Photo Opportunities

Our May Outing will be very Educational! Florida Polytechnic University’s IST Building will be our Subject!

Please join us at Florida Polytechnic University’s IST Building for an evening of Architectural and Abstract photography and then some fellowship at dinner!

Details

The IST Building has become an icon in Lakeland! It was designed by renowned Spanish architect, Santiago Calatrava. His unusual designs can be found all over the world. We are fortunate to have one of his beautiful and interesting buildings so close!

We will meet at 6:30 PM EDT at the IST Building (see map below) on Saturday, May 11, 2024. We will start photographing while it is still light out, shooting through golden hour, blue hour, and then when the lights are on!

Be sure to bring an ultra wide-angle lens to get the whole building, although this is a great place for panoramas and reflections. I have used a fish-eye lens there on occasion. A zoom lens up to 70mm will be great for shooting portions of the building and getting those amazing abstracts. Since we will be staying until after dark, bring your tripod.

Since this is a public university we are welcome on campus as long as we are respectful to the students, staff, and building.

Some Sample Images

We may be able to get inside, which has some very interesting patterns, but since it is Saturday it may be closed.

I hope you can join us for this fun evening with your fellow members. We will determine a place for dinner once we know how many will be staying to eat.

Link to Map to FPU’s IST Building

https://maps.app.goo.gl/yeoL2YsBxo6NcL4p9

GET READY FOR OUR 2024 ONE DAY TAMPA BAY CAMERA CLUB OUTING!

This is an outing for ALL our members, no matter where you are!

PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE EMAIL!

For 24 hours, starting at 12:01 AM April 13th and ending at 11:59 PM April 13th, get those cameras/phones out and show us where you were during those 24 HOURS ONLY! Even if you are away from home!! 📷 📲

Also, all members in the Tampa Bay area are invited to not only shoot around where you live, specifically but also join us in person at 9:30 AM at Sunken Gardens, St Petersburg (map below). If we have at least 10 attendees we will get a $1.00 discount each. Discounted fees are 62+ – $11 and under 62 – $14.

I MUST collect all the money before we enter the Visitor Center so please plan to arrive between 9:30 AM and 9:45 AM. Please bring the correct change for the appropriate fee. If you arrive after the group has entered the gardens at 10 AM, you will have to pay the full price.

Also, if we have at least 10 attendees, Sunken Gardens will give us each a Photo Scavenger Hunt list. You don’t have to participate but we have done scavenger hunts in the past and they were a lot of fun! We might even have a little contest for that (I will let you know)!

We will spend 2-3 hours in the gardens and then find a place for lunch in the surrounding area.

BE SURE THE CORRECT DATE AND TIME ARE ON YOUR CAMERA AND PLEASE DO NOT STRIP THE METADATA FROM YOUR PHOTOS WHEN YOU EXPORT THEM!!!

After April 13th, please send 5 – 10 images that best depict where you were on that day! Use the same procedures for these jpeg images as we use for exhibit nights.

Please rename your images to include the place!

Send your images to mytbcc@gmail.com before 7 PM EDT on May 13th so I can create a slideshow of all our images! Use the SUBJECT: ODTBCC Photos

Let’s celebrate spring and where we live or are visiting!

Any questions, please email me at mytbcc@gmail.com or ask at the next two Zoom meetings!

Lynn

Our First Outing for 2024 – Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales.

Join us on Saturday, February 3, 2024, for a visit to the iconic Bok Tower Gardens, 1151 Tower Blvd, Lake Wales, FL 33853 (map below).

PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE POST.

This time of year, we can not only make images of Bok Tower and listen to the carillon within but also the camellias and maybe some azaleas and other cool weather flowers. 

This place is perfect for infrared images since there is so much green! 

An upcoming monthly assignment is ICM! That is another great technique to try in a botanical garden!

If you have any Lensbaby optics, that is another creative way to utilize what Bok Tower Gardens has to offer.

This is a great place to just have some photographic fun and practice our skills! 

When and Where

The ticket booth is near the main entrance as you drive in. Admission is $20 per person. Once you are through that gate, drive onto the main parking area at the Visitor Center. We will meet on the plaza in front of the entrance to the Visitor Center at 9:30 AM on February 3, 2024. We will wait until 9:45am at the plaza and then head into the gardens. So, please arrive on time!

