Travel Photography: Visiting the Phoenix Zoo
October 28th, 2011There's something about visiting the zoo. You can't help but wonder who's being more closely scrutinized, the animals or the humans.
Let's begin our tour at the pelican beauty parlor. Nothing like preening with a whole crowd watching. Not that this pelican cares...
If you're a giant iguana, you can pretty well forget about having privacy with your lunch...
A human audience sure doesn't stop this pair from, ahem, doing what they're doing...
The positioning of this feeding basket is of great concern to any creature that isn't a giraffe. But, hey, the short one is in a perfect position to get whatever falls to the ground...
Of all the animals I saw, the primates seemed to be most interested in watching the zoo's human visitors...
On the other side of the "interest in human visitors" spectrum, we have the carp in the pool near the zoo entrance. They couldn't care less about the human photographers catching their swimming moves...
Okay, I'll admit it: The Phoenix Zoo offers some of the best people-watching opportunities in the state of Arizona. Take, for example, the humans crowding into the orangutan pavilion. The creatures are in hiding, but we flock to see them anyway...
And a shout out to my Phoenix Zoo guides: The wonderful brother-sister team of Judy Vorfeld and David Crook (below)...
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Travel Photography: Vermont Ramblings
October 27th, 2011My two previous posts covered Vermont's annual fall color extravaganza and the impact of a (we hope) once-in-a-lifetime disaster. Time to look at some other aspects of the Green Mountain State.
My visit to Vermont coincided with the peak of the fall colors. It also rained just about every day that I was in the state.
Any kind of rainfall acts like a natural tree-shaker. Meaning that all those pretty leaves end up on the ground, as they did at the Vermont State House in Montpelier...
I guess it was the recency of Tropical Storm Irene, but just about every visitor to the State House grounds had to stop and read this plaque. I stretched my arm as far as it would go, but I still couldn't touch the high water mark. That's about six feet of stretching...
On to Middlebury, home of one of the finest liberal arts colleges in the country. My Aunt Jean is a proud graduate of Middlebury College and she just had to show the place off. We took an all-day trip just to see the campus...
Yes, those are rain clouds (again), and no, they didn't hold off until the afternoon. My Middlebury photo shoot was a short one...
Did you build forts when you were a kid? So did I. But I'll bet our forts weren't as stylish as these natural branch sculptures on the Middlebury campus...
One of the cool things about visiting family is that you get to do everything with them. And I do mean everything.
My arrival coincided with Aunt Jean's weekly trip to the dump. So that's what we did. Welcome to Dump Street in Stowe, Vermont...
Not only is the Stowe dump the proper place to leave trash and recyclables (see below), it's a wonderful place to find free stuff. According to Jean, it's a great source of housewares and "good clothes -- amazing clothes."
Vermont Cultural Tip: Broadcasting from Jean's home town of Waterbury, radio station WDEV offers a Saturday morning program called "Music to Go to the Dump By." You can listen online.
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Travel Photography: Vermont Fall Foliage
October 25th, 2011Just got back from visiting family in Waterbury, Vermont.
October in the state of Vermont means one thing: Fall Foliage. The aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene was very much in evidence, but it didn't stop the annual party thrown by the trees.
Let's start our fall foliage tour at the Waterbury Public Library...
The library was on high enough ground to avoid the overflow from the Winooski River, which flows through Waterbury. Even so, the front door has a sign asking patrons not to return flood-damaged materials.
The story of my trip to Vermont was the rain. It rained almost every day during my week-long visit. The wet weather created a lot of fall color vistas like this one...
The rain made it difficult to pursue one of my favorite activities, going for a walk. But I managed to take a stroll through Waterbury's Hope Cemetery before the skies really opened up...
My Aunt Jean hosted me during my Vermont visit. Jean's lived in Vermont for a couple of decades, and she loves to show the state to visitors. From an afternoon trip to Stowe...
Shhhh, don't tell anyone, but this pumpkin was on the edge of one of those gated properties with all sorts of "keep out" signs...
From the St. John’s in the Mountains Episcopal Church parking lot in the village of Stowe...
Post-Irene Vermont is a place on the mend. You won't be in the state very long before you hear of at least one benefit to help flood victims.
Since I'm an avid walker, the 5k walkathon in Waterbury Center's Hope Davey Park was like a magnet. I was hoping to meet some local people to walk with, but I didn't find any on the park's nature trail. So, I took a solitary walk with camera...
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Bike-tography: The Book
September 1st, 2011When I was in my early twenties, I set the goal of bicycling through all 50 of the United States. I accomplished this over a twelve-year period, traveling more than 15,000 miles in the United States, plus a bit of Mexico and Canada.
Traveling without the protective bubble of a vehicle provides a wonderful opportunity to see, hear, feel, and smell the world around you.
Add to this the minimalist nature of bicycle travel. Having limited carrying space forces you to rely on as little photographic equipment as possible. On my bike, I only had room for one camera body and one lens. So, that's what I worked with.
Bike-tography: Combining Bicycling with Photography presents a collection of photos from my bicycle travels and from 'round-town rides in my hometown, Tucson, Arizona.
