Cloudscapes

Another trip from coast to coast.  We are now in Los Angeles after a nice flight on a day with great weather.  The clouds were quite different all the way across the country.  I took a number of photographs, but the series of cloudscapes seemed to be the most interesting of all the photographs.  The first picture is near the New York metropolitan area.  The other two photographs were taken about four or five hours later over Arizona, and over Southern California.

The Beginning of the End

I showed you the giant excavator parked at the abandoned office buildings located in "Village Square."  I have always photographed the scene from the rear of the buildings, rather than from the Village Square side.  So I noticed that the excavator had moved and I went looking for it, and I found it on the front side of the plaza, and it had been at work for a few days, apparently.  So I had to hold my camera over my head in order to shoot over the temporary chain link fence they have installed to keep people out of the construction site.

Then I went to the top of the parking garage, and I got a much better photograph of the whole scene, which was fun.  Here's the killer - I realized that when we get back from our trip in two weeks, all of this will be gone - I will miss the best part - the destruction of my favorite side of the complex.  At least I got this today.

Accidental

I didn't discover this image, even thought I took it.  I am shameless when it comes to stealing someone else's idea...   :-)   Kathy and I did a selfie video to wish Vince and Jo Anne a happy anniversary.  When you do that with an iPhone, you switch to the lens to the screen side of the camera so you can see yourself in the video.  When we were done, Kathy put her phone down on the dining room table, and then said "Look at this view looking straight up at the chandelier!"  So I got my toy camera and took the photo.  Confession is good for the soul...   :-)

In The Garden

It is interesting how few times I actually walk over to the side garden to see how it is coming.  But when I am desperate for a blog post one of the first places I go it to the garden.  I was not disappointed today, because I found this almost perfect blossom of a Dahlia!  It is unusual to see an almost perfect blossom - there is always something not quite right - perhaps a bug has chewed part of a leaf or two, or perhaps the center of the blossom has started to deteriorate.  But not today, thankfully!  The secret of the beauty of this photograph is the soft lighting - this picture was taken about an hour after sunset.  Please click on this to see it in spectacular detail.

The Old Gate

When I was photographing the lovely garden on the street the other day, I happened to notice this old gate behind me, at an entrance to a park in the center of Roslyn.  I liked that it was old wood that has been there for a long time, based on the weathered post.  I also loved the old fashioned rusted hinge that was visible as well.

Seascape Redux

I have one photograph left from my night time exposure images from a week ago.  This one may be the best of three.  I like it more because there are more elements in the photograph, and more of a sense of foreground and background to it.  And of course the blurred water and marsh grasses.  If I keep doing things long enough, I eventually come up with something decent!

Here's a twist...   After I posted the first photograph, I started wondering how it would look in black and white.  So I quickly converted it to B&W and here it is.  Which of these photographs do you find the most interesting?

The Gift of Flowers

The doorbell rang yesterday and a man was holding a vase of flowers.  I signed for them, but was puzzled.  It was no one's birthday, so what were they for?  I was surprised that both of our names were on the card.  Oh wait!  Our Anniversary!  Of course that is not until next Tuesday, but we will be traveling to Los Angeles on Wednesday, so that's why the flowers arrived early.  Where did they come from?  Vince and Jo Anne, in Rochester sent this beautiful arrangement!  I have never seen an arrangement before like this that is all one color, and it is stunning.  And the surprise was to see the face underneath the flowers. It gave us the "warm fuzzies!"  Thank you both!