Floridiana Gloriana

'Sunset in Key Biscayne' by Ralph Orona | Used by Permission

Ralph Orona has kindly permitted to use this beautiful sunset shot from Key Biscayne,  I love the gorgeous, serene radiance of it.  If you look at it for a moment, you feel as if you're standing right there.....

Sunset in Key Biscayne 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

Used by permission.  This image should not be reproduced, published, transmitted in any forum (even via e-mails) or in print or in any other physical or electronic forum either in part or in whole without the explicit written consent from the copyright owner.

'Winter Haven Sunset Celebration' by Josh Hallett | Winter Haven | Creative Commons

Another magnificent shot by Josh Hallett of the sun setting over Winter Haven, the 'Chain of Lakes' City.   The darkness of the reeds and the shadowy foreground gives this image a wild vibrant quality. 

'Winter Haven Sunset Celebration' 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.

'St. Pete' by Caleb | St. Petersburg | Creative Commons

More of Caleb's St. Petersburg magic with late afternoon light and color.  This is my favorite time to photograph in Florida:  the colors are so saturated and so intense in that slanting golden light.  I love the contrasting textures here:  the rough apricot-colored stucco with its red roof; the light on the trunk of the palm tree, and behind it all, the beautiful blue of the sky and those delicate silvery-grey clouds.  Very painterly, but do painters know about afternoon light and color?

'St. Pete' by Caleb |To see other photographs in his Flickr photostream, click here | website:  calebism; subtropicalnoir.com | To see the full-sized version of this 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.

'After Hours' by Don Jones | Orlando | Used By Permission

Here's a companion piece to Don Jones' 'Downtown Fog.' This is a city made out of gold and strung with stars. This piece, like all the work I admire, perfectly illustrates the principle of 'the transfiguration of the commonplace' (a phrase I am borrowing from Muriel Sparks.)  The one thing that no amount of training or equipment can give a person is the ability to see that perfect moment.



After Hours by Don Jones | To see his other photographs, click here | To see the full-sized image at Flickr, click here |
I do not own the rights to this photograph, but am using it with the permission of the photographer.  Do NOT save or use it without first requesting his permission.

'Downtown Fog' by Don Jones| Orlando| Used by Permission

Don Jones is another of the Florida photographers whose work mirrors some of my own preoccupations, e.g., a love for old abandoned buildings and Florida's weird and entrancing blend of the old and nearly forgotten with not only the new but also the strange and futuristic.  This collection of Florida imagery needs that blend.  It's what Florida really IS.

Here's Orlando---the ultimate generic city if you don't know where to look---looking anything but.  "Downtown Orlando at 4:30AM on a foggy night," said the photographer.  That's right:  4:30 am.  Another thing about photographers who create art that mirrors life is that they know you have to be there at the right moment and that the right moment chooses itself. 

 

Downtown Fog 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, but am using it with the permission of the photographer.  Do NOT save or use it without first requesting his permission. 

'Life Guard Chair at Sunrise' by Craig O'Neal | Ponte Vedra | Creative Commons

Here's an amazing scene from Ponte Vedra, one of the beaches near St. Augustine.

'Life Guard Chair at Sunrise' by Craig O'Neal | Craig O'Neal does photography for Jacksonville.com.  To see more fabulous photographs, click here or take a look at his albums at Jacksonville.com! |  To see the full-sized version of this photograph, click here |

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

'Orange Blossom Motel' by Kevin Trotman (The Rocketeer) | Citra | Creative Commons

Another fabulous Florida vignette by Kevin Trotman:  I've passed this sign in the beautiful little town of Citra many times.

Photograph 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

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

'Orange and Blue' by Lucian Badea | Lake Alice, Gainesville | Used by Permission

Photographer Lucian Badea, of  Twisted Visions Photography, has taken some fascinating photographs of the landscapes in and around North Florida.  I became fascinated with them because of the way they are simultaneously totally familiar and totally not.  They are like the versions I see in my dreams:  with details and colors picked out that I wouldn't have noticed in the real world. 

I've often passed this place.  And North Florida has its share of orange skies.  But it took a moment or two to process what I was seeing all the same.  So painterly----and please take note of the swatch of blue sky and yellow cloud reflected in the lake. 

Entrancing.

 

Orange and Blue | Lake Alice, Gainesville, Florida' by Lucian Badea |  See his work at Twisted Visions (!):  Landscape Photography, Fine Art Photography, Black and White Photography, Nature Photography, Abstract Photography, Experimental Photography, and More!

I do not own the rights to this photograph, but am using it with the express written permission of its owner, Lucian Badea.  Do not save or use it unless you first obtain his permission. 

Panhandle Sunset --- A Winter Scene by Judy Baxter | Creative Commons

"Sunset ---January 13,2007" by Judy Baxter (Old Shoe Woman) | See other photographs here |  See larger image 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 this image without first consulting the terms of the license.  The license restrictions are shown here.

Sunrise on Amelia Island | Creative Commons

These make you want to step right in to the photo.  Gorgeous work.

 

"Amelia Island Plantation - Sunrise" by Dixie Traveler | To see his other photographs, click here | To see 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 Creative Commons license.  Please do not save or use it without first consulting the terms of the applicable license.  (License shown here).

 Here's a good morning and a 'good morning.'  One of those perfect Florida moments you wish you could be in right now... It's hope of these that keeps me going.

"Good Morning, Mr. Palm" by  Jim Clark |  To see his other 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.  Please do not save or use it without first consulting the terms of the applicable license.  (License shown here).