Snapshot: Images Portray Tampa Bay's People, Places

Tampa Bay's communities offer eclectic blends of culture, creativity and ways of life. A new website uses photographs to profile the people and places that contribute to this vibrancy.

Snapshot Tampa Bay looks at what makes Tampa Bay the cultural mecca that it is -- its people. The project is a labor of love by two local residents and creative advocates, Bryan Hunt and Julia Gorzka Freeman.

"It's our way of spotlighting people, events and places that are going on here in a novel way, to provide a glimpse into how we live,'' says Bryan Hunt.

The inspiration for the website came from their realization that there is lots going on in Tampa Bay that people don't know about. The site offers a different way of looking at people, by taking images inside their homes and businesses to show how they live.

They plan to highlight different neighborhoods to help people discover new restaurants, organizations and people, like Larry and Charlie Schiller of Schiller Salvage in Odessa. The Schillers travel the country to find the neatest and most quirky salvage items to sell in their store.

Other features will include the realm of Tampa Bay's creative economy, from someone living in a condo on the beach to a farmer in the rural areas of Brandon. Future plans include an "explore'' page that will help people navigate the Tampa Bay region and find cool places to go and things to do.

"We're creating a place for people to look at Tampa Bay in a new light,'' says Hunt.

Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: Snapshot Tampa Bay, Bryan Hunt
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Read more articles by Megan Hendricks.

A Florida native and longtime Tampa Bay resident, Megan Hendricks graduated from the University of South Florida with a master's degree in business administration. She worked at the USF College of Business and has extensive community experience including the Tampa Bay Partnership's Talent Dividend Advisory Board, Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, Emerge Tampa Bay, Ekhos, and Bar Camp Tampa. She is a former board member and newsletter editor for Creative Tampa Bay. Megan enjoys telling the stories that make Tampa Bay a unique, diverse cultural experience.