Photography

[LennG]

So where are we going today.

I'm sure you can see, one of my biggest likings, when taking pix, are clsoe ups. I just love to get right 'up close and personal' be it a rock, a shell, a flower and animal a butterfly, whatever.

We were cruising a few years ago and were stopped in the Bahamas, Nassau specifically. I have said this many times, I do not beach. I grew up on beaches and really do not like them now. We have been to some of the most gorgeous beaches in the world, we maybe step onto it and then retreat to do other things. I also have had a couple of cases of Melanoma, so I do try and avoid the sun as much as possible. So back to my pixs. Since the Bahamas are beach heaven, we looked for something else to do. We found they have a small zoo there, where they have some animals that are allowed to roam around the grounds, as well as caged ones. They also have a huge cage where you can feed the parrots (they give you apple slices) and another show where they have a sort of parade of flamingos.
It was fun, but I did come away with, what I think, are some great pix.













And finally, they have this 'parade pf flamingos' where they encourage anyone to come to the area and intermingle with them. I have to give my darling wife credit, as she had to jump in there and become a flamingo also.

[LennG]

Since we are still cruising, and on that same cruise, we next went to The Virgin Islands, specifically St Thomas. Again, if you love the beach or snorkeling, this IS the place to be, you would be in heaven. So again, we opted for something different. On the island, they have a sort of underwater aquarium, where you go down maybe 3 levels and you can bascially be snorkeling without getting wet. The enclosure (and it is quite large) is all glass and you are basically under the water and dry.
After this, they also have a regular aquarium, stocked with some amazing fish. Which beings me to my next pics. One of the fish what was swiming around was a barracuda. I was taking pixs of fish swimming around and here comes this enormous fish right up to the glass where I am. He basically opens his mouth as far as he could while I was taking pix and I got a pic of him looking down thru his open mouth, as far as one could see. It was truly a once in a lifetime thing.

Take a look
He is swimming to me and he sees me



All of a sudden he opens his mouth as much as he could and I snapped a pic



Next they were feeding the sting rays. Ever wonder what the bottom side of a sting ray l;looks like--their cute



St Thomas is literally covered with iguana. They are all over the place and most just sit around trying to blend into the landscape, but you really can't go anywhere without seeing them





Getting back to the ship, we had a regular afternoon thunderstorm, but after that, the sun came out and a rainbow lit up the sky. it was so huge I couldn't capture it in one frame. It weent from land right to the middle of the harbor..

[ozzie]

Stunning as usual, Lenn!
I love the leopard, flamingo & barracuda especially!!

[LennG]

Stunning as usual, Lenn!
I love the leopard, flamingo & barracuda especially!!

thanks Lou.

The barracuda shot still amazes me. It's like a one in a million and if I didn't have my camera already shooting, I wouldn't have gotten it.

[Shoelessjoe]

Just remarkable Frank. 

Thanks Lenn.  I don't even know what I did.  I changed a Blending Mode to Difference and I used some artistic brush but I don't have the foggiest idea of which brush or how I did it.  I have to write down what I do so that I can go back and replicate it.

[Jim143]

I have had my share of run-ins with Barracudas.  I learned how fast they can really swim when I saw a literal "silver streak" fly past me.  But one of my last dives, I was about 100 feet down kneeling on the ocean floor what was left of a wreck (not much).  I look up and I see a large, probably 3 feet, barracuda and three smaller ones looking at me.  They were about 15 feet or so above me.  I swam to the back of the wreck and they followed.  I swam to the other side of the wreck - and they followed again.  I went back to where I started, and not only did they follow me, there were about 10 more, all about 15 feet above me, but had me completely "surrounded".

I have seen some crazy things, swam up to a shark, had my breath taken away from a Giant Goliath Grouper (think of being face to face with a Volkswagen with teeth) etc, but I have never been so nervous as I was with that dive.  Needless to say, I slowly went up through the middle of them and safely got back on the boat.

I am thankful that I do not wear anything silver or shiny on my gear.

[Jim143]

So where are we going today.

I'm sure you can see, one of my biggest likings, when taking pix, are clsoe ups. I just love to get right 'up close and personal' be it a rock, a shell, a flower and animal a butterfly, whatever.

We were cruising a few years ago and were stopped in the Bahamas, Nassau specifically. I have said this many times, I do not beach. I grew up on beaches and really do not like them now. We have been to some of the most gorgeous beaches in the world, we maybe step onto it and then retreat to do other things. I also have had a couple of cases of Melanoma, so I do try and avoid the sun as much as possible. So back to my pixs. Since the Bahamas are beach heaven, we looked for something else to do. We found they have a small zoo there, where they have some animals that are allowed to roam around the grounds, as well as caged ones. They also have a huge cage where you can feed the parrots (they give you apple slices) and another show where they have a sort of parade of flamingos.
It was fun, but I did come away with, what I think, are some great pix.













