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Took a lot of work and software to bring this to you!
This is the interior of the Mission San José de Tumacácori church. I was up in the front of the church where the priest would have stood, thought I might be able to pull off something nice by shooting back toward the light from the dark interior.
Well let me tell you that direct sun coming in the entrance really blew out the original shot, that's the reason for the -1 EV. What I found out though is the negative EV calmed the light right down to a manageable level but made the rest of the interior close to pitch black!
Had to do a bunch of twiddles and tweaks in the post process but this is what I came up with. Trust me when I tell you it's not that bright when you're inside!
Interesting fact:
The walls are made of adobe which is basically a dried mud brick. These bricks would've washed away with the monsoons so they were covered in lime plaster that was made in a lime kiln onsite!
Looks like Monsoon 2024 is starting to get it's act together!
Not too impressive but there will be more.
First lightning of the season for me, hopefully not the last.
Had a storm blow through last night about a quarter till eleven and I was lucky enough to get this before the rains came. Everything was going cloud to cloud so no strikes. The cloud cover was pretty heavy and they were lighting up real nice but not coming out in the open. No worries though, I'm sure there are more where this one came from! Hopefully the remnants of Hurricane Beryl will push some storms up our way.
IJZERBORG (IMO: 9456733) is a General Cargo that was built in 2010 (13 years ago) and is sailing under the flag of Netherlands.
Her carrying capacity is 12032 t DWT and her current draught is reported to be 6.1 meters. Her length overall (LOA) is 142.95 meters and her width is 18.9 meters.
Thanks to www.marinetraffic.com
for the above verbiage!
As we were walking down on the beach in Bonaire I saw the IJZERBORG at the dock, making me think of a dog on a long leash. I don't know but it seems to me that the bow line really isn't doing a lot, maybe Alex's Time Flying By can enlighten us a bit more?
Now that I take a second look that's actually a pier for a cruise ship, not a dock for loading and unloading. Maybe there's a fueler on the other side of her, giving her some go juice. I wonder if they offer to wash the windows as well?
The Caribbean sun really isn't a friend to photographers, the light is a lot like it is here in Arizona in the summer. Had I been thinking I would have used the Sunny 16 rule but when you're out and exploring there's no time to think!
I expect it will look something like this.
A Hurricane in the Pacific that was blowing up from the South forced some of the big monsoon storms to come straight up from Mexico instead of veering off to the West and this was an example of one.
I watched the storm clouds coming for a couple of hours with no lightning luck and as this storm approached I though my luck was going to get better. Boy, was I wrong!
When this storm hit my location it came through with a fury that I haven't seen in a long time. It dumped buckets of rain that was for awhile coming in sideways, thanks to the crazy winds. There was lightning all over the place but there was no chance of getting any without getting myself soaked to the bone so I just sat in the car and rode the storm out. Once the front had passed the wind calmed down a bit but the rain stayed which meant no lightning shots. Oh well, maybe tonight will be a better chance.
I'll leave it to you, the viewer to decide.
What is a wall? The most common answer is:
A wall is a vertical structure, often made of materials like brick or stone, that divides or surrounds an area, providing shelter, security, or support. It can also refer to something that acts as a barrier or defense".
This is the side of a ship so does it meet the definition above? It's definitely a vertical structure that divides or surround an area. It does provide shelter, security, and support and definitely acts as a barrier or defense between the people onboard and the sea.
Now it's not made of brick or stone but the description says "often made of" which doesn't absolutely define the construction materials a wall is made of, it just gives a partial list of materials that you COULD use. Steel is definitely a construction material, used every day in buildings around the world for walls, decks, and structural support.
I believe that if you're willing to think outside the box and look at the facts I've presented you'll come to the conclusion (as I have) that yes, this is a wall and deserves all the accolades, awards, and praise given to any common wall. I know where I stand but I'll leave it to you, the viewer to decide.
The following IS NOT a paid advertisement for Madera Canyon!
NIccy and went out for a Sunday drive (on a Sunday no less!) and wound up taking a trip down South to Madera Canyon. We'd never been there, it was a freebie with my America The Beautiful Vets Pass, and they had several picnic areas! A win-win all the way around.
