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Photographic Destinations

St Augustine

10/18/2021

St. Augustine is the oldest city in Florida, it is also the oldest continuously occupied settlement of European origin in the United States. The city was originally founded as a Spanish colony in 1565 by admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, who became the first colonial governor of Florida. Under Spain’s rule, St. Augustine served as the base for Spain to continue its colonial expansion and it was eventually designated as the capital of Spanish Florida.

St Augustine is a wonderful location for daytime and night-time photo shoots. We recommend that you consider taking the 1-2 hours Trolley Tour around the town. In addition to the individual locations below, walking Saint Georges Street at night offers a plethora of photo ops. The best time to start is around 9:30 pm at the city gates (across from Castillo de San Marcos} and proceed to walk to the end taking photos of all the shops and stores at night - after the crowds have thinned out. Most of the lights in the city are left on all night so you never run out of interesting things to shoot.

Micanopy, FL.

10/17/2021

Part of our exploring Florida one theme we enjoy is photographing the oldest towns in Florida, including Micanopy, named after the Seminole Indian Chief, Mic-a-no-pee (my phonetic spelling). The town was settled in 1821 and is the oldest inland town in Florida. Cholokka Boulevard, once an Indian trading route, is Micanopy’s main street, and the town’s primary tourist destination known for its antique shops (self-proclaimed antiques capital).

The main street has a mix of rustic storefronts and dining for casual shoppers, collectors, and has been a location for Hollywood film makers (Note: Micanopy was the setting for the movie 'Doc Hollywood' starring Michael J Fox). The town also has a wonderful B&B (Herlong Mansion) and exemplifies that which is called Old Florida The Town of Micanopy encompasses 1.03 square miles in rural north-central Florida between Gainesville and Ocala just off Interstate 75, with 700 residents and 300 homes
(tags: #oldest, #micanopy)
More photos ...

Sopchoppy, FL.

10/12/2021

Sopchoppy ... just the name makes us interested in visiting this town/location. As it turns out, Sopchoppy is a small, yet unique town located near Crawfordville and 45 minutes southwest of Tallahassee. And, as we came to learn, although there wasn't much to see and do in Sopchoppy, there was a unique one-man business - pottery, that is tucked away in the woods. Although no real address or website was available, we pulled into the town and simply (and politely) asked some locals - the local grocery owner and street maintenance guys "hey, what's to see in town"? Their answer "Griffin's ... down the road a piece". So traveling Main St. we turn onto a dirt road and came upon George Griffin Pottery.

George's marketing approach is simple - word of mouth - he has no website, no cell phone, no email ... he relies solely on visitors sharing their visit on TripAdvisor, Yelp, etc. TripAdvisor. (update: I just received a note from our neighbor stating "In the 50's when my dad was a salesman for the Mennen Company, he actually called on the one small grocery store in Sopchoppy.") ... it's a small world.

Wakulla Griffin Pottery - https://www.visitwakulla.com/blog/a-wonder-of-wakulla-george-griffin-pottery/
Trip Planner: Griffin Pottery - https://is.gd/DWjoZV

Wakulla Springs, Fl.

10/11/2021

Traveling through the Panhandle, Ginger and I visited Wakulla Springs State Park - a rather unique and tranquil location south of Tallahassee. Traveling through the park, we saw hiking trails, streams and then we arrived at the historic Wakulla Springs Lodge. Built in the 1930's, the Lodge is a remnant of old Florida, and we learned that the ancient cypress swamps made the perfect backdrop for old Hollywood movies - Tarzan’s Secret Treasure (1941) and Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954). The Springs are the home of the world’s largest and deepest freshwater springs! This is one place we seriously would plan to visit again and explore the local areas as well.

Wakulla Springs State Park - https://www.floridastateparks.org/wakullasprings
The Lodge at Wakulla Springs - https://thelodgeatwakullasprings.com/
Wakulla Springs Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wakulla_Springs

Sopchoppy - Back Roads in the Panhandle

7/24/2021

Sopchoppy is a small back roads town in the Panhandle. Returning from Mississippi yesterday, Ginger and I made a return visit to George Griffin's Pottery. On many wooded acres, you drive down a dirt road to find the pottery shop, home and supply building - all built by George. A college graduate who chose his passion - pottery wizardry versus the corporate world, began his self-taught journey more than 3 decades ago. See https://photos.app.goo.gl/HEEZyBj9W3Sfzaba6 for tour photos.

