Sometimes we tend to forget just how lucky we are.

Leaving Puerto Chiapas we had a day of sailing which means there's nothing to see but the briny blue. Niccy broke out both of her laptops, got a cup of coffee (fuel for Nurses) and decided to get some work done. Thankfully the ships wireless was good (Thank You Elon, her fellow South African) and she was able to put in a full day, along with a Zoom conference with one of her fellow Nurses.

I really don't like to say it but as I said above sometimes we forget just how lucky we are to be able to travel like we do. With me being retired it's easy but not as much for Niccy since she's got another 7-8 years till she's able to collect her government bennies.

We're fortunate that she has found a way to make her job somewhat portable and remote, which is great for travel but I know she misses that human interaction she has with her patients. She's a Nurse because she truly cares for her patients and anyone who's considering going into the Nursing profession would do well to follow her example.

We've never sailed on her but we do own Carnival stock!

Carnival Venezia is a Vista-class cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Line, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Originally intended to serve the Chinese market, she debuted as Costa Venezia for sister brand Costa Cruises in Shanghai on 18 May 2019.[5] At 135,225 gross tonnage (GT) and with a capacity of 4,208 passengers, she briefly became the largest ship in the Costa fleet until the debut of Costa Smeralda in late 2019.

In 2023, amid a corporate fleet reshuffling in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the industry, Costa Venezia was transferred to Carnival under a new sub-brand named "Costa as Carnival" operating as "Carnival Fun Italian Style". The new concept was designed to integrate Costa Venezia and sister ship Costa Firenze into Carnival in a bid to boost domestic American capacity after the cruise line had sold numerous older vessels while Costa contended with operational challenges in its core markets. In March 2023, she was officially renamed Carnival Venezia during her pre-delivery renovation and debuted for Carnival the following May as the lead vessel for the new sub-fleet of Venice-class ships.

Thanks to Wikipedia for the information:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_Venezia

For those who are wondering the tugboat that's escorting her out is the Barbados II out of Bridgetown.

For those in the Show Your EXIF group you should note that the actual lens used is a Tamron AF 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di-II VC All-in-One Zoom for Canon APS-C Digital SLR. It's a well known issue and for some crazy reason it always shows up as a Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8, a lens I've never owned or used!

Like moths to a flame, the sun starved flocked to the pool deck!

The other guests onboard the Britannia had paid for sunshine and they were going to get every penny's worth of it while they could.

This was a pretty typical scene, all the loungers filled with people in various states of dress and undress, all challenging the sun to try and make them look tan and beautiful. In most cases the color showed up but it usually started out as bright red, slowly fading to that crispy brown that you usually only see in fried chicken and supermodels. The beauty, as the old saying goes was in the eye of the beholder.

Having lived in the Northwest of the US for so long I can certainly understand these folks with their longing to shed their pasty whiteness and wanting to show up back home with a Coppertone tan that their friends could only achieve in a spray booth. The sun (and it's warmth) is an addictive drug when you live in a place that doesn't see a lot of either and once you've tasted it you'll certainly be back for more.

PS:

For those in the Show Your EXIF group you should note that the actual lens used is a Tamron AF 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di-II VC All-in-One Zoom for Canon APS-C Digital SLR. For some crazy reason it always shows up as a Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8, a lens I've never owned or used!

More commonly known as Independence Day or 4th of July here in the US.

Went shooting because there was a real good looking storm headed my way, hoping to get my first of the season bolt. Well, the storm fizzled but the surrounding neighborhoods sizzled with 4th of July fireworks aplenty.

I actually got my first bolt on the 3rd of July and didn't know it till I looked through my shots. Not very impressive but I may post it just because it is the first!

Independence Day, known colloquially as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States which commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States of America.

The delegates to the Second Continental Congress declared that the Thirteen Colonies were no longer subject (and subordinate) to the monarch of Britain, King George III, and were now united, free, and independent states.[1] The Congress voted to approve independence by passing the Lee Resolution on July 2 and adopted the Declaration of Independence two days later, on July 4.

Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, political speeches, and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the national day of the United States.

It was easy to see he was classically trained!

When you're on a tour there's guaranteed to be stop where you can do some shopping and this tour was no exception.

