Storm over Mailboxes

Deforestation

A week ago this was a magnificent little forest. So, I’m wondering, what’s the morality difference between clear cutting the Amazon forest for agricultural development and clear cutting Alabama forests for commercial development?

Are Alabama forests less of a carbon sink than the forests of the Amazon? Why will clear cutting Alabama forests not contribute to climate change, but clear cutting in the Amazon will? Do Alabama forests not produce oxygen for the planets creatures to breath? I’m also wondering about the impact the loss of wildlife habitat will have on the forest’s creatures: birds, squirrels, deer, armadillos, rabbits, etc.

Morning Light; Edge of the Forest

Sunshine & Thunderheads

Light After the Rain

Longleaf Pine Forest

Hurricane Sally added new curves and diagonals to the Longleaf Pine Forest.

Wet, Wet Rose

Big Surf ahead of Cristobal at Gulf Shores, AL

Yard Work

No point rushing into it. In four or five months it will be fall; I’ll just have to do it all over again.

Winter Reprieve

GULF SHORES, AL; March 6, 2020 – It was 68° F, there was no ice on the water, but it felt as if there could have been. Young folks were down at the edge of the shoreline, a few wading, some playing volleyball, many just lying in the sun, determined to get a tan before the end of their vacations. But elderly folks sheltered themselves from the northerly wind behind a public building, soaking up the sun’s warmth, glad for the reprieve of shoveling snow back home.

Dreary Winter Day on the Gulf of Mexico

There were a few people walking barefoot on the beach, but they were wearing their winter coats and avoiding the frigid water.

Wading in the Fog

Visitors wade in the Gulf of Mexico at Gulf Shores, Alabama this afternoon. The fog added a kind of mystery to the beach that brought out a few explorers, including a Great Blue Heron almost lost in the mist.

Record Breaking Cold

Frigid north winds blew the tops off two to three-foot waves rolling onto the beach, and brought record cold temperatures to the Gulf Coast last night. Sandpipers, Seagulls and Pelicans didn’t seem to be adversly affected by the cold, but there were precious few humans anywhere near the beach.

October Light

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Light in October is different than in June or February. The trees, the fence, the little trailer; they all plead, beg…like me…to hold on to the warmth even after the sun goes down. There’s no need for begging in June – the warmth will hold on. In February, there’s just no point in begging. But in October, in the deep south, leaves are still mostly green, the light is warm in every sense, but after the sun drops below the horizon…

Gulf Coast Beach in September

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We were here first. There’s plenty of room; do you have to sit so close? Or maybe the story is: Come! Join us we’ll all have a good time. But more likely it’s, “How’s the water, Mabel? What does George have in his hands?

I’ve often read that “great photos always tell a story.” But I don’t think a single photo can ever tell a complete story. Stories have a beginning, middle and end. A single photo can only capture a small fraction of the story. Without context, this is simply a photo of a group of people at a beach with a vast ocean of water in the background. Are they family? Friends? Recent acquaintances? Are they stranded on a desert island? What is the story?

 

Storm Clouds Over Wolf Bay

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Gulf Shores Beach

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Took a drive down to Gulf Shores this morning to capture some photos for my Alamy collection. Surprisingly, it wasn’t overcrowded. A beautiful day, just right for being on the beach.

Civil War Canon Protects Mobile Bay

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Civil War canon at Fort Morgan, Alabama points toward Mobile Bay. The misty appearance is a result of condensation on the lens caused by taking the camera out of an air conditioned car into the very humid air of a tropical Alabama morning.

Surreal Surf

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Surf and clouds manipulated a little bit in Photoshop. This was created at Fort Morgan, Alabama a day after Hurricane Barry tore through New Orleans. Weather in southern Alabama wasn’t so horrible: a light breeze and some rain with a little flooding in places. The photo has been dramatized, sensationalized and colorized, but other than that – it’s exactly as I envisioned it.

Green Water, White Sand

Clear green water and briliant white sand line the beach of Santa Rosa Island, Florida.