St. Marks Lighthouse Long view, basking in the Moonlight, Florida’s Forgotten Coast

Here is the St Mark’s Lighthouse in the Moonlight. About 30 minutes after Sunset.

This past weekend after the busyness of Christmas was finished. I was eager to hit the road again. To continue Photographing all of Florida’s Lighthouses. I returned to a place near and dear to my Heart and my Soul…

Florida’s forgotten Coast…

We went to the St. Marks Lighthouse for some Sunset and Moonlight Photography, via the St. Marks NWR. The sunset was unremarkable. The Lighthouse shining in the moonlight was awesome. We were operating under some time constraints. I was only able to take a few shots. Here are two of my favorites, A Long view, at Top and The Tower, at Bottom.

St. Marks Lighthouse Tower basking in the Moonlight, Florida’s Forgotten Coast

Date Taken: 12-27-09 Full Moonlight 6:57PM
Model:Nikon D80
Shutter Speed:90.3 seconds F-Stop:f11 ISO:3200
Focal length:11mm Lens:Tamron 11-18 Wide Angle

Date Taken: 12-27-09 Full Moonlight 6:51PM
Model:Nikon D80
Shutter Speed:90.5 seconds F-Stop:f11 ISO:3200
Focal length:11mm Lens:Tamron 11-18 Wide Angle

Dunes – Lone Survivor – Florida’s Forgotten Coast

I have always wanted to Photograph Florida’s Dunes. Not the man made variety
but the original Dunes that covered most of Florida’s coasts since the Dawn of time. They have a hard crust and are highly resistant to the effects of Florida’s Tropical Storm season.
The Dunes in Florida’s Forgotten Coast are of the real variety.
They start South of Tallahassee, around to the west, to about Seaside, Fl.

A Winter storm front had stalled south of Tallahassee over the Dunes. My favorite
weather when doing Photography. We were late arriving and found an out of the way Park called the Bald Pont Dunes at about 10 PM. The moon was full, The skies were full of storm clouds, the winds blowing hard…

We saw this Lone Tree near the shore Holding on for dear Life, with carcasses of trees long since gone, around it.

Date Taken: 03-02-07 Full Moonlight
Model:Nikon D80 Shutter Speed:603 seconds F-Stop:f16 ISO:100
Focal length:11mm Lens:Tamron 11-18 Wide Angle

The Ponies Playground

The Ponies Playground

Here is were Lori (In memoriam 1960 – 2008) did a lot of her training using Her most beloved Horse “Lillie” (Story and Photo to follow soon…). Who also resided here. Some People knew it as “The Coopers”. After watching Her and those Horses interact and all the toys there in the Yard. I affectionately remember it as “The Ponies Playground”.

I used to go with her almost every evening when she was caring for the multitude of horses that have called this place home. I watched how much she loved all those horses. Heard many stories about all the young adults meeting her there to learn to ride these most majestic of all beasts.

During the Full Moon, After she was done tending to the Horses needs. We would roam the woods and the horse Trails looking for some Cool Photographs. Most times standing hand in hand waiting for the these time exposure Photographs to come out. If you look closely at the picture, under the light you will see a figure 8 where a real large moth flew round and round…

Photograph Taken on: 11-08-06 8:57PM
Model: Nikon D80 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera
Shutter Speed: 97 Seconds F-Stop: F13 ISO:100 -2 step exposure compensation
Focal length: 11mm Lens: Tamron SP 11-18mm f/4.5-5.6 Di II LD Aspherical (IF)