Floridiana Gloriana

'Blue Heron' by Judy Malley | Tampa | Creative Commons

I've posted several photographs of Blue Herons---my favorite Florida bird since a couple of them adopted my family back when I lived in Kissimmee---but this one by Judy Malley shows in perfect detail the beautiful silvery blue of its plumage and the no-nonsense tint of its navy racing stripe.  Is he not precious?   

"Blue Heron" originally uploaded by Judy Malley | To see her other Flickr photographs, click here |  | To see the largest version of this photograph on Flickr, click here

I do not own the rights to this photograph, but am using it pursuant to a restricted Creative Commons license.  Do not save or download it without first consulting the terms of the license.  The  link to the applicable license is shown here. 

 

'An Eye' by Etrusia UK | Tampa | Creative Commons

I was mesmerized by the golden eye of this snowy egret set against the blue-green background.  Look at the luminousness and delicacy of its feathers, and the streaks of paler blue against the slate-colored bill.  Taken in Tampa, it's just an awesome capture and has deservedly won all sorts of Flickr awards and honors.  Gorgeous.

'An Eye' by Etrusia UK  | To see his Flickr photostream, click here |  Website:  WhyDon'tYou; also Etrusia--British History  To see the largest version of this photograph at Flickr, click here

I do not own the rights to this photograph, but am using it pursuant to a restricted Creative Commons license.  Please do not save or use it without first consulting the terms of the applicable license.  The license can be viewed here.

'Tram stop (HDR)' by Yevgen Pogoryelov | Tampa | Creative Commons

Here's a color fantasia of a view of a Tampa street car terminal.  It looks like a futuristic toy train set.  I love the colors of this---the sunset pinks and purple in the background, the saturated spring-green of the trees and grass, that ice-blue glass like a giant aquamarine, and the glossy little orange train....

"The photographer writes:  "Finally I set my foot on the land of the North American continent :-)) I came here for a few days to attend the scientific conference in Tampa, Florida.  On the photo a fragment of the view from my room on the 22nd floor of the Marriott hotel.  It's a terminal stop of the tram, or as it is called here - street car."

'Tram Stop (HDR)' by Yevgen Pogoryelov  | To see other other photographs in his Flickr photostream, click here | other: See the collection of photographs he has selected as 'most interesting'  here |  Website:  Country of the Rising Sun     | To see the full-sized version of this photograph, click here

I do not own the rights to this photograph, but am using it pursuant to a restricted Creative Commons license.  Please do not save or use it without first consulting the terms of the applicable license.  The license can be viewed here.

'Subtropical Noir' by Caleb | St. Petersburg | Creative Commons

Here's another richly colored, intricately textured photograph from Caleb's 'Subtropical Noir' collection of St. Petersburg scenes.  I am fascinated by the golden shimmer of the bricks.  The mortar appears to be made of gold.  The bricks vary in color from chocolate brown to maroon to burgundy.  You can see the slate blue of the sky reflected in the windows.  Really an amazing use of Florida's late afternoon light.

'St. Pete' by Caleb | To see other photographs in his Flickr photostream, click here | website:  calebism; subtropicalnoir.com | To see the full-sized version of this photograph, click here

I do not own the rights to this photograph, but am using it pursuant to a restricted Creative Commons license.  Please do not save or use it without first consulting the terms of the applicable license.  The license can be viewed here.

'St. Pete' by Caleb | St. Petersburg | Creative Commons

More of Caleb's St. Petersburg magic with late afternoon light and color.  This is my favorite time to photograph in Florida:  the colors are so saturated and so intense in that slanting golden light.  I love the contrasting textures here:  the rough apricot-colored stucco with its red roof; the light on the trunk of the palm tree, and behind it all, the beautiful blue of the sky and those delicate silvery-grey clouds.  Very painterly, but do painters know about afternoon light and color?