And finally, they have this 'parade pf flamingos' where they encourage anyone to come to the area and intermingle with them. I have to give my darling wife credit, as she had to jump in there and become a flamingo also.

We have been there too.  I have some pictures from that zoo.  Need to go through them.  The Marching Flamingos was fun to watch.  That was a long day.  We got lucky and a storm prevented us from stopping at the private island on the way down, so we went straight to Nassau first.  We had a full 24 hours there which gave us all the time we needed.

We got off the boat and walked to Atlantis and went through that aquarium.  Honestly, wasn't impressed.  Then we walked downtown, got a drink at the Hard Rock and asked where the "Fish Fry" (Arawak Cay) was.  We heard much about Goldies and wanted to go there.  We were told it's just a short distance. . . yea, about that.  We walked there, had lunch (I had Cracked Conch and Heidi had Cracked Lobster) and then walked up to Ardastra Gardens, Zoo and Conservation Centre.  Watched the Flamingo Parade and then walked back to the ship.  All in all - 8 miles in the June sun.

I'll have to see if I can find those pictures.

[LennG]

We have been there too.  I have some pictures from that zoo.  Need to go through them.  The Marching Flamingos was fun to watch.  That was a long day.  We got lucky and a storm prevented us from stopping at the private island on the way down, so we went straight to Nassau first.  We had a full 24 hours there which gave us all the time we needed.

We got off the boat and walked to Atlantis and went through that aquarium.  Honestly, wasn't impressed.  Then we walked downtown, got a drink at the Hard Rock and asked where the "Fish Fry" (Arawak Cay) was.  We heard much about Goldies and wanted to go there.  We were told it's just a short distance. . . yea, about that.  We walked there, had lunch (I had Cracked Conch and Heidi had Cracked Lobster) and then walked up to Ardastra Gardens, Zoo and Conservation Centre.  Watched the Flamingo Parade and then walked back to the ship.  All in all - 8 miles in the June sun.

I'll have to see if I can find those pictures.

You got it Jim. Don't know if you were there with family. but here, it was just my wife and I, so once we did the Flamingo parade and the feeding the parrots, we just wandered around a bit. Spent about 3 hours there, but most was waitjng for the shows.
BUT, we sort of made the same mistake you did. We were told the Zoo was about a mile from port, and we decided to walk. it wasn't THAT far a walk, but once you get away from the main part of toown, we were basically walking by ourselves and Nassau isn't the best place to be wandering about on your own. We took the bus back and people were just so nice.
Overall, we have been to Nassau so many times, that the least time, we didn't even get off the ship.
Atlantis is magnificent. We went just to see it and didn't pay to use their facilities. We spent some time in the casino, and had a bite to eat. AND, we had heard so much about that Fish Fry, which is on the way to the zoo, but we don't eat most of what is on the menu, so we past. But it was busy as anything.

[Jim143]

You got it Jim. Don't know if you were there with family. but here, it was just my wife and I, so once we did the Flamingo parade and the feeding the parrots, we just wandered around a bit. Spent about 3 hours there, but most was waitjng for the shows.
BUT, we sort of made the same mistake you did. We were told the Zoo was about a mile from port, and we decided to walk. it wasn't THAT far a walk, but once you get away from the main part of toown, we were basically walking by ourselves and Nassau isn't the best place to be wandering about on your own. We took the bus back and people were just so nice.
Overall, we have been to Nassau so many times, that the least time, we didn't even get off the ship.
Atlantis is magnificent. We went just to see it and didn't pay to use their facilities. We spent some time in the casino, and had a bite to eat. AND, we had heard so much about that Fish Fry, which is on the way to the zoo, but we don't eat most of what is on the menu, so we past. But it was busy as anything.

No, it was just the two of us.  It was out 20th anniversary.  I think we dropped maybe $5 in the slots in Atlantas, but we absolutely loved Goldies.  So much, that when ever I can find conch, I make cracked conch at home.

[LennG]

OK folks so where would you like to go today?

Since most liked the pics from Antelope Canyon, let's stay out west. I'm pretty sure I mentioned that my brother lives right outside Durango Colorado, so we do try and get out there every so often. We have been to just about every National Park except Yosemite and Glacier, some others, several times, like the Grand Canyon, Zion and Arches. If anyone ever gets the urge to travel west, for me anyway, it is absolutely magnificent. We could just drive all day and never really have a destination, the scenery is superb. (If that is your thing). Both myself and my wife prefer Mountains to beaches, so anytime we can get into the mountainous areas, we go for it.
Personally, I HATE to grab my photos of trips and show them to people until they seem sincere about really wanting to see them,

So, I'll just try a few from several places we have visited.

