Photo-of-the-Week #104 - Contrasts In Nature, near Reno, Nevada, June 2006

The photo was shot around Memorial Day weekend in June 2006 in the mountains near Reno, Nevada, probably in the Carson City vicinity. I couldn't help but to be drawn to the unique, one of a kind and only for a limited time, snow sculpture created by, in my opinion, the greatest artist of all time, Mother Nature. I felt fortunate to capture this fleeting piece of Mother Nature's creativity since, it most likely would have been gone forever by the next day or the day after.

The other thing that struck me was the stark contrast of the fresh. rapidly growing, spring reincarnation of the grass and other flora in the area around this snow sculpture. It's always a special time for me as the grass, trees and flowers all are reborn after a winter hibernation.

Of course, this rebirth happens at different times depending on where on the Earth you happen to be. Where I am currently located, it's late April and all the grasses are a deep, lush green and the trees are alive with the light green of the early growth of leaves and the pastel rainbow of pink, lilac, red, white and other color blossoms. I guess my one great, ongoing wish is to always see one more spring.

Other places in the world won't experience the rebirth for another month or two, at least. And, of course, in one lives in the southern hemisphere, the end is passing as the resplendent autumn colors signal the beginning of another period of hibernation.

One side note that I want to make is that this is the 104th Photo-of-the-Week post on the blog. That's two full years of photo posting without missing a week. And, at this juncture, there is no end in sight.

Spring is Springing - April 2013

Ahhhhhh! The fresh, clean smells of spring are in the air. Spring is one of my two favorite seasons of the year, the other being fall. I tolerate winter (barely if I'm where it's cold) and I enjoy summer. But, I love spring and fall.

Here is a very short photo essay of spring as I saw it around me this morning. There's not much more to say. Mother Nature is her own narrator.

The deep green color and the fragrance of freshly mowed grass

The tiny green buds on the trees opening into light green leaves

The profusion of colors from the infinite variety of wild flowers - Blue

Purple

Yellow

Red

Familiar old friends - the Robin

Graceful new birds made by man - the White Sail

The light green mountains - with white Dogwoods

The nearby hilltops turning lush and green again

We have a most beautiful blue and green jewel orbiting three rings out from Old Sol, from which the light and the energy that creates all of this lush green and blue water and the infinite array of colors in nature emanates. It is the great gift we humans all share. I hope it's spring where you are in the northern hemisphere and you're enjoying the magnificent birth of new life that comes with this season. Thank you to all those in the southern hemisphere for sharing it with us. We'll pass it back to you in the fall. And I hope we all appreciate it and take care of it for as long as we human, the inhabitants of this jewel like orb are blessed to have it. 

Photo-of-the-Week #88 The View From Coopers Mountain, Hampshire County, WV January 2013

 I've passed over Coopers Mountain many times over the past 28 years. It never occurred to me to take a photo until this past Friday as I was driving back to my base camp in West Virginia. It was a beautiful winter day. Coopers Mountain is 1,617 feet above sea level at this point. As mountains go, Coopers is not all that high, but this location holds some memories.

All the mountains in the photo are part of the Appalachians. This photo was taken looking east from the west side of the numerous valleys. On the other side of the mountains to the east is the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. Meandering through the valleys below is the Cacapon River, an 81 mile long contributing tributary to the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Watershed. When I head to Virginia, I go down through the valley and cross the Cacapon River in the small town of Capon Bridge on U.S. Rt. 50. Rt.50 extends from Ocean City, Maryland in the east all the way across the country to West Sacramento, California (until 1972 it extended to San Francisco) in the west.

When I first started coming to this location there was an old restaurant and bar at this site. Several years ago the land was purchased and a church was built at the highest point of the mountain right off Rt. 50. The exact spot I took this shot from in the late afternoon. 25 years ago I would to drive the 22 miles from my home near Winchester, Virginia to park in the old restaurant parking lot, contemplate the view and think. This is only one of many beautiful and inspiring views throughout the Appalachian Mountains.  

Photo-of-the-Week #81 - Sea Birds Piling On - Outer Banks, North Carolina, March 2008

The sea birds have the watch. I'm not sure of the precise location where I shot this photo, but it was on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I enjoy the Outer Banks because, like the Florida Keys, they extend miles into the ocean. The distance, over water, between the mainland and the Hatteras Light is about 25 miles. That's roughly half the distance between the coast of Florida and Grand Bahama Island, the closest island in the Bahama chain to the U.S.

About 70 miles of the Outer Banks is preserved as the Hatteras National Seashore. And, of course, as are most ocean locations, the Outer Banks (abbreviated OBX) is a favorite tourist destination. One of the endearing things about OBX is that it has not been turned into a cramped, congested, tourist trap. There are numerous small, family-owned motel and efficiency apartment accommodations and a few of the larger chain motels. But, there is a plethora of cottages and beach houses ranging from one or two bedroom modest dwellings to larger 4, 5 and 6 bedroom homes designed to accommodate larger families and family groups. As of my last visit, no huge, glitzy mega monster condos and luxury hotels have appeared. It would be my guess that this is by design to maintain the family atmosphere of the Outer Banks. There is also a healthy year round population supported by tourism, retail, construction/renovation and commercial fishing.

