Tampa Prepares To Shine

Who is this woman? As I was driving down Kennedy today I notice what looked like a production company at UT. They where setting up for a one night only show Saturday night at 5:30 p.m. when the mayor throws the switch. I'll be honest there are a lot of projects to keep up with. I have read the papers opinion on the best places to view them from. I have other opinions of course. Let me share what I think with you. First UT.

I pulled onto the campus and they had the area in front of Plant Hall barricaded and would not let anyone in. Don't you just love 400mm lenses with 2xteleconverter!

She appeared in the spire when I arrived. I have never seen anyone there before and I have been taking photos for years around here. She has on a business suit. Is she the artist? The artist I believe is a man -Jorge Orta. So maybe she's the director or coordinator.

What a view from there uh?

They where lifting huge pallets with electronic equipment on them up to locations that  I cannot reveal because none of this makes total sense to me yet.

I don't know how much this is going to cost but that's a lot of money to just light up the side of a building if you ask me. My grandfather who was a professional staff photographer for National Geographic. He taught me that art was the subtle use of natural light and direction and shadow with foreground and background interest.  The artist composed the image. Artificial light was only an augmentation. Now. In the modern world. Artificial light has become the art. Lets hope there's more to it.

I hope this rises above any cheesy light show or bombast that you can see from a sidewalk in Las Vegas. We can only hope.

Come with me on a little walk and I'll show you what and where to stand to perhaps see all of this art stuff better.

Too see anything that might light up the beer can or downtown, take a walk to the waters edge. There is group of palm trees and for aesthetic reasons get within the trees. I a more pleasing vantage point for all of downtown. You can even set up lounge chairs and relax. Bring a radio. I believe some of this is going to be choreographed to music.

You can take the stairs next to the park and step up to Kennedy and walk over the bridge to downtown. If you want to see the show from Plant Hall and you want to get away from the crowds (I have no idea where everyone is going to park...Bucs game too..real bad timing) I would take some binoculars and stand near the drawbridge section of the bridge where there is a semicircle section that offers a great view of Plant Hall.

To the right is an image taken inside the "Stegosaurus" or whatever that thing is. The newspaper recommends Ashley and Kennedy to see the River-gate Tower (the cube) I guess that's OK. I'd back up a little.

The exhibition at the news center channel 8 seems interesting. I got an overexposure shot last night in an attempt to simulate what it might look like. Ah. I tried. This was at the little park just south of the Raddison Hotel on Ashley along the river.                                               When I returned to UT they where still at work and and you could see my taxi parked up against the barricade. I'm glad they did not tow it away.

                     

Comments

[Brett]

It's not a stegosaurus. It's an exploding chicken. But that's a brilliant pic you took from inside it.