'St. Pete' by Caleb |To see other photographs in his Flickr photostream, click here | website:  calebism; subtropicalnoir.com | To see the full-sized version of this photograph, click here
 

I do not own the rights to this photograph.  It is subject to a restricted Creative Commons license, permitting certain limited noncommercial uses.  Before using or downloading it, consult the terms of the applicable license.  You may view it here.

'Sea Oats in St. Pete' by Kevin Trotman | St. Petersburg | Creative Commons

I haven't yet posted any photographs from St. Pete---an amazingly beautiful city on Tampa Bay.  This amazing, strangely lighted photograph with its pewter colored sky seemed a good starting place...

Sea Oats in St. Pete by Kevin Trotman (The Rocketeer) | click here to see his other photos | website: Radio Active Geek  | Click here to go to Flickr for the larger version

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge by Various Photographers | Creative Commons

It's a beautiful name, isn't it?  And the bridge lives up to it.

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge, spanning Florida's Tampa Bay, is the world's longest bridge with a cable-stayedfeet (exactly 5.5 miles or approximately 8.85 km). It is part of I-275 (SR 93) and US 19 (SR 55), connecting St. Petersburg in Pinellas County and Terra Ceia in Manatee County, Florida, passing through Hillsborough County waters....In November 2005, an act of Florida Legislature officially named the current bridge the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge, after the Governor of Florida who presided over its design and most of its construction. According to sources, he was inspired to suggest the current design by a visit to France, where he saw a similar cable-stayed bridge....The Travel Channel rated the Sunshine Skyway #3 in its special on the "Top 10 Bridges" in the World. The bridge is considered the "flag bridge" of Florida.  (read more: Sunshine Skyway Bridge)

 

"Sunshine Skyway Bridge" | Photo taken at Fort DeSoto Park near St. Petersburg, Florida") by Bac Clin |  To see his other photographs, click here |  To see the full-sized image at Flickr, click here

I do not own the rights to this photograph, but am using it in compliance with a Creative Commons license.  Before saving or using it, please consult the terms of the applicable license.  The license is shown here.

"St Pete 08" (The Sunshine Skyway) by  Carl Fogg, Jr | carlfoggjr.com | To see his other photographs, click here |  To see the full-sized version of this image, click here

I do not own the rights to this photograph, but am using it in compliance with a Creative Commons license.  Before saving or using it, please consult the terms of the applicable license.  The license is shown here.

"Sunshine Skyway" by Kahlil |  To see his other photographs, click here |  To see the full-sized version of this photograph at Flickr, click here

I do not own the rights to this photograph, but am using it in compliance with a Creative Commons license.  Before saving or using it, please consult the terms of the applicable license.  The license is shown here.

 

"Sunshine Skyway Bridge" by Bac Clin | To see his other photographs, click here |  To see the full-sized image at Flickr, click here

I do not own the rights to this photograph, but am using it in compliance with a Creative Commons license.  Before saving or using it, please consult the terms of the applicable license.  The license is shown here.

Clearwater (Bridge from Clearwater to Sand Key) by Kathy | Creative Commons

Here's another glorious photograph of Clearwater.

 

Photograph (bridge from Clearwater to Sand Key) by Kathy.

I do not own the rights to this Creative Commons photograph, but am using it in compliance with a Creative Commons license.  Please do not save or use it without consulting the terms of the applicable license.  The license is here.

Clearwater Beach: A Certain Quality of the Light | Creative Commons

When I visit Clearwater Beach (in Pinellas County), I'm always amazed that what I remember most vividly about it is not just the result of imagination or a one-time fluke.  It's just a beach town, isn't it? 

Maybe, maybe not.  That strange, pearly, pastel light really does pervade the whole place.  You see it as you drive along the causeway from the town to the beach.  It's most noticeable in late afternoon and early morning, and there are certainly days and times when the light is as harshly perpendicular as anywhere else.  But more often than not there is this nacreous, numinous light over everything.  I haven't encountered it elsewhere, not even elsewhere on the Tampa Bay.  Maybe it really isn't the same sun that shines down on the rest of us Floridian, beautiful as our sun is......