We will walk around and shoot throughout the gardens until around Noon. They have a very nice cafe right at the entrance so if it is not too crowded we will have lunch there. If crowded, we will find a place outside of the gardens to eat lunch. 

What to Bring

Per the descriptions above, you can shoot just about anything here so the equipment depends on what you want to create! There can be a lot of walking involved so I would recommend a light kit. Remember your phone is a pretty good camera as well!

I hope you will join me and other members for our first official TBCC outing for 2024!

If you have any questions, please let me know. We will go over everything at our two Zoom meetings in January!

Lynn W.

Mark Your Calendar for Our Next Outing – Saturday, October 16, 2021- Tampa Bay Auto Museum, Pinellas Park

Mark your calendar for our next photo outing on October 16th at 10 AM until Noonish!

THIS IS JUST IN TIME TO CREATE YOUR IMAGES FOR OUR NOVEMBER COMPETITION ASSIGNMENT! (Autos/Trucks/Motorcycles – see assignment list for details) we will be shooting at the Tampa Bay Auto Museum in Pinellas Park, FL.

PLEASE READ ENTIRE POST.

Museum Information from Wikipedia

The Tampa Bay Automobile Museum, displays historic automobiles from the 20th century. All of the vehicles displayed are from the collection of Alain Cerf, a French entrepreneur.

The collection is focused on cars which demonstrate special creativity and imagination in their history and engineering. This includes rare early front-wheel drive cars, Tatra rear engine cars, rear-engine Mercedes-Benz, Citroën cars, the only surviving car by French engineer Émile Claveau, and a unique working full-scale replica of the first self-propelled mechanical vehicle, the fardier of Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot.

OUTING DETAILS

Tampa Bay Auto Museum -3301 Gateway Centre Blvd, Pinellas Park, FL 33782

We will meet in the parking lot of the museum, Saturday, October 16th, prior to 9:45 AM. I need to collect the admission fee from each attendee in order to pay for everyone before entering. If we have 12 or more attendees, the admission is $8 each. If less than 12 attendees, then admission is $12 each or $10 for seniors(62+). Please bring correct change.

IF YOU ARRIVE AFTER WE HAVE ALREADY GONE INSIDE AS A GROUP at 10 AM, YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY THE FULL APPROPRIATE ADMISSION FEE.

The museum requires that you wear a mask for the full time you are inside so be sure to bring a mask! And please, maintain social distancing.

The facility is fairly large so there is plenty of room and many autos to photograph. Be sure to bring your tripod as it is a bit dark inside so you will need slower shutter speeds in some instances.

You should bring a wide-angle lens and a close-up/macro lens, at the very least. Besides the cars themselves, there are a lot of interesting and photogenic details to shoot.

This museum is friendly to photographers so please be very careful around these valuable autos. You can carefully move the metal signs in front of many of the autos, if necessary, but be sure to return them carefully to the same spot. We do not want to be the group that causes them to no longer allow photography!

I hope to see you October 16th, as this will be our last planned in-person outing until our Annual Holiday Party and Awards celebration on Dec 12th (more details later this year).

Any questions, please let me know via email: mytbcc@gmail.com.

Lynn Wiezycki, TBCC, Acting President

MAP BELOW.

Mark Your Calendar! Our June 25, 2021 Technical Night is a Photo Walk in Clearwater!

Please mark your calendars as our June Technical Night is a Photo Walk get together in Clearwater.

Please join your fellow club members at 7 PM June 25th at Clearwater Memorial Park/Entrance to the Yacht Basin docks at the east end of the Clearwater Memorial Causeway.

There is parking along Drew Street and at the adjacent Coachman Park. (see the map below)

We will be shooting along the waterfront and around the bridge as it is lit up at night.

Be sure to bring your tripod, wide-angle lens and bug spray!

Header Image & this image by Jim McWilliam

Image by Bryan Schneider

Hope to see you all there!

Lynn W.

Mark your Calendar for our Next Outdoor Adventure – Sunday, April 25, 2021 at Robinson Preserve in Bradenton, FL.