Alma T. the tour guide (a really good tour guide and funny lady) told us we would be stopping at the best store in Mazatlan to buy gifts for our families and friends. Niccy went inside to browse and I decided to wander the street instead.

This guy was set up right next to the "best shopping store" and was painting some typical beach scenes, only $15 US each. He had a different style of painting, using his fingers to paint with instead of a brush. He kind of reminded me of Bob Ross and his happy little trees, smearing paint here and there and coming out with a nice painting.

As I was watching him I said that his paintings were nice and he had a unique technique. Damned if he didn't say "I learn to paint from Youtube videos. Do you know Bob Ross? I learned from him".

I gave him a big smile and said "Yeah, I know Bob Ross" all the while busting a gut inside. About that time a lady came along and bought one of his paintings so I would say we both had a good day that day.

If you're on a cruise and stop in Mazatlan and you take a tour with Alma T. you'll be stopping at the "best shopping store". Why not take a minute to stop and look at Roberto's paintings. Unlike the things in the store his paintings are definitely Made In Mexico!

immerso in un tramonto rosso e argento...

I'll probably get dinged for this in YCPTPH but I see it as a badge of honor!.

This is how you used to take a selfie back in the "Old Days", aka a reflection of some sort.

A companion shot to my previous one. I was out on Deck3 (Promenade Deck) on the HAL Nieuw Amsterdam enjoying the somewhat rough crossing when I came up on a window that reflected back quite nicely.

As I passed by this window I couldn't help but notice a beautiful man in the window looking back at me. Being a beautiful man myself i decided to take a shot and capture him, making him Flickr Famous!

Sorry, these aren't The Rockers (or Midnight Rockers) of WWF fame but if you happen to be visiting Puerto Vallarta and see these guys just give them a tip and they'll create an art piece for you as well!

Niccy and I have been to Puerto Vallarta before so we knew the lay of the land fairly well. We caught a city bus down to The Malecón a 12-block, mile-long esplanade in Puerto Vallarta's Centro and Zona Romántica. It's the place where all the tourists go to see the "Real" Puerto Vallarta. There's a restaurant down there that we like that is off a side street so there's no real tourists but a great view of the ocean.

As we were walking to the restaurant Niccy decided to stop and look at some of the tourist traps along the way. I had no interest in this so I wandered down to the waterfront and came across these two.

As I was sitting there the guy in the striped shirt came up and asked if I spoke Spanish. I told him a little so he told me how he and his friend like to create "art" for the tourists and they gladly accepted tips for their effort. I asked him how much "tip" was appropriate and he said anything would be appreciated. I had some peso coins in my pocket that I didn't feel like lugging around so I gave them to him. He ran over to his friend and they started in on creating this "art piece" as a token of their appreciation.

I probably gave him about $1 US so I considered that to be payment for snapping off a couple of quick shots while they worked.

With apologies to Otis Redding.

We arrived down at the San Diego cruise terminal at around 11 AM and our boarding time wasn't until 2 PM so we had some time to walk the San Diego waterfront and go down to the Seaport Village, which looked a lot more interesting on Youtube than it was in real life!

After our walk we found some very nice chairs down at the end of the Broadway Pier and had ourselves a rest while waiting for the time to pass.

In the background is NAS North Island where the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN72) was getting some work done on her.

According to the Google El Camino Español translates to The Spanish Way

The Camino Español (A-07) is a Ro-Ro type logistics supply ship of the Spanish Army operated by the Spanish Navy. It was acquired second-hand at the end of 2023 from the Balearia shipping company.

The ship was built in 1998 under the name Cadena 4 at the Fosen shipyards in Rissa, Norway, and was in service with several shipping companies: from 1998 to 2002 with United Carrier, from 2002 to 2013 with Birka Carrier, from 2013 to 2016 with Carrier Eckero, from 2016 to 2019 with Finncarrier Finnlines, from 2019 to 2022 with Color Carrier. 5 In 2022 it was acquired by Balearia. 1 In 2023 Balearia sold it to the Spanish Army.

I got this shot in the early morning as we were pulling into Cartageña Spain which should not be confused with Cartageña Columbia which we might get to visit in April. This totally depends on whether there is a travel ban in place or not!

Sissy Jon's "mono butt" look when she wears her Playtex "fragrance" all-in-one girdle.

The flight deck of Delta MD-88 N953DL.

