My Fans

I photographed a pre Super Bowl celebrity flag football game today. It was a bunch of b-listers like Brody Jenner, Kourtney Kardashian, Brandon Molale. I don't know who any of them are. Nor do I care. I just wanted to make pictures near the fog machine.

Folkfest

Dwarfed by a cowboy hat several sizes too large, Molly Collins, 6, of St. Petersburg has her rope and her sass as she waits her turn to practice lassoing a fake cow, one of the many living history activities you could try your hand at during the Pinellas Folk Festival at Heritage Village.

Remembering the Blackthorn

United States Coast Guard member Erick Toval, center, holds a rose to be laid in memory of Quartermaster Third Class Richard W. Gauld during the Blackthorn Memorial service to mark the 29th anniversary of the Coast Guard cutter Blackthorn sinking near the Sunshine Skyway after a collision with the tanker Capricorn. Twenty-seven Blackthorn crewmembers were able to escape; 23 crewmembers died. It was the Coast Guard's worst peacetime disaster.

Inauguration Day

Lomax Elementary School student Isaiah Williams, 10, keeps his hand over his heart and his eyes glued on President Barack Obama during the singing of the Star Spangled Banner following Tuesday's Presidential inauguration. Williams and the rest of Heather Dean's fifth grade class watched the broadcast live as Obama took the oath of office and was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. "Barack Obama is our President now," said Williams. "Let's hope he can make a change."

Lights on Tampa

Culture in Tampa. I love it.



The south facade of the Ft. Brooke Parking Garage is awash in color thanks to artists Sabine Weissinger and Friedrich Foerster and their art project "Revamp Fort Brooke," which kicked off Lights on Tampa Saturday evening. There are a series of six, rotating images projected on the parking structure, each one is a collage that contains pieces to Tampa's cultural identity, referencing Seminole patchwork, Spanish tiles, palm tree trunks and a Desert Storm teddy bear. Lights on Tampa is a unique and innovative art program that debuted in 2006. This year it runs from January 10 through February 1, featuring over a dozen artists in various locations downtown and in Channelside.

Cigar City Tattoo Convention

"He's the only one I'll let touch me," said Fred Schiller, left, who came all the way to Tampa from his home in Massachusetts to get tattooed by Danny Fugate of Knoxvegas Tattoo during the inaugural Cigar City Tattoo Convention. "He's just an awesome artist and I really like the energy between us." Fugate has done about 90 percent of Schiller's artwork, including the full sleeve on his left arm. He's currently working on a huge dragon back piece. The tattoo convention is open to the public and taking place all weekend at the historic Cuban Club in Ybor City. Aside from vendors and places to get both tattooed and pierced, the convention features a skateboard deck art show, documentary films, a graffiti demonstration, daily tattoo contests, bands and a burlesque show. To learn more, go to cigarcitytattooconvention.com.

CPR dummy

One guy at the firehouse told me their dummies get really abused. Yeah, I'm sure you guys practice on them a lot, I said. No, I mean they're firefighters, he said. Sometimes you'll come in and find them in weird places and with tattoos on their bodies.

Bootsie and Bubbles

"She's spoiled rotten," said Shannon Augustonovich, 32, about her 9-week-old pet pig Bootsie, as she gets clean in a bubble bath. "Pigs are supposed to love the water, but this is only her fourth bath, so she's still learning."

Happy New Year!