Stopped at the visitor's information and talked with a couple of really nice folks, they were volunteers from one of the groups that support Madera Canyon. Said we've never been here before so do you have any recommendations on how to tackle this. They said the best way is to go all the way up to the top (since there was a beautiful view) and work your way back down. We told them we weren't going to be hiking (lot's and lot's of hiking and biking trails here) since it was so hot and they said no problem, the great view can be had right from the parking area. Off we went, headed for the top!
Got to a parking area at the end of the road, grabbed a couple of waters and headed off, looking forward to the great view from the top. We went up as far as we could while staying on the pavement and this is the view we got.
Now before becoming information volunteers at Madera Canyon I've got the feeling these folks may have work as script writers for late night informercials. The got us interested, they built on that interest, then set the hook with "the great view can be had right from the parking area". Good thing we didn't have to pay the day use fee (thanks to my pass), otherwise we'd have felt the same way we did when we paid to go and see 4 Corners Monument .....ripped off!
Now, to be honest the area is awfully pretty and we do plan on making a return visit in the cooler months. Niccy told me she wants to go back and have her birthday picnic here and of course her wish is my command!
Sloth. Not the birdie, the Sloth!
Our tour was over and we were headed back to the ship when the van driver slammed on the brakes. I'm talking middle of the traffic tire squealing come to a complete halt slam on the brakes. It even caught the tour guide unaware.
Now I'm thinking Ok, this is where the bad guys in bandannas come onboard and snatch everyone's wallets, purses, and phones. Apparently my overactive imagination was wrong.
The van driver must not have been watching the road and/or the flow of traffic because he saw a Sloth up in a tree and wanted everyone else to see it too. If you've ever seen a sloth you know they blend in pretty well to a tree and look more like a branch than a sloth but somehow he spotted one.
Folks piled off the van and went to get a picture of a sloth in a tree, I grabbed my camera out of my case and caught a shot of people taking pictures of a sloth in a tree. To each their own I guess!
Yeah, it's not much of a shot but I truly wasn't ready to catch this since I thought we were on a nonstop back to the ship.
It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it....I
We were parked next to Mein Schiff when I got this shot in St. Martin. I felt bad for this guy since there's a whole lot of fantail for this guy to be cleaning and he was definitely alone in his task.
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 of people both in the front and back of the house that make things happen for your dream vacation to be the best it can be. 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.
Part of a storm that wasn't supposed to be!
According to the weather guessers there weren't supposed to be any big storms in the area so I decided to head into town and go to a Lodge meeting. Once the meeting was over I came outside and saw what looked like the remnants of a storm blowing away to the North.
It wasn't very big and was pretty ragged so I guess they were technically right when they said no BIG storms.
Got my camera set up and got a couple of shots off before the clouds disappeared from sight so I can certainly say I didn't get skunked too badly!
This was shot @ f/4.5 with 26 seconds in BULB Mode, ISO 100 and 40mm of zoom. Seems like most of the recent storms have been keeping their distance so I've had to put on a little zoom and hope that I land with the focus in the right area!
I would imagine that airplane identification is a part of the job description?
Just like my bad bird shot:
www.flickr.com/photos/nyalr/52687074859/in/dateposted-pub...
here's another off the cuff spur of the moment shot of something I know nothing about!
I was walking down the street on Thursday when these two guys decided to do a close in bombing run over the house and I have no idea who's planes they are or why they're attacking us! I was lucky enough to have my camera along but definitely didn't know they were coming till they were right over me. I fired off 3 shots and this was the best of the three.
We've got some vintage airplanes coming in Davis Monthan for the weekend, part of the annual Heritage Flight Training Program:
tucson.com/news/local/2023-heritage-flight-trainings-happ...
If anyone can identify them I'd sure like to know what they are! I'm also open to any suggestions anyone might have for trying to catch plane shots like this from a distance. We've got an airshow coming the end of March and we get some fairly low passes over the house!
Niccy and I just got back from a transatlantic cruise so I've finally got some shots to post!
The M/S Queen Anne (IMO 9839399) at dock in Cadiz Spain. The M/S Queen Anne is a Pinnacle-class cruise ship operated by Cunard Line, named after Anne, of the Kingdom of Great Britain, who reigned from 1707–1714. She is currently the second largest ship in Cunard's fleet, after RMS Queen Mary 2. She sailed from her homeport of Southampton on 3 May 2024 for her maiden voyage, calling at A Coruña and Lisbon. She can carry up to 2,996 passengers.
She's a good looking lady and I'm glad that I got a glimpse of her!
