Happy Easter! I found this cute balloon when I stopped at the grocery store yesterday. I was actually looking for a nicely decorated cake to photograph but I didn't seen one.
Here are some pretty pink lilies to add to the holiday spirit. I found these growing next to a rustic building when I was in California last summer.
Here's hoping your day is full of sunshine and love....and maybe a bite of chocolate.
Every now and then I roam around the Camelback Mountain foothills looking for interesting houses to photograph. This one is certainly interesting. It's built on a sloping lot and instead of leveling the lot, it's building hanging over the slope.
A little further away and higher up, this massive house appears to be built right into the mountain. This house is HUGE. I wonder what they do with all that space.
I recently noticed some new plants blooming in the front of the complex where I live so yesterday morning I made a point of getting some photos. These yellow bells with the red centers really stood out. I didn't know what they were called so I did a Google search and was surprised to learn that the plant is a hybrid created by a professor at ASU by combing both yellow and red Tacoma plants. It is called "Sparky" which also happens to be the name of the ASU mascot, Sparky the Sun Devil. The blooms certainly do wear the ASU colors. They also look a bit like an Arizona sunrise or sunset.
While I was admiring the new plants, I saw that the Bird of Paradise plant had a new bloom. I decided to take a photo of it too. With the exception of that touch of purple, it's wearing those same colors.
I over-indulged in reading the news yesterday so when I was getting ready to post something for today, I decided I needed something pretty and uplifting. I found this photo taken on this day exactly 10 years ago. Here we have a Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly who is thoroughly enjoying a yellow Columbine bloom. The photo archives always come in handy when I'm in need of a little inspiration. A nice dose of natural beauty is just what the doctor ordered.
Today is World Art Day, a celebration of the art that makes this world a better place. I decided to post two more photos from the recent Scottsdale Ferrari Art fair.
Above is a painting by Noel Dobranes called "Warrior Woman".
On the left is a sculpture by Gedion Nyanhongo, a sculptor whose work I've admired over the years at the Celebration of Fine Art. This new piece is called "Visionary Man".
We are all artists in our own way. Be sure to celebrate some art today.
I found this mural in a residential area with houses on the other side of that wall. There was no signature on the mural so I can't attribute to an artist. Those skeletal dogs look very playful and I love the background of colors. I hope the neighbors around there like it.
Taking part in Monday Murals.
Last weekend I had lunch at a favorite French Bistro in Scottsdale called Zinc Bistro. I usually get the crepes when I'm there but this time decided to try the steak salad. When they placed this dish in front of me I wondered how I would eat it all. I made a good job of it. It was delicious as well as pretty to look at.
My friends and I decided to have dinner at Pizzaria Bianco and while we were waiting for our table in their little bar, I snapped a photo of the antique shelf that hangs behind the bar.
Then I noticed a crate full of freshly baked bread so I took a photo of that too. When we got to our table, we were served some of that great looking bread along with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It was delicious as is all the food at this Phoenix favorite.
The habit of taking photos happens everywhere I go.
It's the time of year when the palo verde trees bloom. Since those trees are all over the Phoenix area, we are seeing yellow everywhere we look. It's an impressive display.
These two shots were at the Desert Botanical Garden.
I just realized that I had only posted one photo from this year's Celebration of Fine Arts. I attended on March 21st, that weekend that was so busy with all kinds of events. Let me show you some of the beautiful works of art that I saw there.
First above is an artist whose work I always enjoy seeing. She is Gabriela Aguilo. She calls her work abstract inner landscapes. I love them.
To the left is a work by Martin Blundell. He does landscapes using bold colors.
I took this photo when I was at the Desert Botanical Garden in the evening a couple of weeks ago. I liked the look of those saguaros in silhouette against the evening sky. The more I looked at this photo, the more I noticed. Do you see that teeny-tiny white dot in the middle of the mountain? That is actually a hole in the mountain. It's a popular place for people to climb when visiting Papago Park which is just on the other side. Looking up, I see bird perched on the top of one of the saguaro's arms. And, all the way to the left and just above the horizon, I see an airplane on landing approach going into Sky Harbor International Airport. There are lots of things to see in this simple photo.
