A photographer's blog.
Old Gate By luck and happenstance we found Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' home in the middle of central Florida's nowhere. Located on a narrow spit of land between Orange and Little Lochloosa Lake is her cracker style home and farm where she lived and wrote, "The Yearling". Volunteers "work" the restored farm and maintain the vegetable … Continue reading Gate to the Past
The walk to Siesta Key Beach begins here. In the early morning, as the rising Florida sun begins clearing the cloudy sky, the sea grass and wild flowers are minor distractions along the path to the "Best Beach in the USA". The beauty of this scene is made visible in print form by processing the … Continue reading Beach Walk
St. Augustine's Old Town reminds me of New Orleans, especially the ornate doorways. This wrought iron gate was the only opening in a tall stone wall surrounding the property. A glimpse of the brick courtyard with fountain and large sculptures provided more questions than answers. An overgrown yard hiding most of the house filled my … Continue reading Courtyard
St. Augustine , FL This beautiful seawall protects the Old Town area of St. Augustine, FL from high tides and storms along the Matanza River. It makes you feel safe, however, the seawall is no match for a hurricane. The recent flooding in eastern Nebraska, exacerbated by breached levees and failed dams, made me think … Continue reading Seawall
Lifeguard Station Early morning. Except for a few dedicated walkers on the shoreline, I had the beach to myself while I waited for the sun to break through the clouds. The sunrise was a non-event, too much cloud cover, but as it got lighter the day looked promising. My patience was rewarded when a few … Continue reading Lifeguard Station
Sarasota Sunset I've heard a lot about the improved cameras in the latest cell phones, so I decided to see for myself. There are zillions of photos I have taken with my cell phone and then downloaded to my desktop for processing and editing, all with so-so results. This photo was taken with my new … Continue reading Cell Phone Photo
Longboat Key, Florida is a long narrow spit of sand (Duh! It's a key) off the west coast of Florida, near Sarasota. For its size, it's not very populated and has limited things to offer visitors, like restaurants, nightlife and attractions. I would call it "quiet, laid back and relaxing"; others might call it boring. … Continue reading Longboat Key Library
There were 6-8 guys I'd call Army buddies; didn't know any of them from Adam, but all of our lives crossed paths in Viet Nam. While still in country, we scheduled a reunion more than two years hence -- in St. Louis, under the arch on July 4th, 1974. Since the reunion, I maintained contact … Continue reading Viet Nam revisited
I found this blue heron wading in the shallows of a manicured lake on the grounds of the Ringling Museum in Sarasota, FL. The bird was oblivious to me and others on the well-traveled foot bridge. This photo opportunity was better than any zoo shot. Just another lucky shot. Thought for the Day: Seize … Continue reading Blue Heron
The heron ignored me, walked right past me in hungry pursuit of a meal. His quick pace and steady glare told me he was more interested in filling his belly than worrying about me. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Lucky for me. Thought for the Day: Diligence … Continue reading Hungry Heron
William Curry, Florida's first self-made millionaire, purchased this Key West property in 1852 and built a house on this site in 1869. In 1905, the original house was demolished and replaced with the grand Georgian Revival mansion shown in this photo. The mansion passed through many Curry family members until it was sold to a … Continue reading Key West B & B
Life magazine's iconic picture of the sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square on VJ Day is reproduced in sculpture in Key West, Florida. It stands in front of the old Customs House, which is now the Key West Museum of Art and History. The original photo (not this one, Duh), and the sculpture, still … Continue reading The Kiss
Looking across Sarasota Bay, a city park on Lido Key provided an excellent view of Sarasota's skyline. It was 6:15 AM. I found this place pretty much by accident. After reviewing several Google maps, I was actually looking for a marina in this area, but the public park provided a much better view. A few … Continue reading Sarasota at Dawn
The clock reads 6:39 AM, eleven minutes after sunrise on the Gulf Coast side of Central Florida. I was on the Bridge Street Pier in Bradenton Beach. The sky was pretty, but there was nothing of interest in the water. The clock tower was the best I could do at this location. Went back to … Continue reading 6:39 AM
I just got back from Florida, spent some time near Sarasota and a couple days on Key West. It was a nice break from Nebraska's winter. The beaches promise abundant opportunity for photos of exotic birds, sunsets, fishing, boating, sea shells and, of course, people. Most people at the beach are soaking up the sun, … Continue reading Sleeping Beauty
Waterfowl are plentiful on Sanibel Island off the Gulf coast of Florida. I caught this Little Blue Heron near the shore of one of the many walking trails on the island. It was early morning but the sun was high enough to allow a fast shutter speed: 1/5000 at f8 and ISO 2000. The bird … Continue reading Breakfast
Early morning, just after sunrise, I was walking along a gravel road on Florida's Sanibel Island when I spotted this egret. Hard to miss; its size is impressive, standing about 3 feet tall. The water was shallow, maybe 4-6" deep, swampy, almost stagnant. The egret moved easily among the heavy brush, constantly stabbing at something in … Continue reading Egret
A diamond-shape yellow sign with black letters saying, "Keep Right" is a common sight along roadways in the US. Even pedestrians keep right on sidewalks, paths, and hiking trails. No signage was necessary for totally different two-footed species walking on the beach of Florida's Sanibel Island to keep right. Without any instruction or direction, the … Continue reading Keep Right
The J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge is a wonderful place to watch birds, especially water birds. The 6,400 acres of natural habitat take up about two-thirds of Sanibel Island on the Gulf side of Florida. I found this tri-colored heron close to a board walk that wandered through a mangrove forest. Roots of the … Continue reading Tri-Colored Heron
From the long curving beak, I'd guess this is an Ibis, but every other Ibis I've seen on Sanibel Island is white. Maybe it's a young one, but he/she was about the size of other Ibis I observed. I found it hunting for breakfast one early morning in a small shallow pond. A Great Egret … Continue reading Ibis?
