Theme Day: CONTRAST

Today is the City Daily Photo Theme Day, an event held on the first day of each month to encourage you to visit some of our sister City Daily Photo blogs. This month's City Daily Photo THEME is CONTRAST. I am showing the huge contrast between a full size Mercedes 560SEC coupe, which is almost 17 feet in length and its miniature, Mini-Me version in 1/43 scale, or roughly 3-4 inches long. Together they provide a startling contrast. (Click on the image to see the incredible detail of the tiny model car.)

Be sure and visit other CDP blogs to see images from throughout the world's. They are astounding. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

Ablaze with Fiery Color

Anyone on Florida's Gulf Coast was treated to an indescribable sunset as the entire sky was lit with every color of the golden-hued palette of flaming oranges, reds and brilliant golden yellows. Not that I am totally unfamiliar with slight adjustments to my digital images with Windows Live Photo Gallery - I haven't used Photoshop in a good long while - but this shot came straight from the little Lumix and was burning a hole in the camera's memory card. After almost 100 individual exposures of the fast disappearing sun, I found myself standing alongside the seawall in the dark, my car still running in the street behind me. I hope you agree that tonight's sunset represented Tampa well.

The Patriot: Tampa Fire Rescue's NEW Fireboat

It's arrived! The long-awaited fireboat, The Patriot, arrived yesterday for Tampa Fire & Rescue. I first posted about Tampa Fire Rescue's older 32-foot long fireboat HERE on May 27th. Along with greatly increased water pumping capacity, the equivalent of nine fire trucks, the new boat, a Firestorm 69 model, can reach 35 knots, weighs 52 tons and is powered by 825-hp diesel engines. MetalCraft Marine of Ontario, Canada built the Patriot and builds a variety of other specialized boats including high speed patrol boats, fire boats, rescue boats, and work boats. The Patriot is the fastest fireboat in the world and will pump 10,000 gallons per minute. It will officially be in service in a few weeks and will be manned by Tampa Fire Rescue's Station 17 crew on Davis Islands. They can respond to emergencies which may arise in the Port of Tampa, Port Manatee and throughout the Tampa Bay shipping channel. The new boat, which cost $3.8 million, was paid for with grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. It is a fantastic ship!

I've attached a short new video from FOX 13 television which shows the boat in action as it arrived in Tampa Bay.

Breakfast, a Cuban or Crab Cakes?

This mighty big, handpainted chef probably stands 9-10 feet tall. His platter is also on the giant side and it holds a bit of everything you might find in a quick and cozy roadside restaurant in one of Tampa's hard working neighborhoods; this one is near the docks and marine repair facilities on the west side of the city. The food is so typical of a menu from these parts that it probably hasn't changed much for close to a century: eggs, bacon and toast; a thick, hot and pressed Mixto, or Cuban sandwich; and a plate of crab cakes. Plus, your choice of a Coke or sweet tea. A delectable menu that has something for everyone' taste and time of day. Filling and delicious.

Monochrome: On Stilts in McKay Bay

I explored the neighborhood of Palmetto Beach this afternoon and the odd and sadly interesting structures that remain on stilt foundations just off the seawall in McKay Bay. (I've posted about this fascinating place a couple of times before - a funky local bar with a shark, HERE, and an old world gasoline station with a 1930s soul, HERE.) At one time this sagging structure was connected to the land and was a bait house, sold fresh fish or something similar tied to its distinctive location. . The best shrimp in the entire area comes in at dock that are roughly a mile or less from here on the south side of the 22nd Street Causeway. Because of storms or rot, their docks no longer lead to the structures so they sit surrounded by water and inaccessible except by wading out or by boat. I don't know about their ownership, legal status or future, but as subjects for the camera I thought this one was perfect. Sitting out in the water, with the vast Florida sky framing it with the blue and giant white clouds, it was a photograph waiting to be taken.

What i did was shoot it in color and black and white, but that wasn't my intention. My initial shots were for MONOCHROME Weekly. After shooting the image above, I shot a few in color. I was so torn between posting the monochrome without showing the color that I couldn't decide which I liked best. So, I've posted one of the color images at Tampa Florida Photo HERE. Which do you prefer of this particular subject.

I am so grateful to Aileni for presenting me and other photographers with the challenge each week of really seeing the world around us in black and white. I appreciate the vast difference between the two and love to search around me for images that scream monochrome - they just ;look best that way. Finding a scene like this one was unexpected and problematic. I'd be interested to know what you think.

If you love your world in black and white, be sure and visit some of the world's most interesting places and experience the incredible photographic artistry of Monochrome Maniacs!

Power vs. Sail: Feeling the same wind in your face

There are those on the water who sail and those who use an engine - outboard motors or inboard marine engines (gasoline or diesel). It's been this way ever since the first mariners put an engine on a sailing vessel and never again worried about how hard the wind blew or in what direction. Each has its unique benefits and attraction to different people. The best way to learn how to handle any watercraft though is to take sailing lessons. First. This scene is at the jetty that juts out from the Davis Islands Yacht Club... definitely home to those who prefer to sail. The Doral 245 Sunquest powerboat in the foreground (both a bowrider and a cuddy cabin), from a Canadian boatmaker that had its beginnings making canoes, is right at the mouth of the basin and is heading back out into the bay. The sail markings on the sailboats tell me this is a large group of students from the St. Petersburg Yacht Club who appear to have sailed across the bay and may be preparing to return. It was a gorgeous day to be out; it was a bit hot but a good wind was blowing - a relief whether you were under power or tacking into the wind.

