05-06-13 Alien Landscape

Of course, this view of the distant Los Angeles skyline, taken from the Hollywood Bowl overlook just off of Mulholland Drive, isn't alien to the denizens of LA. But to a flatlander in a relatively rural state (with little or no air pollution) this landscape is certainly foreign.

That's not to say that it isn't enticing and interesting to me. In fact, once I played with an HDR setting in my OnOne software, there was amazing detail and texture in this scene. I see things here that I never see in my home state of South Dakota.

By the way, in researching this post, I discovered that California is our most populous state and it is the third largest. South Dakota is 46th in population (out of 50) and we are the 17th largest in square miles. California has twice South Dakota's area but it has 35 times more people.

04-20-13 Dubrovnik Mosaic

2013 04-20 Dubrovnik Mosaic

04-19-13 Underground Vienna

03-15-13 Behind the Green Door?

Readers of a certain age and experience may recognize the allusion in today's post title. All I will say is that there was a film made in the 70s by the same title. The title is testament to the fact that I sometimes am at a total loss to find a creative title for my blog posts. The title is also testament to the occasional depth and breadth of my knowledge. :-)

03-14-13 Portugal!

The thing I remember about the day we spent on Tavira Beach on the south coast of Portugal, which is considered one of the best beaches in Portugal, is that it was cold and windy. By "cold" I think it must have been in the low 70s. Boy, do I long for the cool 70s!

03-13-13 Appetizer

I guess I'm taking you to Portugal for a few days. Deb and I visited in 2010. Frankly, Portugal has been one of my favorite European travel experiences. And the food helped. I am not a foodie but I still remember several of the meals we ate during our stay. Wonderful!

02-26-13 Japanese Garden

Here is the chain of consciousness that led me to post this photo:

1. I'm not impressed with the options available on TV
2. I check my DVR for possibilities
3. I find that I have recorded 9 episodes of "Lonely Planet," a travel show
4. I start watching the first one, which is set in London
5. Half-way through, the travel guide takes us to Kew Gardens
6. I remember that I have some Kew Gardens photos
7. I stop watching the TV show
8. I find this photo and work on it
9. I post it here

That sounds like a disciplined mind hard at work, doesn't it?

02-25-13 Tree Top Walk

I apologize to those who are subscribed to my blog posts via email: I have posted 9 times in the last 12 hours. And that means that you are getting bombarded. But don't give up on the subscription. I promise that I won't get quite so far behind in this blog any time soon.You're looking at an acrophobic's nightmare - a walkway 30 feet off the ground with a relatively low railing that takes you through the tops of a little forest in Kew Gardens, London. But if you can stand the height, it is well worth it, for it gives you a bird's eye view (or squirrel's eye or [name an arboreal animal]'s eye view) of trees.

02-19-13 Centraal Station - Amsterdam (Reprise)

TS Eliot was wrong. Februrary, not April, is "the cruelest month." At least for me. Yes, the days are getting longer. Yes, the temperature ocassionally soars into the high 20s. But it is often in the heart of February that what I think is SAAD (seasonal affective disorder) hits me. And I lose my will to post new photos to this blog.So I'm posting old stuff. . . But, in the event that you haven't meticulously looked at all four years of my posts, you've probably never seen some of these. So maybe they're not old.

02-15-13 NSFW? (Reprise)

TS Eliot was wrong. Februrary, not April, is "the cruelest month." At least for me. Yes, the days are getting longer. Yes, the temperature ocassionally soars into the high 20s. But it is often in the heart of February that what I think is SAAD (seasonal affective disorder) hits me. And I lose my will to post new photos to this blog.So I'm posting old stuff. . . But, in the event that you haven't meticulously looked at all four years of my posts, you've probably never seen some of these. So maybe they're not old.

02-09-13 Stone Lion

TS Eliot was wrong. Februrary, not April, is "the cruelest month." At least for me. Yes, the days are getting longer. Yes, the temperature ocassionally soars into the high 20s. But it is often in the heart of February that what I think is SAAD (seasonal affective disorder) hits me. And I lose my will to post new photos to this blog.So I'm posting old stuff. . . But, in the event that you haven't meticulously looked at all four years of my posts, you've probably never seen some of these. So maybe they're not old.

01-25-13 Stand Out

This is deja vu all over again, given that I have already posted an HDR photo of this tree. I moved closer to the tree for this shot and I used a slightly different HDR process to make this picture. And Monet painted the same thing over and over and look where it got him. . . .