The extremely soft blue-greys and silvery pinks are entirely characteristic and are what set Clearwater Beach apart from any other place for me.  I'm glad these photographers succeeded in capturing it, because I never did.  This is what I remember:

 

"Sunset at Clearwater  Beach, FL" by Yehuda Bilbao |  To see his other photographs, click here |  To see the full-sized version of this image, click here

I do not own the rights to this photograph, but am using it in compliance with a Creative Commons license.  Before saving or using the photograph, please consult the terms of the license.  The license is shown here.

"Sunset" by Frank Gruber  | website:  Somewhat Frank | To see his other photographs, click here |  To see the full-sized version of this image at Flickr, click here  

I do not own the rights to this photograph, but am using it in compliance with a Creative Commons license.  Before saving or using the photograph, please consult the terms of the license.  The license is shown here.

Tampa: Studies in Silver, Blue, & Platinum by Various Photographers | Creative Commons

As most of my photo essays show, I am all about the hidden Florida.  But that doesn't mean that I don't think the cities have their own beauty, if you can just step back far enough to see it.

Here's the silver and blue Bay city of Tampa---marvelous shots; it makes me think of the paintings I saw as a child of "The Celestial City ."  It looks as if angels should be flying around those towers.  These photographs are sterling examples of the principle of the power of photographer to transfigure the commonplace. Is Tampa just a city like any city?  If so, these photographs absolutely fail to convey it.  Seen through these lenses, it appears an extraordinary place, a shining city on a bay.

 

Tampa Skyline 4  by  Kyle Schaper | KyleSchaper.com |  To see more of Kyle Schaper's photographs, click here | 

I do not own the rights to this Creative Commons photograph, but am using it in compliance with the applicable license.  Before saving or using it, please consult the terms of the license.  The license is shown here.

"Les grattes-ciels du centre ville de Tampa reflétent le ciel bleu azur de la Floride," remarks the photographer.  (For a translation, click on the link) |  To see more of his photographs, click here | To see the full-sized version of the photograph, click here. 

Tampa Sky Reflection by Laurentlecoutre (website:  Urbanisme et Tourisme).

I do not own the rights to this Creative Commons photograph, but am using it in compliance with the applicable license.  Before saving or using it, please consult the terms of the license.  The license is shown here.

 "L'architecture des grands immeubles ressemble à tout ce que l'on voit ailleurs dans les grand ville. C'est une mondialisation de l'architecture, chaque ville doit rentrer dans une "norme" architecturale afin d'être reconnue au niveau mondial, au détriment de l'innovation et de la diversité culturelle," he notes.  True, in a way, but also---as these photographs show---not true in another way.  Each city is more than the sum of its parts.  

"Architectural Homogeneity" by Laurentlecoutre (website:  Urbanisme et Tourisme) To see more of his photographs, click here | To see the full-sized version of the photograph, click here.

I do not own the rights to this Creative Commons photograph, but am using it in compliance with the applicable license.  Before saving or using it, please consult the terms of the license.  The license is shown here.

"Domed Church Downtown Tampa" by Saffana | blog | To see her other photographs, click here | To see the full-sized version of this photograph at Flickr, click here | 

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"Clock Tower Downtown Tampa"by Saffana  |  blog | To see her other photographs, click here |  To see the full-sized version of this photograph, click here

I do not own the rights to this Creative Commons photograph, but am using it in compliance with the applicable license.  Before saving or using it, please consult the terms of the license.  The license is shown here.

 

"Rivergate Tower in Downtown Tampa" by  Jen |  To see her other photographs, click here |  To see the full-sized version of this image, click here

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"Minaret through architectural detail at University of Tampa II" by by  Jen |  To see her other photographs, click here |  To see the full-sized version of this image, click here 

I do not own the rights to this Creative Commons photograph, but am using it in compliance with the applicable license.  Before saving or using it, please consult the terms of the license. The license is shown here.