Sunshine Skyway Bridge

Sunshine Skyway Bridge

This was shot about 2 weeks ago from the North Rest Stop on the approach to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, here in St Petersburg, FL.

When you look at the other view I posted showing the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, you can't tell just how high it is. The funny thing, now with newer and newer cruise ships, it seems it's still too low. They're trying to figure out if they have to raise it, or to build another port so cruise ships don't have to cross under the bridge.

The bridge is 431 ft high with a vertical clearance of 175 ft. It is roughly 4 miles long.

The Travel Channel has named this bridge #3 of the Top 10 bridges in the world. It is Florida's flag bridge

This bridge also has a dark side, however. It is also known as a popular suicide place. It got so bad, that a radio station even had a jumper pool. As of 2009, 207 people have successfully committed suicide by jumping off the bridge, and 34 others tried it and survived. One man, who had been kidnapped, tortured and beaten was forced to jump at gunpoint; while another man hung himself from the bridge. There are many more suspected with people missing, but no bodies were found. This year in 2014, there have been 7 suicides, 23 possible (no bodies found), 1 survivor, and 2 saves. This bridge is known the #4 suicide bridge in the country and #1 east of California. 

North Rest Stop

I chose this file from Tuesday's batch because I like the simplicity. It's a little different from what I usually post, but for some reason, when I look at it, it makes me feel peaceful. It has very little color and with the still water and the shore birds foraging for the night it just gives me that feeling of tranquility.

What do you all think?

South Rest Stop Sunshine Skyway Bridge

South Rest Stop Sunshine Skyway Bridge

I'm off work only 1 day a week, so I don't have a lot of time to go out shooting. I also can't pick the weather. Today, was an overcast, trying to storm all day, type of day. I originally took this in color, but the color was kind of dull.

It spans 3 counties, Pinellas, Hillsborough and Manatee, over the waters of Tampa Bay, which is usually pretty calm, but there were warnings of high surf, so that is why I decided to come here to shoot today.

In this shot, this bridge doesn't look very scarey, but I can tell you, there were high wind warnings, and you don't want to be driving an SUV over it, like I did today. It's definitely a white knuckle drive. This bridge is 4.1 miles long, has a clearance of 175 ft below the bridge and it's vertical clearance is 193 ft. The sides, which is what makes it so scarey are only Jersey Barriers. It has 2 lanes in each direction, so there's no safety in the middle lane. The Sunshine Skyway was named #3 of the top 10 bridges in the world by The Travel Channel. The tubes forming the sails are painted yellow.

I cross this bridge every day going to work. Most times it doesn't bother me, but it took some getting used to. The only time I'm scared at all is in the blinding rain, fog, and during high winds.

Salt Marshes

I shot this from a moving car, while we were on the way to Beddeford Pool, where my son used to live. The clouds were so right, the blue sky reflecting on the ground and the perfectly placed rocks made this look at least to me like a beautiful painting. One day, I will paint this one.

It was just too beautiful not to share with all of you.

Cockle Shell

Do you remember the little nursery rhyme about what little girls and boys are made of? Have you ever wondered what Cockle shells are. Well, wonder no more. This is a genuine, Florida Cockle shell.

If you've been following my blog, you know I've been spending a lot of time on the beaches of Ft. Desoto lately trying to capture the elusive sun rising between the spans of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

After the sunrise is over, I leave East Beach for one of my favorite spots for capturing birds at North Beach. Ft Desoto is one of the best places to create awesome bird shots, and this time of year is perfect. It's not too hot, there are few people on the beach this early in the morning; mostly other photographers with the same idea and a few people just walking the beach for exercise.

North Beach was voted the #1 beach by Dr. Beach in 2005. This beach is pristine with its fine (as talc) white sand, beautiful sand dunes dot all around the beach and a gorgeous lagoon situated between the main beach and a little island or key. The key has a sand bar leading up to it that during low tide, one can walk right onto it to explore its beauty. Part of the key is a protected nesting site for both native and migrating birds, so we need to be careful not to go too far towards the end of key; however, the conservation area is well marked. We also need to carefully watch the tide coming in. It's not bad though, since it's a short distance if the tide covers the sand bar. The lagoon is only about 4 ft. deep at the deepest spot and Florida water rarely dips below 71 deg. F. Worse comes to worse, one can walk or swim back to the mainland.

Daybreak, Sunshine Skyway Bridge

Yet another trip to check where the sun would rise. I'll be doing this until I catch the sun rising right between the spans of this bridge.

This morning, though, I got a very pleasant surprise. I also caught the moon setting. In all the times I've been here, I've never seen the moon set over the bridge. It made me happy I didn't opt to sleep in today.

This image was taken from the turn-around on East Beach at Ft Desoto Park in Tierra Verde, FL.

Gary Shoots the Sunset

My club has been so active lately, it's nearly impossible to keep up. Our regular Monday night shoot this week was at Honeymoon Island in Dunedin, FL.

After walking the trails and getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, we went out on the beach to photograph the sunset. With hurricane Ike being so wide, it has caused some incredible sunsets with beautiful waves out on the Gulf.

This is one of my friends and fellow club member, Gary. He's all set up for a beautiful sunset shot. We all got some incredible shots on Monday. This is just one of them.

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