Homestead Cabin Sky

Cabin for sale:  Wonder Valley, California (East of Twentynine Palms near Joshua Tree). These desert cabins are usually on 5 acres, are very inexpensive, and have big huge desert vistas. The downside? No water, no electricity, and very isolated. You have to be OK with really roughing it!

I like the way the clouds look above the roofline of the desert cabin in the photo below.

Linking with Skywatch Friday.
Click on the link to check out great skies from around the world!!

Little Bird / Big Bird!

I'm traveling again this week... do you ever find that work gets in the way of the more important stuff in your life, like photography? I took this shot (actually, shots) a few weeks ago. It's a composite image of two photos taken on the same day / same lens. My timing wasn't good enough to capture both the hummingbird and jet in the same shot, but I still like the end result!

Linking with Skywatch Friday. Hope you are having a great week, and thanks for stopping by!

Streets of Montreal

One more post from my recent trip to Montreal before I (hopefully) return to desert photography! One thing about the city that impressed me was the number of bicycle riders you see everywhere, and the easy availability of rental bikes no matter where you go. Just swipe your credit card and you're off!

Some of the streets are very narrow and congested with traffic. At times, bikes seemed to be the fastest way to get around the city.

Even when it rains, bikes are out in number. With all these bikers, it was a great opportunity to practice "panning" (following the bike with the camera in order to show motion). Ideally, you want your subject (in this example, the guy on the bike) in focus while the background is blurred. The shot below was my favorite out of about 10 attempts.

There are other transportation options as well...

Not to mention Montreal is a great walking city...

With interesting people...

Beautiful people...

Old cobblestone steets...

Weird and interesting tourist shops...

Great old architecture...

And, if you are lucky, great skies...

I hope you enjoyed this tour of Montreal! Linking with Skywatch Friday. Thanks to our hosts, Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy!

Bonjour!

Sorry for the inactivity on my blog, but I've been in Montreal, Canada, for the last week on a business trip. This was the first and only international travel I've done for my company in the 17 years I've worked for them. I only mention this so as to avoid the perception that I'm one of the "big shots" who get to jet around the world! Ha, far from it! The good news is I took my old Canon Rebel along with the kit lens (I didn't want to take my best camera for fear of damage during travel), and I actually found time to use it! I hope to make a few posts from shots taken in Montreal.  It's an awesome city, and very photogenic! Although everyone seems to be bilingual, as you walk the streets of Montreal, it seems like french is the predominant language. You definitely know you're not in the US anymore!

The Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal is an amazing church, and the oldest church in Montreal. The church has been at this location since 1657, with the current construction dating to 1843. You can take a tour for $10, which is a real bargain given the great photos you can get.

The Notre-Dame Basilica has a definite castle-like appearance. The stone walls are 4.5' thick!

But it's the inside of the church that will amaze you!

Here's what you see looking towards the front of the church. Amazing, don't you think? Turn 180 degrees and here's what you see (below) facing the back of the church. See the big organ pipes?

Hope you had a good weekend. Merci beaucoup for stopping by! Signing off now since I've exhausted my ability to speak french!