Street Scene: San Francisco Chinatown

 

This is a street scene from a 2010 trip to the Chinatown part of San Francisco. 

Street Scenes: Shanghai Head in a Box

 

I found a shot I never published before. This past year it has mostly been about going through my catalog as I haven't been able to travel much. Lately, I have appreciated more the typical "street" scene vs my traditional shot where I try to make pictures that can be hung on walls. Street isn't like that. It is a slice of time. In this case, the time is back in 2009 and the place was Shanghai. I don't know if I saw the "head" sticking out of the box or not, but today, it makes the shot. Did you see it? 

Street: Beijing Street Music

 

Yesterday's colorful musical street shot from NYC reminded me of another musical street shot that I took in Beijing in 2009. Posted this before but I like these two shots as it shows that people are all the same, all over the world. These musicians gather every Sunday morning in a park in Beijing and get together and play for themselves and the crowd. 

I didn't notice him before but see the guy in the mask on the left side of the shot. Who knew that in 2021, we would all be that guy? He was prepared.  

Strong Colors: New York City Street Scene

 

New York City street shot. From a 2009 walk-around. A weekend neighborhood fete. 

Mossy Green

 

A bit of Mossy Green here to reflect strong colors but the reason I am posting this is that I saw a very similar shot on the front cover of Chicago Magazine. They focused on the crossed trees in their shot (I have a version of that shot as well) and it was so close to my shot that I thought they stole it from me. This was taken back in Matthiessen State Park near Starved Rock. Cool place to hike. The crossed trees, I am told, are no longer there as a storm washed them away. Strange that Chicago Magazine puts a scene on their cover to promote travel to state parks when the view they show no longer exists. Here is the shot that I thought for a moment that Chicago Magazine took from me. They are close but not the same. My shots are from back in 2010 with a long exposure to get the silky water and whirlpool effect below the falls. 

Strong Colors: Mitred Parakeets

 

These two parakeets are about as green as you can get. They were giving me the stink eye but I got the shot anyway. From a trip to Miami back in 2012. Mitred Parakeets are escapees from captivity and have adopted to an urban lifestyle. Maybe somewhat like us in late 2021?

Strong Colors: Two ducks come to visit

 

Two domestic ducks came by in the rain yesterday to visit us in the backyard. They thought our pool cover made for a nice small lake and decided to swim around. I thought the Mallard's green head and yellow beak qualified for my strong colors collection, so they are included in the blog. Mallards are hard to get close to as they are very wary. The Green-winged Teal actually has a bit of blue where the green is supposed to be but domestic ducks are famously variable as they interbreed all of the time. I have no idea which is the female but I assume this is a mated pair. The ducks were only about 30 feet away so got a nice shot through the window as it was raining. First time in 20 years we had any ducks visit. Nice of them to come by and say hello. 

Strong Colors: Red Tulip

 

Hard to get anything more red in life than a tulip bulb. Got some nice yellows and purples to boot. 

Strong Colors: Orange Guitar

 

Nothing like an Orange Guitar to make your notes sing. This completes the Magically Delicious set. Thanks for the idea, Mike. 

Strong Colors: Black-Eye Susan's Lemon Yellow

 

My former roomie has asked for a set of colors to match my sky blue from two days ago and green clover (well, green maple leaf at least) and now, lemon yellow like in these Black-Eyed Susan's from the Lisle Arboretum. Pretty soon, we will have a box of Lucky Charms. 

Strong Colors: Green Maple Leaf

 

Well, my old roomie from college asked for a green clover after my sky blue from yesterday and I couldn't find one in my catalog. I only have 91,000 shots taken after all. Next closest thing I have is this green maple leaf and two very small little four leaf things also in the stream. Hey, maybe they are clovers? You never know.  I never published this one before. I like the stark view with the water in motion with the leaf moving down stream. Sorta abstract. 

Strong Colors: Sky Blue and Clouds

 

Just a random summer day in 2018. While sitting outside, I caught some sun rays cutting through and around the clouds. Hope to see this same sky again soon.  

Strong Colors: Blurred Flower

 

Does everything have to be sharp all the time? Normally, I want sharpness, at least in the area where I want your eye to go. This shot was handheld macro shot that didn't work. I had the ISO and shutter speed set too low and the next shot I took was sharper. However, I liked this one better for some reason. The sharp shot was boring. So, I will post a blurry shot today. Maybe not a portfolio shot, but I like it. Are blurry shots acceptable? 

Strong Colors: Daffodils are here

 

It is amazing how fast daffodils pop up and then go away. One day they are green stalks and the next, pow!!! They are beautiful yellow flowers. Always good to see them come back year after year. 

Strong Colors: Blue Hawaii Underwater

 

Here is a little underwater blue for a rainy spring Monday morning. From a trip to Maui back in 2011. 

Strong Colors: Red Maui Sunset

 

When you are looking for strong colors sunsets are going to be high on the list. This is from a Maui sunset way back in 2011. Don't remember if there was any volcanic activity around this time, as volcanos, even from distant parts of the world, throw lots of dusk in the sky and can make the sunsets very red. Anyway, this one certainly qualifies. Beautifully dramatic. 

Three Doors in Red

 

Old San Juan on the island of Puerto Rico is awash in color. If you paint your windows and doors in a different color than those on the building across the street or in the buildings next to you, your building gets a tax credit. So, as you wander around in Old San Juan you have this amazing blast of color on all the buildings. San Juan is one of the places that I want to visit again and again. Such a wonderful place. A totally different feel and only short flight from Miami. Maybe it will become a state someday. That is up to the people. It has a lot of infrastructure needs (see the street above) but still, the people are so friendly and a great, warm culture. Love it there.