Since we're technically tourists I thought I'd shoot a tourist type shot!
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.
Our trip style is to bypass the tourist spots and try to get a feel for the city/state/country we're in but being on a cruise it's difficult since cruises are all about "tourist spots". Hence, this shot.
Maybe that's something I'll try out in the future, shooting "tourist type shots" but with a little artistic flair. Something that sets them apart from the typical Iphone shots you'll see here on Flickr. Always trying to expand my repertoire....
Anyhow, the nice thing about this shot is that the people walking by really give you an idea of just how big these "floating gin joints" really are.
Niccy and I just got back from a transatlantic cruise so I've finally got some shots to post!
The JANAS (IMO: 9222534) is a Ro-Ro/Passenger Ship and is sailing under the flag of Italy. Her length overall (LOA) is 213.96 meters and her width is 26.4 meters, according to Marine Traffic:
www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:274504/...
According to the Tirrenia Ferries website :
Janas is belonging to Fast Cruise Ferry family and built in 2002, it is a ship with large transport capacity and a speed of 24 knots. It is 214 meters in length, 26 in width, with 35736 tonnage. It is capable of transporting 2700 passengers and 820 cars.
I do wish we'd had more time in Civitavecchia to explore the port area, but this was not to be.
A series of shots I got during our passage through The Big Ditch!
From the outset, it was considered an important safety feature that ships be guided through the lock chambers by electric locomotives, known as mulas (mules, named after the animals traditionally used to cross the isthmus of Panama), running on the lock walls. These mules are used for side-to-side and braking control in the locks, which are narrow relative to modern-day ships. Forward motion into and through the locks is actually provided by the ship's engines and not the mules. A ship approaching the locks first pulls up to the guide wall, which is an extension of the center wall of the locks, where it is taken under control by the mules on the wall before proceeding into the lock. As it moves forward, additional lines are taken to mules on the other wall. With large ships, there are two mules on each side at the bow, and two each side at the stern—eight in total, allowing for precise control of the ship. Mules are not used on the new expansion locks.
If you're a Railfan this is the info you're looking for:
The mules themselves run on paired 5 ft (1,524 mm) broad gauge railway tracks. The track closest to the canal is used for towing and has rack tracks for geared operation. The track inland is used to return the mules to their starting point and does not have racks except on the steep inclines (1 in 2 or 50% gradient) between lock chambers. Traction is by electric power, supplied through a third rail laid below surface level on the land side. Each mule has a powerful winch; these are used to take cables in or pay them out to keep the ship centered in the lock while moving it from chamber to chamber.
Rago to the rescue! I really like these all-in-one girdles - they keep everything in it's proper place! ;-)
Pretty sure ABBA wasn't talking about the something that Niccy encountered!
The food served on a cruise ship is pretty rich, lots of fat, sugar, and salt. If you're not used to eating things like duck confit, rack of lamb, cheesecake, etc every night of the week it can really do some drastic things to your digestive system.
We were sitting in one of the lounges aboard the Zaandam, waiting for 5:30 which was early dining in the Main Dining Room when someone's (not Niccy's) bowels decided they'd had enough and were going to express their displeasure in a most silent but aromatic way. Unfortunately the person was in the same vicinity as Niccy making her the main recipient of the mighty wind that ensued!
As the pungent aroma swirled around her head she tried to be polite but the power of the gastric distress finally overwhelmed her. She jumped up and said "We've got to go NOW" in a very quiet but demanding voice, the voice that lets me know she's quite serious about an immediate departure.
I quit laughing like a schoolboy about the time we hit the Main Dining Room.
A series of shots I got during our passage through The Big Ditch!
I personally like this shot because it shows that no matter who you are, where you are, or what you look like a wave and a smile always translates to good times for all. I also get the feeling that our cruise was a bit more fun than the one they were on.
Going through the complete Panama Canal was definitely a bucket list item for me. I spent the entire day (8 hours) outside on the deck along with a bunch of other folks, my shutter happily clicking away!
We had a Canal Guide onboard who pointed out all the interesting locations, couldn't tell you one thing he said because I wasn't listening I was too busy shooting!
Have to commend Princess Cruises, they were really nice to us outside in that they had stewards coming around with sandwiches and cool drinks for everyone.
I'm guessing they went to publik skool?
