Good morning! We were traveling last weekend and I started coming down with a cold on the flight back. So I haven’t been out much since and I don’t have any new material for you. Instead, I’ll repost this write-up from back in April, 2014 – it’s one of my favorites. And it reminds me … Continue reading Lessons from a photogenic place (repost)
Greetings from Central Florida – the place of plentiful photo ops! I think this morning I’ll just post a few photos and comments. Hopefully you’ll find something of interest. Coquina dawn I found a new sunrise spot: Rotary Park At Suntree. It’s on the way to Viera Wetlands in Rockledge, Florida next to the Indian River. … Continue reading Rotary Park and Viera Wetlands
There were a few lights in the parking lot way back behind the sand dunes and the clouds were thick and low, making it so very dark on Marineland Beach south of St. Augustine, Florida that my first few exposures didn’t even register on the sensor.
Historically, coquina has been used as a building material. The Castillo de San Marco in St. Augustine and Bulow Plantation in Flagler Beach are made of it. But today I think the best use of coquina is for photography – it makes a great foreground in landscape photos!
Tom M. and I went over to Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park in Flagler Beach, Florida. The buildings here were built out of coquina rock starting in 1821. It was thriving in 1831 when John James Audubon visited. It’s been abandoned since the the Second Seminole War and was burned by Seminole Indians in 1836. The walls and chimneys of the sugar mill on the site remain standing today and are listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
I spent the time in St. Augustine, Florida, which is “the oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement and port in the continental United States”. I’ve written about it many times (see this link) and it’s one of my favorite places to photograph. Photo ops abound and include landscapes, architecture, street scenes, beaches, historic landmarks, wildlife, and much more. It’s hard to go anywhere in the area and not come back with a photo! Here are some of mine along with hints on how I made them.
Bok Tower is one of the best botanical gardens in Florida, plus it has the tower and at times quite a bird population. Well worth a visit