Just some pics

Siena

2009-12-05T14:33:00.007-05:00

We loved Siena. This is a town largely within its old medieval walls. It is ancient: the city symbol is the wolf suckling Romulus and Remus. Siena claims that it is from the latter's line that the city was founded. The Duomo in the city is magnificent with carving and artwork extraordinaire. The political wards or contrada send a contingent to other wards every Sunday, all dressed in medieval costume. They wave flags and play drums and other instruments. In the summer, they have two horse races in the main city square, vieing for honors for their own contrada. Well worth a return visit.

Their sense of humor was also on display.

Climbing near Lake Como

2009-12-05T14:07:00.002-05:00

It was a joy to climb to the Refugio Menaggio above Lake Como. It was definitely more challenging for me than for the boys. My breath gave out, but not my legs.

From the Refugio, the boys took a different and much steeper route than I. The distance was probably the same, but the rate of incline decidedly different. Julian describes their traverse:

Menaggio

2009-12-05T13:48:00.006-05:00

Menaggio is located on the west side of Lake Como. The hostel there is marvelous -- clean, hospitable and reasonably priced. (See www.menaggiohostel.com/ ).The view from the window alone was worth the stay, but we also rode a bus to the foot of a mountain and spent a day climbing. The bus ride was an adventure, hurtling through narrow twisting roads, often at more than twice the speed limit. How do I know? The one time there was a radar speed indicator on our whole trip was on this bus ride when we were slowing down in a 40 km speed zone and the radar report was 82 km. I took the movie below when it was safer -- other times we had tree branches coming in the windows. Negotiating switchbacks required the bus driver to honk his horn and forced oncoming traffic to back up.

Nurnberg

2009-12-05T13:37:00.003-05:00

Our first stop this past summer was Nurnberg. The skies were often blue, the city is historic and beautiful, and the hospitality of the Hagens was generous and warm. They arranged for us to climb one of these towers and to walk under the roof and above the ceiling of the cathedral. The medieval construction was intriguing and the views from the steeple balcony were stunning.

Orchid

2006-10-09T22:11:00.000-04:00

There were a lot of beautiful orchids at this show, tempting just to pluck one. But I realized how serious they were when I saw the sign, "No orchidectomies."

Dutch Belted or Belted Galloway?

2006-10-08T13:59:00.000-04:00

I am no expert on cattle and have never seen any with stripes. Lots of blacks and browns in solids and patches, but never a striped or belted one. This is one of a pair I discovered a few miles outside of my village here in Michigan. After a net search, I found that a few such breeds exist. Certainly not fine photography, but I would be curious how many have seen belted cattle previously (and where.)

Cactus.

2006-10-01T20:57:00.000-04:00

Looks like it is ready to kiss someone.

Back yard

2006-09-23T18:45:00.000-04:00

It was an overcast day, sort of dreary and a bit nippy. But the backyard of friends was still verdant.

Morning mist on the river

2006-09-14T20:19:00.000-04:00

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Starting time

2006-09-12T22:33:00.000-04:00

My older son is a runner and I went to plenty of cross country races for several years. The outfits are colorful. These are shots from about four years ago with a high school cross country meet.

Doodles

2006-09-11T22:01:00.000-04:00

Some folks are doodlers. A friend of my younger son is one of them. He knows what to do when he runs out of paper.

One son's friend

2006-09-09T19:32:00.000-04:00

My younger son and some of his friends like taking pictures, including pictures of each other. I encourage this to help develop a photographic eye. Here is a picture my son took of one of his friends using a panelled mirror.

