inspired photography with just enough perspective
In St. Augustine at the Lightner Museum there is a cafe built inside a pool. The pool was build in 1889 as part of the Hotel Alcazar and in it’s time was the largest indoor pool in the world. It’s an unusual sight to be sure and on the day we arrived at the peak of the season we didn’t have a reservation. However, from what I could see there are few cafes that can compete with the ambiance as you are surrounded by priceless artifacts from the museum. Swim suits not required.
Across the river from Palmetto where I live is the town of Bradenton Florida. A little while back the city decided to improve this walkway along the Manatee River. It now hosts food festivals, jazz concerts and a skateboard park. On this day I arrived around sunset to capture the modern, yet relaxed feeling of the place where families love to stroll and I’ll go to walk my dogs or just enjoy the eclectic atmosphere.
Being a procrastinator I waited until about twenty minutes before sunset to head out of the house this evening. As I headed for the beach I passed Robinson Preserve and thought this might be just as good a location. It was getting late so I parked and headed into the park on foot, hoping I hadn’t left it too late. Just then the ranger doing his final rounds met me on the path and insisted that I leave as the park was closing in five minutes. I was deflated and not sure if I should be upset at the rules or myself for being so haphazard. I was at least five minutes from this pier where I wanted to setup and then another twenty minutes to hike out. In the end I think he rolled his eyes and looked the other way, but told me I should come back during the day to capture a family of bald eagles that he pointed out a quarter mile away. I will do that one day, but on this day I got the sunset and walked out of the park in darkness, alone, with all the little critters that come out at night expecting to have the park to themselves.
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On the first day of my stay at this hotel I was sitting in the lobby and noticed the whole staff walk across the lobby and through a door into what appeared another room. It seemed apparent they were heading into a staff meeting. As I sat there I saw several people walk in and out of the meeting. From the amount of people I guessed it was an important meeting. Curiosity got the best of me and as I headed to the elevator I took a quick peak inside. In fact it was a stairwell which the afternoon shift was using to get to their assigned floors. I may not be the sharpest tack in the drawer, but at least I’m easily amused. This is the stairwell at the Casa Monica hotel in St. Augustine, Florida.
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I almost ruined our mini-vacation by booking a hotel room about 90 miles away from our destination. It was a good thing I checked out the drive using the hotel address on Google maps the day before we left. When reality sunk in I begged and pleaded my way into the last hotel room at our original destination. Not knowing the town I didn’t know what to expect, however this is the first thing we saw when we approached the check-in desk. I came back to take this photo early the next day when the lobby was empty. This is the lobby of the Casa Monica in St. Augustine, Florida.
It was with these words that our guide (an upperclassman two weeks away from graduation) introduced us to the dining hall at Flagler College, a four year liberal arts school with the distinction of having some of the most impressive architecture in Florida. The college was built as the Ponce de Leon hotel for the well to do back in the gilded era. Imagine eating your tacos before class surrounded by priceless Tiffany widows and fourteen carrot gold chandeliers. From the looks on some of the faces at lunch when we dropped in, they couldn’t have cared less.
This is the entrance to Castillo de San Marcos in St Augustine, Florida. I got here for this shot just after sunrise. For a couple of hundred years this draw bridge was a crucial link to the outside, and for weeks it would be raised as the fort was under siege. Possession of the fort has changed six times through various treaties over the centuries, yet it was never defeated in battle. However, if you come here a couple hours after sunrise, you just might be defeated by the tens of thousands that visit this sturdy bastion daily. I wonder if the Spanish had that in mind when they built it.
Looking for sunsets can be a blessing and a curse. I find myself always mindful of the direction of the sun and the cloud layer, two prerequisites of a good shot. On this particular day I had very little to look forward to so, being on a mini vacation, I found myself in the hotel bar sipping a drink that was way too colorful. My resolved to ignore the hour gave in and I quickly headed up the elevator to snap this through the window of our 5th floor room which looked out across Flagler College in St Augustine Florida. I quickly performed the task, having given it that “college try” and made haste back to the bar before the next round. This is how I try to keep my priorities. No comments to this post will be accepted, …unless you’re buying the next round.
I’m fascinated by bridges so they’re natural subjects for my photography. This is the Bridge of Lions in St. Augustine. The lions at the entrance of the bridge are a tribute to Ponce de León and are a symbol of the Spanish royal family, harkening back to St. Augustine’s past as a Spanish colony. According to our guide, these lions are carved from the same quarry as that used by Michelangelo. I thought they we’re impressive enough to get up before dawn and capture them without the normal traffic experienced at the height of spring break.
These are the stairs half way to the top of an operating lighthouse in St. Augustine, Florida. As I rested for this shot, it seemed strange to me that with all the satellite positioning, underwater sonar and autopilot systems we have available, relics such as this still exist. I would have assumed that a lighthouse was obsolete in the day of iPhone navigation. I mentioned this to the ranger at the top of the 219 stairs and he reminded me that a few weeks ago not far from this spot a modern cruise ship had lost all power and was drifting. He also mentioned that not all fishing boats operating near here are outfitted with modern equipment and the lighthouse serves as a vital aid. Seems technology is not always as reliable and trustworthy as we’d like to believe and a few “relics” like this might just be a good Plan B. I guess there’s no app for that in the iPhone store.