Kissimmee, Florida

5/6/2021

Kissimmee (and old Kissimmee) is a Florida community that has several pronunciations and is typically by-passed in travels to Orlando and Disney World. But there is history and a community to see. Some history and background can be found on the website Florida Back Roads and is worth reading. Below are some recent observations.

The exploration of Kissimmee really was a photo opportunity for Eddie and me - visiting the town itself, shooting the Lake Toho Lighthouse and capturing interesting and historical sites. Since Kissimmee was in close vicinity of Orlando and Disney, be ready for traffic delays and extended travel times. Our primary interest was sunset and low light photography, hoping the weather would be on our side.

First up was Pioneer Village. Pioneer Village tells the story of Osceola County's early settlers where you can see original pioneer homes, a general store, schoolhouse, blacksmith shop and an original citrus packing plant. Heading to downtown a must see is the Monument of States - inspired by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The mission of the monument was to demonstrate the unity of America and it was designed to include at least one rock from each of the states in the United States of America. Next it was downtown, where one must see the oldest operating retail store in Florida. The original store establihsed in 1884 was located at what today would be Darlington Avenue and Pleasant Street. Makinson Hardware was rebuilt in 1900 at its present location, since the original structure had burned down. On the side of their building is a town mural.

In the Kissimmee Lakefront Park, there are walking and hiking trails, viewing docks, piers and fishing - all for great photo opportunities at sunrise and sunset. Lake Tohopekaliga comes from the Seminole Indians who lived nearby, and it means “we will gather together here.” The lake is one of the most famous trophy bass fishing lakes in the country and has a small lighthouse.

Havana, FL. - Florida's Friendliest Small Town

3/25/2021

(On the way to Biloxi) Who would have guessed we have a town named Havana? Founded in 1906, Havana was initially driven by shade tobacco’s economic engine. Today Havana has more than 30 specialty shops that are stocked with everything from new furniture and vintage collectibles to some amazing art. Unfortunately with COVID and being right after the weekend, we found Havana to be a quiet town. We continue to enjoy finding and visiting towns over 100 years old. Havana is known as Florida's friendliest small town.

St Augustine Road Trip

12/6/2020

St Augustine Trip
..Google Map https://bit.ly/2HIIzE9
..St Augustine - Photo Destinations site https://www.photographicdestinations.com/st-augustine.html
..Back Roads Travel site https://bit.ly/36h7Ajn
..Tour Ideas https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-things-to-do-in-st-augustine-fl/

Wednesday - Day 1
8:00 Leave Redington Beach
10:30 Mt Dora - Coffee and walk
12:30 Palatka - Brunch/Lunch At Angel’s Diner 209 Reid St, Palatka https://bit.ly/2Jnm7Rd
1:30 St Augustine - Visitor Center - maps and more - 10 S Castillo Drive

Self Walk - St Augustine Ideas
* Sebastian winery
* St Augustine Distillery 112 Riberia St, St. Augustine, FL
* Castillo de San Marcos National Monument
* St George St* Lighthouse Fee $11.00
* 1,000 Lights* Oldest School House
* Shops* Flagler College
* Lions Bridge - photo best sunrise but good at dusk
* Dinner … Harry’s Seafood Bar and GrillFood Grill
* Post dinner - St Augustine - Lights and Night Photos
* Main town and park pics
* Side Streets pics
* Flagler pics
.. Back to Motel

Thursday - Day 2
* St Augustine - Sunrise … Lions
* St Augustine - Breakfast at Motel
* Road Trip - Evanston General Store https://bit.ly/3nVa50u
* Macintosh
* Micanopy
* Trip Home - Cedar key (chowder) https://www.tonyschowder.com/dining-at-tonys-seafood/
Home

St Marks National Wildlife Refuge and Lighthouse

10/24/2020

The St. Marks Light is the second-oldest light station in Florida. It is located on the east side of the mouth of the St. Marks River, on Apalachee Bay.

Stone Mountain North Carolina

9/29/2019

Clicking any photo will open the photos to a larger size.

