The St. Petersburg area has long been known for one of it’s icons the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
The first skyway bridge was built in 1954.
1954 Sunshine Skyway Bridge
Later in 1971 a second span was added to the Skyway Bridge.
1971 Sunshine Skyway Bridge Picture
And finally the crash of the skyway bridge.
And here is a beautiful picture of the skyway bridge at night:
Skyway Bridge at night
Wow, I don’t think you could have asked for better weather today. The clouds were barely visible in the evening as the sunset beach ceremony began. The weather was beautiful, just a little brisk at about 63 degrees or so. Not quite the desired weather for the guests I suppose but for this Sarasota Photographer, it was just perfect.
I began the day ceremony using my D300 with a fisheye lens just for some cool perspective. Switched out lenses just in time to watch Shelley as she was escorted by her father accross the sand dunes and down the aisle of palm frawns. She was wearing a beautiful Vera Wang wedding dress and as the sunlight caught the whisps of her long vail I was able to get some incredible shots. Again, it’s all in the details.
The ceremony was short and followed by an incredible sunset. I grabbed all the formals just in time to hear the bride say “i’m ready to eat”. And off we went.
The reception was rather uneventful except for the son of the groom who was having fun sliding down the banister of the stairs.
The pictures are in the editing phase now and it looks like it was a huge success.
Bridal photography on Longboat key seems to be one of my favorite locations. Of course the Vinoy in St. Petersburg is still up high on the list too.
You can search far and wide throughout all of Florida and you may never come accross a more beautiful location for photography of all types.
Sawgrass Lake Park, at 400 acres in size, allows people to walk through one of the largest maple swamps on the Gulf Coast of Florida. The park has a mile-long boardwalk a half-mile dirt trail provide opportunities to see birds, butterflies, plants and animals in their natural settings within the most densely populated county in Florida. 
Herons, egrets, ibis, wood storks, alligators and turtles can be seen along the canals and lakes. Thousands of birds migrate through the park during the fall and spring, attracting birders and eco-tourists from all over the country. Sawgrass Lake Park is mentioned by the Great Florida Birding Trail and the National Audubon Society as one of the premier birding sites in Florida.
Sawgrass Lake Park is the result of a unique cooperative agreement between the Pinellas County Parks & Recreation Department, the Pinellas County School District and the Southwest Florida Water Management District. Two Park Naturalists and a dedicated Environmental Education Resource Teacher offer nature tours and outdoor field trips for thousands of visitors and school students annually.
For those people who want a place to photograph birds and wildlife it’s also a great location. Throughout the park there are numerous spots to take pictures of alligators, birds, snakes & more.
As a St. Petersburg wedding photographer I was attracted to Sawgrass Lake becuase of the stark contrast possibilities that I was presented. This past weekend I did some high school senior pictures on the walking bridge and by the water, they turned out great. A good friend of mine who is a Tampa Wedding Photographer did a bridal portrait session overlooking the swampy area. I am certain that it would be a great “trash the dress” location, but I’m not too sure about finding a bride willing to wear her wedding dress into a swamp with alligators!
In the planning stages of a photo shoot at the St. Petersburg Pier.
With a little luck and some good planning everything will come together on May 17th to have a photo session with babies, toddlers, seniors and engagement couples.
The baby photography session will go from 8AM until 10AM followed by a toddler photo shoot from 10AM until 12PM. Parents who wish to have their children photographed together should plan on a 11:30 to 1:30 timeframe where I will be conducting family portrait sessions.
Once the lil’ ones are gone we’ll move on to do some senior portraits for Lakewood High School, Osceola High School and St. Petersburg High. Senior pictures will go from 2PM until abou 3:30PM. Please reserve a 30 minute spot by emailing me or calling.
The day will wrap up with Bridal photography sessions by renowned Tampa Photographer Tim Macking. Couples are encouraged to call ahead to book a 45 minute block of time.
On January 31st I will be conducting a sunset photo shoot on Siesta Key and possibly moving to Longboat key. With the beach sunset occurring around 5:50PM I feel confident that there will be some great opportunities for a willing photographer like myself.
The key to successful Siesta Key Photography either for a wedding or just a sunset is to capture the sun during the 5 minutes before and 5 minutes after sunset. Any photographer with experience will tell you that the window of opportunity may even be smaller but I like the ten minute timeframe that I set aside for my best pictures.
Sunshine Skyway bridge Hole Cloud
Working in Sarasota for the last three years has been nothing short of wonderful. Each day it is a 60 mile ride through the highways and streets of Tampa Bay. What I enjoy most is the opportunity to capture that great sunset, hole cloud or tripple rainbow. Each day my drive seems to be a little different and I am always looking for another great spot to shoot some pictures.
As luck would have it I wrote in the blog yesterday about an upcoming photo shoot that I’ve recently started planning for May 17th. Throughout the day I had a few people contact me regarding the St. Petersburg Pier and the ability to have a wedding there or close by along with a local venue for the wedding reception.
As a professional wedding photographer I am always trying to better familiarize myself and build business relationships with the locations and venues that I frequent. While I reside in St. Petersburg and have photographed the St. Pete Pier and the surroundings many times throughout my life I have not yet looked at the location as a wedding ceremony location or venue for a reception.
A few weeks ago I was approached by someone who is somewhat of a local celibrity of types. He is originally from the area and maintains strong ties to the local community. He was recently married and wanted to get some pictures of him with his wife in more of a laid back portrait setting. We went over my typical list of great locations like Sawgrass Lake, Sunken Gardens, Fort Desoto, and the Vinoy Basin area. As we were talking things over he asked what I thought of The Pier for a portrait location. While sharing my thoughts with him I agreed to scout out the location and see if it would work.
A few days later I went by the pier with the specific intention of scouting out some great spots for some portrait photography. I was amazed what lie just before my eyes and which I had never taken advantage of. There are a number of great spots and a few that could produce some truly stunning opportunities. While there I thought of the location for a specific portrait session but later realized the potential it had for children and high school seniors for photo shoots and even for some great wedding photography.
So, to make a long story even longer I decided that I would try to put together a photo shoot during my favorite Florida month, May. The plans are still in the developing stages, no promises yet but I am hoping for May 17th.
I referred a few of the people who contacted me yesterday to the Vinoy and the St. Petersburg Yacht club for their receptions and made a few suggestions for outside ceremonies and some local churches for those wanting a traditional church wedding. Most of my wedding clients are from out of town and St. Pete is a destination wedding location for them, so it really helps when I can assist them with some of their other wedding planning tasks.
Along with the wedding requests I had I also received an inquiry from someone who wanted to see if I was interested in a portrait shoot for a local aspiring actress. I will let you know how that goes…
Until tomorrow…
