The -- Mostly -- Desert Scene

A picture from Santa Fe

2008-08-26T22:39:00.002-07:00

A winner!

2008-08-09T18:24:00.002-07:00

The mountain photo (posted June 26) received an honorable mention at PhotoClub Alpha today! Check it out at AlphaMount World. Also, a color version of that image was rated at the top of its category at my local camera club last month. Pretty cool!

Catalina Mountains from Oro Valley

2008-06-26T21:35:00.002-07:00

The Monsoon season in Arizona looks like it is starting early this year. Here are the mountains just north of me yesterday evening:

The Moon June 20

2008-06-22T18:59:00.003-07:00

Here's how the Moon looked on June 20. It's amazing to me how much detail you can bring out with some post processing!

Jupiter and Moons

2008-06-19T22:46:00.002-07:00

Here's something I didn't expect to see -- Jupiter with its 4 Gallilean moons. I've been taking Moon shots each night, and tonight I noticed a planet near the Moon, so I took a quick picture of it as well. Turns out that not only can you see the disk of the planet, but also four moons lined up from lower left to upper right in this picture (click on it for a larger view):

Luna

2008-06-12T20:38:00.001-07:00

Here's a picture I took last night:

Club Camera Competition

2007-03-13T21:47:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted here. I've joined a camera club in Tucson now, and entered my first competition Tuesday night (3/13/07). Two entries; one made the year end show, and the other was rated pretty low by the judge. Here are the images -- can you guess which one did well, and which one bombed out?

Here's the first picture, from a recent trip to Santa Barbara:

and here's the second one, at the Painted Desert:

Navajo Sandpainting

2006-11-07T22:51:00.000-07:00

This is a piece of Navajo art we have hanging on our wall. Here is the front:

The back explains the picture:

Rose in Black and White

2006-10-15T21:28:00.000-07:00

Wow, two posts in one day! I played around with the rose close-up a bit more, and decided I liked this black and white version better:

What do you think?

Clearly, I'll need to address my tripod issues soon so I can make longer exposures - giving sharper images (more depth of field, slower shutter speed).

A Rose

2006-10-15T19:21:00.000-07:00

Two weeks since the last post? I didn't think it had been that long! The frequency should pick up shortly -- I have a project that will be starting shortly to help get me back on track.

This is a rose I brought home a week ago:

Here is a close-up, with the colors muted nearly to black and white:

Out the Window

2006-09-30T18:20:00.000-07:00

This is the view out the window of the master bedroom and bath of my house:

To me, this is the perfect desert scene. The sky isn't usually this cloudy in Tucson, but it does make a nice black and white transformation:

And if you stop partway through the transformation, you'll get what looks to me like an "old time" effect:

The colors aren't as saturated, but it has a nice feel.

One Flower

2006-09-24T14:55:00.000-07:00

Here is a closer view of one bloom:

and here is the b&w version:

Be sure to enlarge this last one!

Blossoms Up Close

2006-09-20T22:18:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I looked out the front window of the house and saw some new blossoms in the front yard. These were quite a surprise! Here's a close up:

Here's the black and white version:

I think I like that a bit better. I have a closer view that I'll work with and post later.

It Blooms At Night

2006-09-18T20:58:00.000-07:00

I'm back from my trip, and slowly recovering from jet lag. This is the third time I've taken my camera to the DC area, hoping for a bright sunny day for some pictures I hope to take. And guess what? For the third straight trip, it was overcast and rainy the whole time! Well, maybe next time...

Here is a photo from the back yard, taken in the middle of the night. This cactus opens its blossoms at night, and closes them during the day. When they are open, they are huge -- 8 or 10 inches across.

The fruit on this plant is a round red ball -- early viewers of these pages may remember a photo of it I posted last December. It's been exceptionally rainy this year (last I heard, we were at 169% of the normal rainfall for the month of August), so we may get a "bumper crop" of the fruit this winter. If we do, I'll subject you to more pictures of them.

Last of the Horses

2006-09-07T19:45:00.000-07:00

I'm getting tired of horse picture, so this is the last set, at least until I recover! Last time is had some pictures of horses doing some tricks, riderless. It turns out that they can also do them with a rider; here's the two-legged stand:

Even more impressive is the flying leap (I like the shadows on this one!):

After all of their tricks, it seems like time for a bow...

...to both sides of the audience!

That's it for now. I'll be traveling over the next week, and only post once or twice from the road.

A few tricks

2006-09-02T20:24:00.000-07:00

Here is a group of three that performed, synchronized. "Formation trotting!"

Here is a rider taking a turn at the show. My wife's first comment on this one (she rides horses, and knows what to look for) was to notice the curvature on the horse's spine -- he is bending himself around the curve.

