St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster Ribbon Cutting at VIP Eye Care

St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster helping Dr. Mona Henri with the ribbon cutting for her boutique's new location.This morning was my fourth opportunity to photograph St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster at a ribbon cutting for a local business.  VIP Eye Care has been my source for contact lenses since moving back to Florida 2.75 years ago.  I chose Dr. Henri's (in red above) eye care facility because I wanted to support a fellow independent St. Pete business rather than a chain with outlets across the country.  As you would expect, the service is great and Dr. Henri's eye exams are actually kind of fun.

Warning, looking closer may cause sticker shock! - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 800 1/60th with Nikon SB-800 Speedlight @ 1/4 +2/3 power hotshoe mountedMost of the times I visit VIP Eye Care I am just in and out to pickup my contact lenses.  At the ribbon cutting this morning I had a chance to browse the many designer brands of eyeglasses on display.  Now, I have been a loyal Oakley man since I was 16 years old, so I am accustomed to paying a not insignificant sum for eyewear.  However, Oakley provides "thermonuclear protection" which I absolutely believe in.  Thus, $300 to $400 sticker prices for just an empty pair of frames was shocking to me!  At least the ones for $400 were made of carbon fiber!

Candid Mayor Bill Foster trying on a pair of square lenses at VIP Eye Care in St. Petersburg FloridaMayor Foster declared himself as a person who really loves wearing glasses having no interest in lasic surgery or contact lenses.  I liked that.  You do not often hear people being proud to wear glasses, although I think it has gotten a lot cooler to do so in the past few years compared to when I was a kid.  

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