Floridiana Gloriana

'Palm & Shadows' by Zen Sutherland | DeLand | Creative Commons

Here is a piece of art created by a North Carolina photographer who visited DeLand on vacation.  It's one of those photographs that just makes me gaze and gaze. As I've often said, I'm all about the strange lighting effects.   

 'Palms and shadows' by  Zen Sutherland |  Website:  Zenscription  | To see his Flickr photostream, click here | To see the largest version of this photograph available on 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)

'Karin's Patio' by Ariel Ophelia | Gainesville | Creative Commons

This is so perfectly perfect Gainesville.  The porch surrounded by trees, the plants, the furniture covered in cool fabrics.  What elevates this photo from 'someone's porch' to 'the art of the porch' for me is the platinum and grey cover on the swing and the rainbow colors of the other, both adding that eclectic feel so characteristic of this university town.  "Gainesville is so lush," observes the photographer.  I just want to be on that porch with my book and my glass of wine.  "Is that a painting or a photo?" my husband asked.  "It looks like a painting."  It does.

Karin's Patio by Ariel Ophelia |  To see her other photos, 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).

Spanish Moss by Allen Whitson | St. John's River, Central Florida | Used by Permission

I used to try so hard to get a photograph of one of these trees hung of Spanish moss, but I could never get the requisite depth and detail to convey what it's really like.  This IS a Florida tree.  This is Central Florida---not palm trees growing in sand, but trees enormous old trees hung with banners.

The photographer took this gorgeous photograph along the St. John's River, the river which runs south to north along Florida's coast.

 

Photograph  by Allen Whitson  | click here to see his other photos | Click here to go to Flickr to see the full-sized version

I do not own the rights to this photograph but am using it with the express permission of its owner.  Please do not save or use it without first getting permission from the owner.  Flickr users may contact the owner through his Flickr mail.

Cracker House by Thomas | Creative Commons

This photograph has received a lot of attention from other Flickr users, and deservedly so.  It's a brilliantly colorful yet mysteriously evocative photograph of a cracker style house.  Despite the brilliant color, it has that bygone feel that I love so well (being, as I am, a lover of old buildings).  This is one of the best I've ever seen---the purest of pure Old Florida.

"Old Florida Color"  by Damgaard (Thomas)  | click here to see his other photos | website: My Space Page | Click here to go to Flickr for the larger version

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 this image without first consulting the terms of the license.  The license restrictions are shown here.

Gulf Coast Treasure Trove by Miz Shoes | Sarasota | Used by Permission

 "A week's worth of swag, from the Sarasota beach ," says this collector.  Man, I need to do a hunt for oceanside treasure.  I love this photograph even more because the disk on which the shells are shown seems to be floating in the air--note the foot and the green chair alongside it. 

I do not own the rights to this photograph, but am using it by permission of the photographer (to whom all rights are reserved). Please write for permission before saving it or using it.

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

 

When I was a child back in the Sixties, my parents used to play a song on the old "record player" called "Pearly Shells."  My mom would sing along with it:  "Pearly Shells/by the waaaaa-ter!/How I love those little pearly shells!."  It was sort of corny, I guess, but I loved it.  I always think of that song when I look at shells, or photos of shells, but it's seldom quite so literally true as it is here.  Click on the larger version to see the subtle pearlescent shine of these tiny treasures up close!

"In the summer," says the photographer, "the coquinas are plentiful on the Gulf beaches. When the water recedes, they are visible for a moment, and then burrow into the sand. They are small, no more than an inch long, and all colors."

 

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 by permission of the photographer (to whom all rights are reserved). Please write for permission before saving it or using it.

Rainbow Springs (Dunnellon, Florida) --Creative Commons

Other people's vision of the paradise that is Rainbow Springs.

Photograph by Ashleigh |  To see more of her photographs, click here |  To see the full-sized 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 Creative Commons license.  Before saving or using the photograph, please consult the applicable license.  (The license is here.)

Photograph by Jessa | To see more of her photographs, click here |  To see the full-sized 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 Creative Commons license.  Before saving or using the photograph, please consult the applicable license.  (The license is here.)

3.  "Paddling the Rainbow" by  Ashleigh | To see more of her photographs, click here |  To see the full-sized 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 Creative Commons license.  Before saving or using the photograph, please consult the applicable license.  (The license is here.)

Photograph by Jessa |  To see more of her photographs, click here |  To see the full-sized 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 Creative Commons license.  Before saving or using the photograph, please consult the applicable license.  (The license is here.)

Barn at Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Historic State Park | Cross Creek

I visited Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings State Park for the first time late one winter afternoon. The shadows were already very long and very dense. The effect was very appropriate to the place; there were alternating patches of deep shadow and very warm golden sunlight. Though I'd read The Yearling, I had never read Cross Creek. It is a beautiful book and powerfully evocative.

Light Shining on Tin Roof | North Central Florida

This photograph is one of my all-time favorite summer scenes. I love the way the light reflects off the tin and shines through the bush, while the rest of the house is just a mysterious dark silhouette. I am not sure anymore exactly where I was when I took this photograph. I didn't label it and all I know was that it was sometime in 1999.

It's odd that I can't remember where it was because I can remember taking it. Don didn't think it would come out and was annoyed with me for taking it anyway. Then when I showed it to him, he didn't like it because it's so dark.To me, it perfectly evokes that mysterious feeling of certain summer afternoons and the contrasts between brilliant light and deep shade. When I look at this picture it's always accompanied by the phantom smell of damp wood. Central Florida has many beauties: many lakes and creeks and forest. In my imagination, this house is near a creek and perhaps overlooks it. I wish I could remember more.

Baby Alligator | Gainesville (University of Florida)

This little guy looks cute and harmless, like an extra-large lizard. His size in relation to the leaves shows how small he is.

He was hanging out in the woods near "Lake Alice" in the center of the University of Florida campus, a place which seems to be particularly appealing to alligators.
We didn't disturb him; the last time someone I knew messed with a baby alligator (it was on Captiva or Sanibel, I think), the mother suddenly rose up out of nowhere (and they are surprisingly tall when they stand). Thankfully, she was on the other side of the riverbank---because she was hauling ass.

The other reason I didn't mess with him is that I like having a full set of fingers.

Cypress Trees & Knees on the Suwannee | Fanning Springs

This photograph was taken by my father-in-law during  during our day trip to Fanning Springs and the Suwanee River.

The first one illustrates that even in the deeps of our winter (or "winter"), you can always find brilliant greens. I am sorry that I cannot identify the ferns growing at the base of the cypress knees. I think the green among the trees might be our ubiquitous liveoak, which remains green year-round, but I don't know.

This photograph how weirdly beautiful are the cypress trees (and their knees). I really love the way the light and shadow give depth to the photograph. John (Nick's father) did a wonderful job composing these scenes and he did it with a pretty basic camera (I think probably a Kodak Easyshare).