Floridiana Gloriana

'Navarre Beach' by Heather Rasley | Creative Commons

As I said, I don't know western Florida well and I don't know Navarre at all....but I am entranced by the slightly rosy cast of the sand under that sky and in that light; and by the translucent blue tint of the sky.   

'Navarre Beach' by Heather Rasley | To see her other photographs, click here | Websites: Heather is Watching; The H. Line | 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 in compliance with a restricted Creative Commons license.  Do not save or use it without consulting the terms of the license (link shown here) 

Bottle at Sunrise by Judy Malley | Tampa | Creative Commons

Even a discarded or a forgotten bottle can make art for a photographer who has the artist's eye.   Without the bottle to pull this together, would we notice the reflection of delicately tinted sunrise clouds in the reflected blue of the water or the weathered browns and greys of the dock?  The slight unsteadiness of the bottle's position keeps you looking, as does the flash of green in the label (subtly picked up by the post on the right. 

The one that follows is, of course, the same bottle.  I couldn't decide which I preferred so I decided to use both. 

The photographer took these photos in the course of a day of recording her life in Tampa.  She took this one and the one after it at sunrise at Davis Island. 

'Bottle' by Judy Malley | To see her 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 (linked here).

'Someone Liked Smirnoff Ice' by Judy Malley| To see her 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 (linked here).

'Lake Eola' by Don Jones | Orlando | Creative Commons

I realize that many people find cityscapes a bit monotonous.  But imagine the amazement of someone from the Victorian age:  they'd see nothing but fairy-tale palaces, and fairy-tale lights.  I'm not sure what it says about us that we prefer to build our cities out of steel and glass towers and are satisfied to have them all look rather similar to one another.  I'm just asking you to focus on this one scene, with its silver, platinum, and celadon reflected in Lake Eola, its satiny dark blue backdrop, and its glass towers dwarfing the trees.

By the way, this is the same photographer who does such wondrous photographs of derelict houses, rusting tin, and lost and abandoned property decaying gently into Florida's rural landscape.   

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'Lake Eola' by Don Jones |  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.  It is subject to a restricted Creative Commons license, permitting certain limited noncommercial uses.  Before using or downloading it, consult the terms of the applicable license.  You may view it here.

'Blue Heron' by Judy Malley | Tampa | Creative Commons

I've posted several photographs of Blue Herons---my favorite Florida bird since a couple of them adopted my family back when I lived in Kissimmee---but this one by Judy Malley shows in perfect detail the beautiful silvery blue of its plumage and the no-nonsense tint of its navy racing stripe.  Is he not precious?   

"Blue Heron" originally uploaded by Judy Malley | To see her other Flickr photographs, click here |  | To see the largest version of this photograph on Flickr, click here

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

 

'Downtown and Marina on Bayshore Boulevard, Tampa Florida' by Judy Malley | Tampa | Creative Commons

There's something so surprising to me about Tampa's silver and platinum urban castles set right next to the water.  I've never seen Tampa from this angle, which really brings out the beautiful harmony of seaside color that the city's planners have managed to capture.  But what really sold this photograph for me was the traces of pure royal blue dotted here and there along the waterfront and that one little splotch of red on that round, platinum-tinted tower (one of my favorite Tampa buildings, photographically) on the far left.  Gorgeous.

'Downtown and Marina on Bayshore Boulevard, Tampa Florida' by Judy Malley (Click Click Photography |  To see her 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).

'Wacahoota Church' by Don Jones | Wacahoota | Creative Commons

Florida is filled with white-painted wooden churches.  They are beautiful against North Florida's indigo-tinted late afternoon sky.  I've passed this one---in Levy County,  S.R. 121, as the photographer explains----many, many times, but I never did so when conditions were right for a photograph.  And now I find this:  perfection.  The white looks almost silver against the blue backdrop.  You can literally see the ethos of the sky's color reflected in the wooden slats.  "The Wacahoota United Methodist Church. Established in 1852, built in 1899," the photographer explains. 

'Wacahoota Church' by Don Jones |  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.  It is subject to a restricted Creative Commons license, permitting certain limited noncommercial uses.  Before using or downloading it, consult the terms of the applicable license.  You may view it here.

Radiant Beach | Photographs of Pensacola by Kevin 'Elvis' King | Creative Commons

I discovered photographer Kevin 'Elvis' King while I was looking for photographs of Pensacola.  Over and over I'd find myself screaming, "WOW!" over a photo that turned up in my search, then look and----sure enough; he'd be the photographer.  I finally just wrote to him and asked straight out if I could feature some of his work.  I received a very gracious reply.  So I am going to start with these radiant, entrancing photographs of a Florida beach I once swear I saw in a dream I had about Pensacola (where I've never been).   Even the sunburst at the top of the first one, with its rainbow corona, and the silver sheen of the sand, is a perfect match.  You can see that its claim to the world's whitest sand is well founded.

'Pensacola Beach 2' 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).

'Pensacola--Thunder Building' 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).

'Biscayne Bay in the Mist' by James Good | Miami | Creative Commons

To be honest, I have grown tired of looking at sun-over-water photographs.  There are so many of them and they are all so similar.  I have already found some of Flickr's best, but how many photographs of rolling waves or serene Gulf with the sun behind them does one site need?

But then I saw this, illustrating how in Florida nature regularly transforms even the most workaday commercial landscape.  I love the watery effect of the sun behind the mist and the even waterier (well, naturally) effect of the reflection.  I love the pastel tints infusing the urban landscape.  Look how you can see the city's towers in the distance.

What you have to remember about Florida is that everything single thing here is beautiful at the right time of day.  You just have to find that right time.  Is that true everywhere else?  Maybe.  It's only since moving here that I've noticed it.

'Biscayne Bay in the Mist' 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.  It is subject to a restricted Creative Commons license, permitting certain limited noncommercial uses.  Before using or downloading it, consult the terms of the applicable license.  You may view it here.

'St. Pete Beach' by Porkfork6 | Creative Commons

Here's an iconic Florida scene for you....I think what really sold it for me was the cool, slate-tinted sky and water contrasted against the very white breakers, the blue-green umbrellas, and just two bright splotches of bright vermilion. 

'St. Pete Beach' by Porkfork 6 |  To see his other photos, click here |  To see the full-sized version of this photograph at Flickr, click here

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

'Eerie Beach' by Judy Baxter | St. Joseph | Creative Commons

What I love about Judy Baxter's photo stream is that in the midst of many charming family photographs and travel vignettes, you will suddenly find yourself looking at a piece of pure landscape with that powerful numinous quality that says 'iconic.'  Suddenly, you're seeing a whole branch of the Florida experience encapsulated in one image.  Here's a place I've never been and have seen many times, principally in dreams.  It could be any beach anywhere....but it's not.  I always think of the Gulf as so still and so transparently green or silvery blue, because my experience of it is limited to peninsular towns such as Clearwater or the islands off Cedar Key.  I've never been here, so why the powerful sense of deja vu that makes it so hard for me to stop staring into this photograph?   

" The sun creates an eerie scene on the St. Vincent Island on the Gulf of Mexico, " she says.  I like the use of the present tense here because it's so true:  this is happening right now.  If you look at the full-sized image, it's like an impressionist painting, with the shining white foam translated into cream-colored dots and flecks. 

 

'Eerie Beach' by Judy Baxter (Old Shoe Woman) | See other photographs here |  See full-sized image at Flickr, here

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