AS I said, we have had the good fortune to visit the Grand Canyon on 3 different occassions. It is truly a fascinating place and NO we didn't do the burro ride to the floor of the canyon. But we did hike/walk the Canyon rim trail for about a mile or so. Not to put this place down, but after a while it all sorts of looks alike, but the best thing about the Grand Canyon are the colors and the way they change as the day wears on. What you see in the AM might be different than PM and sunset is special.

We were lucky enough to see some eagles and here is a pic, though long range, of an eagle over the Grand Canyon



I thought this a great shot of my darling wife, just resting and taking it all in



Approaching sunset and the reds really come alive



We move on the Canyonlands National park. We had never been here before and this park is simply amazing. The one, what one may call 'money shot' in the park is thru an arch, looking out at the canyon below. It is very hard to get the entire shot in one frame as they must use a special lense to do it, but here is my best shot of it.



Another place where we never were before was Sedona, AZ. We found this place so facinating that we returned a few days later. This entire area is magical. It is suppose to be a healing area, with what they call Vortexes all around Sedona. We found two of them but really felt nothing, but others do feel some amazing energies from certain places in Sedona. The entire area is just magnificent.



There are these huge red rock formations all around Sedona, and people look and see what they might resemble. So here is one called Snoopy, see if you can see it



If not, here's a closer look



and my last shot of Sedona and it's red rock formations. This a very interesting shot. If you look close, in the botom laft, you can see a cross and that is a world famous church that looks as if it was formed right into the rocks. It sits high above the valley, and the two pillars towards the center are 'nuns' If I shot this from the other side, it would look like the Nuns are right beside the church. If anyone is interested, here is the web site for it
https://www.gatewaytosedona.com/sedona-arizona-information/sedona-feature-stories/91-the-chapel-of-the-holy-cross-sedona-architectural-landmark

[LennG]

I was going thru some of my other pics from the places I just put up shots from.

Just a few of, what I think of as a bit 'unusual'

From Canyonlands, if you wanted to drive down to what is refered to as 'sea level' here is the road. If you notice there are no 'barriers' on the road, so go a bit too far or miss the turn, --"see ya".



Same park, there is a mesa, a completely flat area where you could land a helicoptor, but there is nothing by the edge and about a 6,000 ft drop



And back to the Grand Canyon--if you have what I would say (something else) but let's just say nerve, try what this dude did, all for a pix.



And, as we approached sunset, anothner guy, just wanting to take it all in (he is sitting in the tree)

[ozzie]

Like you Lenn, I much prefer mountains and canyons to beaches so I really appreciate this latest batch of pix. Just wonderful.
Grand Canyon is probably my #1 "bucket list" destination.

[LennG]

Like you Lenn, I much prefer mountains and canyons to beaches so I really appreciate this latest batch of pix. Just wonderful.
Grand Canyon is probably my #1 "bucket list" destination.

Lpu

The Grand Canyon is truly an amazing place. The first time we went, when my wife was pregnant with our first child, so it was 40 years ago. We stayed in a place right outside Flagstaff, the nearest big city to the Canyon. The day we were there it was 105 degrees (as you are over a mile abouve sea level). We went to sleep with the AC on, and overnight they had a 'cold front' come in. it went down to 38 degrees overnight. We got up in the middle of the night freezing and had to figure out how to put the heat on. Turns out on that day, we had the high, and the low, in the entire country, on that same day.

And, on a side note--DO IT. Even if you get to Vegas anytime, the Canyon is just a day trip away, but it is better on your own, as you can go at your own pace, stay for the sunset, and just stop and enjoy the view for as long as you want.

[LennG]

The 'pix monster' continues

Off another cruise to Eastern Canada, we stopped in Halifax, Nova Scotia. From there we rented a car and drove out to one of the nicer tourist sites away from the city. It is a quaint, old seaside town, called Peggy's Cove. There is an old lighthouse there and just a very, very picturesque little seaport town that attracts thousands of visitors during the summer months. We went a bit off-season, and waited till a bit later in the day to avoid most of the tours and tour buses. Here are a few of the pics I took there. I think Frank could make all of these into beautiful water colors with thr magic he has working with photos.

We happen to be there on a cloudy, gloomy, overcast day. IMVHO it does a lot to the 'mood' of the pix.

The Lighthouse at Peggy's Cove



Some of the scenes in the small harbor, with fishing boats and old barns for houses and storage

[ozzie]

Wow! That must have been a wild day going from 105