Les mauvailses terres à traverser

2006-09-06T10:02:00.000-04:00

The first Europeans to see this area in southwestern South Dakota called it "les mauvailses terres à traverser." They were right -- it would be a bad land to cross. But the anglicized "Badlands" does not do it justice. This country is awe inspiring: beautiful, though rugged. Earlier in July, according to one of the park rangers, the temperature had risen to 47.7C (118F). It reached about 40C (105F) while we were there. We stayed in cabins that predated the establishment of the Badlands National Park and this were the only lodgings inside the park. The "Cedar Lodge" is a wonderful place to stay. The standalone cabins are a single room with attached sink, shower, toilet room. The room is small with a window air conditioner, no telephone, no television and no Internet connection. The "awayness" was wonderful. So very different from the awayness that Dave MacIntyre gets (see his "Concrete to cottages" blog linked to the side) and different even from the pictures Ali shows ("The Big Picture" blog, also linked) of the United Arab Emirates.

The clouds are moving in; it stormed that night. While it looks like the hills are in the gloaming, it is actually midday, but the sky had an unusual hue. The grey-blue sky, the landscape with varied degrees of sun breaking through, and the layered colo[u]ration of the rugged hills seem impossible to catch in a picture, but this gives a taste.

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Northern signs

2006-09-04T15:14:00.000-04:00

Some folks have to see the aurora borealis to know they are in the north. Real woodsmen use other signs, such as these by the highway between Thunder Bay and Dryden, Ontario:

Bomb.

2006-08-31T09:05:00.000-04:00

On one of our camping trips, the boys brought along some smoke bombs.

Lots of great colo(u)rs. I liked the contrast with the blue of the sky.

Go fly a kite

2006-08-28T20:24:00.000-04:00

Such a simple photo, but both the colors and symbolism are beautiful to me. One of my boys and a friend enjoying summer as only a couple of kids can. I was permitted to participate in their joy only because of my propinquity. And I love the clear blue sky and the brilliance of the kite. Of course, I could have cropped it, but I didn't want to.

Blogger has not been kind to me lately. I have had to attempt several times for each upload. Being oft refused does frustrate, but the price is right.

EXIF: 1/3200 sec; f5.6; 300mm (450mm equivalent); ISO 800 (Why???? Must have left it from dusk shooting the previous evening.)

Badlands sunset

2006-08-23T21:46:00.000-04:00

Two renditions of the same picture, taken in the Badlands National Park (South Dakota), with the sun setting behind us. I took the picture in RAW format (Nikon's name is "nef"). Of course, I can't load a "nef" image onto blogspot and expect anyone to view it, so I change it to a jpeg. Curiously, when I used Nikon Capture, it reduced a 6 meg file to a 78k jpeg (the lower image here). I like the layering of the sky in this massively compressed file.

RawShooter does a much better job of allowing permutations (or at least I find it more intuitive.) Their best jpeg is 3-4 megs and this one came in a about 1.5.

The softness of the colors and the harshness of the landscape make a contrast that is intriguing to me.

King of the road

2006-08-21T23:06:00.000-04:00

This is a bit better, obviously a repeat of yesterday. This heat was rising from the road in waves and that fades the original somewhat.

I tried to encourage my 16-year-old to stand by this bison -- what a picture that would have been! But he was uncharacteristically reticent (my son, that is). But he is a generous lad; he offered to take a picture of me sitting on the bison's back. I was concerned that some folks might think I was being cruel to the bison, although if my son continued taking pictures and watched the bison stomping my body for a bit, that might have mitigated concern of animal cruelty. There were about a dozen bison in this group.

I have to be careful; I took hundreds of pictures. But I have a warning light that goes off in my addlepated memory. When I was a freshman in college, I joined the choir and we travelled in the spring break. One night two of us were staying with this family who had a bunch of friends over and were showing slides of their trip to Mexico. These folks had not deleted any picture they took, and they took a lot. I remember seeing eight slides from varying distances of the entrance to a Mexican cemetary. When I noticed that my roomie Maury had fallen asleep, we bowed out, claiming it was a long day (not true.)

"Cemetary," by the way, is distinctly Christian in the origins of the way we use it. It is etymologically identical to the French "dormitory." Early Christians did not like "necropolis" (city of the dead), so they took the available equivalent of the place for sleep and applied it to the graveyard, thinking of the words about Lazarus, among others, "He is not dead, only sleeping."