Not much to say, I'll let the sign speak for itself. BTW, I'm not bashing school teachers or their curriculum, I understand that they have to work with what they get.
Spotted this on the way into Baker City, Oregon.
Hence the reason for the street sweepers being the last entry in the parade!
This was one of those lucky catches, heavily cropped to put the focus where it belongs!
New lens with f/16 again, looks like it may work a lot better with indirect light. The only bad thing about our lodge is it's located on the West side of the street which means we catch the morning sun straight on come parade day!
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.
The game is Trivia and we're pretty darned good at it!
Trivia
noun
1. Insignificant trifles of little importance, especially items of unimportant information.
2. A quiz game that involves obscure facts.
3. Plural form of trivium.
We were sitting outside the Explorers Lounge on the Coral Princess, waiting for the room to clear out. They were having an art auction then Afternoon Trivia. I really liked the way the light was hitting on Niccy so I took a shot, in Manual!
We've discovered in all our years of cruising that we've learned a lot of useless facts and statistics, making us naturals for playing trivia. The cruise ship hosts always have some good questions and it's always fun to learn something new.
On our last Transatlantic we actually joined up with some other folks and formed a team (Maximum of 6 players per team). We had 2 retired Veterinarians, a retired Microbiologist, a retired Research Scientist, Niccy (for all things medical) and myself for most things music related. Everyone got along with so well that we all scheduled another Transatlantic cruise for next year, from Cape Canaveral to SouthHampton.
Yeah, we might take our trivia a bit too seriously but only when we're cruising!
What started out as a ritual to Chi’chini (the Sun God), Xipe Totec (God of Spring & Fertility) & to Tlaloc (Rain God) has turned into a sideshow hustle.
We finished up our lunch at the mystery restaurant (previous photo) and were headed out to find a bus stop to get back to the ship when we came across these fellows.
Evidently the show runs every 15 minutes, just enough time in between to get a new crowd in the area. Like everything else you've got to pay to play and the "Tips" men readily work the crowd for "offerings". People with phones out are a prime target and if you've got a real camera you're guaranteed to meet a friendly visitor who won't go away till you drop something in the box, folding money preferred.
I had no intention of shooting this at all, one of those seen it, done it, there's a million snaps on the WWW sort of thing. My visitor was real persistent about getting paid so I relented and dropped a couple of pesos in the box and fired off a couple of quick snaps with this being the best of the best. Enjoy.
To read the story behind this here's a link:
Pretty impressive for a house made of Caliche!
We went to Phoenix yesterday to an RV show, doing a little house shopping. Went up there on the freeway, decided to take the backroads home and came across this.
The Casa Grande Ruins National Monument is a park ran by the National Park Service to preserve and protect an Ancestral Sonoran Desert People's farming community and "Great House"
They've got a real nice museum with some interesting exhibits but the outdoor grounds are the real star of the show.
This "Grand House" was built with mud and caliche and without the help of any modern machinery, just human labor. Not nearly as big as the Pyramids of Giza but still pretty impressive considering what they used to build it!
Many probably don't know what caliche is so I've given you a link if your'e interested:
There's a lot of it in New Mexico and when they say it's like trying to dig through concrete I would have to agree!
Here's a link that tells a bit more about the park:
It was and interesting place to see and they do have some real nice covered benches for your picnic lunch. Add to that the FREE admission and you've got a deal you can't beat!
To be brutally honest I wouldn't have known this was a heron if Jim Frazier and toddkeith533 hadn't clued me in!
A Great Blue Heron in his native habitat a.k.a. San Diego bay. He was hanging around for both of the days we were there, did a little fishing and a little dancing. The sun was headed down and he decided to pose on a rock close by so I obliged his posing by taking a shot.
As a side note we had a common skunk come walking through the ice plant on the left that evening. He didn't bother us, we didn't bother him and it was a bit too dark to get a shot of him. I also wasn't quite sure how a skunk would react to flash but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have been good.
PS:
For those in the Show Your EXIF group (and anyone else with a technical curiousity) 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. One thing I've noticed is this lens has a lot of vignette to it at a distance!
:Lots of traffic and congestion, much like the streets of LA!
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.
As we were leaving I was lucky enough to get this shot of the port in action. It's a busy place with trucks coming and going.
I made this in B/W because it seemed fitting for the scene. It's not a beautiful place where tourists tend to hang out, it's commerce at it's finest.