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Post-processing , digital retouched, effiArt

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my lovely girls

child and grandchilds

All you need is love.

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Canon Image Size: Medium = 6 MB

Easy Mode: Portrait

Camera: Canon PowerShot SX1 IS

Exposure: 0.167 sec (1/6)

Aperture: f/2.8

Focal Length: 5 mm

ISO Speed: 80

Exposure Bias: 0 EV

Flash: Flash did not fire

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PLEASE !

No invites to mandatory commenting with / " sweeper active" / so called . "Comment or ban" groups. No Thanks!

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Don't be afraid to stand out in the crowd!

One evening before dinner the Captain of the ship had a "Welcome Aboard" reception in the Atrium. It was on a formal night so everyone was dressed to the nines, myself excepted. As he went on with his canned speech I scanned the scene to find something interesting and came across this guy.

The lights were down with a spotlight on the Captain but there were lights around the periphery and this guy just happened to be standing right underneath one. His suit stood out among the other penguins and he radiated a confidence that really shined through.

Good on you sir for daring to be different!

This lens is definitely not made for dark situations but in this case it worked out well.

For those in the Show Your EXIF group you should note that the actual lens used is a Tamron AF 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di-II VC All-in-One Zoom for Canon APS-C Digital SLR. It's a well known issue and for some crazy reason it always shows up as a Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8, a lens I've never owned or used!

Bellezza abbandonata all'inedia...

Dalla manifestazione "Parlamento assassino" tenuta a Roma il 18/10/2009 a Piazza del Popolo, Piazza di Spagna, Piazza Venezia, a Roma. - Contro l'omofobia

Niccy and I found several reasons we don't like Cabo San Lucas and this is one of them.

Once you've tendered in from the ship you're dropped off on the docks and can walk along the marina. It won't be a normal walk though so be prepared to be verbally assaulted!

"Hey amigo, you looking for a tour?" "Buddy, we've got the best tours!" "Come over here, best tour prices!" "Cheap tours to the beach right here!" and on and on and on and on.

These "tour guides" are everywhere and they're unavoidable. If you're of the nicer persuasion you'll be saying NO probably 50 times in your walk, possibly more. We got so tired of being verbally accosted that we found a table in a shady spot and spent our time just people watching. Much more fun than any "tour" they had to offer!

Honestly, out of our three stops this was the worst for touts and hawkers.

If you want a good spot you'd better get here early!

It's that time again, time for the 98th annual Tucson Rodeo Parade!

Our lodge is directly across from the rodeo grounds which means the parade passes right down the street in front of the building!

Providing parking for the parade and rodeo patrons is our big moneymaker for the year, along with our semi-annual yard sales. Being right across from the rodeo grounds and parade grandstands means we tend to fill up pretty quick.

We all show up around 6:30 AM to avoid most of the road closures, have a little breakfast then open the lots. By 8:00 AM we're usually close to full, and woe to those who come any later than this!

The day started out pretty iffy, we've had a storm or two pass through in the last couple of days. With a little time and patience Mr. Sun decided to poke his head out and the day got better as it went on.

The Tucson Rodeo Parade is believed to be the nation's longest non-motorized parade dating back to 1925. All the parade entries are horse pulled other than the street sweepers who always end the parade by cleaning up the landmines left by our equine friends.

As toddkeith533 told me earlier I'm finding out that this new lens seems to like f/16 and plenty of light. Looks like I'll have to start following the Sunny 16 Rule rule a bit closer!

Have you ever been out to sea and needed to get lubed up? Here's a solution to this frustrating problem.....

I've heard about Astro Lube (which is only for Astronauts so I've been told) and I've used Cable Lube more than once but Sea Lube? That's a new one on me.

This was one of those walked out of the RV, oh heck what is that, I need to shoot it the world will thank me later

sort of shots.

No planning, no forethought. If I'd known they were coming I would have planned for it but spur of the moment this is what you get!

Capitalizing on the popularity of Route 66

Nat King Cole with the King Cole Trio, first recorded the song in 1946 at Radio Recorders in Los Angeles. Capitol Records released it as a single, which reached number three on Billboard magazine's Race Records chart and number eleven on its broader singles chart.[3] Cole later re-recorded the tune for the album After Midnight (1956) and The Nat King Cole Story (1961).

