Columns

These are columns outside of the Lightner museum in St. Augustine, Florida. In the original photo, there were more columns with a man sitting in the light reading. Idealy it was very pleasant, but I just couldn't execute it the way I saw it in my imagination. So, I cropped and comprimised.

The Beach

I miss the beach. Used to be able to go whenever I wanted. A walk along to beach before work. A late night swim in the waves. An entire Saturday filled with swimming and reading and sunbathing. I miss the beach. I attempted to visit a new beach last weekend. Keaton Beach in Taylor county. After an hour and half car ride, we arrive at the beach to see that its closed for swimming due to bacteria levels. Gross. We turned around and left immediately. So here is a picture from a trip to Seaside last summer.

Even more trucks

This photo has been my most popular one on flickr.com. I went out to this sight on Crawfordville Highway after seeing a similar picture on flickr posted by another Tallahassee photographer. It was pretty amazing. All these trucks just lined up. The overgrowth almost out of control. What I didn't know was that the owner of this land and these trucks lived right next to it, and was probably watching me violate his "no trespassing" sign. I'm happy he didn't call the police, and had I known where to find him, I definately would have asked permission to shoot the trucks, and offered him some copies of the pictures (with rights to reprint, of course).

Skater

Last spring, I ventured out to the skate park to practice shooting skaters. It was fun, and there were some talented kids out there, but out of the 300+ pictures I took, this is my favorite. Most of the kids couldn't make their landing, and I feel this is very representative of that. I shared some of these pictures with a friend, who took them to the local skate shop for some advice to bring me. The shop worker handed him a magazine and said that I should shoot more like the photographers for the magazine. I was a little insulted when reading the mag because there was not a single female anywhere in the writing or shooting staff for the mag. The only girls in the entire thing where barely dressed skater groupies. Now, the photos included were amazing, but I can't currently shoot like that because I lack the expensive lighting setups, the expensive fisheye lenses, and a group of extremely talented skaters. Plus, I'm pretty new to this and am not very good yet. I'm not into this hobby enough to justify purchasing extra equipment like a professional might need. So, I'll continue to take advantage of the natural light, and the basic camera equipment I have, and I'll continue to enjoy it.

Industry

Last fall I was exploring the outskirts of town when I came across this eyesore. Its a wood mill, or wood cutting factory. I'm not really sure what they do, but there was lots of wood piles surrounding the place. While I think these things are pretty ugly and remind me of our ever polluted environment, I still can't help but be amazed that such operations keep our economy going strong, creating jobs for the workers, and then for those building or using the wood this company is handling.

Fire

This is the firepit outside my usual room at the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club. Its a wonderful resort just south of Jacksonville Beach.

A Rose

Florida Motel

I ventured out of town about twenty-five miles today, and ended up in Montecello, Florida. It has an amazing courthouse building, but I thought it would be cliche to shoot that. Instead, I came across this old sign. As it turned out, there were people living in the hotel, which has obviously been closed for business for quite some time. Nevertheless, some good, old fashioned rust always catches my eye.

An ant

An ant.

Looking up

This photo does not do justice to the sky on this night. It was a few years ago, and I was exiting a store when I looked up to the most beautiful sky. It was almost sunset, it had just finished raining, and the colors (not in the photo) were magnificent.

Tom Brown

When I left Pensacola, I said that I wished that I had gone to the beach more. Although I went a lot, it didn't seem enough. So now that I live in Tally, I'm determined to not be able to say I wished I'd done something. I've pretty much done everything within my interests here. I've hiked or biked almost every trail, I've kayaked, I've visited almost every park, I've visited the public pools, I've volunteered, and the list goes on and on. This shot is from Tom Brown Park, where they have pleanty of easy trails to hike or bike, pleanty of space for family get togethers, a playground, and bmx course, tennis courts, frisbee golf, soccer fields, and again, the list goes on and on. This is a great park. I'm almost sure I won't be able to say I wished I'd done more in this town.

More Truck Art

This "job rated" Dodge truck is one of many rusted trucks in Crawfordville, Florida. Its a "Truck Art" display on the side of the highway.

Lighting the Rock

This is from my 2006 trip to New York. Its a chandelier hanging in Rockefeller Center. I thought it was lovely. I didn't end up going to the top of the rock that day because the people I was traveling with thought it was too expensive. Then we went to Chinatown to look at fake designer purses. It was humiliating.

In the weeds

This weekend I ventured outside to do some yard work. I have not tended to my yard in about two years, so it was in desparate need for some grooming. In the weeds/grass growing wildly in the front yard were these lovely flowering weeds and this tiny little butterfly. I had to get a shot of it.

Sunshine by the sea

This is another from my trip to Seaside. There are lots of these landmarks, and they really contribute to the uniqueness of this lovely place.

Small Time Tallahassee

I took this shot with a friend's camera. I really like this picture because to me, it makes Tallahassee seem like a big city. I must admit that I was fooled about Tally before I moved here. People told me it was a large city, and I was living in a medium-to-small city, so I was excited to be going somewhere with more to it. I was fooled. This is a very small town. Yes, it has large buildings, but the tallest misses the "Skyscraper" mark by about twenty floors. There are people that love this town. People that are happy to live the rest of their lives here. I am not one of those people, but I'm glad to be surrounded by them.

Lighthouse

I lived in the Pensacola area for most of my life. That said, I never did find the time to go out to the lighthouse at NAS Pensacola. I wish I would have, because at the lighthouse there is a trail down to one of the many beautiful beaches that the Pensacola area has to offer.

Tres)&(pas)

This building is completely gone now. The demolition crew is cleaning up the last of the debri. I feel a little lucky that I was able to get inside and shoot, even though it meant trespassing on a dangerous construction site. It was fun. It reminds me of my favorite E. E. Cummings poem:

old age sticks
up Keep
Off
signs)&

youth yanks them
down(old
age
cries No

Tres)&(pas)
youth laughs
(sing
old age

scolds Forbid
den Stop
Must
n't Don't

&)youth goes
right on
gr
owing old

Apalachicola

Tallahassee is the most inland that I have ever lived. I'm a water person. I need to be around water. There is not any water worth swimming in anywhere near Tally, so I have to drive around searching for a good beach. The best beach within driving distance seems to be St. George. I've yet to travel East of Tally hunting for a beach, but when I go West, a stop in Apalachicola is a must.

Demolition

This building has been empty since I've lived in Tallahassee. I've only seen it get more and more grafitti, only to be boarded up by the owner. It was a lovely abandoned building. I was reluctant to shoot it before it was to be torn down because I felt like that would be admitting that I'm a Tallahassee resident. I'd be admitting that I've stuck around long enough to notice change around town. Well, against my better judgment, I'm still here. Hopeful that I'll be leaving with at least a few good memories.

Popcorn

This flower reminds me of popcorn.