A different way of seeing:
Tampa’s 2004 Photo Laureate Casts a Unique Eye on the City

One of the many discoveries Suzanne Camp Crosby made during her year as Tampa’s Photo Laureate for 2004 was the power of a day-glo vest.

Photographing train yards, commandeering a lane of Bayshore Boulevard or Kennedy Boulevard, moving through parts of the city she didn’t know very well – Crosby simply donned the orange vest.

“I call it my invisibility cloak. You put that on and no one bothers you,” she said. “I still have it in my car.”

If anyone did look closely they saw a tall woman astride a ladder, cameras slung over her shoulders, her thick hair gathered behind her head, clear blue eyes starting intently from behind rectangle glasses that continually slipped down her nose.

Crosby, Tampa’s second photo laureate, produced a collection of work that captures Tampa landmarks and signature events in her own distinct style. Mannequins and cutout figures are set against such familiar sites as the veranda of the Tampa Bay Hotel and the stairs of the Tampa Theatre.

The 100th anniversary of the Florida State Fair is documented in what she calls “an assemblage” -- visual elements gathered and arranged by the photographer into a still life.

Crosby started her year as photo laureate by shooting the state fair in February 2004. She admits she stumbled at first.

“The first few rolls were horrible – photo 101. I was shooting the midway, the animals. It wasn’t working. Looking over the proofs I said to myself – I’ve got to take pictures the way I take pictures.”

Crosby, who teaches at Hillsborough Community College, is a nationally recognized photographer, with work in collections of a number of major museums. The results of her photo laureate project, dubbed The Big Picture, will be on display at the Tampa Museum of Art July 10 through September 4.

Tampa’s photo laureate initiative is organized by the City of Tampa’s Public Art Program. For more information, visit the Photo Laureate page.

-- Paul Wilborn