Had a nice little soaker come through last night.
The storm last night finally brought us a decent amount of rain, at least here at the house. Plenty of lightning but up in the clouds for the most part.
We've got a new Ramada at the upper pool and luckily enough that's where the majority of the lightning was showing up. Can be hard to shoot from since the wind was blowing the rain in under the cover but I didn't get too soaked!
This was shot @ f/6.3 with 25 seconds and ISO 100 at 18mm.
I was hoping it would be something but it wound up being nothing!
Had some clouds that were building up in the South last night that I thought had some potential so I loaded up and headed out. Watched clouds drift by from 6 PM till a little after 8 PM and this is all I got. It was a tease, just enough to keep me hanging on for a little bit longer.....I'm hoping this isn't the monsoons going out with a whimper!
It sure felt good to be back by the ocean again!
BBC SINGAPORE (IMO: 9351373) is a Cargo/Containership that was built in 2008 (15 years ago) and is sailing under the flag of Antigua Barbuda.
Her carrying capacity is 11172 t DWT and her current draught is reported to be 6 meters. Her length overall (LOA) is 128.5 meters and her width is 19 meters. In this shot she was being loaded in Bridgetown Harbor.
Thanks to Marinetraffic.com for the information:
www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:704434/...
Niccy and I just got back from a 2 week cruise down in the Caribbean, a trip that was supposed to be in the UK but thanks to the whole covid fiasco that was not meant to be. We were on the P&O Britannia and as we quickly found out we were the only Americans aboard! We had a good time, got to see some new ports and enjoyed the weather.
It's a fairly noisy shot but my camera isn't known to be the best when it comes to a high ISO. Thinking back I suppose I could've fired off the onboard flash to fool the camera since the light wouldn't have made any difference in the shot.
BTW, I do believe this is the first shot I've had to break the 5000 views!
A series of shots I got during our passage through The Big Ditch!
It's unfortunate but sometimes things happen that cause a ship to sink. Luckily this didn't happen in the locks themselves, that would be a monumental task getting it cleaned up.
Going through the complete Panama Canal was definitely a bucket list item for me. I spent the entire day (8 hours) outside on the deck along with a bunch of other folks, my shutter happily clicking away!
We had a Canal Guide onboard who pointed out all the interesting locations, couldn't tell you one thing he said because I wasn't listening I was too busy shooting!
Have to commend Princess Cruises, they were really nice to us outside in that they had stewards coming aro
The Grand Canyon really is Grand, this shot doesn't do it justice.
NIccy and I took a long weekend trip up to Williams Arizona to ride the Grand Canyon Railway. We\'ve always been fans of train trips and getting to see the big hole in the ground was a bonus!
If you\'ve never been to the Grand Canyon the train trip is a great way to see the place. You\'ve got a 2 1/2 hour trip each way on the train and about 3 1/2 hours for exploring at the Canyon, more than enough time to take in the sights. We took the advice of Jim Frazier and booked the Luxury Parlor car which offers plenty of luxurious seating and amenities (for Niccy) and an outside observation platform (for me).
This is a combination of 4 shots, stitched into a panorama. To be quite honest it would really be a challenge to truly show just how massive the Canyon really is, hopefully this gives you a bit of an idea but the best way to truly experience it is in person.
BTW, this shot is SOOC other than the stitching!
Our trip started at the Port of Los Angeles. Man, I could hang out there all day every day!
The vessel WAN HAI A05 (IMO 9935117, MMSI 563201600) is a Container Ship built in 2023 (2 years old) and currently sailing under the flag of Singapore. According to Vessel Finder she is en route to the port of Shekou, China, sailing at a speed of 15.7 knots and expected to arrive there on Apr 16, 02:00.
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.
This trip I decided to actually start learning how to use my camera and to wrap my head around the whole exposure triangle thing. If you're curious I can tell you this was shot following the Sunny 16 rule!
If you like ship shots then I've got a bunch of them to post. If you're looking for vacation snaps then you're going to be disappointed!
An exact replica of the famous “Santa María” from Columbus maiden voyage to the New World?
Docked near the ship was the Marigante, a Mexican version of the San Diego Harbor Dinner Cruises.
An "authentic Spanish galleon which will transport you to a world fit for pirate-sized fun where your imagination is the only limit"
From their website:
I get the feeling they're using a lot of artistic license with the word Authentic. Live music, fireworks, and a pirate tavern with special effects don't seem like the things that Christopher Columbus would have brought to the New World!
