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) 

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

The flags are a nice touch:  they look like an add-on.  There's a weird 3-dimensional effect to this photograph in consequence.  It's a surreal effect:  everything in the picture seems much more 'present' and much more detailed than it would look in the real world.  Magic realism?

'Orange Beach, Sandcastles' 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

'Nature Walk Crab' by Kevin 'Elvis' King | Pensacola | Creative Commons

Check out this little gal.  Could she be more adorable?  "Catch a Falling Star," I imagine she's humming.  Kevin 'Elvis' Smith takes amazing nature photographs and this is just one of them.  LOVE it. 

'Pensacola Fun' 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).

'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).

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).

'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.

'Sea Oats in St. Pete' by Kevin Trotman | St. Petersburg | Creative Commons

I haven't yet posted any photographs from St. Pete---an amazingly beautiful city on Tampa Bay.  This amazing, strangely lighted photograph with its pewter colored sky seemed a good starting place...

Sea Oats in St. Pete 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

'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.

'Cape San Blas' by Judy Baxter | Creative Commons

I am indebted to Judy Baxter ('Old Shoe Woman') for some of my favorite photos of the Florida Panhandle----which as a peninsula dweller, I don't know well and have only visited a couple of times.  Her photographs have most definitely made me want to visit Florida's 'forgotten coast.'

Here is lovely winter light at Cape San Blas.

'Cape San Blas'  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.

'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).