The song was originally written by Bobby Troup who got the idea for the song on a cross-country drive from Pennsylvania to California.

It's been covered by may greats including Bing Crosby, The Rolling Stones, and The Manhattan Transfer.

It's a great journey across the US but it's slowly being lost to progress. You can still follow the route but it's not the same as it was back in the days.

Good on Williams to work at keeping the spirit alive. You can get a taste of what it was like back in the days if you use your imagination.

www.route66roadtrip.com/route-66-williams-arizona.htm

Thought I might get a couple of lightning shots out of the clouds but once again Mother Nature was just teasing me!

While not as big a gaudy as the Star of the Seas www.flickr.com/photos/nyalr/55182053694/in/dateposted-pub..., she's still a floating gin joint!

MSC Seashore is a Seaside EVO-class cruise ship built for MSC Cruises at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy. As of August 2021, she became the lead ship of MSC's Seaside EVO class, a sub-class of the Seaside-class of ships built with larger dimensions. She was joined by sister ship MSC Seascape, since delivery in November 2022.

One of several cruise ships I was able to photograph while we were in Cape Canaveral. Not the best shot but we have to take what we can get sometimes.

This was a good trip in that I really stepped up and out when it came to taking control of my camera. The majority of the shots I got were done in manual (M) and I\'m trying to keep any editing down to just a crop or two. This shot unfortunately was taken in (P)rogram mode. I hadn't quite figured out what my plan of action for this trip was going to be!

This is a real photograph taken with a real camera, and not created by AI.

Being a bartender is probably just as stressful as being a barista!

No two cruises are ever the same and this one really drove that point home for us. When you factor in this is a fairly cheap cruise, only 7 days, and during spring break you're going to see some folks that you wouldn't normally see when your cruising.

I spent a good amount of time watching the guest/staff interactions and what I saw I really didn't like. Many of the folks on this cruise seemed to talk down to the staff quite a bit, some to the point of being rude.

Now I understand that when you order up something you'd like to get it the way you ordered it and in a timely manner but you need to remember that the world doesn't revolve around you. If it takes a couple of extra minutes for your order to arrive and you only got one cherry instead of two the worlds not going to end. There's no reason to get upset and angry at someone who's doing their job the best that they can.

When you take a cruise holiday your every need is catered to and you've got nothing to worry about.

Sometimes it's easy to forget that there are a LOT of people both in the front and back of the house that make things happen for your dream vacation. Folks that aren't on holiday, they're working at their jobs to provide for their families back home.

If you should ever go on a cruise I hope that you won't forget these folks and will let them know that you appreciate the hard work they put in to make things easy for you. They bust their butts so that you don't have to.

Oh, BTW this is SOOC other than a little sharp and a crop!

You've spent all your money now go ahead and leave!

We were escorted out of Puerto Chiapas by the fine folks of the Costa Guardia. Guess they wanted to make sure no one decided to stay there and went overboard?

Niccy and I were recently on a cruise that took us to Puerto Vallarta Mexico, Huatulco Mexico, Puerto Chiapas Mexico, Puntarenas Costa Rica, Puerto Amador Panama, through the Panama Canal, on to Aruba and ending up in Fort Lauderdale. Since our road trip has been put off the table for a couple of months I'm back to posting ship shots! No worries though, the Monsoons should be starting up quickly here in Tucson so I'll be able to add some lightning shots as well.

I took this shot (and a couple of others) specifically for our beloved admin and this group!

Niccy and I just got back from a cruise that took us to Puerto Vallarta Mexico, Huatulco Mexico, Puerto Chiapas Mexico, Puntarenas Costa Rica, Puerto Amador Panama, through the Panama Canal, on to Aruba and ending up in Fort Lauderdale. It was in the Panama Canal that I got this shot.

The canal has a long and storied history, much too long for me to tell. If you're interested you can read all about it here:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Panama_Canal

As we were passing through I got to thinking about how many ships had passed the same way over all the years the canal has been operating. While in one of the locks I noticed all the scars, scrapes, and colors on the wall of the canal and instantly knew I had to get a shot.

It's easy to talk about the history of the canal but here in front of me was a timeline that showed the history first hand. Each one of these scrapes and marks was the story of a ship that had gone through before us, a history carved in stone. A history that can't be erased.

