El Yunque Waterfall

I lack the time for a proper write-up tonight, so you get to see this waterfall which made it into my desktop wallpaper rotation. This picture was taken December 2007, in El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico. A tropical rainforest that lived up to its reputation for rainfall. Thank goodness for overpriced tourist umbrellas! (Sony DSLR-A100, 18mm, f/13, 1/5, ISO 100)

Edit/Update: This is Cascada La Mina on La Mina trail which connects to the Arboles Grandes/Big Tree trail.

Troll kalla mik!

As a Cave-Troll (but without the immense height or great strength) in a human world, I often find the bright light of the sun too harsh for my sensitive eyes and, as a consequence, enjoy retreating to caves such as this one in Camuy, Puerto Rico. This shot was taken looking back out as we entered the underground system. Inner-cave photographs are often very difficult to take, and require very long shutter speeds that can't be hand-held. For most pictures in the cave I just set the auto-timer and positioned the camera on the ground. Of course, it was a little moist in the cave but it was moist almost everywhere in Puerto Rico. Sadly, I missed most of the tour because I had to stay way back and wait for the humans to leave the area before I could get proper pictures but it was still very interesting and I felt very comfortable there reconnecting with my trollish roots. Fortunately the tour didn't delve too deep because we all know what happens when you do. (December 1, 2007, Sony DSLR-A100, 18mm, f/3.5, 1/30, ISO 400)

A Clever Disguise

Don't be fooled by the cuteness of this puppy picture! As deadly as he was adorable, this creature (a puppy since birth) was no stranger to battle and, as is evidenced in this undated file photo, had just finished defeating a sweater in combat and was celebrating by digging its grave in the asphalt. I was mercilessly ravaged by him immediately following the taking of this photo and probably didn't survive the encounter. (Sony DSLR-A100, 70mm, f/5.6, 1/640, ISO 100)

The Joy of Banff

Banff is a town in Banff National Park, which is located in Alberta, Canada. This picture was taken from a parking lot in the town on June 13, 2006. I believe this is Mount Norquay, just northwest of the town but unfortunately I was too preoccupied at the time to note the name properly. You see, we had stopped to eat before going on a gondola ride to the top of Sulphur Mountain and, in wandering the town had, to my delight, stumbled upon a store called The Fudgery. The what? A double take! I caught my breath. A girlish squeal! My eyes wide, I ran inside. It was everything my sweet tooth and portly bottom had ever dreamed of! Fudge of flavors I hadn't even considered fudgeworthy until this day! I left the store with two bags full of confectionery love and during my week-long, sugar-induced coma forgot, among other things, the name of the mountain. (Olympus C770UZ, 6mm, f/5.6, 1/400, ISO 64)

Four and twenty... one?

These birds were hilarious. There was exactly one more bird than there were poles on the beach just northwest of Luquillo in Puerto Rico. Without enough poles to rest on, the one bird that couldn't land would fly in from behind and push another bird off so it could. There was much objectionable squawking but once a pole was annexed the cycle would start anew, with the newly displaced bird flying back around behind a random, resting bird and giving it a flappy shove so that he, himself, could claim ownership of a pole. I sat for quite some time, lazily, on the beach and chuckled about the similarities between this and working in an office. (Sony DSLR-A100, 300mm, f/6.3, 1/640, ISO 100)

Where are the moon colonies?

