Travel
Charlotte Amalie, on the island of St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands, has a lot more than 99 steps given that it seems to perch on the hillside above the Caribbean Sea. These steps, though, are a few of a famous stretch of stairs known as the "99 Steps." It was a sultry summer day when Deb and I were walking these stairs and so I guess we burned a few extra calories.
Deb and I ate twice at this establishment in Road Town on the Island of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. We liked the character and we also appreciated stepping into the air conditioning after a mile walk for the B&B we were staying at. And the food was good, too. My favorite: conch stew.
So I guess it's about time I post something new. And why not something prosaic like a cat?This cat was one of several who had free reign at a B&B named the Hummingbird House in Road Town, Tortola, BVIs. We stayed there before our chartered sailing trip.He was sleeping when I saw him and I put the 70-200mm lens on my camera because I figured he wouldn't let me get too close and still look so relaxed. I suspect he had a name but I never learned it.
A single foot print in the sand caught my attention as I was making my way back to our dinghy after supper. There is nothing particularly creative about this shot or subject but two things stopped me in my tracks (bad pun): the great side lighting of the print caused by the low sun angle and the diagonal striations in the sand caused by the last wave that lapped across the shoreline line.This print was gone with the next wave and so was I.
I learned just now that a group of flamingos has a variety of designations. You can call a group of them a pat, a colony, a flurry, a regiment, a stand or a flock. Though my favorite is a flamboyance.These flamingos were flying in rough formation for our benefit as we rounded the east end of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. I was lucky to have my telephoto lens on my camera when then suddenly took flight and circled overhead.
We are back from a little more than a week in the British Virgin Islands and so I guess this is my first, official post from the trip. We met our youngest son Jon and his friend Eli in Road Town, Tortola, and, having chartered a 41' Beneteau monohull sailboat for a week, we took off for the islands.I didn't take that many photos on the trip, primarily because my point of view was mainly limited to the sailboat. If you ask me, one water-with-an-island-in-the-background shot looks pretty much like every other water-with-an-island-in-the-background shot. Also, since the boat was often moving in pretty good swells and wind, I didn't like taking my camera outside the confines of the cockpit.So, anyway, here's a shot I took lying on my back on the bow of the boat looking straight up. I shot this with my 16-35mm wide angle lens but and even wider angle would have been nice.Canon 5DII 1/320s f/9.0 ISO100 16mm
I'm off on an adventure for a couple weeks and I'll be off the wifi "grid" for much of that time. Thus, I'm auto-posting things that aren't necessarily new or unseen. Most of the photos you'll see are some of my favorite Instagram photos.
On a recent flight to California I had a first class ticket because that's all there was on this particular flight and I had no choice. This is how the other half lives at the front of the plane. (They have real glasses and real metal eating utensils.)
I'm off on an adventure for a couple weeks and I'll be off the wifi "grid" for much of that time. Thus, I'm auto-posting things that aren't necessarily new or unseen. Most of the photos you'll see are some of my favorite Instagram photos.This photo, incidentally, was taken with my iPhone shortly after the plane I was in took off from John Wayne Airport. I had the perfect seat on a perfect southern California day.
This was taken with my iPhone from 40,000 feet. If I have a choice, I always pick a window seat on the side of the plane that is in shadow so I can shoot with the light behind me, so to speak. On this day, it was brilliantly clear as we flew over the Grand Canyon.
Lisbon is famous for its vintage trolleys and If you go, you have to ride them. They are especially useful for making your way up the fairly steep hills that guard the relatively narrow central part of Lisbon. The other good thing about riding local mass transit like this, is that you get to mix with locals, who don't view the trolly as a novelty but as a practical way to get around.
So I've gone back to Lisbon this week - at least I've gone back to the photo collection from Lisbon, Portugal. This photo was taken on the run under less than ideal circumstances. What drew me to the window was the beautiful purple tones of this fabric. But I also love the presentation, with all of the lines and curves. It has a bit of a seashell appearance to me. The window captured my attention and I captured it with my Canon 5DII. :-)