Florida

I went back to Florida for my 25-year high school reunion recently. I've visited many times since high school, and had a camera with me on most of those occasions, but on this particular trip, it seemed I was seeing things as if for the first time. I think that's because my wife Wendy was with me, and while she too has visited Florida with me before, this was the first time since I got her a digital camera of her own. So I was in part seeing things through her eyes. But I would also like to think my own photographic eye is developing. Anyhow, here is some of what I saw.

We visited the beach pretty much every day we were there. Sometimes what was most interesting was the seascape itself, and others times it was the people:







When I was growing up in Florida, I was always mesmerized by sandpipers - small birds that feed along the shore, constantly running up to the water and then running away as each wave comes in:



Because of my own affinity for the sandpiper, this shot of the daughter of two friends of mine is particularly special to me:



I'm not an early riser by nature, but Wendy made me get up before dawn to watch the sunrise over the ocean. Unfortunately, it was mostly overcast, so we didn't actually see the sun rise. But we were rewarded with some beautiful scenes nonetheless:







Florida is not just about the beaches, of course. The local flora and fauna are also fascinating:









But one way or another, water dominates most aspects of life in Florida: