Tivoli Sand Pines Enlightenment
While driving to work the other day I was running a bit early and decided to stop by an obscure park I pass by everyday. Tivoli Sand Pines Park is in the middle of a pretty run down urban area. It really isn’t so much a park as it is a preserve. 22 acres of super dense foliage with the addition of one gazebo and a cement path way. On average I would bet this park gets one visitor, twice a day. That being the person who unlocks and the locks the gate. You can see by the first photo how dense this park is. You are either on the path, or knee-waist deep in moss, shrubs and vines.
Back to the point of this whole post. As I walked down the path I noticed tiny pieces of beauty along the way. A simple flower, pine cone, or leaf would stand out amongst the sheet of green and brown. Through certain “boring parts” I would find myself walking faster not shooting much at all. But then I would remind myself to slow down and look more closely. Each time I did. I would instantly notice something awesome. That’s when it hit me. The best photographers are the one’s who can slow themselves down. It’s very easy to get caught up in the moment talking to someone, in a thought, or listening to something or someone. Then you start to begin to build this momentum. Moving faster and faster just like life. Use the example of the photographer to remind yourself. You should be capturing the same moments they do, only physically.
Enjoy Life. On a side note. The first person who can sends me an email identifying the species of plant or insect in each photo will get a FREE Portrait Session and a $100 in prints. You don’t have to answer the first and last photo and one species per photo is fine (don’t answer sand pine for each photo ).
You can’t tell the scale but this spider is about 4-5 inches tall
3 Comments
I’ve driven by that park a thousand times and have always wondered what was in there. There are a few places like this scattered throughout Broward, almost like some people panicked in the urban sprawl and created them in haste.
Spiderman, Spiderman…I like that shot with the spider in the center of the net.
This is an area where your skills shine…you always seem to take a somewhat boring scenario and turn it into something of interest.