The Pippi Longstocking House – Amelia Island, Florida

Located in what is known as Old Town (Fernandina Beach) overlooking the Amelia River on the northwest side of Amelia Island. Originally built around 1870 for a harbor pilot Captain Bell and the second owner was also a river captain in 1901. Located on a high bluff at 212 Estrada Street, it overlooks the former Spanish fort San Carlos (c1811).

It’s a lovely house that’s been restored and maintained throughout the decades. It stood in as Pippi Longstocking’s house in the late 1980s movie “The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking”… “The house was altered and remodeled through the years. When movie producers came calling in 1987, it was its original weathered white with hunter green shutters. The house stood in for Villa Villekulla, the fictional home of Pippi, a character in a series of books written by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. The young girl lives alone in a small Swedish village sharing the house with her monkey and horse. She befriends the two children living next door, Tommy and Annika Settergren, and they have many adventures together.”

Today it is a private residence and is not open for tours. It’s a very easy to photograph house because of the large open area in front of the house (actually Fernandina Plaza Historic State Park).

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The “Pippi Longstocking House” on Amelia Island. Built c1870

If you find yourself near Amelia Island it is well worth the visit (don’t miss the 40 block Historic District of Fernandina Beach while you’re at it).

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Pippi says “hi”! Actress Tami Erin

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out my camera and photography shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

Chris

Irma Damage

Almost everywhere in Florida was affected by Hurricane Irma – some more directly than others and of course some suffered a complete loss of their homes, businesses, cars and lives. The difficult journey of recovering from the damage and destruction will be a long one and some will just give up and go.

Our corner of Northeast Florida (our little island) for the most part did pretty well considering where we are located. Closer to home, our neighborhood had damage but the homes came through. We lost our power for 61 hours – a small time really compared to what others will see.

These pictures are from around 8 AM or so on Monday morning (9-11-2017) – the winds were still gusting into the high 60 mph range with some gusts to near 90 mph in the predawn hours.

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Neighbors house avoids getting damaged from a rather large oak branch.

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Directly behind our house on another street. This was about a 60 foot oak that blew down and missed the house completely.

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Just outside the neighborhood at the beach. Just after the highest water was receding.

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At the beach. Only a few poles came down.

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Some damage along the beach road (above and below).

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By the afternoon on Monday, the strongest onshore winds were past but the ocean was still very rough.

The best to all that are suffering through their recoveries from Harvey and Irma.

Chris and Carol

Our Town – Labor Day Weekend

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Always a few flags flying along Centre Street, Fernandina Beach – Amelia Island

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The fudge shop always a big draw – just getting the crowd on a Saturday night.

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Ice cream everywhere!

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There’s that Saturday night crowd at Fantastic Fudge.

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The famous Palace Saloon… you know they’ll be busy this weekend!

My camera… Fujifilm X-A10 with Canon FD 24mm f2.8 lens. Film simulation mode was Velvia Vivid. I love the gentle colors and the not “eye etching” sharpness that the Canon lens provides. ISO was generally 800-1200 and most apertures were f5.6 to f8 with super slow shutter speeds that were hand held.

Thanks for visiting!

Be sure to check out some of our fine art images available at https://society6.com/ccstudio2380

Chris

Lovely building along the tracks.

Our “vintage” town was conceived in the mid 1850s with many of the buildings from the 1870s onward still standing (commercial and private). Our town was skipped over by progress so we’re fortunate to have retained some of our Southern charm into the 21st century.

Here’s a neat old building that’s the last one on the south side of Centre Street – closest to the railway station and still active tracks.

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If you look closely at the far right side you’ll see a passing freight train.

I’ve photographed this store in it’s many versions over the years… now it’s a jewelry store that been nicely reimagined. I love the faint outlines of previous advertisements on its side.

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Note the rather large cedar trees on the property. The Lesesne House. Built just prior to the start of the Civil War.

Further down Centre Street and right next to the c1911 post office is this lovely home. One of the few remaining private homes (not B&B) still left in the downtown center.

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The cedar tree that is in front of this house.

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The Lesesne House (c1860) as seen from the historic post office parking lot.

Side view of the Lesesne House along Centre Street (above). c1911 post office below.

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Thanks for stopping by! All images were taken with my Fujifilm X-A10 with Canon FD 24mm f2.8 lens.

Please be sure to check out our collection of fine art photography prints available at https://society6.com/ccstudio2380

Chris

Amelia Island – Eclipse

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At around 2:30 PM local time – 91% coverage. 

This was the most exciting image I was able to get at the “height” of the solar eclipse here in extreme Northeast Florida. It did get darker and with the cloud cover made for some interesting lighting. A steady light rain with some occasional thunderstorms made for excellent viewing.

Oh well.