The Gallery Inn, Old San Juan

This is a fisheye lens view of the entrance to the courtyard of the Gallery Inn, a wonderful bed and breakfast in Old San Juan. The B&B is owned by a local artist and her artwork is in every nook and cranny of the building. I stayed here 8 years ago and vaguely remembered where it was located as I was walking around the city during this past trip. The artwork is memorable as there are pottery heads and other decorations everywhere. Glad to see that the Inn survived the hurricane as it must have been very hard for local businesses to stay in open for so long without visitors. I hope to go as a tourist and stay here again. Fun place.

In this close up, I count 11 heads in this shot. Do you see them all?

Parking Cars in Old San Juan

Learning to park cars in Old San Juan is a skill set you must have to be able to keep a car in the old city. Parking cars would be very interesting in those narrow streets with very little parking available.

Looking up in Old San Juan

The architecture in Old San Juan is beautiful. Such ornate buildings. However, you have to wonder about the stability of the infrastructure as there are wires everywhere when you look up. Maybe it is just cable TV but electric lines are also very evident. As the last hurricane showed, not a great situation.

The Legend of La Rogativa, Old San Juan

This statue represents the legend of the supplicate, where the people of San Juan sent a plea for help to God by marching to the Cathedral as the British took the city in a naval blockade in 1797. The British mistook this firelight march as reinforcements entering the city and they withdrew.

Artsy Scarecrow

I was feeling a little "artsy" this morning so I took a very plain, boring Halloween decoration shot and played with some photo filters to get this shot above. I wish I could actually draw something like this but for now, it is creating art with photography. Took maybe 10 minutes to get the shot they way I wanted. Would have been quicker but I played around with different options. My smile is a big as the scarecrow's right now, so I like this shot.

The starting shot didn't have much going for it so it was crying out for a filter. Here is the before shot:

I started with a brightening of the colors to make the shot pop, but felt like it still needed more:

The shot below could be a finished shot but I thought that the background is now too messy and distracting.

Lastly, to reduce the background I blurred it out some to get the final shot. This, I hope made the scarecrow subject stand out a bit more from the background:

Three Scary Skulls

Clio was getting into the spirit of the season by jumping into the Halloween display at Johansen Farms Pumpkin Patch in Bolingbrook.

Personal Shot of the Day

I created Shot of the Day to have some fun while traveling. It can be a grind unless you get out of the hotel room to see the country that you are visiting while traveling for work. Occasionally, I post a grandkid shot or something more personal. Obviously, this is one of those shots. My brother Joe had a great celebration at Davern's Tavern and my sister planned an amazing two day event with the wake and funeral. She gave a great eulogy at the church. I mostly just showed up and enjoyed visiting with all the family and friends. They did a great job. We have already said a lot on Facebook and the internet so I will leave that out. I will just say that Dad will be missed. It was a tough few years and now he is resting in peace. More shots from more places will follow but I will bring Dad with me as much as a person can. I hope Mom gets to enjoy many more years in good health. She deserves it. 

Fall Fun

What can be more fun than jumping into a huge pile of leaves? Can't have a fall season without it.

Enjoying the View in San Juan

The worker makes the shot. I was up early for a morning run and stopped to enjoy the beach view in San Juan, Puerto Rico, before heading into my hotel. This worker wouldn't get out of my shot. I wanted this nice clean, quiet beach view and he wouldn't move. I figured that I would shoot it anyway as I can always erase him in Photoshop. Then, I realized, he makes the shot. If you work here everyday and you still enjoy the view, that says something. So, good for him and I hope he gets to enjoy the view for years and years to come.

Old San Juan from el Morro hilltop

From the top of el Morro, the main fort protecting the bay that is the entrance to Old San Juan, you can get a great view of the city. The colors were popping as it was raining off and on during most of our trip. Of course, the weather pattern broke the day I had to leave and the city saw perfect sunshine and mild temperatures. Always that way. Still, the rain brings out the colors and boy, that worked here.

Fisheye view of the streets of Old San Juan

This is a fisheye view of the streets of Old San Juan. Blue cobblestone. Narrow, tight sidewalks. Colorful buildings. Electric and phone wires overhead. You better know how to park in a tight spot. Not shown here (as there weren't any in this particular view), cats!!! There are a lot of cats roaming free in Old San Juan.

Old San Juan bustling with life

Life finds a way. A year after a devastating hurricane which hit the island of Puerto Rico, life is back to normal in Old San Juan. The area remains an amazing place to visit. Hotels are open. Restaurants are filled. Smiles are all around. Tourism is still way down, but the island is open for business. There is evidence of remaining hurricane damage but you have to look to find it. Some buildings remain to be repaired or replaced, but in Old San Juan, their is little evidence of damage.

Austin from the air in black and white

God light over Texas

Aunty Bunny, just because we call this god-light doesn't mean that God is sitting up there with a screen making light beams. It is just a term used on occasion for light beams coming from above.

Things You See While Up in the Air

Interesting cloud filled sky visible out the airplane window while on the way to Austin last week.

Curvy Chicago

Just a fun walk-around shot with a fisheye lens on a beautiful fall day in Chicago.

Things you see on the road out west

When I took that shot I knew the name of that mountain peak in the distance as I saw a sign later on down the road, but it is gone from my memory. Somewhere out west off of I80 or I84, probably in Idaho or western Oregon.

Things you see on the road

This is the 5th shot of things you see while on the road series while driving across the United States.  This time of year,  you see this view over and over again.

Fall comes early in the mountains

Fall comes early in the mountains. I saw one maple tree in full on red at the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort up in Allegheny Mountains south of Pittsburgh. Didn't get to stay long at this beautiful location but I can confirm that Fall Is Coming.