Blühendes Geißblatt in pink - lonicera periclymenum belgica -

Lonicera , Geißblatt

Nachtschuß - darkest night! nightshot

TCM medicine

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonicera_japonica

Flash Bits: E-TTL, 2nd-curtain sync used, Built-in

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Kriechpflanze, welche auf Zäune oder mit Stützhilfen auf Wände angesiedelt werden kann.

Die dichten Triebe des Strauch -Stocks können weit kriechen.

Diese Sorte wächst mittelschnell.

Der Blüten und des schönen Grüns wegen , wird der Strauch angepflanzt.

Grünes Laub.

Die Pflanze blüht rötlich orange - bis pink .

Sie blüht im ganzen Sommer (Juni-September).

You've got to be quick (and in the right spot) to get this shot!

I was out on the observation platform of the train and talking with The Marshall (Dutch) when he asked me a question.

"How fast are you with that camera"? This is a guy who's carrying a six shooter so I'm not sure exactly what he means, is he challenging me to a shootout?

He says "If you're quick enough you can get a sneak peak at the Canyon coming up. There's a road with trees on both sides and the view only lasts for a second". I said "OK, I'll give it a try and see what I can catch". This is the result.

I have to imagine that the majority of the folks on the train that might have seen it didn't give it a second thought. For me, this was an opportunity to see something that they probably missed. Thanks for the heads up Dutch, the Marshall on the Grand Canyon Railway.

BTW, if you plug these coordinates into Google Maps:

36.05656453723764, -112.14445246830856

You can see what this looks like from the road. Having that little bit of elevation from the train really makes a difference!

You know, that guy who thinks HIS TIME is more important than anyone else's.

On our way home from a Sunday drive on a Saturday we came across a bit of a mess.This guy decided to make the mess even worse by driving the wrong way back down the freeway.

Seems that a truck on the freeway (I-10) had decided to catch fire and block both lanes of traffic. One lane was finally opened to get the traffic flowing, however this took about 2 hours after the accident and with no exits on this section of freeway we found ourselves stuck in the middle.

What we found out later is that there was a State Policeman back down the way who ticketed every person that decided to pull this stunt!

Lucky for us we had packed a picnic lunch along with plenty of water since the heat was up to 102° F with a slight breeze from the East with a clear sky.

For reference this is Interstate 10 East of Vail Arizona, West of the Frontage Road overpass:

31.983552381672638, -110.54711529068143

Local News Article:

www.kgun9.com/news/local-news/i-10-westbound-closed-near-...

Kennesaw, Ga Restaurant that only does breakfast, but very well

The fancy way to see San Diego Harbor!

The Admiral Hornblower is one of the many ways you can take a tour of San Diego harbor. We\'ve never been aboard, the ships we sail on are usually a bit bigger and much more luxurious!

www.sandiegobaycruises.com/yachts/admiral/

Because of this lens\'s tendency to vignette at length I tried a trick that I learned from Jim Frazier which was throwing a little bit of a reverse vignette in to temper the dark down.

Niccy and I packed up the family (Tater Tot and Mushi-Mushi) and headed out on our first adventure!

We took the RV on a short shakedown cruise over to San Diego, specifically Point Loma Naval Base.

There\'s a nice camping spot on the base, right on the water. No electric, no water, but since we\'re self contained it wasn\'t a problem We spent a couple of days doing absolutely nothing except watching the world pass us by. Exactly the kind of experience we were looking for.

PS:

For those in the Show Your EXIF group you should note that the actual lens used is a Tamron AF 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di-II VC All-in-One Zoom for Canon APS-C Digital SLR. For some crazy reason it always shows up as a Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8, a lens I\'ve never owned or used!

And you thought backing a car into a parking space was tough!

MIDNIGHT DREAM (IMO: 7913206) is a General Cargo that was built in 1980 (44 years ago) and is sailing under the flag of Vanuatu.

Her carrying capacity is 2496 t DWT and her current draught is reported to be 12 meters. Her length overall (LOA) is 90 meters and her width is 17 meters. Thanks to Marine Traffic for the information:

www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:463302/...

We were docked in Antigua, getting ready to go out and explore when I got this shot. I've seen the Midnight Dream here before, she must be one of those island hoppers that delivers throughout the Caribbean.

