A Little Bit of Yesterday

On Saturday, August 23rd, 2008, I participated in Scott Kelby's (Photoshop User TV personality) World Photo Walk. There were 44 countries and 260 American Cities represented in this photo walk. Each group was limited to 50 participants, and each location conducted a 2-hour walk.

I walked with Dave Cross, another Photoshop User TV personality) in Ybor City, Tampa, Florida. Our group had 51 walkers including Dave Cross. We were instructed to split up and walk around the city for 2 hours, but since we were having a tropical storm, we had to be prepared to duck into someplace to stay out of the rain should we get a sudden downpour.

We were lucky, since the rain pretty much held out for the rest of the day. There were a few sprinkles, but not enough to keep us from walking. I covered my camera with a plastic Zip Lock bag when it started to rain.

My main objective was to shoot something that said Ybor City, without shooting what everyone else was shooting.

This photo was taken from outside an antique clothing shop. I framed it to show the turn-of-the century shoes along with a few accessories. It was difficult dealing with reflections, but by holding the camera very close to the glass, I was able to get rid of the reflections while still maintaining sharpness and my chosen composition. I shot just a bit over 1 Gb of photos and this one is one of my favorites. The lighting, since it was overcast, was perfect for showing detail and had very good saturation. You can see more of the photos from this walk by clicking here.

Ybor City is an historical section of Tampa built around the cigar industry. It is also a popular night spot among the youth culture of Tampa Bay. At one time, it was pretty dangerous to go into Ybor at night due to the high crime rate and car thefts.

Mayor Pam Iorio's pet project is to clean up Ybor City and make it a safe place to go at night. To date, she's got the crime rate down by 70%. There are street security cameras on nearly every corner that are monitored, as well as walking security. The parking garage has cameras on every floor and walking security as well. People are finally coming back into this part of the city.

If you like my work, please leave a comment. If you'd like to see more, please visit my website by clicking here.

Thanks for looking,

Loyce