Worcester College Lake, Oxford, England

Worcester College, Oxford, England

Worcester College Lake, Oxford, England

Mattock Close, Headington, Oxford, England

Margaret Road, Headington, Oxford, England

Christmas Market, Broad Street, Oxford, United Kingdom

We took a side trip to Valley of Fire yesterday but didn't realize the park had become so crowded. We walked around Atlatl Rock trying to avoid the crowd. Most people didn't know about a few petroglyphs hidden in plain sight. This panel I have found is a good example but its glyphs have pretty much faded already.

Worcester College Garden, Oxford, England

Botanical garden, Worcester College, Oxford, England

I had hoped to get an image of this river otter with my Nikon DSLR. I took this with my Google Gigapixel 9 phone and it is not what I'm used to, BUT I do like it. I took this in January and I've looked for this otter many many times along the Lake Trail in the park since, but no luck. I took probably 50 shots and the rain was pouring on me, the dog, and the husband. Both the dog and the husband remained patient through the entire process.

The otter came up at the dam and followed us as we moved around the peninsula getting on logs and doing the cutest poses. It was like a photographer's dream and I only had my cell phone due to the horrible weather. Part of the lake was frozen over and a cold rain started while we were at the furthest distance from our car.

I think it is pretty incredible what a phone can do shooting through an airplane window. There were just a few moments when the wing was not in the way of the view. A thank you to the pilot for that.

I took this with my cellphone because I had a 500mm Prime lens on my Nikon and it wouldn't work. I asked this fisherman for permission to photograph him, he was extremely nice and cooperative. I told him he was a perfect model with all that equipment hanging off him for a trout fisherman and those sunrays and fog would be a big bonus. Not the resolution of a DSLR but I LIKE IT. I hope to see him again and give him a copy of this image. I've seen him many times before in this spot. It is worth enlarging just to see his vest of goodies, fishing net on his back, scissors near the fish and more. He was prepared and got there early ahead of the crowd.

I took this on June 29. I had a print made and gave it to him today 10/3. I had been carrying it in the car in case we saw him again. He was pleased.

The hurricane about this time last year wiped out part of this bridge when a huge old tree fell across it; it has been repaired. This island wildlife refuge is now full of piled up downed humongous old trees that fell during the hurricane. The ground was saturated before the hurricane even came and the wind took down many of the older trees.

This is an interesting site dedicated to the Estonian victims of brutality under the Soviet Union regime. I was taken aback by the unique cultural identity of Estonia. Everything related to the Bolshiviks has largely disappeared, not even a sculpture or statue that I have come across. After spending a couple of days in Tallinn, I really like its charm. The country has a lot to offer.

I made an earlier version of this one in a more dramatic fashion with vignetting akin to the image next door on my stream. But, I liked the idea of focusing on the cloud formation and letting that take center stage so am sharing this, the second version. Now, the dark heaviness is in the bottom of the frame rather than on top weighing the image down.

I arrived at this section of the Donner Summit Tunnel when all the sudden, I spotted this big head on the rocky wall staring at me. That really gave me a creep. Regardless, this historic tunnel is a perfect place for photographers who love urban decay. I did enjoy my time exploring there.

There were a few strong displays of blossom at Keukenhof yesterday and this was one of them. We killed half of our day there and were not disappointed despite our late arrival

My latest acquisition – Pentax ES II with SMC Takumar 55mm F1.8. Finally, I can use my SMC Takumar lenses with auto exposure!

Margaret Road, Headington, Oxford, England

We stopped by Linderhof today and checked out the palace built by the lavish Bavarian king, Ludwig II. There was this little chapel tugged behind the palace. It looked just like a Winter Wonderland. I took a snapshot of its snowy scenery with my phone.

What a gorgeous day. Bright 🌞 Blue skies. Got up to 44°

I needed to venture up to northern Astoria and purposely left the cane at home, which was kind of stupid. Rode the subway 3 stops, instead of the 4, and opted to walk the remaining. It felt great, though that was my limit after having to scale the subway stairs again. Rome wasn't built in a day. It actually took 700 years. Let us hope my neuropathy heals sooner.

My out to lunch medical team has not offered any advice or recommendations reference anything. They're essentially useless.

BE YOUR OWN ADVOCATE

This low to mid 40's weather looks to be around for a bit, so short walks around my neighborhood will be scheduled, with able and cane in hand.

This photo is included in the album titled:

Newell's Run - Year of the City

- Click to view the full album

This photo is also included in the album titled

Queens: 31-05 Astoria Blvd North / Before & After Construction

- Click to view the full album

Stopped by Munich Residence yesterday. That place is huge! Our legs got very sore after we walked back to our hotel. Here is a snapshot of the Roman style massive hall at the residence.

The famed architect, Frank Gerry, had passed away on December 5th last year. While we were in Vegas a couple weeks ago, I decided to pay a visit to one of his iconic masterpieces ...... The Cleveland Lou Ruvo Center For Brain Health.

We stopped by Belvedere Palace to see Gustav Klimt's art exhibition yesterday. This magnificent place has been turned into an art gallery for many years. I was hoping to take some shots of the water fountains in its garden, but the fountains ran dry without any water. The back side of the palace had a Christmas market set up there. There were herds of tourists moving around. It took us almost two hours of waiting time to get into the palace since we didn't book our tickets in advance. Once we were in, it was still pretty crowded. The only chance of photography without any human in the frame was to point the camera to the ceiling. And so I did in one of the big rooms.

I spotted this vintage BMW 3 series two days ago and it reminded me of a BMW commercial of the same car that I saw as a kid in the early 70s. Seeing this again reminded me of my age. I am vintage.

Since it 's rainy today, we decided that it would be a museum day. We spent almost the entire day at Rijksmuseum. There was so much to see. We even entered the viewing platform of the research library. I waited for the crowd to dissipate before taking this shot.

I have been paying attention to the ceilings at all the historical buildings I had entered. They were all architectural marvels. This one at Weltmuseum is no exception.

It 's a gloomy Saturday when we went to the X'mas market in the old town of Nuremberg. I walked up to the 2nd floor of a restaurant to take this photo to show the tents and the size of the market. It was extremely crowded especially late in the evening even with subzero weather.

I climbed into this retro futuristic passenger train car at the Navada State Railway Museum. I really like its circular windows. I wonder what the engine looks like.

We were at the 2nd floor of Macy's when all the sudden the firewoorks were shot out from Union Square with the dragon and lion dancing in front of us. It was spectacular. I managed to capture this scene with my phone.

Sadly, Macy's at Union Square will be closing down soon. This may very well be our last year witnessing this at the department store.

We finally reached Vienna and saw the Danube. Turned out graffiti is legal along its riverbank. The weather has been wet for the past few days. We are looking forward to strolling around this magnificent city.

We were taken to this ranch about 40 drive from Helsinski. We had lunch there. And just when we were about to leave, I took this snapshot of the homestead at the ranch.

Read the history of this beautiful Cathedral

saintdemetriosastoria.com/about-us/parish-history/

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Part of the album titled Queens: Astoria

(click to view the entire album)

It's our first time cruising out of Amsterdam to the North Sea. I took this snapshot shortly after we departed from the port.