Pink is perhaps a more accurate color to describe this amazing structure. The color comes from the unique, local sandstone from which it is constructed. This cathedral is the 7th tallest church in the world and for 2 1/2 centuries it was the tallest building in the world. The cathedral's namesake town sounds German and the food looks German, but trust me - it is in the beautiful Alsace-Lorraine region of eastern France. On a side note, terrorists sought to detonate a bomb in the square in front of the cathedral in 2000 but the plot was revealed and foiled.
Travel
10-20-09 Seeing Red: Amsterdam
If you were hoping for a photo of the famous "red light" district of Amsterdam, sorry. I've heard that taking photos there can be very risky - the women working there want their privacy protected.
Instead, here's a photograph of a fairly typical dwelling in Amsterdam - very narrow and several stories tall. You can't see from this angle, but the buildings are slightly sloping, with the top hanging out over the sidewalk. The reason for the slope is that furniture is lifted to upper floors by a winch attached to the roof rafter on the outside of the building. The stairs have too many twists and turns.
10-18-09 The Seasons Change
If you lived in Hawaii, I'm not sure that the title of this post would make much sense. Think it's always warm with a chance of rain. But near Dearfield, SD, where this photo was taken, the brown and golden tones suggest that winter approaches. I took this photo out of the window of my truck because it was too darn cold to stand outside. I also forgot my tripod. When I shoot landscape photos, I like small apertures, low iso and (therefore) slower shutter speeds.
Canon 1D II 1/100s f/11.0 ISO400 51mm
10-18-09 Green Abstraction
This is some kind of succulent plant growing in the back yard of the house we stayed at in Kona, Hawaii. This was a reject from my "Seeing Green" series, but I'm trying to keep my blog going this week without missing a day. My "Seeing Red" series starts tomorrow.
10-17-09 Self Portrait With Girl In Pink
The girl in pink is Megan and she was willing to pose for one of my traffic mirror self-portraits. This time, I'm with a student group in Munich, Germany. Megan and I had split off from the group to visit the Pinakothek Art Museum.
Notice the German flag flying on the car behind us. My observation about Europe is that Europeans are not as inclined to wave their national flags as the Americans are. The reason for this might be that they still carry the strong memory of the occasional dangers of nationalism. But one of the times that nationalism and flag waving are rampant is when the World Cup Football matches are being played, as they were in the summer of 2006, when we were in Germany and Italy traveling the "Romantic Road."
The Italians went on to win and we were in Florence, Italy, the night this happened. You might remember a photo I posted from "the morning after." Canon 5D 1/320s f/7.1 ISO800 95mm
10-16-09 Remembering the Greek Islands
As we experience "the coldest first two weeks of October ever recorded," it's not hard to think of warm, sun-washed places like Santorini, which is pictured here. A student group, my wife and I spent several hours on this amazing island in the summer of 2004. As winter sets in, I long to go back. Do you want to come along?
Canon 1D II 1/1000s f/18.0 ISO500 90mm
10-15-09 A Long Train

10-10-09 Seeing Green: Spotted Fern Leaf, Hawaii

10-09-09 Seeing Green: Early Grapes
These were growing over a doorway in a back street in a little village in Croatia. Green things like this seem to suggest the promise of something. Jelly? Wine? Or a meal for birds?
10-06-09 Seeing Green: Under the Sea
We saw much that was green on our trip this past summer to Sitka, Alaska, including these sea bass. Our vantage point was an excursion boat named the Sea Life Discovery. I was fascinated by the murky, green water that our boat moved through and I was intrigued by the sea life. I took over 100 pictures but most are out of focus. Though this photo is a little marginal, it's one of the better ones.
Sea Life Discovery A view of the inside of the Sea Life Discovery
Canon 5DII 1/100s f/5.6 ISO1600 45mm
10-05-09 Seeing Green: Transitions
Special Note: This is the first is a series this week that I am calling "Seeing Green," which will feature green things I have photographed. Sounds exciting, doesn't it?
I like the transitional colors in these leaves. And I also like the veins that are clearly visible.
10-04-09 Change of Seasons
I made a brief venture into my back yard this morning and found this leaf, which was still wet from the rain we had earlier in the morning.
