Floridiana Gloriana

'Americana' by Greg Turner | Micanopy | Creative Commons

Here's a wonderful shot by Greg Turner of the American Cafe in the beautiful little North Florida town of Micanopy (accent on the third syllable).  Micanopy is Florida's oldest inland settlement and---as the link will tell you---an excellent place to see alligators as well as to shop for antiques.   I particularly love the touches of color added by the umbrellas, the stained glass, and the flag....

'Americana' by Greg Turner |To see his other photographs, click here |  To see the full-sized 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.

'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. 

 

'Florida Scrub Jay = Yoda' by Daniel Godwin | Lake Wales | Creative Commons

This photograph was sent to the photographer by his brother and posted at Flickr under a CC license (yay!)  The photographer's brother explained why this little nestling is be-robed for the photo:

I banded the first brood of Florida Scrub-Jay nestlings at Lake Wales Ridge State Forest (southeastern Polk County) this past Wednesday. One of the nestlings didn't want to come out of the weighing bag (aka a trimmed panty hose), so I had to "peel" the bag away from it. Suddenly the jay looked very much like a well-known, very wise ("Wars not make one great"), and much loved old ... bird (?) [links added fyi by me]

Don't his little claws look like little taloned hands?  This photo has won a certain amount of well-deserved acclaim on Flickr....  This species is under threat due to habitat loss, by the way.   Let's hope we don't lose yet another species of animal people.  I would hate to lose little Yoda.  No wonder he looks a bit annoyed.  Or maybe he just had to deal with an unpromising trainee.

"You worthless at learning Jedi techniques are!  I fed up to the beak with you am!" 
Heh. 

'Florida Scrub Jay = Yoda' by Daniel Godwin | To see his Flickr photostream, click here | To see the full-sized version of this photograph, click 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 download it without first consulting the terms of the applicable license.  A link to the license is shown here.

'Flyby' by James Good | Florida Keys| Creative Commons

Entrancing---and unique--- as I find James Good's Miami cityscapes, it's really hard (in fact, impossible) not to get sidetracked by his other work.  This, for example:

'Flyby' 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).

'Sunset' by Don Jones | Bunnell | Creative Commons

As I've mentioned before, photographer Don Jones has a real eye for the contrasts and contradictions that constitute the real 'Old Florida' that people who stick to the expressways and attractions never see.   The reality of Florida is complex, involving strange juxtapositions of old and new, beautiful and derelict.  The recognition of this is one reason I'm so drawn to Don Jones' dreamlike photographs of abandoned houses and lost or abandoned objects.  I've tried myself to photograph similar scenes, but had little luck with it.  I think you have to have a special gift to make those shots transform all that chaos into order. 

Here's a well-ordered domestic scene from Bunnell in Flagler County, caught at one of those Florida moments.  This photograph struck me because of the sheer over-the-top magnificence of this sunset in contrast to the sheer matter of fact day-to-dayness of the scene it illuminates. It's a perfect example of the power of photography to capture these momentary transformations of reality----those moments when ordinary things seem fraught with some mystical significance.  If you look carefully at the photograph, you can see each tin-roofed structure reflecting the apricot tint of the sun.  Even the leaves are reflecting it.

'Sunset' 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.

'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.

Carillon Tower at Bok Sanctuary by James Good | Lake Wales | Creative Commons

Here's a magnificent photograph of the 60-bell carillon tower at Bok Sanctuary in Lake Wales, Florida----an attraction perhaps better known to Floridians than to tourists.

Carillon Tower at Bok Sanctuary by James Good | To see his photos 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.

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.

'Great Blue Heron' by George Thomas | Sanford | Creative Commons

Look at this creature.  Is he not magnificent?  This is a Great Blue Heron. 

When I lived in Central Florida years ago, my stepdaughter gave one of the herons that used to hang around our apartment complex (it was on a pond) a piece of her tuna sandwich.  After that, the heron and his mate used to come to our door every afternoon and bang on the door with their beaks.  Their squawks sound approximately like a pile of china plates falling down and breaking on a stone floor..  My neighbors weren't best pleased. 

This was taken in the Central Florida town of Sanford.

'Great Blue Heron at Sanford, Florida' by George Thomas (hz536n) | To see his other photos (Flickr photostream), click here | To see the full-sized version of this photo at Flickr, click here 

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

'South Beach Skyline ---Looking Up at Dusk' by Miz Shoes | Used by Permission

As will eventually become clear, I have a thing for white buildings against a particular indigo blue color of sky.  This is particularly beautiful, more like a painting than a photograph.  Every frond of each palm branch stands out sharply.  The sun striking the side of the building illuminates it; the rest is in bluish shadow.  The sky is that soft, even tint that gradually intensifies to an eerie crystalline color before fading to violet. 

A perfect moment:

 

Photograph by Miz Shoes | click here to see her other photos | website: Girly Shoes.  | Click here to go to Flickr for the larger version

I do not own the rights to this photograph, but am using it with the permission of the owner.  Please do not save or use it without first getting her permission.