If you do a zoom in you'll see the Captain (I presume) guiding her into her berth.

Sissy Jon wearing a vintage Sears Nuback All-In-One girdle with inner belt and 6 garters. 8 hooks fasten the inner belt. 22 hooks fasten the main garment. Allow plenty of time to dress/undress!

I just looked on the map and it looks like Lil' T-N-Willy gets around

Lil' T-N-Willy (MMSI: 368194570) is a Fishing Vessel and is sailing under the flag of USA. Her length overall (LOA) is 22 meters and her width is 4 meters. Her current location is at USEC-US East Coast (reported 1 month, 12 days ago), located in North Carolina. Thanks to MarineTraffic.com for the above information:

www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/shipid:6670220/zoom:14

As the caption says I saw Lil' T-N-Willy in Sint Maarten, not a bad place to hang out during the Winter Months.

PS, my standard disclaimer:

For those in the Show Your EXIF group you should note that the actual lens used is a Tamron AF 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di-II VC All-in-One Zoom for Canon APS-C Digital SLR. For some crazy reason it always shows up as a Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8, a lens I've never owned or used!

First time for us in this part of Costa RIca, not what we expected!

Puntarenas is an interesting place for a cruise ship to stop. If you look on a map you'll see it's exactly the opposite of Puerto Limón which is the country's main port. Puerto Limón is set up and ready for tourists with lots of shopping, restaurants, and bars. Puntarenas, not so much. Just look up Muelle de Cruceros Cruise port on the Google Map.

They've got a real nice long pier that basically drops you on the street. No Diamonds International, no Senor Frogs, but evidently there's a Tourist Office and a true beachside dive bar called "Bar Restaurante La Perla del Pacífico" which has Ok food and very cold beer! Well within walking distance from the pier and very close to the Fuerza Pública or Police Station which is probably a good thing.

Niccy and I were recently on a cruise that took us to Puerto Vallarta Mexico, Huatulco Mexico, Puerto Chiapas Mexico, Puntarenas Costa Rica, Puerto Amador Panama, through the Panama Canal, on to Aruba and ending up in Fort Lauderdale.

I would imagine that the real deal looks nothing like this!

One thing I've noticed is that Holland America seems to be right on top when it comes to safety. From what we've seen they're constantly drilling the crew in safety procedures, even when in port like this is.

When you take a cruise holiday your every need is catered to and you've got nothing to worry about.

Sometimes it's easy to forget that there are a LOT of people both in the front and back of the house that make things happen for your dream vacation. Folks that aren't on holiday, they're working at their jobs to provide for their families back home.

If you should ever go on a cruise I hope that you won't forget these folks and will let them know that you appreciate the hard work they put in to make things easy for you. They bust their butts so that you don't have to.

Exactly what you need to sneak up on the fish!

Saw this interesting watercraft while we were in San Diego. No name, no hull numbers, and a rubber dinghy hanging off the back. Now I can't be sure who would use a boat like this but whoever it is I'm really glad they're on our side!

They took on some fuel then headed out to sea. Interesting that once they got out of the harbor area they took off like a bat out of hell, threw up a really nice rooster tail.

Niccy and I just got back from a transatlantic cruise so I've finally got some shots to post!

The BAHIA CADIZ CUARTO (Cadiz Bay Quarter) (MMSI: 224554660) is a passenger ferry and is sailing under the flag of Spain. Her length overall (LOA) is 26 meters and her width is 8 meters. She's powered by 2x MAN diesel engines and can carry up to 150 passengers.

She is owned by Consorcio De Transportes Bahia De Cadiz and makes regularly scheduled runs between Cadiz and either El Puerto de Santa Maria or Rota Spain.

golden shimmering morning sun - a cold morning ! 12.2 °F // -8.8 °Ré

Canon Exposure Mode: Aperture-Priority AE

Manual AF point selection

---View ______ On Black

Camera: Canon PowerShot SX1 IS

Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)

Aperture: f/8

Focal Length: 27.6 mm ~ 155 mm analog

ISO Speed: 80

Exposure Bias: -2/3 EV

Talk to people you normally wouldn't talk to, you'll make their day and might just learn something!

