Author: Eric

The Sunshine Skyway story

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge spans Tampa Bay, connecting Pinellas County to the north and Manatee County on the south side of the bay.

The bridge is a remarkable feat of construction that builds on a legacy of Tampa Bay bridge construction. Of the 5,000 or so bridges in Florida, the Sunshine Skyway is one of the most recognizable.

Authors Nevin Sitler and Ric Sitler have penned a book about more than the most recent bridge crossing Tampa Bay.  The pair tackle the fascinating history of the challenges and construction of various bridges and transportation efforts around the Bay.

From ferry boats to the very first scheduled “airline” flight Tampa Bay has presented bridge builders with considerable challenges from raising money to engineering challenges.

This is a good book. The authors do an excellent job of telling the history of Tampa Bay’s bridges in a coherent fashion. The story is more than the bridges; it is the story of the dreamers who found a way to get the bridges build.

The book is available in most ebook formats and from most booksellers. Highly recommended especially for those in the Tampa Bay area and drive the bridges regularly.

Palm trees in the setting sun

I like photographing trees. It comes as no surprise that the trees in Florida are different than the trees in Ohio. Palm trees are particularly interesting. The variety, size and shapes are fascinating.

This paragraph from Wikipedia is particularly insightful: Palms are among the best known and most extensively cultivated plant families. They have been important to humans throughout much of history. Many common products and foods are derived from palms, and palms are also widely used in landscaping, making them one of the most economically important plants. In many historical cultures, palms were symbols for such ideas as victory, peace, and fertility. For inhabitants of cooler climates today, palms symbolize the tropics and vacations

Continue reading “Palm trees in the setting sun”

Sunset through the trees

Sunsets in Florida in Florida can be spectacular, but many of them show the sun going down over the Gulf of Mexico or one of the state’s many lakes or ponds. I’ve recently been photographing a grove of trees not far from our condo. 

The mid-winter sun sets at a slight angle to the main alignment of the trees, offering opportunities for shadows. Please follow the jump for technical details and ordering information if you want a copy.

Continue reading “Sunset through the trees”