Floridiana Gloriana

'Mind Blur' | Ginnie Springs, Florida' by Lucian Badea | Used by Permission

Here's another place I've visited, strangely transformed by the photographic art of Lucian Badea (Twisted Visions Photography).

This photograph has deservedly attracted a great deal of attention at Flickr. Notice how the gold of the trees---a winter color here---is strangely reflected among the green within the river---a beautiful juxtaposition of seasonal color.  Or is the gold really the pale green of an early spring?  Is it vernal or autumnal?  Note that you can see the reflections in the water of a bright blue sky---yet the mist among the trees is an autumn or winter phenomenon.  But this is what Ginnie Springs is like in my dreams, where I can have the best of all the seasons. Magic realism, indeed.

  

'Mind Blur' |  Ginnie Springs, 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.

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.)

Rainbow Springs (Dunnellon, Florida)

I'll never forget the day I stumbled onto Rainbow Springs (Dunnellon, Florida) in the midst of February, the azalea season.  Florida has many beautiful springs, but this was something exceptional.  Unfortunately, most of our photographs (taken with an old-style point and click camera and manually scanned into the computer) just don't convey what it was like. 

Even so, here are two scanned snapshots circa 1998.  They certainly convey very well the transparent heavenly blue of the water:

And this tree:

In Flickr's Creative Commons I found several photographs that will give you a much better idea of what this beautiful place is like, which I have set out  on a separate page. 

Fanning Springs State Park (Creative Commons)

This is an incredibly beautiful photograph of a place I used to frequent quite a long time ago now.  I'm pleased to see that it has only improved.  That water is as exhilarating to swim in as it looks.  It's a very different experience, I can tell you, from swimming in a pool.  In the hot season, this is where you want to be.   The photographer has a marvelous blog called " Florida Springs" (A blog dedicated to the 700+ springs located throughout Florida and those rivers that are spring-fed.)  Florida's springs are the true "hidden Florida."

"Fanning springs State Park, Levy County, Florida" by Systems Librarian | click here to see other photos by Systems Librarian | click here to see the full-sized version of this photo 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).