Help Me Pick - Wakulla Springs
Have you ever been to Wakulla Springs State Park? There is a historic lodge there that has been renovated in recent years. At each end of the vast lobby are four large backlit frames that house photographs of the Springs. (Lightboxes built into the walls.) Late last year, I was asked to make photos for 6 of those frames, and to hand-color two historic photos from early days at the Springs for the remaining two. Each frame is 25" wide by 36" high. The photos will be printed on large transparent sheets (duratrans) and then sandwiched between two pieces of glass which fit into the internally-lit frames. Naturally, I was deeply honored by this request (and challenge) and have been working hard on this for the past 6 months.
Existing (damaged) hand-colored historic photo in one lightbox.
Wakulla Springs is only about 3 miles from my home, so I've been visiting the Springs often to capture "vertical" landscapes and wildlife images. (Typically, landscapes are in... well, "landscape" orientation, so "portrait mode" needed for these fixed lightboxes challenged my "eye for composition".
I have come up with 24 images to consider and now it's time to figure out which ones make the cut. That's where you come in. I'd love to know your favorites... which you think might look best at the Wakulla Springs Lodge. Please leave a comment below with your picks. I've included LETTERS with the titles - so it's ok to say, "my favorites are X, Y, and Z." And if you'd like to go a step further, rank your top three of the birds, and your top four of the landscapes. I'll be choosing in the next month or so. Thanks so much for your help.
Wakulla Springs State Park is famous for its wildlife - alligators, manatees, birds, and more. Many kinds of waterfowl and wading birds find refuge in the Park. Here are nine bird images. Probably we will use two of these images.
A Great Egret in flight...
A. Angel Wings
A Common Gallinule, with its iconic "jungle cry" at Wakulla, considers its own enormous feet...
B. Mirrored Beauty
A backlit Cattle Egret, strikes a pose...
C. Egret Intimacy
A Pied-billed Grebe scores a prize breakfast...
D. Grebe & Crayfish
A mated pair of Great Egrets welcomes the new day...
E. Sunrise Sentinels
Four gangly juvenile White Ibises, too young to be fully white...
F. Teen Ibis Team
You can count on seeing a Great Blue Heron on every river boat cruise...
G. Great Blue
A Double-crested Cormorant in breeding plumage...
H. Cormorant Pose
And finally, the Little Blue Heron, smaller, but no less lovely that its Great cousin...
I. Little Blue
Picking your favs was easy, wasn't it? Well, this next batch may be a bit more challenging. As you'll see, cypress trees dominate the Springs scenery. However, hopefully the expression, "If you've seen one, you've seen 'em all" does NOT apply here. When possible, I tried to include wildlife or special light to enhance the compositions. There are 15 images. Which are your favorite 4 or 5?
Early on a cold morning, the White Ibises were still roosting, but many of the Black Vultures had taken to the sky...
J. Bird Paradise
Another day, as the sun was about to rise, the Black Vultures dotting the treetops began moving toward the springbowl...
K. Dawn Vulture Flight
Further downriver, the sun blasted golden light across the misty scene...
L. Morning Has Broken
An anhinga took flight, mirrored in the placid River...
M. Flight Into Morning
Two Pied-billed Grebes were dwarfed by majestic moss-laden cypress backlit in sunrise light...
N. First Light
Early light caught the new coloring of early spring, including the winged seeds of the red maples...
O. First Light 3
Iconic old cypresses, with their knees and moss abounded...
P. First Light 5
Mid-river cypress stood in silhouette against a sun-drenched shoreline...
Q. Cypress Stand
Juicy light rose downriver of the big cypress...
R. Crack of Dawn
Polar smoke rising from the River, glowed in the sunrise...
S. Wakulla Winter Sunrise
On a cold blue-water morn, polar smoke billowed into the sky...
T. Wintery Wakulla
Mama and calf swam upriver on a gorgeous spring morning (next two photos)...
U. Manatee Moment
V. Manatee Moment 2
Another Mama comes up for a breath...
W. Manatee Moment 3
There are all my best shots. May the few chosen images shine well in the lobby of the Lodge.
Lodge from the Waterfront
Here are the two historic black & white images we obtained from the State Archives of Florida in downtown Tallahassee. And my hand-colored renditions...
Wakulla Bathers
Glass Bottom Boat
Please let me know which photos you think would be best for this project. Wakulla Springs State Park, the Wakulla Springs Lodge, and I will all be grateful. Then come on down to the Park this summer for a swim, a boat ride, dinner, and to see the framed photos in person!
Comments
My four favorite birds: C E F and I
My three favorite landscapes: N O and T
But I think the manatees are a great addition and love the colors of the spring!
WONDERFUL images!!
I remember being a little kid and riding on the glass bottom boat -- the guy calling the fish to jump the stump deep underwater. WAS ALWAYS a magical adventure to go to Wakulla Springs!
Thanks for sharing!!
sherry