With a price of $135 US (gratuities extra) for adults I would certainly agree with the notion that it's a "Pirate Ship" though.
I had no idea this was a thing, especially along a main street!
Came across this sign and had to get a quick snap. Didn't know this was a problem but I suppose they might be talking to the customers of the shebeen right down the street?
I suppose it could be referencing those folks who imbibed a little holy spirit while headed to St. Johns Cathederal which was close by?
St. Johns Cathedral is actually in the shape of the cross:
Google Maps View
www.google.com/maps/place/Saint+John's+Cathedral/@17.1227...
BTW, I only know Shebeen from Niccy talking about them in South Africa. Definitely not a place I would b allowed to frequent.
A series of shots I got during our passage through The Big Ditch!
CERRO PANDO is a Tug boat built in 2013 by ASTILLEROS ARMON - NAVIA, SPAIN. Currently sailing under the flag of Panama. It's gross tonnage is 484 tons.
It really was a treat to see so many tugboats on this journey! I feel a real connection to them, they're what I'd call a real blue collar boat.
Going through the complete Panama Canal was definitely a bucket list item for me. I spent the entire day (8 hours) outside on the deck along with a bunch of other folks, my shutter happily clicking away!
We had a Canal Guide onboard who pointed out all the interesting locations, couldn't tell you one thing he said because I wasn't listening I was too busy shooting!
Have to commend Princess Cruises, they were really nice to us outside in that they had stewards coming aro
Must be a planned execution out at the prison tonight, I see they're testing out the electric chair!
Had a great storm pass by last Friday night with bolts aplenty! It was about 9:45 PM when I heard the first rumble. Looked on my lightning app and nothing spectacular was showing up so I figured it was a one off. Boy, was I wrong!
Something said to go out and take a look so that's what I did. Once I got outside I saw the sky was flashing to the North, South, and West so I ran in to grab my camera and let Niccy know I was headed out. She was stone asleep so I headed out to my usual spot, hoping for a couple of shots. That was close to 10 PM and I didn't pack it in until it started raining just after Midnight!
This is a composite of two shots but other than a crop in GIMP and the eradication of a couple of blatant hotspots are the only touchups!
There were bolts everywhere, hard to pick a direction to shoot. I was lucky enough to catch a few which I'll be posting shortly.
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!
If you don't live here you probably won't understand.
The season is changing here in Arizona, going from our blazing hot to pretty comfortable. Niccy and I decided to take a Sunday Drive on a Saturday to find a nice place for a picnic lunch on a beautiful day.
We wound up at Calabasas Park in Rio Rico AZ, kind of close to Nogales. We've been to this park before and it was the perfect place for a nice picnic lunch! The temperature was 76° F. the sky was a beautiful blue and pretty much cloudless.
If you're looking out the window right now and seeing grey, snow, rain, ice, cold, and clouds you might be tempted to pack up and head down to the Southwest of the USA. Before you do though you've got to remember that in the Summer the temps here make it feel like you're 6' from the surface of the Sun so don't forget to pack your sunscreen!
Tied up at the Grenada Port Authority Cruise Ship Terminal
BRITANNIA (IMO: 9614036) is a Passenger Ship that was built in 2015 (8 years ago) and is sailing under the flag of United Kingdom.
Her carrying capacity is 143730 Gross Tonnage and her current draught is reported to be 8.5 meters. Her length overall (LOA) is 329 meters and her width is 45 meters.
She has a capacity of 3,647 passengers and 1,398 crew members.
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!
It's a crap shoot when you're shooting lightning and sometimes you wind up on the edge.
The storm that blew through last night (30 July) was a real nice one. Came from the East, headed West, and stayed South of the city so no rain for us but plenty of show!
Started out real slow but once it decided to kick in it certainly had some flair to it. Bolts were hitting regularly, some brighter than others. The only bad thing was that i started to smell smoke, hopefully it was just a bush getting vaporized and not a fire.
I'm sure everyone who shoots lightning has had what would be a great shot if the bolt (or bolts) weren't right on the edge of the frame. That's what happened with these two, my fault because of the zoom. I decided to try aligning the two to fill the frame and if I say so myself it's not too bad.