Bummer

2006-08-20T21:54:00.000-04:00

I am very unhappy with the way this last shot turned out, although it was really, really hot in the Badlands. It had just cooled off from 114F. Obviously I need to go back to the drawing board and do a lot more postprocessing, but not tonight. I had a wonderful vacation with no Internet access. Got home to discover we had a torrential rainstorm and had water in the basement with carpets, library and computer equipment. Got my younger son's PC up and running and then he downloaded some new drivers and did some other things so I ended up rebuilding that PC from scratch. Piles of work awaiting.

Bison stop

2006-08-20T21:23:00.000-04:00

Sometimes it is wise to stop. This bison was almost as big as the car coming from the opposite direction. Taken in Badland National Park, South Dakota. Humming "Buffalo gal, won't you come out tonight" for those who know "It's a wonderful life."

Boy with cactus

2006-07-20T20:45:00.000-04:00

Just to give you an idea of size, I have included a small lad in this photo.
After some very busy weeks, I have one more work day before vacation begins. The greater part of three weeks I will be without Internet access. Off to Mount Rushmore, the Badlands National Park, the Custer Memorial, the Mammoth Site, Thunder Bay and Dryden. If you are in the area, introduce yourself and I will buy you a Coke.

Buxom cactus

2006-07-15T19:32:00.000-04:00

In my high school days, when we lads had to travel out of town for a bit, the favored girls left behind would say, "Look, but don't touch." My suspicion is that the locals would have wished their distant siren sisters were bedecked in accoutrements such as these. Gives a whole new understanding to "the living bra." (Which of the actresses on "Laugh-In" had the line "I dreamt I wore a living bra and it bit me?") Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Arizona.
Freud could write a book with this entry.

Sunset over Lake Michigan

2006-07-14T08:59:00.000-04:00

The last glimmers of sunset on the last evening of our camping trip. ISO 800; 1/60 sec.; f4.5, 62mm (93mm for 35mm equivalent).

Music I'm listening to: The Irish Tenors, Be Thou My Vision.

I am in my last two weeks of work before three weeks of vacation. You know how that is -- a month of work in the last two weeks and a month of work in the two weeks when you get back.

The voyageurs

2006-07-09T09:07:00.000-04:00

The boys are testing out the raft in a place of 2 or 3 foot depth; it is a big lake for a vessel of such seaworthiness.

The raft builders

2006-07-08T11:08:00.000-04:00

On the last evening of our camping trip, the boys combined their genius and set themselves to build a raft. These are two digital natives, weaned as cyberboys. I was concerned that cold turkey withdrawal from their toys might be too much, but they filled every minute with activity. On the other hand, the raft might have been a means to head south for their XBox, etc., etc., etc.
(Aside for photographic purists: The horizon may seem tilted, but the further north you get, that happens. At the pole, the horizon is vertical. I lived in New Zealand for a year -- the horizon tilted the opposite way: I have the pictures to prove it.) ;-)
I, as a digital immigrant, tempered my withdrawal pangs by bringing along my camera and my iRiver. (For Toronto Dave: I was listening to John McDermott singing And the Band played Waltzing Matilda, a haunting and poignant ballad of the plight of the wounded after the war is long forgotten.) It was 9:47 in the evening when I took this shot, so ISO was 1250 (hence the graininess), shooting at 1/60 sec (metric time), 29 mm, f4.5.

Gunwhale pumping

2006-07-06T21:45:00.000-04:00

The idea is to stand on each end of the canoe and get it rocking until you dump. The water is cold, so even when they were out in the lake, these lads thought it better to be out of the lake as much as possible.

But inevitably, Neptune claims the gamesmen.

The third time they toppled, their zeal had been dampened and they headed for the beach. The air was 27C (80 degrees F), but the water in the straits between Lakes Michigan and Huron was much colder.

