Canoes at Wekiwa Springs in Florida
During our visit to Wekiwa Springs State Park during our visit to Florida this past summer, we took a walk down some of the many paths that we found there. One of those trails led us to the canoe rental building, and I found an interesting view there.
The colorful canoes were lined up along the edge of the blue water, with the green trees and cloud-filled sky overhead, creating a quite colorful scene. It was quite the view, even with the threatening clouds in the sky. And those were not empty threats from the clouds, either, as some rain was actually falling at this time. Not heavy rain or anything, but more of a heavy sprinkle than a light rain. However, as you can see from the number of waiting canoes, this was enough to keep most people from venturing out into the water, because they did not know what level of rain might follow that heavy sprinkle.
We did see some people paddling back up the river to return their canoes, but no new explorers were going out when we were there. This was probably also partly due to it being late in the afternoon, and most people were beginning to think about what they would eat instead of where they would explore. So I would guess that most of those canoes just waited there for another day.
What I like about this view is all of the natural scenery that you can see here. Yes, the canoes are man-made, but the trees and the water are all perfectly natural. No fancy architectural designs or great use of space-planning. Just some good old-fashioned nature with a little bit of area carved out to launch some canoes.
So often these days it seems like most people are much more impressed by fancy man-made buildings and structures, and what those buildings may hold inside of them, than by the natural world. In some ways that is understandable, because people can design and build some pretty interesting things. But with all of that, we sometimes lose sight of the God-created world of nature, which can be every bit as interesting as the man-made things, and usually even more interesting. Personally, I sometimes take the nature that I see for granted, because I see it all the time, and it often takes going someplace different to be reminded of just how interesting nature can be.
In our rush to get to this place or that place, let’s take just a little time to notice the world around us. The trees as they change during the seasons. The grass as it waves gently in the wind. A stream as it trickles its way along its well-worn path. The stars that share the sky with the moon at night. Because it can all be pretty spectacular sometimes.
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims the work of His hands. Day after day they pour out speech; night after night they communicate knowledge. - Psalm 19:1-2
About the Photo
Although this was a colorful scene when seen in real life, the photo straight out of the camera did not necessarily convey all of the colors found there. Fortunately, I was able to bring them out with some processing similar to the methods that I usually use in Photoshop. I also masked in another exposure from the same Raw file to bring out the clouds more, because the sky was washed out in the original photo but the Raw file had stored all of that information.
Here is a before-and-after version of the photo, showing how much more colorful the finished photo is when compared to the original photo:
Photo: A single Raw exposure, processed in Photoshop. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M10
Lens: Rokinon 7.5mm f/3.5 Fisheye Lens
Date: July 20, 2017
Location: Wekiwa Springs State Park, Florida
