Martin Duggan Designer & Visual Artist

Panama City & Pensacola, Florida, Autumn Colors

Location:
Pensacola, Florida
Season:
Autumn
Date of Photo:
Oct 2021
Fonts used:
Limelight Fraunces Libre Franklin
Blog Posted:
Jan 2026
Blog Updated:
Feb 2026

This palette is inspired by an end-of-summer visit to the Florida Panhandle; Panama City and Pensacola Beach. My neighbor was telling me about the sugar-white, quartz sand ... I had never seen sand like this before and was pumped to experience it.

The dramatic natural scenery created by the emerald-green, turquoise waters and incredible sunsets... I'm only showing a small sample of it here.

Electric Blues

Panama City Beach dusk photo with soft pastel colors in the sky and water reflecting the sunset light.
Sun going down gives a near-perfect vertical gradient from cool cyan into lilac haze.
Cyan–Lilac Sky
#5e9dcc
#95b6cb
#9fa1ae
#928a9f
#766e9c
Electric Water
#2d4f8a
#3c5a9c
#4c6b9f
#5882a3
#6c94b0
Reflective Sand
#2d3c79
#515785
#59516a
#7f7389
#857a94

Violet–Rose Dusk

Panama City Beach dusk photo with soft pastel colors in the sky and water reflecting the sunset light.
Every 5 minutes the colors were morphing. It was super chill on the beach; people walking and fishing; under this symphony in the sky.
Violet–Rose Sky
#383f63
#664f70
#8b6c8d
#af8094
#c38c93
#fda288
Horizon & Sea
#997c7d
#7f5f5f
#6c595f
#55536a
#46415e
Shoreline Dusk
#112042
#1b2c5b
#3e4078

Panama City Dusk

Panama City Beach dusk photo with soft pastel colors in the sky and water reflecting the sunset light.
A less dramatic sunset to the fire skies; calming ambiance; warm and cool tinted colors. Those little bumps on the horizon are fishing boats.
Atmospheric Dusk
#979390
#aa9f93
#a68b7b
#978478
#8c7370
#64686e
#3e464d
Gulf Water
#121514
#253033
#424242
#444c53

Fire & Ash Dusk

alt
whaaat ... srsly bro. That sky was lit.
Fire Sky
#7c2c20
#9b4139
#bb4632
#c8482f
#e15522
Ash Cloud
#42363a
#474544
#585654
#543232
#4c242d

Coastal Dune Pastel

alt
Softer, pastel-y colors of the sky. Cool hues coming from the dunes and 'sea oat' wild grass.
FLA Chill Bands
#8694a2
#a1b0b6
#d0afa6
#c7b4ad
#a9a3a9
#c8c3ba
Sea Oat Dunes
#446381
#526b85
#627994
#243932
#323832
#1d2417

Lilac Dusk Field

alt
This composition interested me: the subtle warm hues and the cool, dark band of contrast.
Lilac Sand To Sky
#766f7f
#9a8f9a
#a88089
#b67174
#615d71
#424355
Dark Line contrast
#424355
#36201e
#241a12

Pensacola Shells

alt
I had to re-take this photo - thought I had a pic of a bunch of these shells on the 'native' sand ... but, no - gotta settle for my concrete drive.
Shell warm hues
#7e2921
#c45a17
#b96a67
#a9666a
#cb9e72
#e2d3bd
#d7c9c7
Shell cool hues
#6f8192
#7d8a91
#8b939c
#b4bdbe
#c5ced2
Shell darks
#0d1210
#212a2c
#525b66
#3b404c
#333f3d

Color Matrix

Here are all the colors combined, from lightest with highest luminance to mid-tones, then to dark saturated and dark near black.

  • #c5ced2
  • #b4bdbe
  • #c8c3ba
  • #e2d3bd
  • #d7c9c7
  • #c7b4ad
  • #d0afa6
  • #cb9e72
  • #fda288
  • #c38c93
  • #95b6cb
  • #a1b0b6
  • #a9a3a9
  • #aa9f93
  • #a68b7b
  • #a88089
  • #e15522
  • #b96a67
  • #b67174
  • #af8094
  • #9fa1ae
  • #979390
  • #978478
  • #9a8f9a
  • #928a9f
  • #997c7d
  • #8c7370
  • #c8482f
  • #bb4632
  • #a9666a
  • #5e9dcc
  • #6c94b0
  • #6f8192
  • #8694a2
  • #8b939c
  • #857a94
  • #7f7389
  • #766f7f
  • #c45a17
  • #9b4139
  • #5882a3
  • #627994
  • #526b85
  • #615d71
  • #64686e
  • #7d8a91
  • #766e9c
  • #7f5f5f
  • #7c2c20
  • #7e2921
  • #4c6b9f
  • #446381
  • #424242
  • #525b66
  • #515785
  • #59516a
  • #664f70
  • #6c595f
  • #543232
  • #4c242d
  • #2d4f8a
  • #3e4078
  • #3c5a9c
  • #474544
  • #585654
  • #444c53
  • #424355
  • #3e464d
  • #42363a
  • #46415e
  • #1b2c5b
  • #383f63
  • #2d3c79
  • #3b404c
  • #333f3d
  • #323832
  • #243932
  • #253033
  • #1d2417
  • #36201e
  • #112042
  • #212a2c
  • #121514
  • #0d1210