Independence Day USA

2006-07-04T14:24:00.000-04:00

There have been fireworks for several days (much to the dis-ease of my collie "Guy"). But parades are in the daylight and make it easy to take pictures and small towns are great for "people parades." Happy 230th birthday to the United States!

Canada Day

2006-07-01T15:28:00.000-04:00

From the cable car on Grouse Mountain, one of a trio on Vancouver's north side, looking down to inlet and city. The picture below is looking back at Vancouver from the ferry headed over to North Vancouver (one of the ways you can get there in the public transport system.)
Celebrate Dominion (oops, strike that) Canada Day. These are a couple of shots of Vancouver taken several years ago on vacation. What a beautiful city, wonderful people, and great public transportation.

Wild thing

2006-07-01T13:27:00.000-04:00

I took 4 or 5 shots of this stump and yellow flower.

Some wild things are well rooted. The camping outing last weekend produced a lot of flower shots, but many more views of meadows filled with a great variety of flowers. So peaceful and refreshing.

Just a pair

2006-06-29T22:51:00.000-04:00

This is Saturday night's sunset. The lake was so calm and its peace was infectious. ISO was pushed to 800 for this shot. (f8.0; 1/250 sec.)
I called this flower the pie flower because of its shape. It was 18-20 inches high and I lay down in the sand to take this picture with the blue sky and clouds for background. I did not see the goose dung until I got up. Fortunately it was quite dry and hard.

Melange

2006-06-27T20:09:00.000-04:00

We actually did go camping and looked at a lot besides classic cars. The weather was great, except for some rain Sunday morning. This was the sunset Friday evening, looking west to the very top of Lake Michigan.

I am told that this moose is featured in a photographic book of Michigan. Just right out there by route 2 at the western edge of St. Ignace.

The camping spot we were at is within sight of the bridge that joins the two peninsulas of Michigan. Natives and residents of the upper peninsula or "U.P." are known as "Yoopers." Those in the lower peninsula are called "trolls" because they are below the bridge. I didn't know if I could survive for four days without my laptop and an Internet connection, but with great fortitude I was able to endure. :-)

This is a bush.

And I will show a few more shots of the classic cars driving around St. Ignace over the weekend.

Serendipity

2006-06-26T21:11:00.000-04:00

We had a wonderful time camping out in tents. Totally unanticipated, delightful, and thus serendipitous was the 31st annual Class Car Show in nearby St. Ignace. Over 1000 cars participated in the event, mainly produced in the U.S. in the 1950's, 60's, and 70's, although there were others both geographically and chronologically beyond these limits. Lots of muscle cars. Deep sounding engines, solid lifters, some supercharged, some with near-slicks. They ran the gamut between fastidious restoration to original parts and condition to highly (extremely) modified. We did not get to watch the actual parade, but many owners stayed an extra day and drove the main street of town. I am no gearhead and cannot identify many of the cars -- identifying comments are welcome.

Camping

2006-06-22T21:26:00.000-04:00

Well, I am off camping with my teenager and another father and son. Expect to be back next Monday evening. No wireless in the tent (probably a good thing.) Be well.

Coming home

2006-06-21T20:29:00.000-04:00

This is the same runner as the previous post here running the 10k race the same morning. This is the final meters before the finish line.

Runner

2006-06-20T21:53:00.000-04:00

I took hundreds of pictures of runners at the Kalamazoo Klassic last weekend. This is one of the better runners in the 5k.

Kalamazoo Klassic

2006-06-18T16:48:00.000-04:00

Just took a few hundred pictures at the Kalamazoo Klassic to help out MRC Industries. You can see the pics as I post them at:
Kalamazoo Klassic 2006 Kids' Race, 5k, 10k and After the race/.
This has replaced the time I devote to this blog.