My good friends Julie and Dave, hosted a fund raising event for the Phoenix Symphony on the patio of their home in Paradise Valley last Sunday. It was a wonderful afternoon event with music provided by a string quartet from symphony performers. The weather was perfect for this outdoor event which you can tell from the reflection of the mountains in the window behind the musicians.
As you can see, they had a pretty good turn out for the event. There were more people behind me. I think everyone had a good time. I know I did.
I recently spotted this mural along Thomas Road and at first I thought it wasn't quite finished yet. Then I realized that the ladder to the left is painted into the mural. I also recognized those monotone saguaros. They are distinctive to the murals of Andy Brown who goes by the name SLeisure. I love the doorway in the middle that seems to go through that mountain and into another space similar to the this space. And that ladder on the left appears to be reaching for a star. On the day I took this photo, the mural's sky blends right into the real sky. Nicely done Andy!
Taking part in Monday Murals.
I don't often get to see inside the training center at the Desert Botanical Garden but when I was there for that iPhone class, I saw some truly spectacular paintings hanging in the hallways between the classrooms. One of the employees there told me that the garden usually features one artist at a time and hangs their artworks here for one year.
This extremely talented artist is Ariana Enriquez.
She is a young artist living and working in Mesa Arizona. Her paintings are breathtaking.
Here is a link to her website. She does murals as well as paintings. I was so impressed by her work.
What enormous talent!
I recently upgraded my iPhone to the iPhone 16 Pro and I wanted to learn more about the new photo features that the phone offers. I took a class at the Desert Botanical Garden specifically about using the iPhone. A lot of what they went over in the class I already knew but there were a few new tricks to learn. I had never used the Portrait mode on my phone very often and there was a lot to learn with that feature.
So after the class I spent some time experimenting with that feature and adjusting the depth of field. The two photos above are of the same two blooms, the bottom one using portrait and top just regular photo mode.
In this one I totally blurred out the background.
And, in this one I used something called 'Stage Light' for focus on the flower and darken the background.
There is a lot more to experiment with. I'll be playing around with these new features for weeks.
I saw these paintings at the Scottsdale Ferrari Art Festival that I wrote about last week. These were some of the most expensive pieces I photographed. Above is a painting by Fritz Scholder, a very well collected artist. The piece is untitled but is described as a pueblo scene. The price tag is $140,000.
To the left is a painting by Jaune Quick-to-See Smith and it's called "Sunflower". It was on display from an auction house who placed a price between $100,000 and $150,000.
This painting is by Paul Pletka and it's called "Two Kills". I had not heard of this painter before so I did some internet searching. He is not Native American but he has been fascinated by Native subjects all his life. He now lives and works in New Mexico. This painting was priced at $60,000.
There was a lot of interesting art to admire at that event.
When I was at the Desert Botanical Garden last Wednesday evening, I took a walk along the longest trail in the park waiting for it to get dark. At the little pond I stopped to see If I could see any activity and I found this fellow hiding among the reeds and cattails. He looked so dark in the twilight that I almost missed him.
I think he saw me and decided to sit very still until I moved on.
I was in downtown Phoenix last Friday for another performance of the Phoenix Symphony. Walking to Symphony Hall, I saw that there was some kind of Mexican festival going on right across the street. They had food vendors out and this group of women were dancing to some lively music.
I snapped a couple of quick shots and captured the blur of those colorful skirts twirling around.
When I was at the Heard Museum a week ago, I saw this Native American textile on display in the gift shop and I thought it would be perfect for today's theme of "Stripes".
City Daily Photo Bloggers post a photo on the first of every month based on an assigned theme. April's theme is "Stripes". You can see other blogger's posts by clicking here. You can see my past theme day posts by clicking the "Theme Day" label below.
When I was at the Desert Botanical Garden last Wednesday, I found one of those metal sculptures that was designed to climb inside. So I did. Here is a photo looking out from inside this sculpture.
Here it is with the large opening and a wood floor so visitors can see what it's like inside one of the giant sculptures. I'm glad I found this one while there was still some light in the sky.
Here are some close up shots of a few of the beautiful orchids in the Orchid Fever exhibit I featured on Friday.
None of these orchids were labeled so I don't know any of their names.
They were all so beautiful.
I enjoyed finding all the exotic shapes and sizes. Some are tiny thumbnail sized while others are big and bold.
I loved this orange one with a touch of red.
