Report from Alaska

Fall is coming and the Chugach National Forest just outside Anchorage is already at peak color. Was looking for a shot like this all day, where I can show the colors to their best effect. Took a lot of shots while driving Route 1 to Girdwood. This was my favorite shot of the day. I just totally loved the splash of color.

Golden Gate Reflection Pool

Wonderful area heading up to the Golden Gate Bridge called Chissy Park and the old Fort Point military base right below the bridge. I am told that Industrial Light and Magic has taken over some of the buildings. In any case, what a great area for bikers, runners and sports of all sorts.

Golden Gate in a Fog Bank

Looks like we have a week's worth of Golden Gate shots. Really enjoyed my bike ride across the bridge. This is a shot looking back towards the city. All you can see below the bridge is the fog bank. Wonderful biking through the fog as it was at least 20 degrees cooler. Interesting how the fog goes right up to the bridge and then mostly stops.

Golden Gate in Fog

Took the opportunity of having to work over the weekend in San Francisco by using my free time to bike the Golden Gate bridge. Had a great day. What a beautiful scene seeing and biking through the fog sitting just on and just under the Golden Gate bridge. Quite a challenging ride as well, biking up the hill leading up to the bridge. What a fun, fantastic city to visit.

Moon Rise over the Golden Gate

One of the best reasons to get out of the hotel room is to see something you don't normally get to see. Stopped to take some pictures of the Golden Gate from the other side of San Francisco and accidentally fell in with a group going to observe a moon rise over the Golden Gate from an area called Pointe Bonita. So, I joined them and got some great shots and had an enjoyable evening. Not bad for having to hang out of town for a weekend by myself.

New York Broadway Street Scene

They did an experiment in New York City this summer where they closed Broadway in the afternoon and had a street fair of sorts. Traffic didn't seem to be any worse than always and it was easier to move around on the sidewalks and out on the streets. You got to sit out on various chairs and tables and enjoy the nice weather. Nice idea. I hope they keep it up.

Waikiki Beach View

It is a long way to go but once you get there, Waikiki is an excellent, fun beach to visit. This is shot from right across from the beach on Kalakaua avenue right about where the locals teach the tourists how to surf. Kalakaua Avenue has tons of world class shopping, dinning and hotels. I actually like the beaches on the other side of the island which I was able to visit the last time I was there back in 2008.

The Doors of Old San Juan

I was thinking of doing this type of post when I was walking around shooting these doors in Old San Juan. The story is that a building doesn't have to pay property tax if they have a different color than anything next door or across the street. Makes for a very colorful area to visit and I am always on the outlook for color. Found it in spades in Old San Juan.

Beijing Street Scene

I hesitated posting this shot for quite some time as I do not feel that it represents what we saw in China. However, poverty is everywhere, even in China. (Heck, I see more beggers every day on my way to work in Chicago than anything I saw in China.) Still, this poor soul put himself right on a busy walkway and I took the shot. What I really remember in China is the aggressive street sellers at all the tourist stops. Any chance at all, you got swamped with dozens of street hawkers looking to sell anything they could to you. Very aggressive. Anyway, I think this turned out to be an interesting shot.

Florence Street Scene

This is what I remember most about Florence. Lots of shopping stalls and historical buildings right nearby. History and shopping. What could be a better combination?

Philly Street Scene

I was walking around Philly after my meetings earlier this summer and looking for interesting shots to take. I figured the City of Brotherly Love will have lots of shot possibilities. I saw these three people and, I don't know, but I liked somehow the way they were positioned and took a quick shot while no one was looking.

I left my heart in San Francisco

Always on the outlook for color, even in fish signs. This is from a restaurant near my usual hotel in San Francisco. I liked the sign, but I ate at a pizza joint across the way.

Venice Beach Colorful Junk

Always on the outlook for color and spotted this collection of items just off of the sidewalk on Venice Beach. Pile of junk or artistic expression of a alleyway artist? You decide.

Mao and the Forbidden City

Chairman Mao still hangs over the main entrance to the Forbidden City. For this shot I am standing with Tiananmen Square at my back. The Forbidden City is right in the heart of Beijing and was home to 24 emperors going back to the Ming Dynasty. We are lucky the Palace is still there with the Cultural Revolution almost sacking and tearing the structure down. Most of the walls surrounding the original city were destroyed. Zhou Enlai saved the Palace itself by stationing an army battalion inside.

Colorful Beijing Market Scene

Walking by this colorful Beijing indoor market stall you know I have to take a shot. Always looking for color and saw a bunch of it at this stall. I don't think this vendor missed a trick in the must have tourist department.

St Louis Arch

Tough to get a new and interesting view of the Arch as it has been photographed so much. So, I tried to get in close and use the angles to draw viewers into the shot. The Arch has only been around since 1965 so many in their late 50's or older should remember an arch-free St. Louis. Hard to imagine a city building something like this today.

Illinois Farm Land

Felt like playing around with this shot to try to see what I can do inside Photoshop. I think I got kinda a 3D look with the shot. No, it is not realistic, but I had fun making some artistic choices abd frankly, the original shot was a bit boring.

Hotel/Hotel -- Central Illinois

Saw this run down building that called itself Hotel/Hotel (couldn't think of a better name?) on the way down to Champaign. Got to love these old buildings but even when this building was not old, it would have made a strange sort of hotel. I imagine the rooms would be very small and vertical. This building probably has a lot of stories to tell. It is a shame we we never know any of them.

Fall is coming--Naperville

Suddenly the temperatures start to change and you notice it getting darker quicker. Here is a shot of what is coming from a walk that I did last year close to the house. Fall is one of my favorite times of the year. Such colors. Can't wait to catch some fall color this year.

Florence -- The Rape of the Sabine Women

This was one of the two sculptures that really floored me in Florence. The first was Michelangelo's David, which was just so much better than anything I had ever seen before. Unfortunately, David is located indoors and they don't let you take a picture of it (Jono did anyway, shooting through a plastic bag, see below). The second sculpture was this one which I thought was called, the Rape of Venus, but now I know is correctly called the Rape of the Sabine Women, done by Giambologna in 1582, who was very much influenced by Michelangelo. That one is located in the central square outdoors in Florence. I thought that they were both amazing pieces of work.

Malibu Coastal Tree

Saw this wonderful tree at a co-worker's rental house right on the beach in Malibu. Wonderful area and just a fantastic place to live. So beautiful.

Old San Juan--the grunge look

Funny how you can take a ho-hum shot of a colorful street corner--this one happens to be in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico--and with a little software trickery, it turns into something else entirely. Just learned how to create this look and it fits this scene pretty nicely. No, it is not real, but taking any picture changes reality.