Fishing at Delhi

2006-06-14T07:03:00.000-04:00

Just a folksy pic of a father and his two boys fishing on the Huron River. I have observed this same scene in so many parts of the world.
I can't be very involved in the photoblog milieu this week (alas). I am 300 km from home at a very busy conference and have been asked to take pictures at a fundraiser race in southwestern Michigan this weekend. Most of my computer time is doing e-mail from work. Laptops and nearly ubiquitous internet connectivity provide addtional opportunities to work almost anywhere these days.

Dragonfly & Iris

2006-06-11T20:50:00.000-04:00

Taken by the shore of the Huron River near Ann Arbor, Michigan. f6.3; 1/640 sec; 180mm; ISO 200.

Time flies

2006-06-09T21:58:00.000-04:00

It would not have been difficult to time these flies; they were just hovering. This was taken on a camping trip in the upper peninsula of Michigan.

Mammoth tusk at Buckingham Palace

2006-06-06T21:42:00.000-04:00

This was the window display at a shop in San Francisco called "Buckingham Palace." This is the only mammoth tusk I have seen. I didn't purchase it; it would not have fit in my overhead luggage on the flight home.

The glass is empty

2006-06-03T22:00:00.000-04:00

A lad contemplates an empty glass . . . "Would I like another?" Taken from 30 feet away, in low light & hand held.

Study in green and salmon(?) on blue

2006-06-01T19:04:00.000-04:00

While my roses are starting to bloom at home, this desert flower still allures. I like the colour contrast. Cropping with Picasa plus "I'm feeling lucky." From the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. 180mm, f4.8, 1/1250 sec., ISO 400, 3:50 pm. RAW.

Cactus flowers

2006-05-29T20:22:00.000-04:00

I don't know why the gold glows so much, but I think it looks great, especially the reflection onto the white petals. No post-processing at all. Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix, Arizona.

Columbine

2006-05-20T19:09:00.000-04:00

Columbine comes in many colors and some in multicolors, such as this one in my garden.

Bleeding hearts

2006-05-17T19:40:00.000-04:00

I love this flower which blooms well in the many shady areas of my yard.

Descent into the Japanese Garden

2006-05-16T22:07:00.000-04:00

Huntington Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California. This picture in contradistinction to the last: one rugged and untouched terrain while this is carefully manicured; one Maine and the other California. This garden has a long pond divided by the bridge you can see in the lower center of this picture. The bridge is the arch at the end of the tunnel-like arbor. The bridge itself was closed off. Here is the margin of the pond on the right as you walk down into the garden.

Northern Maine

2006-05-14T18:10:00.000-04:00

During a visit to my wonderful first cousin Francie and her husband Frank near Bangor, Maine a few years ago, we headed north and crossed the border in New Brunswick. Before we got there, we stopped by a few spots in northern Maine. Maine has more traffic accidents caused by collision with moose than any eastern U.S. state.

A different perspective

2006-05-14T18:01:00.000-04:00

This is another view of the plants in the previous post, shot standing. Their height is from one foot to two meters, I would hazard. Not a very interesting shot, but I thought I would include this to respond to some of the comments I received.

At the Huntington Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California, USA

2006-05-08T20:33:00.000-04:00

I took this picture from ground level looking up. It was the only way to avoid distracting backgrounds and to have the sky for contrast. And it is a lot more interesting picture! Seeing these unusual plants with no context but the sky is more appealing than the standard eye-level shot (see next post). 18mm, f3.6, 1/640 sec., ISO 800.

Dixboro garden pond

2006-05-07T11:35:00.000-04:00

Another shot from Marty & Dorothy's garden. I use this picture for the desktop on my laptop.

Finishing the 5k

2006-05-03T22:02:00.000-04:00

San Francisco streets

2006-05-03T21:49:00.000-04:00

For some reason, the confluence of these two streets, cars headed downhill in both of them, appealed to me

Crabapple tree

2006-04-28T20:11:00.000-04:00

Taken this evening in front of my home. Frost warning tonight.

