The First Coast of Florida feels full of wisdom and age. Old-growth forests fill the landscape, many untouched by man. There are many wooded lands around Jacksonville and St. Augustine that are being turned into housing developments, but I appreciate the lands that have been preserved as a testament to Florida’s past.
Florida is beautiful because it is raw. It may be one of the flattest states in America. It may only bring thoughts of white-sand beaches to those from out of state, but to me Florida is natural beauty. Florida is characterized by tall pine trees standing over palmetto bushes as far as the eye can see, salt marshes with tiny canals weaving like little rivers through grassy expanses. These are the things that I love about Florida, but most of all, I love the cypress swamps. These ancient trees sit in shallow waters like timeless sentinels. Many were cut down by loggers in the 1800s and 1900s, but if you search deep enough, you will find beautiful old-growth areas. In Jacksonville we house one of those beautiful areas on the border of Jacksonville and St. Johns, in the Julington-Durbin Creek Preserve.
The world, viewed through the lens of any camera, changes the perspective and completely reforms the world it has tried to capture. Does this mean we can create our own world through a photograph? Yes. Do we have to Photoshop an image until it renders a new image altogether to get that effect? No.
In my opinion, taking a black and white photo shows the viewer a world he/she has never seen before. Imagine running around this world and only seeing tones of light. It would be incredible!
We as photographers must see this power that we have as a privilege not to be abused.
I have just now seen the art of an abstract landscape. Showing the world in its true form, but cutting out the normal details to render the image almost incomprehensible, yet amusing.
This will be a fun adventure.
