I just happened to be in Holmes Beach when the light was soft and the water was still and everything lined up, …except I didn’t win the lottery. Two outta three ain’t bad. It would be an eight mile swim to that bridge from this point, but I’m in no hurry, I’m on Florida time. Who am I kidding, I’m always in a hurry, except when I’m not. This day I was in a hurry to get to the beach to get a sunset shot, but this ended up being my favorite of the day, too many clouds for a sunset. So much for hurry. The sign says it all. The bridge in the background is the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, an icon of the Tampa Bay region in Florida.
Underworld
I took this of the DuSable Bridge a few weeks ago in Chicago. The subterranean street levels are only a few feet down but worlds away in their appearance and feel. Undoubtably these have inspired writers, artist and uh, …photographers. For whatever reason there were few cars going in this direction which allowed me to stand in the middle of the street to compose the shot. I kept glancing over my shoulder as I have a tendency to get engrossed when shooting which can be a little hazardous when standing in the middle of a dark street. Probably not very smart either.
Florida Time
Time passes differently for different people. In a slow world our time seems to stream past, like this picture. That’s why they made Florida, it’a a place where time goes a little slower. I think they made Maui that way also, but I digress. When you see one of those cute little signs that say’s “slow down, you’re on Florida time”, don’t laugh, the fabric of space time is indeed a little different and you need to slow down. If you don’t understand any of this you’re long overdue for a vacation. And if you do understand it, then perhaps you’ve been in Florida too long. In case you’re wondering, this is a picture of the Cortez bridge in Manatee County Florida taken from the perspective of a time warp. 😉
This is Chicago
I, and millions of others, love this section of Chicago. It’s an animated conversation between the past and present. This is the DuSable Bridge which leads to the Magnificent Mile in one direction and the “loop” section in the other. It’s framed by buildings built in a bygone era like the Wrigley and Tribune buildings. Call me crazy but this stone bridge pillar speaks to me about the character of this area, so much history and ambition. On this cold day, a few minutes after I took this picture, I was in a throng crossing a busy street along North Michigan Avenue. I overheard a conversation behind me as one person asked the other, “why is it so busy?”. The answer was simple and utterly complete, “this is Chicago”.
Clear Water
This is another picture of one of my favorite spots in Bradenton Florida, Robinson Preserve. The last sunset I shot from here I nearly got lost walking out at night, now I take my bike, like a man on a mission. Today is Saturday and the only mission I have is recover from the busy week. Have a wonderful weekend everybody.
Mangrove Walk
I cannot even imagine the amount of effort that goes into construction these elevated walkways through the mangroves here in Florida, and they’re all over the place. But then I suppose it’s no different than the construction of hiking trails through the rockies. The more I think about it the more I get bogged down in the details of the engineering. I suppose it’s a guy thing, that’s why I watch Discovery Channel shows on how things are built, I just have to know. In real life I spend more time in front of a monitor than I do on a sidewalk, but I just might need to know how to construct the Bridge over the River Kwai, …you never know.
Palmetto Pier at Night
This is the Palmetto Fishing Pier. It’s actually an old bridge that crosses the Manatee River but now only goes halfway. Not only is it a good place to fish, it’s a fun place to visit as it goes out about a half mile or more from the north shore. In the evening you have the lights of two towns on either side as it’s filled with joggers and walkers. This is another one of my favorite places to walk my two little four leggeds as they sniff every little thing the whole length of the pier.
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Dusk Under the Ringling
I have a disproportionate number of photos of the Ringling Bridge in Sarasota Florida, after all it’s an area icon and I just can’t resist. This was the last shot one evening a few weeks back. On this evening I was in “the zone” and just did’t want to stop and had to mentally slap myself to break the spell. Nothing wrong with enjoying photography, it’s just that I was on the hook to bring home take out. Nonetheless, on any given evening this pier is filled with local fishermen, tourist out for an evening stroll and sometimes the occasional photographer fighting against the clock.
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Terra Ceia
This bridge is in Terra Ceia Florida just a few minutes from my home in Palmetto. This is another one of those bridges I cross constantly without much notice and wanted to go back and take a closer look. Fishermen are always throwing nets from the bridge as it crosses a channel the fish use to come and go with the tides. I’m not sure why but I seem to enjoy the perspective under a bridge, it’s a perspective that most of us never get. I also like looking at the structure of the bridge, gives me a little more appreciation for what went into making it. I guess I’m just a bridge guy.
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Bridges
Bridges is a trendy restaurant in Vancouver’s Granville Island. It’s a cool place because in summer you can sit outside and be surrounded by the lights of the harbor, the two main bridges in to the city and the lights of the city at night. For some reason I was intrigued by how many people arrived here this evening by bicycle. Somewhat reminiscent of a european city don’t you think? Anyway, I see this when crossing over the Granville or Burrard bridges in a cab back to the airport and finally managed to get close enough for a photo one evening while exploring. Silly me, I just realized why it’s called bridges.
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