Sunshine,Seabreeze & Daydreams

Prior to 1980 South Beach was a sleepy section of Miami Beach, populated largely by jewish retirees from New York. Over the years it had become somewhat run down and as these residents died off a somewhat less affluent migrant population slowly began to move into the area accelerating its decline. In the mid 80's and early 90's however, developers began to buy up and renovate much of the real estate and thanks to the efforts of groups such as the Miami Design Preservation League many of the area's Art Deco buildings slated for demolition, were saved and restored. The area's popularity as a destination for young tourists grew rapidly and it became a popular destination for Hollywood film crews and international photo shoots, in particular European catalogue, fashion and advertising work. Still, vestiges of that 'Old South Beach' lingered on. Here, an elderly gentleman stretches out on a bench to enjoy the sun and the beach's gentle salty breeze. It was shot on Kodachrome 64, with a Nikon F3 and a Nikkor AI 50mm f/1.4 lens.