While visiting Orlando, I read an article in the Digital Photo School website about photographing cities at dawn. I’d already made one early shoot but planned another for the next morning. Some of the images have been posted already as stand alone posts, but here are some of the others. I especially enjoyed some of the art around Lake Eola.
For those interested, here is the article:
http://digital-photography-school.com/11-tips-for-creating-stunning-photographs-of-cities-at-dawn/
Driving up to St. Augustine, we stopped here at this stand….for something….I’m not sure what, now. But you gotta love the Florida tourist items.
A BW version of this image was posted yesterday. Sheenmeem who authors the blog Flowers and Breezes asked to see the color version. Here it is. Fortunately, there was a color version in the folder of proofs from that day. Enjoy!
I really like the look of Spanish moss, but found it a challenge to capture well in photographs. This BW image of a cow under a tree covered in Spanish moss was my best attempt.
Our first ride in Flordia was the James A. Van Fleet State Trail going north from Polk City. We heard some noise behind us and paused to let this group of cyclists pass us.
The reason we stayed in Orlando is that it is within an hour or so of three long rail trails for riding bicycles. These photos were made while we cycled the Withlacoochee Trail. It is about 40 miles / 64 km long but most of these shots were made around Floral City. Many of the murals are on the trail side of Citrus Cycles, though they deal in cycles with a motor on them.
I spotted this classic cypress tree in a swamp while cycling in Florida but was not sure if I could manage to get down the embankment and over the barbed wire fence to get close enough to make a photo. But I did and it was worth the effort.
Despite a small-ish overnight snowfall, it was a glorious day with temps about 39F/4C. Driving around with my camera looking for places and people for photos, I found the ice rink and conservation land virtually empty. It turns out, everyone was on the lake. With all that sun and the snow reflecting the light, it was actually warm there. I saw one guy hand angering a whole for ice fishing wearing a t-shirt and jeans. Some people were riding their sleds (snowmobiles), or ice fishing or just soaking up the atmosphere. This family was heading out from the parking area.
When we bought our home almost fifteen years ago, it came with the outbuilding pictured below. We call it “The Barn” but it was built in the 1940s as a garage for school buses. While pleased with the building, I hoped we never had problems with those huge sliding doors measuring over 3 yards/meters tall and wide each. There have been few issues, but Wednesday, the door was stuck halfway open. The roller at the top had corroded and needed replacing. Fortunately, the prior owner left us two spares. (A good thing because the man at the hardware shop said they can cost in the hundreds of dollars for vintage reproductions.) We had to take care not to disconnect the old one until the new one was installed lest the door not be supported and come crashing down. We used a lever to raise the door up, and then installed the new roller with a set of three bolts. After letting the door down again, we removed the old roller and voila. I am hoping for another 15-20 uneventful years.
Staying in downtown Orlando, we frequently passed this barbershop, oddly located between the entrance and exit ramps of a parking garage. It looked interesting with the colored light and mustache graphic. It was interesting enough to photograph the morning before we left.
