Fill – er – Up

Over at the Chart House in Daytona beach are are million-dollar yachts docked along the inter coastal waterway, their Captains trading stocks with on-board internet connectivity.  Just down the street is a look back seventy years – this old filling station now serving cold drinks on a wooden patio.

Transformations

Famous Baxter's in Hyannis

Mr. Grant

World's Most Famous Beach

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Extending photographic techniques

I found some excellent tutorials on HDR (High Definition Range) photography and I used them on some of my favorite photos.  I’m reposting – I hope you can see the difference and that it’s pleasing.

From the dunes on Anna Maria Island

Late autumn in Central Florida

Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse – Florida

Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse is the tallest in Florida and the second tallest in the United States.  203 steps take you to the top for a great view of the Florida coastline and the Halifax River from Daytona Beach to New Smyrna Beach.

Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse is on the National Historic Landmark list and is one f the few light stations in the country with all the original keepers’ dwellings and outbuilding still intact.

North Turn, South Turn

Friday I took a day off and went to the beach.  I wanted to take some photos of the lighthouse at Ponce Inlet at the extreme south end of Daytona Beach.

At another time I’ll post some of the lighthouse photos that I took as well as some of the beach scene.

The beach opens to vehicle traffic at 8 AM.  I actually got there at 6:30 AM as I was trying to get some photos of the sunrise with the lighthouse.  But the logistics didn’t work.  I couldn’t be on the beach photoing the lighthouse, and I could be at the lighthouse photoing the sunrise.

The sunrise — This photo is untouched.  As soon as I uploaded it to my computer – I just loved it.  I’m going to have this one printed – I may even have it arranged as a greeting card.  Anyway, I think its awesome.

While I was waiting for the beach gate to open, I noticed a sign at the entrance to the beach called “North Turn”.  I’d been there at least fifty time before, but I never knew what the term “north turn” meant.  Later I drove a little south to the last entrance to the beach, and anther sign told me about “South Turn”.

NORTH TURN – Click on the photo to read more about it.  This is NASCAR history.  Back in the day waaaay before there was a Daytona Speedway racetrack, the cars raced on the beach, banked by the sand dunes.  (Way before ecological grumblings ever surfaced).

The race car drivers would race “up” the beach to North Turn and turn onto what is Atlantic Ave (US A1A), race south to the “south turn” and back to complete one full lap.

This area of the beach in the Ponce Inlet area is now home to 10 MPH speed limits, sunbathers, surfers, and condos.  The history is there, and sports car enthusiasts, and NASCAR fans can find the roots of the sport on this part of the beach.

Beach Day