From the Dixboro garden

2006-04-27T19:57:00.000-04:00

Tzarskoye Selo

2006-04-25T19:45:00.000-04:00

Someone with more photographic skills than I (Suby) suggested straightening one photo and making another b&w and sharpened. Your wish is my command. Thanks for the suggestion. What do you think? (Original posts --still posted-- are from Monday April 24.) Precise information on the palace from Nina: "That blue palace is called Tzarskoye Selo. It is outside of St.Petersburg. It is where Amber Room is. The building which is attached to the palace is called Tzarsko-Selsky Litsey. Alexander Pushkin graduated from it. "

Spring came early in Michigan

2006-04-25T19:33:00.000-04:00

I am fortunate to have friends who really know how to garden. Barbara is both an adjunct professor of marketing and a master gardener. Carol is a physician assistant with three kids. They have very full lives and beautiful gardens as well. These three pictures (and the hyancinth below) I took last Saturday out at Marty & Dorothy's place. They scheduled a two-week vacation down in Georgia, planned well in advance to precede the first spring blush. Last weekend was the middle of their two-week vacation. We have had an unusually warm spring here (although it is supposed to freeze tonight). They emailed me before they left and said that I might as well drop by and see their garden in bloom; they would be gone. So I took 173 pictures. To compare talent: I have four tulips almost opening; they have hundreds of tulips and daffodils and hyacinths and pansies and flowering shrubs -- look for yourself. So I took the pictures for them (I made a CD) and for me. Maybe I will print a few out and take it out to my sorry garden and tell my flowers to start putting out!
Be sure to check the hyacynth below, also from the same garden.

Hyacinth

2006-04-25T19:24:00.000-04:00

Signs of spring. Probably no one will notice this one because I posted 5 others just after I did this one, but I really love blue and these hyacynth look so fragile and yet here they are. Notice that with all the grand sweeps of color in Marty & Dorothy's garden, I posted this one first.

Tzarskoye Selo

2006-04-24T19:35:00.000-04:00

More pictures taken by my friend Nina near St. Petersburg, Russia two months ago.

Ice palace

2006-04-21T09:30:00.000-04:00

My friend Nina returned to Russia for a visit. A Muscovite, she visited St. Petersburg and took some pictures of the Hermitage and the ice palace. She allowed me to share them with you. I will share three to begin. If there is interest, more.

Getting the flannel up.

2006-04-19T20:50:00.000-04:00

When we lived in New Zealand (1980), we were told that there were three million humanoid bipeds and fifty-five million woolly quadrepeds known as "ovis" in Latin or "oi" in Old Irish. (So when Paddy calls out to you and says "oi!" he isn't exactly being complimentary.) If you are driving in Auckland (population one million) and turn a corner and there in the road is a flock of sheep, they have the right of way. And if you hit one, there will be mutton to pay. "Getting the flannel up" was an expression used at Cambridge University and is the equivalent to the expression "pulling the wool over someone's eyes."

New Zealand beach

2006-04-17T20:00:00.000-04:00

Maori bay is northwest of Auckland; this is the south end of Muriwai beach. The white outcrop is a gannet colony. Maori bay is a popular surfing spot, too rocky for swimming. (Thanks to Bob Scott Anderson & esp. his wife Heather for the identification. I took this picture in 1980 and did not recall the name of the beach). New Zealand is God's gift to the world.

Wild thing

2006-04-14T20:38:00.000-04:00

First wildflower this spring in nearby woods. Shot at dusk with a telephoto lens. f5.6, 1/60 sec., ISO 220, 300mm.

Victoria Regina

2006-04-14T18:09:00.000-04:00

I was a bit startled to see a Maori sculpture and Queen Victoria's regal bust on top. New Zealand, 1980. I am not certain what the symbolism of the carved face means, but maybe "Heavy white woman speak with forked tongue."

Roses from my garden

2006-04-13T21:18:00.000-04:00

Just a few roses cut from my garden a few years ago. I go for the fragrant kind and that often means old roses that are not in the modern hybrid tea shape.

