Solvitur Ambulando: It is solved by walking.
Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my pre-visualization begin to flow. I went out for a photo-walk recently. Clouds partially covered the morning sun, turning it into a giant beauty dish with a diffuser. This transformation created soft yet punchy light that gently wrapped around all the objects in its path. Shadows, when present, were soft. The pastel colors were subtle.
Remembering Memento Mori on a Misty Morning.
We are alive. We are not dead fish. Live lively lives, pursue passionate projects, foster fervor, experience events, and express yourself earnestly. Life is short. Entropy prevails.
On this misty morning, a man and his dog crossed the Tolomato River and then disembarked onto the floating deck attached to the Vilano Beach Pier. It could have been Charon on the River Styx landing on the dock in Hades. He wasn’t; it wasn’t; it wasn’t. It was an unnamed man on the Tolomato River in St. Augustine.
Mindful Morning photo-walk.
In a mindful morning photo walk I can combine exercise, attention-retraining, and my avocation in one activity. persistently shifting scenes provide plenty of picture-making opportunities, even in oft-visited neighborhoods. And what a relief it is! What a blessing! Same place, in different lighting conditions, and due to ever-varying weather, becomes new. One needs not to travel to exotic destinations to seek new adventures and find photogenic scenes. Walking during early mornings also ensures solitude. As I walk, with my Hasselblad around my neck and a Leica slung over my shoulder, I scan what's around me to find serendipitous new relations between elements of composition, even when visiting familiar sites.
Photowalk around St Augustine
Photowalk around the very scenic St Augustine.
Hasselblad CFV II 50C/907X, 30/3.5 | Leica Q2 Monochrom
Regrowth | Guana River Wildlife Management Area
Hiking in Guana River Wildlife Management Area, I came across charred tree-trunks and underbrush due to the controlled burn, underwater trail, new growth, and the reflections of colorful trees in the water. I was reminded of the poem by Phillip Larkin:
The trees are coming into leaf
Like something almost being said;
The recent buds relax and spread,
Their greenness is a kind of grief.
I used a Hasselblad CFVII 50C/907X with an XCD 30/3.5 to capture these images.
Blow, blow, thou winter wind
“Ice strangles oldest city,” the St Augustine Record proclaimed twenty-three years ago on December 24, 1989. The temperatures with windchill plummeted to below zero to -20 degrees in Fahrenheit. That day bridges in the area, except the Vilano bridge, closed. There were so many accidents on the ice-covered county roads and I-95 that FHP ran out of people to handle and count them. The night shift had already been called in by 3 PM on Saturday.
The Morning of the 24th of 2022 came close. There was no ice on the roads, and all bridges remained open. Traffic did not stop. Bitter cold wind chill forced down the mercury to 13 degrees Fahrenheit. Residents covered the yard plants in varying materials to ward off the cold-induced death, turned the heat on, and stayed indoors. Tourists and residents alike deserted sites that customarily are bustling.
If at Matanzas Inlet to the northeast ye standing be, the beauteous painted heavens up high o’er the bay, you’ll see.
The same hurricane that devastated communities and shattered lives also intensified and recolored the sunset’s palette. Mother Nature is a supreme artist creating one masterpiece after another. She occasionally throws tantrums, rips the canvasses, discards the brushes, and storms away, huffing and puffing. When enraged, she furiously scowls at human hubris. Once her foul mood blows over, she restarts her oeuvre.
Oh, the things you will see in 1.5 miles walk in St Augustine.
Another blessed day!
Today is my image-making day.
I am off to great places at the crack of dawn.
I am out of a warm and comfortable bed. Eager, I am off and away!
I have pre-visualized images in my head.
I have eager feet in my Teva shoes.
I can walk north or south, east or west.
On my own, I know how to walk, talk, presumably listen, look, and see.
I look at the lion, steadfast, guarding the bridge, and that's not what I will photograph today.
I turned away and walked to the tower where guards control the drawbridge out yonder.
Of condensation on windows.
I see condensation, and it makes me smile. It is a transformation – gas to a liquid, and it also transforms – vapor into liquid. It is a change – from a gaseous state into liquid form. It changes the surfaces on which condensation resides and the surfaces on which it forms. The windowpane, the car’s windshield, the can of soda, glasses in spectacles, and the camera lens, among others, are all changed. It also changes the objects that we see through it. Condensation on the camera lens and fogged glasses imbue images we capture or see with a dreamy glow
St Augustine Marina at sunrise
St Augustine Municipal Marina offers 96 slips for vessels up to 200 feet and 100 moorings and has facilities for both sail and power boats. It is very photogenic, and I often go there to make photographs. You can see the St Augustine skyline and unique views of the Bridge of Lions. I used a Hasselblad 907X 50C anniversary kit with an XCD 3.5/30 for this series.
St Augustine Morning
St Augustine Florida glowed in morning light. I started taking images of the Bridge of Lions before sunrise – during the blue hour – and then continued once the sun rose above the horizon.
Lighthouse Park on a cloudy morning
Lighthouse Park in St Augustine has a fishing pier, picnic area, boat ramp, kayak and canoe launch, and public parking. Sea birds such as Great Egrets are commonly seen here. There is a shaded area for picnic. I used 24 mm Tilt Shift, 55 mm Zeiss Otus, and Canon 400 mm 2.8 II lens with a 1.4x teleconverter on a Canon EOS R5. I used a Sekonic spot meter for the exposure measurement.
Ancient Dunes Trail
Ancient Dunes Trail is a moderately easy loop trail and provides an excellent view of fine tree specimens.
