make everything look significant.  I took this on a February afternoon, and though I've tried since then to photograph the place again, it's never looked the same.  Note the contrast between the golden sunlight on the front of the building and the bluish shadows---already headed toward twilight---along the side.