Sept 29th: We adjusted our body clocks to encourage an early bedtime Saturday night (8:00 pm) and have our wakeup naturally to be 2:00 am Sunday. It worked. Everything was previously packed and ready except toiletries. Home was closed and locked and we were on our way at 2:15 am. About 4 hours later we arrived at Amelia Island for sunrise photos and pier shots. (Note: all based on Jeff Stamer Photography recommendations). Many early birds were already on the beach by the pier and I took the time to share 'camera and photography talk' with two fellow photographers. Two take-aways for future shoots 1) wear Crocs so I can enter the water for better composition and 2) become more acquainted with Sony Memories Camera Remote to allow camera control direct from the iPhone. With the light still golden, we quickly located the island's lighthouse on the Coast Guard property (open gate this time) and several bracketed pics were taken. Of course we had to shoot the Palace Saloon in historic Fernadina Beach - the oldest bar in Florida. (some pics may be out of order but who cares lol)

Sept 29th: From Amelia Island it was 8 hours to North Carolina and our cabin on the mountain. Arriving at about 4:45 pm and knowing we had dinner planned at the cabin with Eddie and Linda Alcorne, we quickly unpacked and prepared the grill and food for dinner. The cabin was small with a bedroom, kitchen/dining/living area and bathroom, with a wrap-around deck and amazing views. These accommodations were more than adequate for the times we plan to actually be in the cabin. Our plan was to have all dinners outdoors, during the day we will be on the road, visiting historic areas or hiking Stone Mountain. Since this was a special date - Alcorne's Anniversary, Ginger planned a nice dinner of grilled shrimp, salad and lentil/rice. Celebration 'brownies' topped off the meal. After a full 20 hour day and 750 miles of travel, we called it a night at 7:45 pm.

Sept 30th: Stone Mountain and Widow's Falls was our first planned hike. This 'rock' was HUGE. We walked the base and viewed the 12 climbing trails on the side of the mountain. We learned that Eddie - in his youth, actually climbed the face of the mountain using ropes, hands and feet on all 12 trails. After viewing the face, we hiked the lower trails (both prepared trails and gravel paths). A short drive away, we came upon Widow's Falls, a beautiful, hidden water fall and wading pool.

Oct 1st: This is our day away from Stone Mountain. First is historic Mabry Mill - a water-powered mill in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, one of the most photographed places in the United States (you know we can NOT miss this opportunity). Not only was the Mill a beautiful site, but several out buildings and workshops highlighted what was begun in the early 1800's. Next, it's off to Mayberry RFD (Mt Airy - home of Andy Griffith) and lunch at Barney's Cafe. (Note: very funny ordering process ... their special was chicken pot pie and 2 side (I selected sides of beets and boiled potatoes). However, I soon found out my selection was not acceptable! Immediately, Linda interjected "you don't want beets" and Ginger added "don't get potatoes, get something else". So as Ginger and Linda were deciding options for me while the waitress patiently waited until there was a pause and she asked the ladies and asked "so what is he allowed to order?" It was funny and we all laughed. (a little exaggeration but you can call Eddie and he will confirm)

Oct. 2nd: Up at sunrise and another full day ... a 5 mile hike to the top of Stone Mountain (the easy trail). The hike was very comfortable and we met other hikers with two dogs. On the way down, Ginger decided our company was 'boring' and she joined them in the return - with ongoing conversations about Andy Griffith, Mt Airy and the history of the area. Next: Elkin, to a local winery that Linda had purchased on a previous visit the BEST blackberry wine. What's Elkin, it is a small town with unique shops and lots of antique boutiques. One shop/store we especially enjoyed walking was Kennedy Auto Inc. - a place that has everything - hardware, china, bicycles, tools, glassware, mannequins, guns and ammo. After touring Kennedy's we needed some light beverages and we were directed to an old movie house - the Reeves Theater and Cafe. The lobby was converted into a restaurant and bar and was clearly popular to locals and visitors . We ate outdoors and had the best grilled cheese sandwiches and a Yuengling. It was 'lovely'.

Vacations do come to an end ... our fall get-a-way was terrific - great friends, great location and great sights, with lots to do. I especially enjoyed the photo opportunities the area made available ... see below for some of my top memories captured in pics.