Jeremy Chandler. Couple at the Fair. Image courtesy of the artist.

First there was Beth Reynolds’ documentation of Tampa life in heterogeneous form—from the flamenco dancer to the crab fisherman. Then came Suzanne Camp Crosby’s more surreal take on the city’s character—think headless mannequins in period costume arranged on the veranda of Plant Hall. Next, Rebecca Sexton Larson’s pinhole photographs, Steven S. Gregory’s digitally altered landscapes and Marion Belanger’s haunting interior spaces, devoid of people.

Now the sixth shooter to take up the mantle of photographer laureate for the City of Tampa, Jeremy Chandler, offers his view of the burg’s charms and curiosities. Through July 6, twenty of his color photographs (from a portfolio of 35 images in all) are on view at Gallery AIA at the American Institute for Architects offices in downtown Tampa. Like each of his predecessors, Chandler sees Tampa through his own aesthetic ‘lens’—in this case, one devoted to portraiture.

This article appears in Jun 10-16, 2009.