Tampa Bay Downs - A Day at the Races

 

 

So in an effort to meet more local photographers, I joined one of those Meetups groups, The St. Petersburg Photography Group, led by Frank and Brenda Lamica. This has been a pretty active group and there are always meetups planned along with online challenges.

 

 

 

When I saw they were going to Tampa Bay Downs, a place I've been wanting to shoot at anyways, on a day I had off I decided to tag along.

 

 

I may have been packing a little too much lens (100-400mm), but hey...I filled the frame (mostly) and got some sharp panning shots.

 

 

 

 

We had access that most people don't get. During the races we were right on the rail, and for the turf race we got to walk across the sand course and lay on the ground with the horses running right at us!

 

 

Thanks for looking, and thanks to the St. Petersburg Photography Group for setting this up!

 

Women's Flag Football Network



It was a beautiful day in Plant City, Fl.


 

So I volunteered to shoot some women's flag football last Saturday and had a great time! Having never shot any team sports before I don't think I realized how challenging it would be!


Time for some football!

 

The Thrill of Victory

 

And the Agony of Defeat

 

This might be my favorite shot of the day, just love all the emotion in everyone's face.

 

Dogs and their Humans-The Bond.



I am a dog person, and these are my girls Spooky and Boo.

  In fact, I credit Spooky and Boo for sparking my interest in photography. The desire to catch them in motion as we learned the sport of dog agility was the big push. Plus the training also help make them good little models!

 

 

Last March a couple friends from the local dog training club asked if I would like to shoot a disc dog competition in Brooksville.

 

 

 

Outside of some rain the first day, it was a great weekend and I got to watch some real athletes in action. 

 

I shot thousands of photos that weekend and it was during the editing that I started noticing an interesting pattern emerge.

 

Now we all have heard about owners and dogs looking alike.

 

And some owners like to dress their dogs like themselves.

 

 

Some owners are so close to their dogs, it's often hard to tell who's running who!

 

 

But I was seeing something else...

 

 
 

At first it was very subtle

 

 

But it soon became very obvious! The humans were controlling the dogs with their minds, and a little body English!

 

 

Okay...I know there's no mind control going on here, but I did find it rather amusing.

 

 

This one I call the Sumo

 

 

And here is "Show em your teeth!"

 

Thanks for looking!

 

 

Tampa Bay Automobile Museum

Yesterday I visited The Tampa Bay Automobile Museum. I've drove by this place many times while working and have always wanted to check the place out.

 

 

 

 Mostly European cars, so there was a lot I wasn't familiar with. The only two American cars there was a Mustang (all wheel drive!) and a beautiful Corvair. 

 

I'm not a big car guy, so I'm not going to get into much detail. I did find this early prototype of a front wheel drive car. You can tell it's basically a cut off frame turned around.

 

 

Also cool to see how some of the many features we take for granted got started.

 

 

Cars are always a fun excuse to break out the fisheye!

 

 

Alternate fuel were represented as well, with at least 2 electric cars (one older then you would think) and a reproduction of the world's first self propelled vehicle (steam!).

 

Most of the cars here run and are driven, keys are in them, Florida tags too!

All in all, a good way to spend a hour or two and well worth the $8 bucks.

 

Check it out for yourself

 

 

 

 



Scott Kelby's World Wide Photo Walk

Scott Kelby's World Wide Photo Walk 2016

 

For the last 3 years I have participated in the Scott Kelby Photo Walks as a walker and it has been an amazing experience. As an amateur photographer, and something of an introvert these walks have given me exposure to other photographers I otherwise wouldn't of had.

Last year though, I had an idea about leading a walk of my own in what I hope will be a very unique walk...The Wagon Wheel Flea Market!

 

 

There will be plenty of subjects to shoot..and bargains to be had!

 

 

People to see

 

The produce tables alone offer great opportunities!

 

So if you're looking for something different, join me Oct.1 2016 as we spend a couple hours exploring a real piece of Pinellas County history and then share photos, and tell lies over lunch next door at the Cajun Café.

 

 

http://worldwidephotowalk.com/walk/wagon-wheel-flea-market/

 

 

 



Kiteboarding at the Skyway







An early day led me to the Skyway this morning.




 



Thought I was going to get some shots of kite boarders...




 



Then this happened! Wasn't expecting that!





 

Pretty impressive!