Light Show

 

While Glenda and I were enjoying a truly brilliant light show Thursday evening, Dave was quietly snapping photos of the sky.  He captured some great shots and we didn't even know he was doing it.  Luckily he shared them with us so I can share them with you.  The lightening was lighting up the sky brilliantly for most of the evening but it was far enough away that we never heard any thunder and we could safely sit there and enjoy the show. (By the way, those two short light streaks in the upper right are a plane passing overhead.)

This one looks like a perfect Halloween moon shot.  

Dave got a little "arty" with this shot of his champagne glass ready to swallow up the moon.  

Thanks Dave for sharing these great photos.

Special Treat, Guest Photographers

 

My good friends Julie and Dave have spent the last two weeks on a cruise around Greenland stopping in some incredibly beautiful locations.  They have sent messages along the way with lots and lots of breathtaking photos.  I decided to share a few.  I had no idea that Greenland was such a beautiful place! The city above is Ittoqqortoormiit.  

They had the opportunity to hike in several locations and sent photos of arctic wildflowers along with some pretty fabulous views.

That is their National Geographic cruise ship in the background along with some colorful icebergs in the foreground.  

Here's a closer view of the ship taken as they were taking a zodiac to the shore for another hike.

I expected to see lots of snow and ice but I didn't expect such a diverse landscape.  The scene above looks almost desert-like.  

They got to see icebergs up close.  

They also got to see the eclipse last week from a "totality" vantage point.

Judging from their messages full of exciting adventures, I'd say they enjoyed this trip very much.  

Julie and Dave can now say that they've covered the globe from top to bottom!

A View From Above

 

I forgot that I had these photos that my friends Julie and Dave sent me back in mid-February.  They were returning from a trip to Venice and had to change planes in London.  Dave got an unusually clear view of London as the plane was making its approach to land. In this shot you can clearly see Tower Bridge and all those interesting and tall buildings in the "the city".  You can also see London Bridge train station in the lower left and The Shard tower pointing to the sky.

In this shot you can see The Shard all the way to the right and in the center you can see St. Paul's Cathedral and its beautiful dome.

In this shot you can see the London Eye to the top right and near the center the Houses of Parliament with Big Ben on one end.

In the very center of this shot you can see Buckingham Palace bordered by Green Park to the north and St. James Park to the right.

As many times as I've flown in and out of London, I have never seen it clear enough to get photos like these.  These are superb.  Thanks for sharing them Dave!

A Roadrunner Visit

 My friend Glenda captured some great photos when this friendly roadrunner stopped by her garden for a visit.  She shot all of these photos through a window and with her iPhone and they turned out so great that I just had to share them.  Above he was looking toward the window.

In this shot he spread his wings and flew over to that chair.  What a great action shot.  It's rare to see a roadrunner taking flight.

And here he is after he landed on the chair.  

These are some very impressive photos especially considering they were taken quickly and through a window.  Great job Glenda!

Guest Photographer: California Sunrise & Sunset

 

My friend Dave spent a week working in California recently and he texted a variety of photos he took with his iPhone while he was there.  I asked him if I could share a few of them because they were so great and he said yes.

The photo above was a sunrise shot looking south and the second shot is a sunset looking west.  I think it's pretty amazing to get a gorgeous sunrise and sunset and both be over the Pacific Ocean.  

He took the photo above after man with a large rake made some patterns in the sand.  

In the photo to the left, he captured that seagull mid-air as it jumped from the rock.

This last one was taken in the late afternoon and when there was a thick haze in the air.  

Thanks Dave!  This is a treasure trove of beautiful seaside scenes.  

The Impact of Art

 

First, I have to say that this is not my photo.  It was taken by Amir Hamza, a New York Times photographer.  I copied the photo from a front page story in yesterday's newspaper.  The photo was one of many photos in a story about an art exhibit being installed in Madison Square Park in New York.  The artist is Sheila Pepe.  The reason this story prompted me to write this post is that I immediately recognized the artist and her work.  (the link above goes to the NYTimes article in case you are interested)

Back in 2017, there was an exhibit of her work at the Phoenix Art Museum and I did a post about it here.  My post was not very complimentary.  I found the art work strange, confusing and pretty much a mess and many of you agreed with my assessment.

The thing that prompted me to create this post is the recognition that the art I critiqued in 2017 had an impact on me.  I remembered the artist's name and her work.  Whether I liked it or not was beside the point.  It had a visceral impact.  Since that is what art should do, I guess it accomplished that mission.  

So, the next time you see art that you dislike, keep in mind that it is having an impact even if it's a negative one.  

I wonder how this New York work will be received. I'm sure it will have an impact, one way or another.

