A View of Old Florida

The fishing village of Cortez in Manatee County. The shack in the background is built on stilts for cleaning fishing nets.

The Skyway, High Above the Busy Little One-Way

In between the sections of fishing pier on the Pinellas side of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Straight ahead is the pier's bait shop; the bridge is visible to the left.

La Septima

Ybor's Seventh Avenue, with one of its characteristic
street lamps, reflected in a cigar store window located across the street from La Tropicana.

Bonus link is an article on Ybor in the Fort Myers News-Press that was part of a series on the Florida Cuban Heritage Trail.

Found Photo Series, No. 6

Scanned menu guide to the French Quarter, date unknown. Part of the "Fun City Times" newspaper. Found in an antiques store in St. Pete.

Yay! Welcome back, NOLA. Some of your fellow Americans are pulling for a sound recovery.
Huh, get that: "some."

Also:

• Found Photo Series, No. 5
• Found Photo Series, No. 4
• Found Photo Series, No. 3
  

Scenescape No. 2

In and around Crescent Lake in St. Petersburg.

Also:

• 16th Street (Scenescape No. 1)

Beached dolphins have been in the news all of a sudden (here and here), which is why I'm posting this photo, which was taken at the southern tip of Picnic Island.
I can't be sure it's a dolphin of course--it's too badly decomposed. Start at the top of the beached object and you can make out the tail (what's with that rope?).

Grovestand

Boxes for shipping fruit hover over oranges already bagged for sale in Clearwater.

See Also:

• Citrus Country Groves

Limbs Akimbo

Picnic Island (map) in Tampa, looking north.

Where the Gulf Meets the Bay

Naturally carved rock with small seashell placed on top. At Pass-a-Grille Point, near the fishing pier.

Paging Dr. Seuss

Well, that's who I think of when I see this (that's a good thing). And the whimsy of the photo object lent itself to the straightening rotation of what was a cockeyed photo.

Marker on Central Avenue for the Grand Central District, on the district's west end.

Bare Legs Are Back!

Billboard for
I-275 North going through St. Pete.

Ybor Porch

The red door works for me. And the shadow of the picket fence.

"Rugged Pumps"

This old sign is in the Grand Central District of St. Pete. It's tied to a fence, which is why there's a crimp where the slogan is.

Further remarks on the slogan--although tempting--would be just too obvious.

Shocked While Blogging

I took this photo of Cephas's Hot Shop in Ybor City on Jan. 7. But while searching for links, I learned that the restaurant suffered a fire on Jan. 10. When a newspaper article uses the phrase "hopes to rebuild," you know the damage is pretty bad. It would be a terrible loss if that doesn't occur.

Update: The Weekly Planet has more.

Stylin' Kilowatts

An electrical meter behind the Cafe Adagio.

Welcome, TBO.com readers. If you're new here, this blog collects photo images of the Tampa Bay area. Most of them I take myself. Some of them are old, discarded photos found in local antiques stores. And some of them I manipulate with Photoshop. I'll always state which ones are found or manipulated. All of the photos aim to convey a sense of the place we live in--the greater Tampa Bay area. As long as a photo meets that criterium, it gets posted--even if it's technically deficient. Here, you'll join other Bay area residents, people who have left the Bay Area, and people from other countries who once were likely tourists here. Or would like to be.

Found Photo Series, No. 5

Scanned photo, for the Florida Performing Arts Studios in the program for their production of "Threepenny Opera." Although the shirt is tie-dyed, the year is 1983. The area code for business ads in St. Petersburg is 813 and Channel 8's call letters are WXFL.

While doing a search on the studio, I ran across this story, in which a cast member (one of the five Beggars, and also a part-time cab driver) was murdered during his shift several years later. After that 1989 article, the studio dissolves into the ether (well, that is, the world according to the search term "florida performing arts studio").

Also:

• Found Photo Series, No. 4
• Found Photo Series, No. 3
• Found Photo Series, No. 2
  

With all the new businesses and construction popping up on 4th Street N in St. Pete, a drive on 16th Street N towards downtown feels positively retro. Make no mistake, there are some sharp-looking contemporary structures on 16th, but it still feels like a step back in time. It's a nice route to take periodically, even if the sense that it produces of being a place untouched is only illusory.

One Aisle Past the Key Lime Juice

Souvenirs at Citrus Country Groves, formerly Orange Blossom Groves on US 19 in Clearwater.

Kitschy, yes, but better than those stupid singing fish.

It's The Real Thing

Gas station, St. Pete.


When people outgrow Slurpees.

A Dali-ance

It started with a bold sunset sky taken near the Gandy Bridge that I manipulated further with a color burn. The result looked Dali-esque, so I thought it might be fun to turn a St. Pete scenescape into Dali-burg. Add St. Pete iconography like one sliding Pier, a shopping cart, fish and a skater to complete. Why a pixelated head of Abraham Lincoln?