Make burgers not war

2006-04-13T20:44:00.000-04:00

Blimpy Burgers is a great burger spot in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Started by "Crazy Jim" in 1953, its slogan is "Cheaper than food." That may have been true, once. All sorts of burgers, made to order. Over a billion possible combinations, they claim. If your cholesterol is low, this is the place to go to build it up! When the new owner took over, he started a tradition of snow polar bears, different every winter and every storm sometimes. These bears do not want to be in Iraq.

On the way to Squamish, British Columbia

2006-04-12T22:28:00.000-04:00

Near Squamish, British Columbia

2006-04-12T21:13:00.000-04:00

Assiniboia in 1916

2006-04-11T12:36:00.000-04:00

This is the bigger picture (as requested by Ali) for the post below. I deleted the smaller picture, but Blogger would not replace the picture I had deleted. So this post and the previous post go together. And then my fellow photoblogger Wolf has pictured a combine at My Pic a Day: Rusty Combine

And now for something completely different . . .

2006-04-10T21:23:00.000-04:00

This is a picture of my Dad (in the middle), a neighbo[u]r Helen, and my grandmother in front of a combine in Assiniboia, Saskatchewan in 1916. I have not taken the time to restore the picture in Photoshop (have to learn how--I am very much an amateur with PS), but it is an interesting piece of history. Blogger problems with uploading larger replacement, so I put in another entry with the larger pic.

Forget-me-nots (thanks, Nicola)

2006-04-10T21:06:00.000-04:00

So far, all that I have seen blooming around Michigan are crocuses and daffodils. I took this picture last May -- it is hard to wait for Michigan spring, especially when I have lived in more temperate climes.

Near Portage, Michigan

2006-04-10T20:56:00.000-04:00

In November 2005, I attended a planning conference at the one-time Upjohn Conference Center near Portage, Michigan. The grounds were rustic with an almost pre-Raphaelite beauty; the accomodations were good; the food was great.

Grand Traverse Bay shoreline

2006-04-07T10:10:00.000-04:00

Taken on the western shore of Grand Traverse Bay, Michigan, during Christmas week, 1974. I love the way the sun catches the mist rising by the shore & trees. Tom Brooks was trying to teach me a bit about photography -- he became the professional. Good friends are the breath of life.

Dusk on the Oregon coast

2006-04-07T10:04:00.000-04:00

Taken in the 1970's when I was just starting with photography. Some things I would do a bit otherwise now, but I still like the picture. North of Depot Bay, Oregon. The sky used to have more red and orange, but the slide has faded some.

The water mill

2006-04-05T21:53:00.000-04:00

Waterfall and mill in New Brunswick, Canada. August 2003. f5.50. 119mm. 1/486.1 sec. Coolpix 4500.

Study in burnt orange and blue

2006-04-03T06:39:00.000-04:00

Another shot from the orchid show. This show had so many photographers that I don't know how other folks actually got to see the orchids! I took all the pictures without using flash. I had intended to take my ring flash, but I forgot to bring the adapter that fits on the lens. I am quite pleased with the results, even though it was the result of my gormlessness. The colors are those I recall, plus the backgrounds are totally different than if I had used a single flash, true to what actually was and not just darker because they are further from the flash. 105mm lens. f4.0, 1/30 sec, 320 ISO.

Fielder's choice

2006-04-02T05:25:00.000-04:00

Ali has raised the interesting issue whether the picture below might be better landscape. Unfortunately, I did not take two shots from the same position and coming from this side, where I did shoot it landscape, the lighting is different. This was a fielder's choice: by shooting portrait, I was able to eliminate the path on the one side and the heavy tree shadow on the pond and to focus attention on the detail and lightness of the "beach." There is reason, of course, that this orientation is called "landscape" and I can see merit in that thinking as well. What do you think?

Japanese garden pond margin

2006-03-31T20:25:00.000-05:00

The margin of the pond in the Japanese garden of the Huntington Gardens in greater Los Angeles. I like the way there is a rock beach of similar size stones and then larger rocks on top.