This is a combination of 2 shots, both @ f/8 with 35 combined seconds on the clock, ISO 100 and 32mm zoom. The bolts seemed to linger right over the prison so I took a chance with the zoom and it payed off.
"All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up."
Norma Desmond, played by Gloria Swanson, in the film Sunset Boulevard, directed by Billy Wilder (1950).
Just a shot of Tater Tot, gives you an idea of what a Heinz 57 sort of mix she is.
You can kind of see that she's got a natural Mohawk, hair on the top of her head is silky smooth, a wiry coat with fuzzy tufts that stick out in various place.
Hey, it's the coat she was born to wear!
I'm guessing there's a LOT of veterans living in Quail Creek!
On our way up to Madera Canyon we stopped at the Quail Creek Veterans Park. Full disclosure, Quail Creek is a Robson Resort 55+ community but the park is open to everyone.
We didn't stop because it was a veteran's park, we stopped because we'd been driving for a half hour or so, Niccy is a lady, and she'd just polished off her Starbucks and needed to spend a penny.
I have to say I was really impressed with this park. They had some really clean facilities, pickleball courts. a dog run area (big and small dogs), picnic area, and a playground. The grounds were really well kept and to top it off they had this signage to let you know that this was definitely a veteran's park! Good job on this park Quail Creek and the town of Sahuarita.
Had to do a bit of work on this shot to make it presentable to me. The sky is a replacement since the original was that dull flat summer sky we tend to get in Arizona. There were some yellow bollards in front of the sign that I cloned out, if you're a pixel peeper you'll probably see exactly where, along with a couple of rooftops.
The one thing I didn't do was bump up the saturation. I'm not a fan of oversaturation, it's got a place in the photography world but this definitely didn't need it, in fact I dropped it down a bit!
All in all a really nice stop at a really nice park. If you're a fan of pretty parks and you're in the area I'd recommend you stop for a moment and check it out.
Straight as an arrow (or a plane)!
I'm pretty sure this is a plane and not one of the Border Patrol helicopters that were flying that night. No natural lightning, but a nice leading line into the shot!
My cholesterol went up just looking at that mountain of fries.
One thing the Pima County fair in Tucson is certainly known for is coming up with some pretty outrageous food items. A grilled turkey leg wrapped in bacon, deep fried candy bars, and this monstrosity, Megafries. Pretty much an entire fryer basket stuffed with fries (chips), cooked up crispy and dumped on a plate.
We didn't stick around to watch this fellow devour this mountain of curled potatoes, my heart couldn't take it.
It looks like he was documenting his gastronomic undertaking, maybe to impress his Facebook friends back at the Boca Del Vista Retirement Community and RV Park?
It refers to a situation where things are not as they seem, where reality is distorted or reversed.
We went and stayed a couple of days in Athens Georgia with some friends there and they gave us a tour of the surrounding area.
This door is located in The Rogers House Museum in Madison Georgia.
visitmadisonga.com/rogers-house/
The house was built circa 1809, and the Piedmont Plain home showcases the standard for middle-class houses of the era. Over 200 years later, the house still sits on the original lot it was built on and has never been moved.
This is a shot of a window in the Rogers house that was reflected into a large mirror hung in one of the rooms. I liked the way the imperfections and dust on the window glass and mirror looked so I took a chance that it would work out.
A small series of photos that I took while driving down the road in Mexico.
One of the things that kids here in the US don't get to experience anymore is riding in the back of a pickup truck. I'm lucky enough to have grown up in a time when this was an everyday occurrence.
In Puerto Chiapas Mexico we signed up to take a tour outside of the port area. We went to a place called Miguel Aleman
GOOGLE MAP COORDINATES:
14.558926371866079, -92.21688314383077
right down on the border of Mexico and Guatemala. Miguel Aleman is a company town but the people who live there own the company. Their main revenue stream comes from growing and packaging bananas for export.
Well, when we went to get on the tour van the driver stopped me and told me to stand back. I wasn't sure why at the time but I'm glad he did. Once everyone was in the van he opened up the passenger side and asked me to sit there. He gave me a front row seat and I let him know I appreciated it.
The next few photos are all taken as we drove to Miguel Aleman. They may be a little blurry because I was shooting through the windshield. There might also be some blur on the bottom of the photo because he had his dash full of papers and I was getting a bit of a reflection off them. I didn't want to move them, might have messed up his filing system!