Washington Oaks State Park and surrounding area.
6400 N Ocean Shore Blvd, Palm Coast, FL 32137.
Whole area has an eclectic mix of outdoor activities and of course, similarly diverse photographic opportunities! On the days that I go out to make photographs, I select one spot between Mickler’s Beach in Ponte Vedra to Palm Coast in South that’s within an hour drive, and get there about thirty minutes before the sunrise. At that time, parking is easy to find, light often is marvellous, and beaches are usually empty, except for an occasional fellow photographer, a few dog-walkers, and a few fishermen.
A common compositional challenge when photographing sunrise on these incredibly scenic white-sand-beaches is that often you have to struggle to find something in the foreground, to anchor the composition. Fortunately, several spots on this route have a few objects that can be incorporated in seascapes, to add extra interest. Last weekend, I drove to Washington Oaks State Park. It is too bad that these parks do not open at sunrise for non-campers! I stopped on my way on a few spots till I reached the park.
See the Google Maps screenshot for the general layout of the area.
Brief History: From then to now
Timucuan Indians once lived in this area. By 1492, about 700,000 people lived in Florida – a peninsula formed 115 million years ago when a larger continent of Pangaea broke creating Orange Island, which over the years was modified by glacial activity locking the water elsewhere about 2.58 million years ago and dropping the sea level in this area dramatically. and increasing the landmass. It used to be considerably larger than its present form; several of the coastal communities inhabited by Paleo-Indians who called this area home about 14000 years ago. As was customary, access to water of Matanzas river and access to sea provided source for wayfaring and food.
Several hundreds years later, in the 16th century, this area attracted a different tribe of people – the Europeans. When Spanish – first of the Europeans – came to the area, they encountered many groups, including about 150,000 Timucua language, speakers. People from other tribes such as Ais, Calusa, Jaega, Mayaimi, Tequesta and Tocobaga lived here too.
European settlers brought infectious diseases. Additionally compared with the indigenous inhabitants of the land, the Europeans had a more materialistic view of life, an insatiable hunger for growth, swagger of a nouveau-riche; gifts borne from burgeoning scientific revolutions: and a pan-european financial system to support the expanding empires and access to scientific, administrative and marshall resources. Result was a mixed bag: in this zero-sum game, one group’s ascendance did not result in rising water raising all boats, instead, it lead to displacement and death of indigenous people and population decline.
Few hundred years later, on March 30, 1822, Florida became an organized territory and in March 3, 1845, its 27th state. It, like the rest of the nation, went through its growing pains, race tensions, squirmishes with native inhabitants, slavery, civil war, till we arrive at the Florida land boom of the 1920s a boom that busted in 1925.
Mr Owen Young – an attorney and an industrialist – founded RCA Corporation and was the chairman of the General Electric. He purchased a large piece of land in 1936 as a gift to his wife, Ms. Louis Clark, a designer from New York. They built a house on this land in 1939 on the intercoastal waterway. She donated the land to state of Florida in 1964 after her husband passed away. This is where currently the Washington Oaks State Park is located.
The Park: Oceanside
This park has an oceanside boardwalk and beach area; it is located east of A1A. The white sand dunes are covered with beach-morning-glory (Ipomoea pes-caprae). There are some interesting coquina rock formations with green algae on them, making a useful foreground elements. The white sand beaches at least in the morning are very peaceful.
For a more streamlined viewing experience, please click on image below to launch lightbox.
The Park: Garden, Preserve & Intracoastal
On the western side of A1A, you will enter the main attraction: preserve and gardens. I have often seen wedding, engagement and other portraiture photo-shoots taking place in these beautfully landscaped areas. There are well appointed gardens, preserve area, and the intercoastal facing area of the park.
Map of the park can be found here:
https://www.floridastateparks.org/sites/default/files/media/file/wog-brochure.pdf