Some of the horses did tricks for us in the second half of the show. This horse held himself on his hind legs for several seconds.

Finally, this picture would have been my best of the show, if only the lights had been aimed properly. I tried to pull out some detail from the shadow, but there just isn't enough there.

Intermission

2006-08-30T21:23:00.000-07:00

Cue the Zamboni music, it's time for a brief interlude from the Lipizzaners while I bore you with yet another black and white image.

A few posts back an anonomous poster said he'd send a suggested cropping for the clouds over Tucson image. I received his sugestion, and based on it, made this version:

I would have posted his suggestion, but he didn't have the full image to work from. This one was processed fron the full size, original RAW data file. (Be sure to click on the image to get the full effect.)

What do you think?

More Horses

2006-08-28T21:11:00.000-07:00

Continuing with browsing through my pictures from the horse show, here is a picture taken across the arena:

I like that picture, because it catches the horse with three hooves off the ground. It almost looks like all four are off the ground -- but that picture will come later in the week!

I do find the crowd in the background a bit distracting, though. Here is another picture, in which I've removed the crowd by darkening ("burning in", were I in a darkroom) the crowd and replicating some of the railing:

I like this last image, even though the illuminated rider is looking away:

A Show

2006-08-27T18:14:00.000-07:00

I heard an announcement on the radio Friday, stating that the Royal Lipizzaner Stallions were in town, performing Friday and Saturday. I told my wife, and we went, camera in hand. So this week I'll be selecting some of the highlights of the pictures (I took over 200). The show started with a flag bearer for the national anthem. Later in the show, there is a second tribute, with this flag bearer:

One story from World War 2 tells about how Patton rushed to the town housing the Lipizzaner's, in hopes of rescuing them at the end of the war. (I remember that scene from the Patton movie.) The tribute commemorates this event.

Here is a picture of one of the groups in the show:

I like the foreground/background images here. Expect more in the next few days!

Saguaro -- Up Close

2006-08-25T21:22:00.000-07:00

We have a Saguaro growing in the back yard. Here are a few close up pictures; first the left side:

then the right side:

and finally the center:

Be sure to enlarge each of these (click on them) to see the full effect.

A Hilltop

2006-08-21T22:09:00.000-07:00

This hill sits above the Salt River. I thought it looked a lot like a ruined fortress. Here's a color and black and white view:

I probably won't post the next couple of days -- I need to take more pictures first!

A Surprise in the Garden

2006-08-20T17:46:00.000-07:00

There was one more surprise waiting for us when we returned from the White Mountains. In our backyard there is a flower bed with several flowering bushed in it, including two large Rosemary plants. I looked at the Rosemary plant, and this is what I saw growing beneath it:

Neither my wife nor I remember ever seeing these flowers before. It was probably just the right time of year -- we've only lived in Tucson a couple of years.

Here is a close up of one of the flowers:

Another B&W Try

2006-08-18T19:26:00.000-07:00

This is actually the picture that my friend suggested I try converting to B&W. The original color image is in the Coronado Trail post below. It didn't convert directly to black and white very cleanly, because the mountains didn't have enough contrast. So first I did some cropping and color adjustment (mostly in the blue pallette), giving this picture of the clouds over the Catalina mountains:

Then I removed the color saturation, giving this image:

I also tried just making the color more subdued, giving this look:

I think the last one is pretty interesting!

Mogollon Rim Path

2006-08-17T20:58:00.000-07:00

A friend suggested that I try some desaturating the color in some of my pictures, making them black and white. I had one from the top of the Mogollon Rim that I thought I'd play with tonight. Here you can see the original color picture, and the cropped black and white result. What do you think?

A Tucson River

2006-08-15T20:03:00.000-07:00

When we returned to Tucson, things were NOT in their usual condition. About a mile from our house, there is an overpass over the Rillito river. Here is a picture of the river in its normal state, taken last January:

Yes, that is a Tucson river. There is usually no water in the "river" out here. Notice the trees in the riverbed here.

Here is a picture of the Rillito as it appeared on our return from the White Mountains:

Do you see any trees in the riverbed? Neither do I -- they are under water! One gentleman I saw while taking this picture said that he had never seen the river this full in the 30 years that he has lived in Tucson. Not only was the river full, but it was also flowing quite rapidly. There was a standing wave in the river near where I was taking pictures:

and the pylons for the bridge were taking quite a beating:

On the Coronado Trail

2006-08-13T21:20:00.000-07:00

We did finally reach the Mogollon Rim when heading back to Tucson, though not the part of it I'd hoped to explore. We came back on the Coronado Trail, and it is REALLY twisty. At the top of the Rim on the trail there is an overlook that must be really spectacular on a clear day. Unfortunately for us, the top was quite foggy, so we didn't get to see it. Here is the view part way down:

Near the bottom of the descent from the rim, you can get a taste of Arizona rock formations. Here is a picture I took at one of the pull-off areas:

We had heard that Tucson was getting quite a bit of rain. A difficult report to give credence to, until we saw the north side of the Catalina mountains on the north side of Tucson:

Next time, I'll report on what we saw on the other side of the mountains.