City of Tampa Fire Station Number 8 - Built 1924

Tampa Fire Station Number 8 was built in 1924. When it was new it was located on the far western edge of the city, two blocks east of the city limits, today's Howard Avenue. It was surrounded by California-style bungalows and two story apartment buildings on newly-paved streets. It was a new neighborhood filled with young working dads, stay-at-homes moms and plenty of children who attended nearby schools. Busy Swann Avenue is to its south and Grand Central Boulevard (today's Kennedy Boulevard) is to the north. Over the decades, the neighborhood matured as did the residents and at some time in the 1960s and '70s kids all moved away as did many homeowners as they grew older. The homes grew unfashionable and prices began to drop. At some point the City of Tampa closed this fire station and it was eventually purchased for office space. Except for the tall glass windows in the front, where the original wooden station doors once hung, the exterior probably looks much as it did 85 years ago. I think the rehabilitation and reuse of this historic structure is a very good thing; I would rather it be a residence or offices today then to not exist at all. The best part of this building is the fire station's number and the seal of the city in the center. Interestingly, after several years of neglect and decline as a neighborhood, it has come back and is again a very desirable place to live. Most of the homes and building have been restored and young professionals and families have moved back in. Prices are probably 100-150 times their original selling prices in the 1920s when young, newly married couples, including my grandparents, bought their first home. As little girls my mom and her sister played in the yard of their parent's brand new bungalow, without a tree or a blade of grass, on South Melville Avenue, just a block from this station house.

Far, Far from Home: Carts Abandoned and Afraid

What is it with shopping carts? They have a good life, are well cared for, are cleaned and safely stored away each night. But, even with all the amenities a cart could dream of, a good life, they take off with the first thieving, selfish person who comes along. And in this case, the one cart took another and they're now alone and forgotten, standing wheels up beside the brand new Interstate 275 cutting through Tampa. By my estimate, there isn't a home for these carts within miles. Their story must be a sad one and if I return to this same spot in a few months, they probably will not have been moved. (Is there an organization that cares for and shelters the world's stolen and discarded shopping carts? Does anyone ever prosecute the humans who take them?)

Watery Wednesday #54

If you anchor your sailboat in the basin and live aboard, you have to get ashore every once in a while for necessities. Otherwise, why would you ever leave the peace and tranquility of your own watery world? You're captain of your domain and master of the wheel and deck. Just give me an endless supply of books, gourmet provisions, barrels of fine wine and a wireless Internet connection. What am I forgetting? Oh, my first mate and the Peke. (He's snarling just thinking I'd leave him on the dock. Yes, I will find a life-jacket that fits...he has his yellow rain slicker all set to go.)


Click HERE to see other wet and Watery Wednesday images from around the world.

He's a shrimp. Get over it!

If I ever open my own restaurant, I will have to call it SHRIMP...I'll drop the "& Co." part as unnecessary and because it'd detracts from the shrimp, which will be all that's on my menu. In a thousand different recipes and variations, but none of that & company stuff. There won't be any company to keep my shrimp happy but yours and mine. Eating them will bring them great pleasure. I'm certain. So, we drop the pretense and simply add typical and expected Florida and Gulf Coast sides such as cole slaw, sauce (if you insist), fries, lemon and gallons of sweet tea. Oh, and I guess napkins if you must get fancy. Lots of 'em, too. Now just 'cause there isn't anything but shrimp doesn't mean you'll go hungry. Just imagine a platter piled, I'm saying piled high with fried shrimp. How 'bout 18 or so. Is that a good start or what.

I better stop here before I eat the dog or cat...they are beginning to look a lot like shrimp. A little batter, quick frying and they'll do. Help! I'm going nuts. (Dr. Porter the dog just scooted under the table.) Take me to Shrimp & Company. It's All-You-Can-Eat-Night!!

Aircraft hanger competes with the sky

Tampa International Airport is a enormous place with runways, landside terminal, airsides and maintenance facilities, plus thousands upon thousands of parking spaces. The property, with three runways - the longest at 11,000 feet - covers 3,300 acres and is just 11 miles from Tampa's downtown business district. Over the years, as the airport has grown, airlines have built enormous hanger facilities for aircraft maintenance and repair. This is one of two hangars on the east side in the Drew Park neighborhood. It is 140,000 square feet and can simultaneously accommodate two wide body aircraft and two narrow body aircraft. In a word. HUGE! It takes a mighty big, bright blue sky and clouds to overshadow a building this big.

MONOCHROME: Do Not Cross! Nature battles an impenetrable

A dense canopy of oak trees and Florida fauna crowd this narrow, sleepy creek that feeds into the Hillsborough River. It's a beautiful scene of nature having its way with ever encroaching man and development. Cutting, slashing across the scene is a pre-cast concrete beam that appears to be carrying a pipe. In the pipe? Not a clue. Where's it going? Across to somewhere on the other side. But, it must be very important to warrant this much "protection" against human intrusion or use. So that this concrete bridge is never used as a foot path or short-cut, three somewhat decorative iron fans and fences are attached securely to the beam. The only thing missing is a DO NOT EVEN THINK OF CROSSING sign, in blaze orange or fire engine yellow. What's on the other side? More raw nature.

If you love your world in black and white, be sure and visit some of the world's most interesting places and experience the incredible photographic artistry of Monochrome Maniacs!