Spanish royalty

2006-03-31T09:07:00.000-05:00

The Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix are featuring an exhibition of sculptures modelled after centuries old paintings of Spanish royal families. They are large. This is a bit of one of them. The sculptures are the creation of Manolo Valdés.

San Fransisco fire escape

2006-03-31T06:27:00.000-05:00

I was in San Francisco recently for the first time in many years. The architecture is great! Even the fire escapes drew my eye. Bowed and bay windows are very popular here.

White & gold orchid

2006-03-29T22:37:00.000-05:00

From the Huntington Gardens. July 2005.

Seal fence

2006-03-27T20:41:00.000-05:00

Oregon coast, 1977. This fence has kept the seals from coming this far inland. Of course, it would have to be a really high tide or some really desperate seals that could climb the steep face at this point. Ectachrome, Minolta SRT101.

Oregon fence

2006-03-27T16:11:00.000-05:00

Fence on the Oregon coast, 1977. Minolta SRT101, Ectachrome.

After the War of the Roses

2006-03-26T19:43:00.000-05:00

The English War of the Roses was fought between the houses of Lancaster and York, symbolized by red and white roses. Some believe this bicolor rose was picked to represent the end of that war and the beginning of the Tudor house. A fragrant rose in my garden.

Apothecary's rose

2006-03-26T19:27:00.000-05:00

This ancient rose is very fragrant and the brightest pink of any of my roses.

Mackinac bridge.

2006-03-26T19:20:00.000-05:00

This bridge crosses the Straits of Mackinac between the lower and upper peninsulas of Michigan. End of May, 2005.

Lake Michigan driftwood

2006-03-26T18:23:00.000-05:00

I don't know why I like stumps, but they often seem photogenic to me. This one is on the shore west of St. Ignace Michigan.

Orchid with spots

2006-03-26T17:04:00.000-05:00

Orchid show at Matthei Botanical Garden, the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Redwood face

2006-03-26T16:58:00.000-05:00

Face in redwood bark, Sonoma County, California.

Winter on the Huron (2)

2006-03-26T16:52:00.000-05:00

Huron River near Ann Arbor, Michigan. January 2006.

Winter on the Huron

2006-03-26T16:49:00.000-05:00

Huron River near Ann Arbor, Michigan, January 2006. I have printed this on Strathmore 140 lb. watercolor paper to very good effect. Epson R800 printer.

Bullrushes

2006-03-26T16:42:00.000-05:00

Autumn in Benzie County, Michigan.

No Re-entry New Orleans

2006-03-25T21:46:00.000-05:00

French Quarter, New Orleans. Feb. 2005. Nikon Coolpix 4500.

Waterfall

2006-03-25T21:40:00.000-05:00

By the highway from Vancouver to Squamish, British Columbia.

Royalty in the cactii

2006-03-25T21:13:00.000-05:00

Sculpture based on centuries-old representations of Spanish royal family, shown at the Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Arizona.

Cactii with pillbox hats

2006-03-25T20:51:00.000-05:00

From the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona.

Bowl of fruit

2006-03-24T06:22:00.000-05:00

From the De Young museum in San Francisco -- the size of this work of art can be estimated by relating to the top of the man's head in the lower left corner.

Cactus balloon animal

2006-03-23T04:23:00.000-05:00

To me, this looks like a balloon animal that folks twist together, although it is cactus, of course. From the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona.

Queen of Denmark

2006-03-23T03:45:00.000-05:00

Konigen von Danemark rose from my garden. Hardy to zone 4. Somewhat fragrant. Large bush.

Bamboo stand

2006-03-23T03:26:00.000-05:00

Walkway through a stand of bamboo in the Huntington Gardens, California.

Another orchid

2006-03-20T22:08:00.000-05:00

From the orchid show at the Matthei Botanical Garden, Ann Arbor, Michigan.