Fort Apache

2006-08-12T20:22:00.000-07:00

While in the White Mountains, we visited Fort Apache on the White Mountains Apache reservation. Our cabin was in Greer, about 75 miles from the fort. We weren't sure what to expect at Ft. Apache, but what we saw wasn't it! To start with, it was a rainy day. We had a moderately decent map, but the fort wasn't on it. So we went where we thought it was -- but once we were on the reservation, there were no longer the expected "dumb tourist turn here!" signs. So we drove well past Fort Apache before realizing it. Finally, we turned around, and -- miracle of miracles -- there was a sign when heading north. So when we finally found it, we renamed the fort -- it is now "Fort Apogee", because it was the furthest point from Earth (aka Apogee) for us!

Here is a picture down the enlisted men's side of the fort:

It turns out that Fort Apoche -- oops, I mean Fort Apogee -- was the fort that was involved with tracking down Geronimo in the late 1800's. They were also involved in training the Apache scouts, and in maintaining peace on the Apache reservation. There is a pretty good tourist level description, with copies of the historical documents, in the log cabin, shown here:

The log cabin is one of the oldest buildings left on the fort, and was the house of the fort commander in the 1870's.

This house in the officer's row is a bit newer, and I think it was the house of a later commander or his deputy:

You'll notice a tower on the top of the house here. It was an observation tower, used to look out and see approaching weather. It is currently being restored. Here is a close up of the tower:

Fort Apache ceased to be an active fort in the early 1920's. It was converted to a boarding school for Native Americans -- mostly Apache -- and continues in that role today. You can find out more about it -- including more accurate information than what I'm remembering from a few weeks ago -- at their homepage.

We confirmed Fort Agogee's new name on the drive back to the cabin. We went looking for the Mogollon Rim. One of the tour guides I read described the rim, and talked about a road that drives along it for about 50 miles. The rim is an escarpment, where the Colorado plateau drops off, separating northern Arizona from southern Arizona. The drop off is 3000 feet or more in places, and sounds quite interesting. Alas, we never found the road, so I can't report on most of the rim from this trip. But it did take us about 4 hours to return to the cabin from the fort, confirming the designation "Fort Apogee"!

In the Meadow, Part 2

2006-08-11T21:14:00.000-07:00

Here are some pinecones along a road we hiked down:

These red flowers were everywhere -- in the meadow, along the side of the road, everywhere!

Here's a blue flower in the meadow:

Here's another picture of the purple flowers:

In the Meadow, Part 1

2006-08-10T20:09:00.000-07:00

The meadow shown in yesterday's post was full of flowers of all sorts. Today and tomorrow, I'll show you some ot these flora. This is one of the more colorful flowers that I saw.

This purple flower occasionally showed up, but was not nearly as prevalent as I would have liked.

Finally, this dandelion was one of the largest ones I've ever seen -- nearly 2.5 inches in diameter!

Arizona???

2006-08-09T20:09:00.000-07:00

Arizona is a desert state, right? Right?? When I think of the Grand Canyon State, I think of saguaro cactus forests, little rainfall, soaring mesas, tumbleweed -- you know, all of the things I saw in the southwest desert scenes in the Bugs Bunny cartoons growing up. ("I shoulda' turned left at Albequerque!") Well, after we left the petrified forest (yes, that DOES look like my image of Arizona -- the north part of the state), we went to stay in the White Mountains. Here's a picture off the back porch of the cabin we rented:

The water flowing through the meadow (a Meadow!) is the Little Colorado River. Well, in Tucson, rivers are DRY. (Expect more on THAT subject in a few days.) It rained every day while we were there. (Water? Falling from the sky?? In Arizona??? For 4 straight days????) My son and I started calling the White Mountains "Canada" -- Pine tree forests, well north of Tucson, lots of rain; this must be Canada!

Seriously, though, the White Mountains are a very nice region. Nice enough that local celebrities have property there. Here is a picture of Senator Kyl's cabin on the Little Colorado -- or so the locals told us:

Pretty nice, and a GREAT location. More from the White Mountain meadows next time!