As a followup to our wonderful Photocamp in January we are getting together for a morning plus lunch outing at Robinson Preserve in Bradenton on April 25, 2021 at 9 AM.

PLEASE READ ENTIRE POST.

This is a terrific park with many photographic opportunities.

I made a visit to check it out and was blown away and, I only saw part of it! I carried my long lens for birds and my wide angle on the infrared converted camera for landscapes. There were some birds but I spent most of my time shooting landscapes.

Woodpecker – I also saw many egrets, some raptors and other small birds.

The Observation Tower was a fairly short walk from the main parking lot but it is several stories high. There are decks on the lower levels so you can see some of the salt marsh from the lower levels. From the top deck you can see the Skyway Bridge and get an overview of the entire preserve.

Observation Tower
View from the Tower.
View from the Tower – Used the birding lens for some landscape images!

The salt marsh has a great variety of plant types and there are long boardwalks and many bridges going over the marsh and small streams that flow in and out of the bay.

I even tried a little ICM with my iPhone and the Slow Shutter Cam app!

I have booked Pavilion #1 (below) that is adjacent to the parking lot and main trailhead at the 1704 99th St NW, Bradenton, FL 34209 entrance. If anyone wants to just hang out there it will be a pleasant spot and it is screened in. Also, everyone please bring a picnic lunch for yourselves and we can enjoy each others company at lunchtime. We will have the pavilion until 5:30pm so if you want to stay past lunch you are welcome to!

We will meet at the pavilion at 9 AM EDT. I will have maps of the preserve so you can decide which of the many trails you want to checkout. There is a long paved trail and some unpaved but fairly smooth crushed shell trails. The trail to the Observation Tower is mostly crushed shell.

Be sure to bring insect repellant and fluids for hydration!

We hope to see everyone there!

ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

Lynn W.

Some info from their website:

Tucked into the corner of northwest Bradenton, Robinson Preserve includes 679 acres of coastal grasslands, saltern, marsh, and mangrove habitat. These systems support a variety of rare wildlife, presenting careful observers with an opportunity to see roseate spoonbills, wood storks, white pelicans, bald eagles, and least terns in their natural environment. Sprouting up from the salty soil are a vast array of intriguing plants, including saltwort, glasswort, and succulent sea purslane.

Robinson Preserve offers visitors numerous ways to explore the coastal habitats. Scale the 40-foot tall observation tower for a view of four counties and five water bodies or check out the view from the camera in the Valentine House Visitor’s Center. Bike or roller blade on 2.5 miles of trail, and hikers can explore more than 5 miles of shell and coastal trails. For paddlers, Robinson Preserve’s 2.5 miles of blueways present a chance to navigate through mangrove tunnels, marshes, and more. The opportunities are endless.

Friday Field Trip

For our meeting this Friday we will go on a downtown Tampa photowalk. We will gather in Curtis Hixon Park and then I will lead a sunset/twilight photowalk through downtown. We will finish our walk at Five Guys and can eat there. Come early and shoot in the park if you wish. We will gather up at 7:00 and leave the park by 7:15 at the latest. We will gather at the fountains on the northeast corner of the park near the Children’s Museum. Parking is available in the city garage next to the museum at the posted rates. Parking in metered spots on the surrounding streets is free after 6:00 pm. You may also park at the University of Tampa and walk over the bridge to the park. Pack lightly so that you can walk comfortably and shoot for about an hour and a half. As for gear recommendations it would probably be a good idea to have wide-angle to medium telephoto lenses and a tripod. Flash is optional but could be of use for some creative shots. Bottled water is always a good idea so that you can stay hydrated while walking and shooting. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone there on Friday night!

Friday, August 26 Meeting

Remember that the Friday night meeting will take place on location, not at tRg studios. We will meet at 7 pm and shoot at Curtis Hixon Park in downtown Tampa. The address of the park is 600 N. Ashley Dr. Tampa, FL 33602.
Map Link

Street parking north of Kennedy Blvd. is free after 6 pm. If you park on the street and are unsure about the enforcement hours go to the nearest parking payment kiosk and enter your parking space number. The kiosk will inform you of the hours of enforcement for your space.

It is recommended that you bring a tripod if you have one.