Contest Captures King Tide In Sarasota

Some 32 Tampa Bay area photographers participated in a recent photo contest to show the potential impact of rising sea levels in Sarasota and beyond. 

The photographers, from all over the region, submitted 161 images in the recent sponsored by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program and Sarasota Bay Estuary Program. Winners of cash prizes will be announced in July.

A King Tide occurs when the moon and sun align on one side of the Earth and the resulting gravitational pull creates extreme high tides.

These King Tides normally occur twice a year, most recently from June 3-5. Amateur photographers were invited to submit photos of shorelines at both low and “King” tide stages to illustrate how rising seas may affect our region’s shores, buildings, roads and other infrastructure.

The two Estuary Programs partnered on the photo contest as a strikingly visual way to boost awareness of the long-term impacts of gradual sea level rise on our communities.

The contest is part of a larger King Tide photo-documentation project involving coastal communities throughout the U.S. as well as Canada and Australia.

The rest of the Sarasota and Tampa area entries can be found on Flickr.