I know you're all as tired as I am after staying up last night to watch the lunar eclipse. This image was taken at the tail end of the eclipse. I wish I could have taken some good photos during the main event but I'm away from home at the moment and pictures tend to blur without a tripod during low-light. This shot didn't turn out too bad considering I was in a light-polluted parking lot and that it was hand-held from over 350,000 kilometers. (Sony DSLR-A100, 300mm, f/5.6, 1/800, ISO 100)

The Cookie Technique

The Cookie Technique, formulated by a coworker of mine, has almost nothing to do with baking (the exception being if you were actually photographing a baker or a bakery). She wondered what would possess someone to travel any length of time, lug around their camera gear, and then proceed to take pictures NOT of the area they were visiting but of the plant or animal life that they would actually have the same access to at home. While it is agreed that the adventure of travelling and the joy of discovery more than make up for it for the photographer, what about the people that view those pictures later? They can see the same subjects in their backyard! The pictures don't convey the adventure of the photographer or uniqueness of the area visited! I posted this picture a few days ago as an example contrary to the objective of the Cookie Technique. Pretty flowers that show nothing of Puerto Rico, if that is indeed where I took the photo, as I claim! How can you trust anything I say?? (The answer: electroshock therapy and hypnosis, of course.) The post for today is an example of the Cookie Technique in action. Instead of just zooming in on the resting bird, I kneeled down and angled the camera to bring the Washington Monument into the background. Now, even though it's a common enough bird, it's obvious that the picture was not taken locally (in Atlantic Canada) but in Washington, D.C., and adds that bit of adventure for the poor folks that didn't get to go but still have to look at the photos! The Cookie Technique doesn't apply to every scenerio but it's certainly something to think about before pressing that button. (Sony DSLR-A100, f/8, 1/320, ISO-100, picture slightly edited to remove some distracting poo from the pedestal)

The Cloisters

Salisbury Cathedral in Salisbury, England has the U.K.'s tallest church spire (123m/404ft) and is the resting place of a copy of the Magna Carta from 1215. I was lucky enough to see another copy of the Magna Carta as well (but from 1297) while it was on loan to the US National Archives in Washington, D.C. (although it has since been sold). This picture, taken in the cloisters of the cathedral October 22, 2005, was one of only a few I took that day. The weather that week had been relatively neutral, with neither sun nor rain truly dominating, but this day (the only day we REALLY couldn't afford to have it rain) it decided to taunt us. Our country-side tour took us from Windsor Castle, to Stonehenge (my favorite henge), and finally to Salisbury Cathedral but, happily, it only actually rained while we were driving to each destination. Once we arrived at each site, the sun came out and stayed out until we were ready to leave. It would start to sprinkle again as we headed back to the vehicle, then would pour again until our next stop. It did that all day long and I couldn't have been happier! (Olympus C770UZ, other picture details missing)

Flowers in Vieques

It's late and I'm heading to bed in a moment so please forgive this rushed posting. These flowers caught my eye while walking down the street in Esperanza, Vieques, Puerto Rico on December 7, 2007. Yet another picture that made it into my desktop rotation. (Sony DSLR-A100, f/6.3, 1/250, ISO 100)

Bridge, anyone?

This picture was taken on August 26, 2007, from the New Brunswick side of the Confederation Bridge to Prince Edward Island in Canada. The bridge is 12.9 km (8 mi) long. It had officially opened 10 years earlier (May 31, 1997) but this was my first time seeing it, even though I was living only a short drive away for that entire decade. When a friend asks if you can come fix their computer it's easy to say yes when you know there are interesting stops like this along the way. I just wish I had some kind of (UV?) filter to reduce the haze. (Sony DSLR-A100, f/9, 1/400, ISO 100)

Rocky Harbour

Rocky Harbour, on the west coast of Newfoundland, Canada, was just a meal-stop for us on our way back to the cabin for the night. I had attempted to take some shots of the nearby docked boats before we ate knowing the sun would be gone by the time we finished. Sadly, the boat shots didn't really turn out (it was my first week ever with a Digital SLR) but this gull flying by made up for my feeling of failure as a sunset-boat photographer. I have no doubt that I will visit Rocky Harbour again. It's located in Gros Morne National Park and that park is too amazing to see just once. (Sony DSLR-A100, f/13, 1/250, ISO 100)

