Watery Wednesday #176

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

MONOCHROME Weekend Vol. 2 Issue 24

If you sometimes think the world looks better in black and white, and every shade of gray, go see some of the most interesting people and places HERE at Monochrome Maniacs!


It's made possible each week by Aileni.

Monochrome Weekend - Vol. 2, Issue 21: You dropped a Krugerrand?

If you sometimes think the world looks better in black and white, and every shade of gray, go see some of the most interesting people and places HERE at Monochrome Maniacs!


It's made possible each week by Aileni.

Theme Day: BEST OF 2009 - Skywatch Friday Season 4, Episode 27

Today is Theme Day when we get to choose our best photo of 2009.

I took this photo for Monochrome Weekend of Tampa's Ballast Point Pier. It was a breathtakingly beautiful day, bright and warm. Giant puffy clouds filled the blue sky and climbed forever. The sea gulls were swooping in to try and score some fisherman's bait or a fish left on the pier. I also took this scene in color but I felt the black and white captured it best.

To see the Best Photos of 2009 from around the City Daily Photo world,
click here to view thumbnails for all participants.


Visit Skywatch Friday to see the beauty and wonders of the world's most magnificent skies...even the cold wintry ones that can be so gray and mysterious. It's always an amazing show and all brought to you by Skywatchers from all over the planet.

Want to dance? Towers at play

Monochrome Weekend - Vol. 2, Issue 19: Welcome into the Heavenly World

This headstone is in Tampa's oldest cemetery, Oaklawn. The deceased appears from the barely-legible carving to have lived from 1854 to 1888. The part I like is the hands shaking. Apparently, every headstone symbol has meaning. According to the website Cemeteries and Cemetery Symbols, "A handshake symbol on a tombstone usually signifies a welcome into the heavenly world. Sometimes you may see this as a symbol of matrimony on the grave marker of a married couple. If it’s a marriage symbol you may notice that one cuff will look masculine and the other, feminine."

If you love to see your world in black and white go visit some of the most interesting people and places HERE at Monochrome Maniacs!


It's made possible each week by Aileni.

Best of 2009: Tampa Police and their Narrow Getaway

This black and white image, taken on October 11th in downtown Tampa of a small linear park sandwiched between the Tampa Police headquarters and their parking garage, was the most commented upon of my Tampa Daily Photo posts of 2009.

MONOCHROME Weekend: Vol. 2, Issue 18: Myrtle Hill

Myrtle Hill Cemetery, North 50th Street, Tampa.



If you love to see your world in black and white go visit some of the most interesting people and places HERE at Monochrome Maniacs!


It's made possible each week by Aileni.

MONOCHROME Weekend - Vol. 2, Issue 17: The Florida Aquarium

The Florida Aquarium, which opened in 1995, is an educational journey through Florida's water ecology while being fun and entertaining. Lots of exhibits, well-stocked gift shop and restaurants all combine to make this a must visit for adults and children. It's located in Tampa's Channelside District and is right on the water and near the cruise docks. (Plenty of parking is available.) A favorite of the young wet-and-wild set is Explore a Shore where kids can play on a pirate ship while staying active and cool while getting soaked ...on warmer days. Moms, dads and grandparents can enjoy my favorite, the Caribbean Cantina, a site-down, full-service bar and grill. You can sit back and still keep an eye on playful minnows. Café Ray is a cafeteria-style restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating options. Visitors to the aquarium follow the flow of water from rain, through the underground aquifer, down rivers and streams, to our bays and beaches, and then on into the Gulf of Mexico! The huge, half-million gallon coral tank is breathtaking and there are opportunities to interact with some of Florida's animals in touch tanks. The brave can even dive in with the sharks - seriously! And for those of you who want to get away and explore the waters and bays around the aquarium, there are Eco-Tours aboard a 64-foot catamaran! This is a great attraction for visitors and natives alike. Visit the Florida Aquarium website HERE.

If you love to see your world in black and white go visit some of the most interesting people and places HERE at Mo nochrome Maniacs! It's made possible each week by Aileni.

Drying the pants

MONOCHROME Weekend: Vol. 2, Issue 16 / Weekend REFLECTIONS #12 - White as driven snow and basking in Florida sunshine

The bright blue sky,powdery white clouds and the 80-degree weather made for an awesome day. It IS the middle of December, right? No way a sleigh and reindeer can navigate this summer-like paradise but I'm sure there's a way. Perhaps they need a handsome new boat?

If you love to see your world in black and white go visit some of the most interesting people and places HERE at Monochrome Maniacs! It's made possible each week by Aileni.



Check out other great WEEKEND REFLECTIONS HERE. James is making this possible through his blog, Newtown Daily Photo. You must see his Creepy Clown reflection today ...strange for sure and great in black and white.

Tampa Cityscape across the Hillsborough River

MONOCHROME Weekly: All Aboard at Tampa Union Station

If you love to see our world in magnificent black and white, be sure and visit some of the most interesting people and places in the world HERE at Monochrome Maniacs! It's made possible each week by Aileni.

Monochrome Weekly: Beach Park at Sunset (Weekend Reflections #10)

If you love to see your world in black and white, be sure and visit some of the most interesting people and places captured in several countries and many of the United States...always displaying excellent craftsmanship. It's made possible each week by Aileni. Go and experience the incredible photographic artistry HERE at Monochrome Maniacs!


Check out other great WEEKEND REFLECTIONS HERE. James is making this possible through his blog, Newtown Daily Photo. His own reflections image today is awesome. His reflection of storm clouds in the glass of a weathered old window is very cool.

MONOCHROME Weekly: St. Louis Cemetery

This giant Cypress tree intertwined and pushing up a fine old headstone is in the middle of St. Louis Cemetery. This cemetery is located at the northern end of Oaklawn Cemetery. Oaklawn was established in the 1850s, is owned by the city and is Tampa's oldest burial ground. St. Louis Cemetery is owned by the Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg, and both are surrounded by a stone wall bounded by Harrison, Jefferson, Morgan and Laurel Streets in Tampa's downtown. A fence that once separated the two is gone but markers delineate the two. Vicente Martinez Ybor, the man for whom Ybor City is named, and who brought the cigar industry here from Key West - and made Tampa the Cigar Capital of the World - is also buried here. (I posted other monochromatic images of the cemeteries in August HERE, and again in September, HERE.)


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!

Monochrome: Tampa Police and their narrow getaway

This narrow yet very attractive and inviting respite is like a vertical park between the Tampa Police headquarters in downtown Tampa and the parking garage located just to its south. I would never have imagined that this place existed.

Thanks Aileni for this challenge each week of seeing our world in black, white and shades of gray.

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!

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!

Oaklawn Cemetery: Tampa's First Public Burial Ground

Oaklawn Cemetery, established in the mid-1800s, is owned by the city and is Tampa's oldest burial ground. It adjoins St. Louis Cemetery, which is owned by the Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg, and both are surrounded by a stone wall bounded by Harrison, Jefferson, Morgan and Laurel Streets in Tampa's downtown. A fence that once separated the two disappeared long ago. A number of prominent persons from the city's history are buried here including Tampa's first mayor, Joseph B. Lancaster, and 12 other Tampa mayors, a governor of Florida, two Florida Supreme Count Justices, Confederate soldiers, and members of some of Tampa's more illustrious, pioneer families. Vicente Martinez Ybor, the man for whom Ybor City is named, and who brought the cigar industry here from Key West and made Tampa the Cigar Capital of the World, is also buried here. (I posted another monochrome image of the cemetery on August 23. Click HERE to take a look.)