Floridiana Gloriana

'Fort Myers' by Alexander Wrege | Fort Myers | Creative Commons

Here's a radiantly tinted shot from the Gulf Coast city of Fort Myers.  I love the red awning and the flashes of yellow and royal blue.  Magnificent holiday shot---wish I was there now.  I really do.

Best-Winter 2007 -Fort Myers by Alexander Wrege | To see his photostream at Flickr, click here  | website:  Quantum Indecisions | To see the largest version of this 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. 

'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).

St. Augustine Waterfront (Creative Commons)

This is a lovely panoramic photograph of St. Augustine.  It seems to have been taken from a boat looking in towards the waterfront.  I love the soft pastel tints of the clouds and the rose colored roofs in this one.

"St. Augustine skyline" by Mosesxan | click here to see other photographs by Mosesxan | click here to see the full-sized version of this photograph at Flickr

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

Canal | Suwannee | c. 1997

Yet another scanned photograph from my private collection:  one of my personal favorites.  I don't know where this was taken.  I say Suwannee, but it's really just a guess.  I know it's a canal somewhere in western Florida, but it could have been some other place.  I love the untidiness of the reflections due to all the stilts everywhere.  It has that bygone feeling you know I love---and from my standpoint, really IS bygone.  I love the blue of the water and the greenness and fluffiness of the bush in the right-hand corner.

Bonus:  There are some lovely photographs of Suwannee here.
 

Fernandina Docks | Amelia Island

A lovely scene from the beautiful Amelia Island town of Fernandina in Nassau County.  This is right in downtown Fernandina.

Cedar Key at twilight (c. 1998)

Here are two lovely photographs (well, I think they are lovely) of Cedar Key just around twilight.  The first is looking due east, with the sunset behind.  It's a bit dim, but I love the soft bluish lavender of the sky and that peculiar bright blue of the water that I associate with just those few moments before nightfall. 

It's just some houses/hotels and a few pontoon boats, but aren't the colors beautiful?

It was taken  facing east with the sunset behind.  You can see the reflection of the orange tints reflected in the house and the rocks.  I was trying to get more of a sense than I did of the waterfront town---visible around the bend---but I ended up liking this photograph just because it really gave me that "sunset on the Gulf" feeling, when the moments seem to rush by so fast.  Once the sun reaches a certain point on the horizon, it just seems to sink into the water.

Purple clouds---afternoon in Cedar Key circa 1995.

 

My late husband Don, who died at the end of 2000, snapped this photograph one afternoon as we were walking round the town.  This was one of his favorite photographs and I've always loved it.  It shows Cedar Key for what it is---slightly untidy, rusty in places, but incapable of being anything but beautiful. 

A View Along the Canal |Keaton Beach

Nick took this photograph of one of the canals in Keaton Beach when we visited in September 2002. The sky on that day was unbelievably bright and clear. You can see that color plainly reflected in the water. The red roof in the background is what really sells the picture as far as I am concerned.

This photograph shows how gorgeous Keaton Beach is.

I am sure that there are places other than Florida where you find this wonderful clear light, but until I came here I never noticed it.