Tucson cycling aficionados will enjoy images from these major events:
- 4th Avenue Bicycle Swap Meet
- Cyclovia Tucson
- El Tour de Tucson
- Old Pueblo Criterium
- UA Criterium
The book also offers photos from 10 of the 50 states that I pedaled through:
- California
- Hawaii
- Kansas
- Mississippi
- Nebraska
- New Mexico
- Ohio
- South Dakota
- Texas
- Washington
Preview Bike-tography: Combining Bicycling with Photography:
Tip: You can view more event photography in my portfolio and on this blog. I am also available for event photography assignments in Tucson, Arizona, and elsewhere. I specialize in concerts, festivals, parades, political rallies, and sporting events. To check availability and to request a proposal, please e-mail me or call 520-690-1888.
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Nature Photography: After the Blizzard
January 20th, 2011My recent trip to southeastern Pennsylvania featured no-problem air travel and foul weather that didn't materialize until after I was on the ground.
What the weather forecasters billed as a blizzard turned out to be underwhelming. We didn't even get half a foot of snow.
After the weather cleared, it was time to go exploring. I began this adventure by going back to school. This is a back entrance to Penn Wood School, which I attended for grades four through six....
I wasn't the most attentive of students, what with the school being in the woods, and the woods offering many interesting things to sketch. Penn Wood School proved to be a very inspiring venue for a budding visual artist.
Decades later, the Penn Wood School grounds still inspire me...
Being the curious big-kid that I am, I had to make more than one trip to Penn Wood. Couldn't let that plein air go to waste...
Tip: You can view more nature photography in my portfolio.
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Travel Photography: Blizzard Arrives
January 7th, 2011Eastern Pennsylvania's Christmas weekend blizzard came in with a vengeance. The bitterly cold winds and driving snow got my attention in a hurry. I had to go outside and investigate.
First lesson: Avoid looking north into the wind, because it bites. Hard...
This was a lesson that our family's super-smart border collie mix took to heart in a hurry. Sandy wasn't happy heading north, and the southerly direction was only slightly less amusing...
Second lesson: During a snowstorm, you pretty much have the outdoor world to yourself. Not much traffic coming in or out of this driveway...
Then came the snowplow. On this trip, it wasn't plowing. Instead, it was coming around to brine the roads...
As blizzards go, this one was a bit of a letdown. Snow accumulation totaled less than six inches. However, Philadelphia and New York really got hammered.
Tip: You can view more travel photography in my portfolio.
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Travel Photography: Before the Blizzard
January 5th, 2011I just got back from visiting family in eastern Pennsylvania. Arrived there just ahead of a blizzard that was racing up from the South. The following photos show the calm before the storm.
The approaching blizzard wasn't about to affect the behavior of these affectionate trees...
But the decorated for Christmas sled would soon get a coating of snow...
And the still-flowing Chester Creek would freeze...
Tip: You can view more travel photography in my portfolio.
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Construction Photography: Seeing Orange, Red, and Yellow
October 21st, 2010I just got back from a trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan. Being a northern city with only so many snow-free months, Ann Arbor has a "go flat-out while you can" approach to road construction.
This year, there's been quite a bit of road work in and around Ann Arbor. Meaning that you'll be seeing a lot of orange...
The resulting traffic delays will probably have you seeing red. And using colorful language that I don't dare repeat on this blog...
Now that fall is here, the beleaguered drivers, bicyclists, and walkers of Ann Arbor will soon be getting a break. Those much-reviled construction projects will be halted for the duration of The Season that Every Michigander Likes to Complain About. That would be winter.
In the meantime, enjoy those fall colors while you've got 'em!
Tip: You can view more construction photography in my portfolio. I am also available for construction photography assignments in Tucson, Arizona, and elsewhere. To check availability and to request a proposal, please contact me.
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Travel Photography: Arizona Biodiversity
October 20th, 2010While outsiders think that Arizona is nothing but dry, barren desert, we residents know better. This state has a surprising amount of biodiversity.
Take, for example, our riparian areas. Here's an impressive stand of cottonwoods growing near the banks of the Hassayampa River, which doesn't flow during dry seasons like the one we're having now....
Moving away from the river valley to higher ground, we find ourselves in a classic Arizona landscape. This shot's from the edge of Vulture Mine Road, which is west of Wickenburg...
On to the nearby Vulture Mine. This mine yielded $200 million worth of gold and silver before the U.S. government closed it in 1942. It's estimated that two to three times this amount is still waiting to be mined.
The Vulture Roost store caters to visiting tourists, and I'd have to say that the proprietor has some interesting tastes in decor...
I spotted these mining relics just outside the entrance to the Vulture Roost...
Tip: You can view more travel photography in my portfolio.
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Event Photography: Flags and Memories
July 6th, 2010When I was in my early twenties, I set the goal of bicycling through all 50 of the United States. I accomplished this over a 12-year period, and wrote and published two books about my experiences.
My travels also took me into Canada. During a 1987 ride down the Icefields Parkway between Jasper and Banff, Alberta, I met another bicyclist from Quebec.
In heavily accented English, she told me that she didn't really feel like a Canadian until she'd gone out and pedaled around her country. I said that my American bicycle travels had done the same thing for me.
And that's why the Stars and Strips fly outside my house on the 4th of July...
This is my country, and, thanks to the generosity of the people I met on the road, I've seen it, heard it, and felt from Maine to California and from Alaska to Florida. You can see where I went by visiting my bicycle, nature, and travel photography portfolios.
Tip: You can view more event photography in my portfolio and on this blog. I am also available for event photography assignments in Tucson, Arizona, and elsewhere. I specialize in concerts, festivals, parades, political rallies, and sporting events. To check availability and to request a proposal, please e-mail me or call 520-690-1888.
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