From early March through Labor Day, the population around here probably doubles, maybe even triples on long, holiday weekends. Two years after the BP oil spill, and the tourist business has returned to pre-spill numbers. That means, if I want to photo hike at the beach, sans bodies mucking up the scene, I have to arrive at 0’dark-thirty, or when the weather is less than suntan optimal.
The challenge then is to find something other than just dramatic clouds to photograph – even though I do love those storm fronts.
I trekked out to Grayton Beach State Park this weekend, a little northwest of Panama City. It’s one of my favorite spots to rambled around. I had to dodge a few raindrops, but I was outside, and it was glorious.
(Photos shot with a Nikon D60, using an 18-55mm, 55-200mm, 20mm f/2.8 wide-angle, 50mm f/1.8 prime lens, Nikon CoolPix S205 and/or iPhone4)
For more photos, please visit my Flickr photostream or my 365 Project Page.
To see other city scenes from around the world, check out Unknown Mami’s Sundays in My City. Don’t forget to show the love to Mami and the other City contributors.
Thin spiral notebook 
Florida has the best clouds, but I completely know what you mean about something else 😉
LOVE the waterscapes and the sand dune.
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Woooo! so beautiful! I’m glad things are cleaned up ~ that was just terrible! your photos are beautiful!!!
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Your pictures tell so many stories. The birds in parallel flying fashion – looking as though they stopped to pose for the camera – really stand out. Very nice.
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I’m in LOVE with the hammock photo! LOVE! I know what you mean about travel picking up. The flights have been extremely full to everyone. It’s crazy! Glad you found a nice spot. Your photos are incredible. 🙂
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I like the bicycle shot.
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The kite shot looks so good. Love it. From the looks of the weather it could almost be the UK! 😀
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It would be a dream to own a beach! 🙂
All these shots are great but somehow the bike one hit me.
Have a great week ahead!
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Private beach owners have lots of problems keeping tourists off their property. Many put up temporary fences and ‘no trespassing’ signs. It doesn’t always help, but many will respect the restrictions.
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Stunning, Stunning Shots. While I am sure the doubling of the population is annoying to the locals, you must be thrilled that things are getting back to normal.
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So many businesses suffered because of oil spill, that seeing the return of tourism is both welcome and, to some degree, annoying. I’m a little possessive of the beautiful beaches and am not always happy about sharing them with others.
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I hear you guys are getting soaked. I like the pelican. Always loved pelicans.
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P’cola got more than 13 inches of rain on Saturday, and we’re expecting rain for most of the coming week. It’s doing great things for my garden and yard.
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Love the first two in particular, mostly because of the composition. The others are gorgeous, too, though.
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