This sign is over an old (est. 1924) community store in Maryland. I have not altered the color–it really is that red in the sunlight.
Japanese maple
“Aflame”
Sun-dappled
Posted in photography
Tagged acer palmatum, autumn, bokeh, Coca-Cola, Coke, Japanese maple, orange, red, vintage sign
8 Comments
Bazaar del Mundo
While waiting for a table at an Mexican restaurant in Old Town San Diego, we strolled through Bazaar del Mundo. This collection of shops used to be in the heart of Old Town until the owner lost her lease and had to relocate. I liked it better in the old location, but the wares are still colorful and authentic. Wish I could have brought back some of these paper flowers on the plane.
I should mention that all these photos save the one below were taken with the iPhone. This is the bazaar from the outside:
I love these woven blankets. Yes, they’re selling Christmas stuff already, sigh.
The exterior is designed to look like an alleyway (callejon) in Mexico.
Everything is arranged so beautifully.
There’s a little cafe outside the shops and it was warm enough to eat outdoors that night. Boy, do I miss doing that! I took all these without flash, so that gives you an idea of how bright the place is.
If all this color is causing sensory overload, here’s something a little calmer.
An agave attenuata shot with the iPhone! I can’t believe the closeups you can get. I may just leave my little Canon at home when I travel and use this. I never take my Nikon, because airport security personnel almost dropped it once. I can’t imagine what pros endure when they take really expensive gear through airports.
Today is a holiday (Veterans Day) in the States, so I’ll be out doing stuff with Mr. Prose. I should be able to post a pic or two tomorrow, though. Have a good one!
Posted in photography, Travel
Tagged Bazaar del Mundo, Calif., Mexican blankets, Old Town San Diego, paper flowers
6 Comments
The bride in Balboa Park wore what?
Isn’t this color amazing? I love apricot-colored roses–they’re my favorite. My son surprised me by suggesting a trip to Balboa Park while we were in San Diego. He’s in a running group that trains there, so now likes it. When he and his brother were teenagers, we would have had to drag them to places like this. 🙂
Anway, there’s very nice rose garden in Balboa Park and all the roses were in perfect bloom that day. What a change from the mediocre roses in the D.C. area. Here’s a lovely dark pink…
and a nice light pink.
On to the botanical garden where we found this bromeliad (I think that’s what it is)…
some greenery
and some tropical flowers.
Then we just wandered the park looking at all the gorgeous Spanish architecture. I didn’t photograph the buildings, because the sky was overcast and they deserve nice light. They’re also more dramatic with a brilliant blue sky behind them. Next trip.
Because it’s so beautiful, Balboa Park is often the site for wedding photography. I think I’ve seen a bride there just about every visit. This one wore sneakers….
The groom was in a long white shirt with white pants. He also wore sneakers. They were in a great hurry, so I didn’t get a candid shot of him. I also decided to pass on a photo of a great-looking saxophonist. He was wearing an elegant dark suit with a white fedora and red tie. But he was busking, and I don’t want people who might be down on their luck to feel like curiosities. It’s a fine line sometimes.
Finally, one of my favorite flowers in the world, Tibouchina or “Princess Flower.” I tried to grow some, but they are really finicky (hence the nickname). The blue-violet is sublime, no?
Posted in photography
Tagged "Princess flower", apricot rose, Balboa Park, bride, bromeliad, Calif., pink roses, San Diego, sneakers, Tibouchina, tropical plants
2 Comments
Lunch at a favorite restaurant
Mr. Prose and I just took a really quick trip to San Diego so we could surprise my son on his birthday. When we landed, it was about 83 degrees F. and the sky was brilliant blue. This is a gorgeous old hotel (est. 1926) in La Jolla called La Valencia. I’d love to show you the inside, but it will have to be a different trip. We were on our way to one of my favorite restaurants in San Diego, George’s at the Cove….
George’s overlooks La Jolla Cove, which is good enough, but it also has great food. I took this shot from our table and almost got vertigo when I realized I could easily tip over the plexiglass wall (see lower left corner) and plunge down the very steep hillside. I don’t like heights at all, but I’ll make an exception for this place.
Here’s another view:
Those little white things on the rocks below are some really amazing birds. If it’s chilly, say, in February, you can eat inside on the lower level:
More tomorrow….
Posted in photography, Travel
Tagged Calif., Canary palm, dining outdoors, George's at the Cove, Hotel La Valencia, La Jolla, restaurant
4 Comments
The Facebook Movie
image from imdb.com
We saw the Facebook movie (The Social Network) a while back and found it to be surprisingly good. Jesse Eisenberg does a fantastic job as Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook’s founder) and Justin Timberlake is decent as the semi-sleazy Napster developer.