Just North of Here

 

My sister sent these photos of her yard on Thursday morning.  We had another winter storm blow through the state.  It rained in Phoenix and was extremely windy on Wednesday but where my sister lives just 90 miles north of here it looks like this.  

This poor tree is looking a bit sad.  I hope it doesn't break.  

We are having some very strange weather these days.   

Life Imitating Art

 

While I'm on the subject of life imitating art, I decided to post this photo that has been in my files for several years.  My sister Judy took this several years ago when she visited Phoenix and we went to the Heard Museum.  She spotted this lady sitting on the bench and almost mimicking the statue behind her.

The statue is called "Window to the Past" by Native American sculptor Roxanne Swentzell.  

I wonder if my sister remembers this photo.  

Amazing Skies

 

These photos were all taken by my friends Julie and Dave.  Their house affords them a much better view of the skies than at my house.  These photos were all from last Tuesday when we were having some on-and-off rain all day long.  

Around 5:00 PM, near sunset the clouds started to take on color.

At one time, Julie even caught a rainbow.

For just a minute or two, the clouds were all a brilliant pink and making everything around them glow with a pinkish light.  It was some of the most dramatic skies I've seen in a long time.  

Thanks Julie and Dave for capturing these fantastic photos and sharing them.  

Washboard Clouds in the Sky

 

The sky on Friday was full of these rows of clouds making the sky look like an old fashioned washboard.  It lasted all day long.  Sometimes they bunched up and other times they spread out a little.  They made interesting patterns all day long.

Here is a shot my friend Dave texted to me.  He took it from his office window.

The clouds even persisted into the night when I went to the Desert Botanical Garden for a music in the garden concert.  I took the above shot with the iPhone of the mountain all lit up to form a background for the concert.  

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I'm looking at street art in London.

Theme Day: Soft

 

Did it seem to you that October just flew by?  It certainly does to me.  Here it is the first of November and the blogger's theme for today is "Soft".  My sister Judy was kind enough to send me this photo of her cute dog all cuddled up in his very soft bed.  I wouldn't mind having a cuddly soft bed like that myself.  And, the cute cuddly dog to go with it would be a bonus!

To see other blogger's soft photos, click here. 

Sunshine One Day, Snow the Next

 

I have two photos today from guest photographers, my good friends Julie and Dave.  They have that wonderful broad view from their perch on the north side of Camelback Mountain.  I mentioned that we had cloudy skies and intermittent rain over the last weekend.  They texted this photo to me on Sunday evening when a break in the clouds lit up the McDowell Mountains to the northeast of the valley.  Usually they are just a blue line of mountains in the distance but this time they were glowing.

Then on Monday, they sent another photo of the same view after we had our freak snow storm.  Now the mountains are covered with a dusting of fresh snow.  Same viewpoint; two different looks.  Both are beautiful!  Thanks Julie and Dave for sharing these great photos.

Exciting Monday Weather

 

We had a cloudy and raining weekend and Monday started with grey skies and more rain.  Around 2:00 it got a bit crazy for a while.  Wild wind that was rattling my windows and then snow and ice started. The was even a bit of lightening and thunder. I snapped a few photos looking at the street behind me and the pile of snow forming on my balcony.

Looking out from my balcony I could see white covering the ground below and tire tracks in the parking lot.

Julie sent a photo from her house where snow was covering her extensive garden.

And, my friend Glenda sent a photo from her back yard.

It was pretty exciting for a while.  We don't get to see this kind of weather very often.  

Full Moon

Last weekend, I was at my friends Julie & Dave's house for dinner and it happened to be a full moon night.  I was busy helping prepare the dinner so Dave grabbed my camera and went out to see if he could get some good shots.  I'd say he succeeded nicely.

After I downloaded the shots, I sent a few back to Dave who told me he took them hand-held.  I'm really impressed now.  I'd say he did a fantastic job.

Theme Day: Rainbow

And, not just one rainbow but a double rainbow!

After a year of colorful theme days, we begin December with a rainbow of colors.  I really thought I was going to have to improvise with this theme and maybe find a rainbow flag or a bouquet of brightly colored flowers but one evening almost two weeks ago, I attended an event with friends and my friend Diane said she happened to catch a cell phone shot of a rainbow earlier that day.  I asked if I could use it for my theme day post and she kindly sent it to me.  So with all the things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving week, I can add sharing friends to the list.  Thanks Diane.

To see more rainbows from other City Daily Photo Bloggers click here!

It's Not All Blue Skies...

...and palm trees.

The rain and cold have come back to the desert southwest.  We can certainly use it but it does make for long and dreary days.

Cloudy days do give some interesting lighting.

At least it doesn't look like this!  My sister sent this photo of her backyard.  She lives just 90 miles north of here.   Brrrr...