SouthFloridaDaily

A beautiful statue at Tampa International Airport.

I tweaked the saturation on this one a bit in order to give it an old post card look. This cool old motel is located in Tift, Ga.

OK folks, grab a pair of red and blue 3-D glasses! You do have some, right? This is my first successful COLOR 3-D image! Taken Saturday, November 14th at Boyd Hill park for the Bulli Brigade VW Bus show. The background building should look familiar to you folks as it has appeared in some of my other images. It’s kind of a tradition to take images in front of this old general store.

This Beetle was parked right behind mine. A young guy and his girl were stretched out, relaxing by the Bug. I noticed his sneakers near the rear wheel and thought it made for a nice image. I asked if it was ok, he said yes, and the rest is history. Cool thing is that I had my Polaroid POGO portable printer with me so I could give him a copy of the image right on the spot! More of the BUG JAM weekend to follow!

I just realized I posted the black and white version of this a while back but never the color one. I don’t know why but there is something captivating about classic cars waiting to be rescued. I forgot my camera on this day and as par the course, I stumbled across something interesting. Thank goodness my cell phone has a camera!

Last weekend there was a nice little VW show on the bank the Hillsborough river in Tampa at Ricks on the River. This is a line up of pre 1958 VW Beetles.

We were looking for a “safari” destination when Beau found Falling Creek on the web. It talked about white water kayaking during high water levels and a waterfall, right here in Florida!

So off we went to Columbia County, just north of Lake City. We were disappointed with the creek because the water was barely flowing. But the find of the old church made the trip worthwhile.

The church sits on a little rise and evokes the greatest sense of peace and tranquility you could imagine. The small cemetery at the rear of the church told many sad tales. I chose to photograph one that tells of the loss of a young son. You can see by the dates on the headstone just how short his life was. You have to wonder what brought about his death. Maybe a rattlesnake bite, or an illness brought through by a traveler, or just a simple cold that became too complicated for Mothers’ home remedies.

We called the Columbia County Parks office and asked someone to let us know when the water levels rose to the height needed to make the falls live up to their name. I was really surprised when they called but we headed on out and it was worth the trip. I could hear the water long before it came into sight. It was not a raging river, but it was enough for me to take some shots to practice “blurring” water.

So, enjoy the photos, and maybe take a moment to think about a family dealing with the hardships of the time, to include losing a young son, and be grateful for the amenities we have today.

This past weekend, while in North Carolina for my grandmother’s funeral, there were boxes and albums of pictures such as these. They all had stories to be told by my relatives. It’s a shame that it takes a death to bring people together to reminence about the past.  I, however, collected numbers and email addresses and will do my very best to stay in touch. One of the things my grandmother was famous for was sending cards. She sent cards to everyone for every occasion. Next project: Obtain birthdays, anniversaries, and everything in between to keep her alive through cards to everyone.
Listening To: 98 Rock

Everyone loves a 1971 Z-28 Camaro, Oh and meeting Papa John was pretty cool too.

on her past.
Listening To: Country Road by James Taylor