PURIFY

Here are three long exposure (1/5 second) images of small creeks near Purify Creek Road, between Panacea and Spring Creek.


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Palms, Palmettos, and Iris in 2's and 3's

... along the Wakulla Beach and Otter Lake Roads under clear blue skies yesterday.


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ALONG BOTTOMS ROAD AT FIDDLERS POINT

(This was is a revised post from January 26 to correctly identify my email address. Sorry)

Late yesterday afternoon, I walked along Bottoms Road toward Fiddlers Point. I intended the outing to be more exercise than photography, but that changed when I encountered the glorious spectacle of the golden salt marsh and intense blue water and sky.

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These images were taken with a Canon G9 hand held.

At the seine yard, I turned to the left and walked northward along the shoreline of a narrow peninsula.

The wind and tidal currents create fantastic shapes and textures of the grass ...

and the shoreline sculps the water.

Looking into the sun, the cordgrass stems are pointy lines of silver and golden light.

Ahhh ... animated forms and textures and colors

This last image is a self-portrait taken of my shadow walking back to the car. So I did get some excercise after all.

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More Ice Abstracts

Continuing FREEZING COLD seems to be what is happening, so I photographed more ice abstracts in a small holding of the Apalachicola National Forest close to the intersection of Springhill Rd and New Light Hope Church Rd southwest of Tallahassee.

All the ice abstracts were photographed adjacent to these cool live oak trees.

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Live Oak

Apalachicola National Forest, south of Tallahassee near Highway 319.

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Ice Abstracts

Here are three photos taken on Sunday in the cypress dome at the Wakulla Springs State Park. 10 am. Freezing cold ... about 32 degrees . The textures and shapes were truely amazing.


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Ice on Floodplain Swamp at Wakulla Springs State Park

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It has been cold and the forecast is for more cold. It was 19 degrees this morning at sunup, and I did not venture outside until the temperature was in the 30's. So on this last day of my mini vacation, I drove to .... yepper .... the Wakulla Springs State Park where I work. I wanted to photograph the ice in the floodplain swamps. But by 10am, I had waited too long and most of the ice had melted. The ice is barely visible in the photo above.

In high contrast lighting, I often bracket exposure (over and under expose), then combine them using photoshop and photomatrix software to extend the dynamic range of an image. The first of the two following photos is the resulting color photo. The second photo below is a high contrast black and white conversion, using a sequence that produces an image that is similar to a pen and ink (the method is frequently called a drawing).

Here is the last image for this post.

Yo Ho! It is back to work I go!

On The Sopchoppy River

Late yesterday afternoon I slid my solo canoe into the Sopchoppy River at the Oak Park Bridge. The river was still quite high with the dark brown water reeeeally ripping. I enjoyed the burn in my shoulder and arms. Stroke, stroke, stroke, then glide. Pushing and pulling the water. Moving ahead, despite the strong current. Up and up this winding river. Left, right, and more to the right around the cypress trees and knees. I am lost to the mesmerizing swirling dark water with speckles of white foam.

The cypress trees hold tight to the bank and river bottom. Their long gracefully curved roots grow horizontally, then turn up and into cypress knees of fantastic shapes. Mostly the knees populate the steep bank of the river. But in one instance, the knees appear to have marched in a line across the river from shore to shore. I discover this was my destination where the river has captured my imagination.

From a canoe drifting in a fast moving river, I try to compose several spontaneous still photos. Then turn to begin an exhilarating glide downriver with the setting sun.

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My FIRST blog: Shepard Spring

(This is a revised post of my first blog posted on January 7 to correct my email address. Sorry)

I used google to host this blog and it was a breeze to set up. The price was $0.00!! Click on any image to view a larger version of the picture.

I am on a Mini Vacation and am having fun exploring hiking through forests, walks to springs, and if the temperature warms up this afternoon maybe I will paddle the Sopchoppy River.

Yesterday, I visited SHEPHERD SPRING. It is one of my favorite places ... a sublime wilderness. The spring is in the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, between Spring Creek and the Wakulla River. The exact location is ... in the middle of nowhere. This photo of Shepherd Spring was taken at the end of a boardwalk on the shoreline of the spring . I stiched together 11 photos in photoshop to create this panorama.

Just across the refuge jeep trail from Shepherd Spring is what locals call 'Cathedral of Palms', where the Florida Trail passes through a coastal hammock of cabbage palm, live oak, and pine trees. The sky was overcast and when I made the photo below it was so cold that my fingers and toes were hurting.

Trees are poems the earth writes upon the sky (Kahlil Gibran)

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