11-18-09 Decadence 04

11-14-09 A Tranquil Tropical Pool

11-13-09 Lines In the Sand

Do you see an optical illusion in this photo. When I look at the wind-sculpted ridges of sand in the bottom left part of the photo, it looks like the light is coming from the left side of the picture. But in fact the light was coming from the right and the proof of that is the shadow of the wirey bush on the right side.

Anyway, I thought that I'd balance the cold and snow photos that I've been posting with something from Mexico. This is about 3 miles south of Playa del Carmen.

11-12-09 We Were Much Younger Then. . .

Set the Way-Back machine for 1991. We were visiting Cannon Beach on the Oregon Coast. Brian and Jon were mere children then, and we were young adults.

If you have the time, check out this link, where you can hear two points of view about the events surrounding this photo: Cannon Beach VoiceThread (click here).

11-07-09 Tropical Sunset

To balance yesterday's winter photo, how about a sunset on the Pacific coast near Ixtapa, Mexico?

11-04-09 Two Halloween Fairies

A year ago my wife, my mother-in-law and I visited Gig Harbor, Washington, and happened to arrive just in time to experience Halloween festivities. The street in front of our bed and breakfast was blocked off and it was filled with all sorts of characters, including these two beautiful fairies. Here's a view of main street. (click) A few minutes after I took the photo of the fairies, I stepped across the street and found this. (Click)

10-28-09 Promenade

This photo was taken on the Stradun, the main street that runs through the center of Dubrovnik, Croatia. Many European cities have parts that are "people friendly," including Dubrovnik. No cars allowed - only pedestrians. This is a strange concept to a citizen of the US who lives in a city that is missing sidewalks in many key places. You want to walk to Walmart? You must be kidding!

What I like about this photo is that usually the dog leads the people but this dog is doing all it can to keep up with these children, who seemed pretty focused on going somwhere.

10-27-09 An Act of Devotion

Gothic architecture was revolutionary in the 12th century because it allowed for very tall structures with relatively thin walls. And thin walls meant plenty of windows and lots of light. Compared to previous styles, Gothic architecture was light and airy but to inhabitants of the 21st century, these places are dark.

And the darkness makes this photo what it is, since the main lighting is the soft light reflecting up into the faces of the two men attending to the votive candles. In the medieval mindset, light warded off evil, so even a single candle made a dark place safer and more holy.

Canon 5D 1/60s f/1.2 ISO500 50mm

10-23-09 Seeing Red: Real Italian Bruschetta

If you look up "bruschetta" on Wikipedia, here's the definition: "[Bruschetta] is a food the origin of which dates to at least the 15th century from central Italy. It consists of grilled bread rubbed with garlic and topped with extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper." Toppings of meat, cheese or tomatoes are "variations."

And, as I discovered when I received this bruschetta in Florence, Italy, there are variations in how the tomatoes are prepared. I'm used to having them chopped. But this appetizer was great. It's a healthy snack, too. No wonder the Italians seem to be so svelte. If I had been looking for a snack in my home town, I probably would have had an M&M Blizzard.

10-21-09 Seeing Red: Strasbourg Cathedral, France

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.

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