I grew up in middle Tennessee with countryside and hills all around. There was plenty of places to get away from civilization and fade into the colors of nature. Ten miles in any direction from my house would find a different landscape. Streams, hiking trails and waterfalls were as common as dinners with whole family. At any given time at least one room in the house had almost packed or just unpacked bags for a night in some forest or cave. Ever heard the song "Boondocks" by Little Big Town?
 
I realized that was all going to change when I arrived in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida in 2004 . I found a flat landscape. The beaches are fun but I found them somewhat uninspiring. I tried my hand at surfing but seemed to be better at sitting on the board past the break; even though that proved difficult at first. I found it a very peacefull experience; sitting off the coast, beyond the noise of traffic and the crounded beach. It was the closest I could get to the peacefulness of the Tennessee hills. In these instances silence truly is worth it's weight in gold.
 
So, where do I go from here? A landscape photographer with no landscape. Dead end right? Well, I did some searching and found one of Florida's best assets, its rivers, inlets and marshes. They make for great photo locations, especially in low lighting and with long exposures.
 
Check out this shot from the Intercoastal waterway only a few minutes from my house.

IMG_3887
 
I spent about an hour in a few inches of slush, being pricked by the pointy marsh grass, and shortly after sunset I captured this shot with a 30 second exposure. I had some challenges exposing the ground properly and not overexposing the sky. This can usually be corrected simply by using a split density filter (not too expensive), a piece equipment i didn't have at the time; so I got creative, using my flash light to expose the storm battered palm tree and marsh grass. I'm happy with the results, you can see how the clouds were moving overhead and the sunset provided a beautiful glow from just over the horizon.

I'll be posting some more pics in the next few days. Please keep checking it out and leave some comments. (I'm trying to get my comments section of this site working)