What really surprised me was that Zuckerberg started Facebook as revenge against the girlfriend who dropped him. He’s seen as vindictive in the movie, but Eisenberg makes the character somehow sympathetic. I liked Eisenberg in Juno, but this character is much more complex.
Zuckerberg is exasperating, fiendishly smart and funny. The ultimate irony is that he has no social life whatsoever. His girlfriend dumps him at the beginning of the movie and he has only one friend. I don’t watch Oprah, so missed the Zuckerberg interview, but heard he now lives alone in a rented house in California.
Zuckerberg is one of the youngest, if not the youngest billionaire alive. But he never seems interested in money in the film. In fact, his best friend is more interested in making cash off the enterprise. I couldn’t help thinking about Citizen Kane while I watched the movie. All that money and still miserable.
I also thought about a story I read in a newspaper years ago. The writer had suffered from depression for years until she tried Prozac. The antidepressant changed her life dramatically. For the better. She decided to search for one of the inventors of Prozac so she could personally thank him for saving her life. She found one of the team, but was dismayed to learn that he was indifferent to the personal aspects of the drug. For him, it had been a really challenging puzzle and one he wanted to win. The writer left feeling deflated, and almost sorry she’d come to see him.
I wonder how Zuckerberg feels when people thank him for designing this social network that connects them to their friends and relatives so easily. I imagine he looks as uncomfortable as the Prozac inventor. Unable to fully enjoy what he created.
Autumn Xpro
I took this at Mount Vernon a while back. I like the way it turned out, especially the silhouettes, but decided to try some cross processing (Xpro for short) just for fun….
A little edgier, yeah? I desaturated the color, added some brightness and hit the “cross processing” button in Photoscape.
Great weekend, everyone!
Holly bokeh
Here is a better example of “bokeh.” I noticed light coming through our holly tree, but I didn’t see this, exactly. Just tiny pinpoints of sunlight. When I uploaded it to the computer, I was pleasantly surprised. My aperture was almost wide open (f/3.2) and the shutter speed was 1/60.
You’re not supposed to use a shutter speed lower than the focal length of your lens, but I’m able to get away with 1/40 on my 60mm without a tripod because I have a steady hand. I do hold my breath, however, and am pretty much gasping for air by the time I’m done shooting several frames.
Soon I’ll be cutting holly branches to decorate for Christmas, ack! And again I won’t be ready. No matter how soon I start, I’m still running around like a demented crazoid on Dec. 23. I do, however, refuse to shop on Christmas Eve. I did it once, and was so embarrassed to be the only woman at the mall. All right, there may have been one or two others. But oh, the look of quiet desperation on those faces.
“The Promise of Trees”
The Promise of Trees
by Lucy Berry
In flaming colour and umber murmur
of terracotta-rusted glamour
we speak our sunset-streaked vermilion valour
of wordless dying.
In city streets and ducal parkland,
on urban squares and heath and moor
we make again the promise which we pledged each year before:
that dying is…. nothing
Trust us.
This mere one fire failing, solely, one greenness-ailing
is the great-cycle, grand-sadness of one season’s farewell bidding
phoenix foliage ridding
our sturdy selves of another verdant year
the sloughing, shrugging, shedding of the necessary tear
Trust us;
this amber-plumed, ochre pyre
is heart to the promise we give;
that we die and are mourned and are lost.
But that next year we live.
Old blooms and new
These are spent blooms–perhaps Joe Pye Weed?
I’m paying a lot more attention to bokeh now that I have a macro lens. Still getting used to the different depth of field, but it’s fun to move around and see the different colors in the background.
We’re having frost warnings these days, unfortunately. I’ve really enjoyed autumn this year. Hard to believe we had the A/C running only a week ago. I’m such a California wimp when it comes to cold weather. But let’s not think about that now.
Here’s a pair of heart-shaped leaves with a texture from JoesSistah applied:
I almost missed these pansies because of all the leaves. They’re so bright and cheerful, aren’t they?
Hope it’s still warm wherever you are….
Posted in photography
Tagged autumn, bokeh, foliage, heart-shaped leaves, JoesSistah, pansies, spent blooms, texture
8 Comments
The key to photography
I happened to walk by our dresser the other morning and noticed a nice light shining through my favorite perfume. Coco Mademoiselle by Chanel. I turned the bottle so I could see the label and took this shot. The next day I read this great quote on line via twitter:
“Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography.” George Eastman
I knew photography is called “painting with light,” and that light is really important, but this made me look at photography differently. The words are in the back of my mind when I frame every shot now.
Sometimes I love the Internet….
Posted in photography
Tagged Chanel, Coco Mademoiselle perfume, George Eastman quote, light
Leave a comment
Pearls & Prose 