The Capitol Building

The Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., USA. We passed by it doing a circuit around the Smithsonian Institution on our way to the White House. I learned one very important thing while wandering around the U.S. Capital and that is not to attempt to photograph anything that's covered in security guards and guard dogs. As you know I like architecture so when I saw an interesting building I raised my camera, not really noticing or caring about the crowds of armed, uniformed gentlemen and their armed german shepards. "NO PICTURES!" They yelled. "Wow, wh-wh-what is this place?" I stammered. "NO PICTURES!" They yelled. I walked away, crying a little while my associates, more knowledagble in the ways of America, pretended they didn't know me. To their credit they didn't get yelled at so it obviously worked. The building the guards didn't want pictures taken of was, I guess, the Department of Energy. (pictured here, and here, and here, and located exactly here) Despite that one challenging experience, I had a great time during my tour of Washington D.C., October 22, 2007. (Sony DSLR-A100, f/5.6, 1/250, ISO 100)

Elephantom of the Opera

Scotty, this 11 month old, male, African elephant plodded past a rock before suddenly charging playfully at me. At least, I'm almost positive it was a playful kind of lope. I'm mostly sure that an 11 month old elephant couldn't immediately harbor any kind of loathing toward me... could it? Despite his intolerance of my blatant violation of an unknown Pachyderm/Human covenant, this resident of the Louisville Zoo in Kentucky was clearly enjoying himself in the sun and cool breeze on February 9, 2008. For a fellow his age though, I'm glad there was a fence between us because he had a Moriarty-esque gleam in his eyes. I soon moved on to see if the monkeys had started throwing poo at the teenagers yet. (Sony DSLR-A100, f/5.6, 1/200, ISO 100)

Of cloudless climes and starless skies

Of course, it's starry skies not starless, for those purists who don't appreciate my bastardization of the sublime love poem by Lord Byron. But starry just wouldn't have worked for this picture which I took on September 1, 2004 while wandering the street (there's really only one) in Riverview, New Brunswick, Canada. I have always been a big fan of awe-inspiring architecture and the simplicity of this church, luminous, with an almost pure black backdrop, was no exception. (Olympus C770UZ, details unknown)

Cape of Gold

Cape d'Or Lighthouse, on the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, Canada, once offered to share with me its splendid view and I, being the person that I am, could not refuse. I took many dozens of pictures this day (October 6, 2007) including many of the lighthouse itself (which was right behind me while taking this photo) but this view was all that I needed to complete the day. (Sony DSLR-A100, f/10, 1/250, ISO 100)

Kaiten-zushi!

I took this picture today (February 9, 2008) at the Louisville Zoological Garden in Louisville, Kentucky. I'm not entirely sure what had so intently caught their attention, especially given the fact that the zebra enclosure was next to theirs but in the opposite direction. I can only assume that they could hear the little Zoo-tram coming and were hoping it was like a Kaiten-zushi (or sushi train) laden with afore mentioned lion snacks! Yum! (Sony DSLR-A100, f/5.6, 1/800, ISO 100)

Chlorophyllicious!

Here is another one of those crawl-around-on-your-belly shots, I was luckier in this instance because it was simply in a parking lot behind my apartment building not in a ditch in a Cloud Forest of Costa Rica. This picture was taken around lunch time (Mmmm chlorophyllicious!) on June 13, 2004. Ah, glorious June! One of those rare months in Canada when it's not snowing. We treasure those. (Olympus C770UZ, f/3.2, 1/500, ISO 64)

Elysian (Elysium) Fields

After two days of cancelled flights and being rerouted around the eastern U.S.A. I'm back on the grid and in need of simplification. This picture was taken in a field that reminded me of the few non-violent parts of the great film Gladiator, specifically with Track 2 from the wonderful soundtrack (by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard) playing. Ah, relaxing and simple. It also made a great desktop for me for many weeks. This image was captured way back on July 13th, 2004 using my trusty Olympus C770UZ (the metadata for this image is sketchy, my apologies). And now it's time for bed.