A Forest Dweller

2006-08-08T20:37:00.000-07:00

Here's one more image from the Petrified Forest. This crow was just sitting on a petrified log, watching -- and talking to -- the visitors. It certainly added to the ambiance of the setting. And reminded me of native American legends -- not that I really know any, of course!

At the Salt River

2006-08-07T20:39:00.000-07:00

When you head to Petrified Forest NP from Tucson, the most direct route that we've found takes you through the Salt River Canyon, shown here. You come to the edge of the canyon, wind down several thousand feet to a small bridge over the river, and then climb back up on the other side. These three pictures were taken from the north side of the canyon:

The Canyon

Trees on the Edge

A Mesa above the Canyon

So where are the trees???

2006-08-06T20:34:00.000-07:00

All of the pictures here so far are from in the Petrified Forest National Park. But if that's so, you may be asking, where are the petrified trees? That, dear friend, is a sad story. Most of the petrified forest was removed before it became a national park. There are still a lot of petrified logs lying around. Here are a few in the Crystal Forest:

I like the juxtaposition shown here, though I don't like the picture as much -- a wooden fence, guarding a petrified log:

Here is one of my better pictures of a petrified trunk:

Looks like a recent tree -- but solid rock. Finally, here is a nearly complete trunk from the forest:

The Painted Desert

2006-08-05T14:10:00.000-07:00

Here is another picture from the Painted Desert area. I was browsing through the pictures, and decided to try a bit of cropping on this one to see that I could do with it. The aspect is a bit wider than usual for me, but I like the effect.

The Tepees

2006-08-04T21:15:00.000-07:00

South of Newspaper Rock the geology starts to change from the flat landscape of the painted desert as you enter the petrified forest proper. The tepees, shown here, are part of this striking change of scenario.

As you continue south, you start to see petrified logs. If you turn off into Blue Mesa, you'll see this hill:

as well as some petrified trees scattered in the area.

Reading the Newspaper

2006-08-03T21:58:00.000-07:00

This is Newspaper Rock (the one in Arizona), a dense collection of petroglyphs in the Petrified Forest National Park. When you head south from the Painted Desert area of the park (pictured below), there is a turn-off to view it from an overlook. You pull up, and at first don't know where to look, unless someone else points it out to you. But as you look down below you, you see some large rocks, and slowly realize that they are covered with petroglyphs. Be sure to bring binoculars -- you are about 30 yards from the rock carvings!

About the Pictures

2006-08-02T22:01:00.000-07:00

Okay, so here's the deal. In December 2005, my wife gave me a new digital camera for Christmas. I used to do a lot of photography when in college and shortly afterwards, but quit for numerous reasons -- no more room for a darkroom, or time to take pictures, and film is pretty expensive if you rely on a photo lab. I started again a few years ago, with a small Fuji digital camera. It took nice pictures, but they were a bit small (3 megapixels) and show more digital noise than I like. The lens options were non-existent for that camera -- it had a 6x optical zoom integrated into the camera body. The display screen for the camera broke last year; hence the "need" for a new camera.

The new camera is a Konica-Minolta 5D, and takes quite nice 6 megapixel pictures. Back in college days, I used, and liked, Minolta cameras, so for me it was the logical choice. Once I started taking pictures, I wanted some venue to share them. I started with a basic web page -- you can see it with the "Older Pictures" link on the main page (or by clicking the link here). But some folks that found that page (here I mean you, Cricket) complained that they couldn't provide feedback. Hence I decided to try this blog format. The plan is to update at least once a week. I work from home, so that gives me an excuse to get out of the house -- taking the pictures, not the posting bit!

All of the pictures shown here (one so far, but more soon! :-) ) are reduced from the full size images and converted to jpeg format. You can see the full "reduced size" picture by clicking on the image on the blog page. I try to make the long dimension of the images 800 pixels, so that there is a reasonable amount of image definition. The full size pictures are shot in MRW format -- Minolta's raw format -- and sized at 3008 by 2000 pixels, with 12 bits of color information per pixel. Usually the image posted here is only lighly edited -- resized, color saturation sometimes lightly adjusted, and a bit of sharpening (aka "unsharp masking") to make the image look a bit crisper. More information is available on request -- just ask!

All of the pictures are copyrighted, of course. But I tend to not be too picky about sharing (with accreditation), so if you see something you like and would like to use it or just get a bigger copy, post a request and I'll see what I can do to help out!

Getting started...

2006-08-01T13:13:00.000-07:00

Well, we'll give this a go to see how posting pictures in a blog format work. Expect some bigger updates (i.e. a few pictures) in the next few days, and -- eventually (sigh) -- a cleaner format for the site. Once I make one -- so don't hold your breath! I added one picture above to try it out.