Lights On Tampa: UT No. 1

Some random impressions from Lights On Tampa:

• The original plan was to view Lights On early, then catch the end of the Bucs game. It didn’t work out that way, and I am glad for that. Better to witness “Lights On” than “Lights Out.” Thousands of others concurred.
  

• I’ve seen young men wearing Gentlemen’s attire while carrying a walking stick, in movies and on TV. Like in a portrayal of Dickensian London. Or Barnabas Collins. But I never thought I’d see the full ensemble in real life. Until last night. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but you have to admit, it is soooooooo South Tampa.

• There were so many cameras, and video cameras that trying to walk about freely felt like walking on eggs -- there were so many photographic vantage points that it was impossible not to be in someone’s shot. Eventually, and I could see it in other people too, there was a sense of: “I’m walking where I need to go, so screw it!”

• You’re beginning to see what’s possible, downtown Tampa. Don’t muck it up.

• Why is this only scheduled biennially?
  

UT No. 2

For those unfamiliar with the University of Tampa builiding, examples here and here.

Title: Luminographic Concert.
Artist: Jorge Orta.

The Times review of Lights on Tampa, in which Orta garners the most praise: here.

UT No.3

UT No. 4

UT No. 5

"Luminous Affirmations"

The Tampa Municipal Office Building at City Hall Plaza.

Artist: Stephen Knapp.

"Fade III"

At the Rivergate Tower. Artist Erwin Redl's computerized LED display shifts from red to blue.

The view from the other side of the LED display, looking past the Exploding Chicken.

"Taking Breath"

At the National Wall Art Gallery.

Artist: Wendy Babcox.

The Snowball Effect

A swarm of sea gulls caused by a little girl throwing food in the air at Crescent Lake Park. The gulls' en masse descent sent the girl retreating up the bank. Unbowed, she ran back down the bank to scare them off by throwing something at them -- the food...which would cause the girl to run back up the bank again.

A Foggy Start

A biker rides on the boardwalk at Weedon Island Preserve on New Year's Day. This photo was taken from the observation tower just before noon, and the fog was still thick.

Blazing Rebel

The Day After--a collection of spent fireworks casings along an avenue in northeast St. Pete.

The Drawbridge Signal

Flying north for the week, will return to posting first week of January. Happy Holidays, everybody!

Found Photo Series, No. 4

Scanned ad from the program for the 1957 production of "Kiss Me Kate" by The Players of Sarasota.

Also:

• Found Photo Series, No. 3
• Found Photo Series, No. 2
• Found Photo Series, No. 1
  

At Coffee Pot Bayou, looking toward Snell Isle.

Lights at the Chateau France. Bonnes fêtes!

One of my favorite storefronts in St. Pete. Is it the lone green awning, the metal folding chair next to the door, or the older soda machine on the right that gives this building almost a rural charm? Along busy Fourth Street in the Gateway section.

Bada Bing

This tricked out VW adorns the parking lot at Mazzaro's.

Alley Door

Behind Central Avenue in St. Pete.

See also:

• Ybor City alleyway.
• 15.
  

Commercial laundry bins, 16th Street, St. Petersburg.

Dead tree in Sawgrass Lake Park, which was the site of some unbelievable photographic behavior in 2003.

Ground level shot,
Bay Vista Park
at low tide.

Tampa International Airport, early morning, from long-term parking, monorail to Airside F.

Today's haul from Mazzaro's (from top left):
A caprese stacker; braciola; fresh cheese ravioli; biscoti (cinnamon pecan and chocolate hazlenut); and a chocolate chip cannoli.

Morning Roll Call

Gulls near Pier 60 on Clearwater Beach at sunrise.

No doubt planning new ways to insinuate themselves around
the upcoming day's worth of packed lunches trucked in from beachgoers.

The Scenic Route

A pair of airboats taken last June at Myakka River State Park.

Found Photo Series,
No. 3

"Nat. Def. Photo by R.C.N."
It's not of the TB area, but somehow ended up in an antiques store in St. Pete. The photo stamp on the back is a large maple leaf bearing the words: "Nat. Def. Photograph Canada."

Also:

• Found Photo Series, No. 2
• Found Photo Series, No.1
  

Blue heron with sailboats
(Pass-a-Grille).

This Lizard Don't Leap

The other night—Halloween night to be exact—after I pulled onto the road, I noticed a long, dark, curved form on the hood of my car. I took it to be a leaf, until it lifted its head.

Heading towards the stoplight, I figured the lizard would leap off the car, but it stayed on and stood up even higher to survey the previously unknown world of Fourth Street N and the surrounding lights and clatter. It didn’t care much for the acceleration, laying flat against the hood, but once on Fourth it began to act like a dog in the back seat, ready to stick its head out the window. I actually became alarmed for the lizard and slowed down, letting others pass.

It rode to Super Gas, and then to the Gateway Publix. After exiting the grocery store, it was gone from the hood—instead it decided to complete the ride on the windshield, behind one of the wipers. Even after arriving home, it never bothered to get off.