Downtown Tampa Panorama at Twilight Bird's Eye View - click for 1200px image - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 5 sec 3-frame panorama tripod mounted with cable release
It is hard to pry me out of St. Petersburg. Thankfully, a new client hired me to make some images of Tampa for their new website giving me the opportunity to cross the Howard Frankland Bridge with my DSLR and tripod in tow. Of all the photographs I took that afternoon and evening, in this post a selection of images taken all from the same spot atop a parking garage are featured. I had never been to the top of this parking garage before. I just stumbled upon it as I was searching for bird's eye vantage points of downtown Tampa. It was a little hard to get into, as I had to risk walking up the narrow entrance ramp before I found an actual parking level that had elevators to the top. I later found out the actual entrance is inside a building on the other side. After walking the last three flights to the roof (the elevator I was in did not go to the top) carrying all my gear, I was glad I as always was properly attired with the best footwear possible.
University of Tampa from above at dusk with light trails - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/16 ISO 200 5 sec tripod mounted with cable releaseIt was a very unique feeling being alone on the top of that garage. There were only two cars left parked on the far side from me. It was after 5:30pm and everyone had already gone home for the day. I felt like I was in a secret spot with a view of all downtown Tampa. All this added up to a feeling of peace. My Nikon D300 was on my Induro CT214 tripod, so I had no weight on my body from gear. I could move about freely looking for shots. At first there was too much light to make the light trail shots I wanted to, so I passed the time by observing and wondering.
Blue Skyscraper to Blue Infinity with Moon - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 1.6 sec tripod mounted with cable release - lens correction in Photoshop CS5 to straighten buildingBehind where I knew I wanted to do most of my shooting stood a tall blue skyscraper trying to reach to the Moon. I thought it interesting how the color of the building nearly blended in perfectly with the twilight sky. I debated for awhile on which to include in this post, the lens corrected image you see above (building is straight) or the non-corrected one with the building bending inward appearing to reach for the heavens.
Sykes Building Downtown Tampa Twilight - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/16 ISO 200 10 sec tripod mounted with cable releaseI really enjoyed being alone atop that parking garage waiting for the evening to transition from dusk to twilight.
Not a spaceship, but a double-decker bus all lit up - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 17.7 sec tripod mounted with cable releaseWalking back to my car after photographing New Year's Eve 2012 Fireworks in downtown St. Petersburg I saw a double decker bus making a very awkward 3-point-turn down the road. I still had my Nikon on my tripod over my shoulder so I quickly set up on the curb thinking I had a rare chance to make a light trail photo with a tall, lit subject, not just the usual low cars. 