I was riding up to the pool deck in an elevator when this officer got aboard. I saw he had a couple of packages in his hand so I said to him "Amazon delivers at sea"? He held up the packages and said "Yes, as a matter of fact they do".

He told me that the ship has a small warehouse at their home port that the employees can use as a land address for packages and mail. Amazon, among others drops the packages off and they're retrieved whenever they're in port. He said the crew orders a lot of specialty items from their home countries, especially foodstuffs.

I wanted to get a shot of him with the packages but not in the elevator. Didn't want the guy to feel like he was trapped by a madman with a camera so when we got to the pool deck we went our separate ways. I happened to see him again as he was walking by so I fired off a quick shot!

Yeah, I normally talk to people in the elevator but according to Niccy most people don't and sometimes it does surprise them!

Sissy Jon wearing a vintage Sears Nuback All-In-One girdle with inner belt and 6 garters. I can't sit down very long because it is so tight and well boned! Also I must eat lightly when wearing this foundation!

An artistic view of A Coruña Spain!

This is the front of the Palexco Convention Center in A Coruña. Not a bad place to have a convention in my opinion!

I'm a fan of reflection shots and the sun was right to pull this one off. If you zoom in you'll see my faithful companion and best friend Niccy waiting for me to finish my Fellini moment!

A Coruña (Galician pronunciation: [ɐ koˈɾuɲɐ] ⓘ;[a] in Spanish: La Coruña [la koˈɾuɲa] ⓘ; also informally called just Coruña; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality in Galicia, Spain. With a population of 249,255, it is the 2nd-largest city in Galicia behind Vigo.[2] The city is the provincial capital of the province of A Coruña, having also served as political capital of the Kingdom of Galicia[6][7] from the 16th to the 19th centuries, and as a regional administrative centre between 1833 and 1982.

This was shot in (M)anual with a little cloning to remove some bird guano (you're welcome) from the windows and a small crop to remove some bits and bobs.

This is a real photograph taken with a real camera, and not created by AI.

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Does anyone still call Cop cars Black and Whites?

At the core of port security is the Los Angeles Port Police force, a specialized law enforcement agency that operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week to protect the Port from threats whether by land, sea, air or cyberspace. Comprised of more than 300 sworn officers and civilian personnel, the force’s jurisdiction spans 7,500 acres along 43 miles of waterfront.

In addition to using advanced technology to augment its security operations, Port Police capabilities include K-9 units for vessel and container searches; a full-time dive unit for inspecting critical infrastructure; a Cargo Theft Interdiction Program to prevent and investigate cargo theft; a marine unit for conducting high visibility patrols to deter and detect infrastructure threats; a High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area anti-drug task force for targeting drug trafficking activities; and a Sea Marshall Program to inspect all inbound and outbound cruise ships and vessels of interest.

I shot this in color but the water was a brilliant St. Patty's Day green, a reflection from the Evergreen Ever Most that we were passing by. Black and white solved the issue.

We were escorted out of the port by these fine gentlemen, probably wanted to make sure we were really leaving!

There's no discrimination down around Trafalgar Square.

During our walkabout we came across a different sort of crossing light, this is one of them.

I'm guessing that at some point someone decided that having a generic stick figure walking was racist, sexist, bigoted, homophobic, etc, etc so the city decided they would spend the money to have these lights installed. Seems like a silly way to be spending the public funds in my opinion but then I'm an old traditionalist!

This was shot in (M)anual, I did give the light a little color boost because it looked pretty faded in the original. I think it might have something to do with it being LED and the frequency they operate at. May be something the camera had a hard time catching.

Yes, this is a real photograph taken with a real camera, not a Computer Rendered Artificial Picture!

Pretty sure this show would've starred Carlos Malden!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnjMbS1dRp0

Sitting at the campsite, had my camera on a tripod since there was supposed to be a storm blowing through. It wound up being a false narrative so I started to watch the nonstop planes taking off from San Diego International and got an idea. Turned the camera, reset the focus and wound up with this! It's that whole "when life gives you lemons look in a different direction" sort of thing.

This is a stack of 6 shots, interesting to see the track they all took.

PS:

For those in the Show Your EXIF group you should note that the actual lens used is a Tamron AF 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di-II VC All-in-One Zoom for Canon APS-C Digital SLR. For some crazy reason it always shows up as a Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8, a lens I've never owned or used!