Category: Buildings & Cities

This afternoon we were in downtown Tampa for the Gasparilla Festival of the Arts. Even with the unseasonably cold weather the festival was crowded and parking spots were sparse. We had a long walk from where we parked, and on the way we passed this very retro looking theater. It seems like every time we walk around Tampa I come across another interesting building with a history. The theater was built in 1926, and in its day it was one of the foremost movie palaces…Continue Reading “Downtown Tampa…” →

Next door to the house in the previous post is this rundown house. It may be run down, and I cannot imagine what the inside must look like, but the house has its own charm. iPhone image edited on the iPad

During our Florida months we live in a rural area, as you might have gathered from previous posts of cattle and horses. The closest actual town is the small village of San Antonio. This bed & breakfast is evocative of a different era, and to create the atmosphere I wanted in this iPhone photo I used Photoshop Touch to create several layers with different effects and merged them together. iPhone image edited on the iPad

The newest version of the Apple iOS operating system for the iPhone and iPad (iOS 6) added a panorama effect to the camera app. It only works on the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5, and I wasn’t able to use it with my old iPhone 4. Thee are a plethora of third party panorama apps available, but I like using built-in apps when they are good. After a few experiments with the new Camera app feature, I have to say I like it. It is…Continue Reading “iPhone 5 Panorama …” →

To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms which give that event its proper expression. Henri Cartier-Bresson We went to the new Tampa Museum of Art (a new structure that replaced a perfectly good museum right next door) to see a retrospective of photographer Henri Cartier-Benson. The show was very well presented, and the work was breathtaking. As a homage to the master photographer the…Continue Reading “Henri Cartier-Bresson …” →

Driving cross-country on Interstate-10 Can be visually boring, but I am always taken with crossing the Mississippi. (I-10 crosses the river in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.) iPhone image edited on the iPad

A little more than thirty miles east of Marco Island, and on the western edge of the Everglades National Park, Everglades City evokes an earlier, simpler time in southwest Florida’s. Wide street, Florida Cracker style houses, tall palm trees, and water everywhere. A truly special place. Edited on the iPad

The other day we rode our bicycles out to Goodland, a small waterside town on the eastern edge of Marco Island. While Marco is a built-up town of million dollar homes and high-rise condominiums, Goodland is a small, ramshackle village of brightly colored, small cottages and mobile homes. I was told after our Goodland visit that the village was settled by hippies in the early 70’s, and still retains much of the hippie era ambiance.