Like any coastal region, one must be aware of Mother Nature. She can whip up some very destructive storms and hurricanes. These weather events are certainly not uncommon to those who live on the OBX year round. The recent Super Storm, Sandy brushed the islands and created some havoc, but last year's Hurricane Irene dealt a much more direct blow and considerable damage. However, I still find OBX a perfect place to just go to sit on the beach during all four seasons and help these sea birds . . . just watch. 

Photo-of-the-Week #77 - Tea for Two - The Tea House, Lake Tahoe, California, June 2006

Anyone for tea? Here is a photo of the Tea House on Fanette Island in Emerald Bay, a National Natural Landmark on Lake Tahoe. I shot this photo when I was visiting Lake Tahoe for a "family reunion" and the 80th birthday of my former mother-in-law. It was a grand event and the scenery was breathtaking.

Lake Tahoe is a crater lake that reaches some 1,600 feet in depth. The water is always cold and in June the views of snow-capped mountains were fantastic. Fanette Island holds the distinction of being the only island in all of Lake Tahoe. The Tea House was built on Fanette Island by Mrs. Lora Josephine Knight, the owner and builder of Vikingsholm, a 38 room mansion of Swedish architecture on the shore of Emerald Bay.

I've featured some of my other photos of Lake Tahoe in the past in this series. If you've never had the opportunity of visiting this spectacularly scenic area, I strongly recommend you add it to your "Life List" as a must see place. 

Photo-of-the-Week #75 - Winter Wonderland, Shenandoah Valley, Virginia

The beauty of Mother Nature in the winter is the theme of this photo. No! This is not in Alaska or Canada or the outback of Maine or Montana, This is south of the Mason-Dixon Line in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of western Virginia. Actually, this photo was taken from the front yard of my old ranch near Winchester, Virginia.

Growing up in the northeast, I was fairly accustomed to winter. As a kid, I looked forward to snow and ice. Northern New Jersey saw its share of it when I was growing up, right through age 22 when I left New Jersey as my home state, never to return except for  occasional visits. When I was 22 I moved away from New Jersey where we had a goodly amount of snow and some lakes that froze thick enough back in the 50's and 60's to go ice boating on and even drive a car out on the ice. But, that didn't prepare me for my first winter in central New York State when I moved there to attend Syracuse University for graduate studies. I had no idea what I was in for, but it made New Jersey almost look like the tropics.

Then I moved "south," south of the Mason-Dixon Line, that is. First, I lived in Maryland for about 14 years and I saw some serious snow and ice there, too. I even remember the Chesapeake Bay freezing so thick one winter that they had to bring in ice breakers to free up freighters and tankers that were frozen in place. They had to break open the shipping lanes and use airlifts to get food and supplies to some of the islands. And people were driving their cars and pick-up trucks on the ice just like in New Jersey and New York State. 

Then I moved to the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Now, as a kid growing up in New Jersey, to me, Virginia was the deep South. Well, here is a photo of the "deep South" one winter. The log house with the green metal roof  belonged to a neighbor about half a mile away. I shot this with a long lens through the ice coated trees. This was one of several such ice events I recall during the 27 years I made my home in the Valley. But, you have to admit, it is ever so beautiful.

Photo-of-the-Week #73 – Spring in the Desert near Quartzite, Arizona, April 2010

The desert is a unique, mysterious and beautiful place. I don’t recall the precise location I took this photo, but it appears to be volcanic ash with a variety of desert flora. I have had numerous occasions over the last two decades to visit various parts of the Arizona desert during all four seasons. Without question, my favorite time to visit the desert is the spring.

Most, if I have any, off the most colorful photos I have of the desert would have been during my 35mm photography days. I have literally thousands of photos from that part of my life, so I’ll hopefully locate some of them as I start going through the boxes of old photos and digitizing them. Meanwhile, I’ll look forward to the opportunity of capturing a lot more current photos.

Photo of the Week #59 - A Great White Egret in the Mangroves – September 2004

The mangrove communities of Florida are the home to a variety of wild life, including many kinds of birds. I was on a snorkeling outing on the reef off Key Largo, Florida with a friend when I took this shot. We were aboard the boat taking us through a channel lined by mangroves on both sides when we happened upon this regal Great White Egret. Once again, nature at its finest.

Many photographers specialize in specific subjects in their photographic pursuits. I don’t consider myself a professional photographer. I rather think I’m more a documentary photographer. I find beauty and a story in everything – landscapes and flora, wildlife, architecture, geography and topography, people – it really doesn’t matter. I simply aim and shoot to capture the moment. These are the lifetime of memories I’m building up so one day, should I actually ever grow old, I can sit back and relive all of these experiences and count the “richness” of my life.

Behold, The Great White Egret.