The homeless.

They are no different than we are...but we don't like to talk to them, or even look at them most of the time for that matter. I spent some time on the streets Ybor City in downtown Tampa and in the woods near my house at a soup kitchen that feeds people who live at a homeless camp.

I got some great photos. But that was really the least important part. I got to know these people and hear their stories. I have been changed--for the better. Matthew 25.

During this holday season take some time to think about how good you have it. Times are tough, but we have a home, food, and all of the luxuries that come along with it. Remember people who don't have anything but the clothes on their back and a hot meal from a stranger.

Masked Beauty

I saw this lady in the mall the other day where her head gear was covering all but her eyes, She looked like a queen by only seeing her green eyes and dark skin and it made me think can you hide beauty ? No ! True beauty can't be masked so I did a shoot w/ my daughter and the beauty is there !!!!!! I don't mean to disrespect anyone here, just want to get in your head I have 100 questions and will do a shoot real soon on the issues at hand and go from there. Cheers.

Sept 1, 2008

10 more days until the day that I will never forget. We can't just pull out now it would not be right ! On the 11th please pray for our troops, and the men and women who have fallen.

Semper Fi.

Bivens Photography w/ the girls.

Just having fun !!! Be on the lookout for the Jenny-Sue Super Photo Shoot. Prints will be for sell in Oct 08.

Today it's the Sons.

Jen and I was out today and saw the biggest flag we have ever seen, read the story below today was today for the flag.

Gigantic Confederate flag flies on 139-foot pole near Tampa, Fla.
The Sons of Confederate Veterans in Tampa plan soon to raise what they claim is the world's largest Confederate flag on a private triangle of land tucked near where Interstates 75 and 4 meet. The flag measures 50 feet by 30 feet.
John Adams, commander of the organization's Florida division, has spearheaded the flag project, which includes plans for an accompanying memorial park. And he wants to make sure that the only objections the group faces are based on opinion, not the law.
"You're going to hear some complaints about it for sure," Adams said. "But it's a free country as far as I know."
To some, particularly across many Southern states, the rebel flag represents a rich heritage that includes fighting and dying for the Confederate cause during the Civil War. To others, the flag represents dark memories attached to slavery and racial inequality.
One of those people is Curtis Stokes, president of the NAACP in Hillsborough County, who hopes that a groundswell of opposition to raising the flag might convince the Sons of Confederate Veterans to reconsider.
That's an unlikely scenario, according to Adams. Nearly a decade ago, the 220 members in the state's Sons of Confederate Veterans group launched a project called "Flags Across Florida" in response to a decision by state officials to remove the Confederate flag from a place of prominence near the state capitol in Tallahassee.

United Daughters of the Confederacy

Hello everyone,
Sorry for the vacation but I am back. Been busy with Bivens Photography. This time with a personal story that really touched me in a crazy way.

Jenny-Sue and I want to the Gamble Plantation (the last plantation standing in Florida) The thoughts that race in your mind when you know the place you are at was a sugar cane plantation with 200 slaves to maintain it. In the first photo you see the iron they used to keep their masters looking good in the hot heat of Florida, they put hot embers into the hole and that was how they did it, also they made the soap, candles, and everything else to maintain and run the house

The second photo is of the water storage unit they collected the rain water in. They placed a huge piece of limestone in the center, when the water passed through the lime stone it was good to drink (a filter system). I looked in the system and the water was still very dirty (on the clean side).

The third photo is a list of slaves for their records. The slave quarters are gone and I can only think the daughters did not see a need to save that house. The walls in this place were 2 feet thick and we were so hot it was crazy. At that time there was no ice this far south and the bugs were out of this world. The slaves use to take the beds out everyday to beat the hay/feathers/or Spanish moss so that the bed bugs wouldn't be harsh on their masters. This was a 2-3 hour process everyday.

The last photo is of the house. There were no outside stairs so that the Indians could not sneak up on them and there were rope ladders to the bed rooms so that if they were invaded they can run upstairs and pull the rope so that the Indians could not get them. All the beds had bug nets because the bugs at the time can kill you (malaria). Three man lived in the house, a father and two sons. The slave house was a big open room with a door and a window (no nets, no privacy). I can only guess how that must have been. I was about to die in the big house because of the heat--so the slave quarters must have been crazy.

The part that gets to me is that I went to a place where my people must have been in hell on earth with 3 men. I know the ladies had kids by these guys and their own stories to tell but there is no record of that here.

The United Daughters of the Confederacy pereserved and currently maintain the house (built in 1895).

Opus X

A Opus X Fuente Cigar that is the best cigar you can get here in America, Cuba is another story. This is the cigar factory that started it all, here in Tampa, That is why Tampa is known as Cigar city .