Day 2 on the Inca Trail was (as you’ve likely gathered) quite a workout. Folks on this trek got a longer-than-usual break at the end of day 2, so we can take a break here as well — don’t you think? Continue reading
Tag Archives: clouds
Drama over Seven Dolls
With a bit of help from some HDR software (NIK HDR Efex Pro), here’s a scene of building storm clouds behind the Temple of the Seven Dolls at the ancient Maya ruins of Dzibilchaltún:
As I mentioned in a previous post, you can’t climb the steps of this structure any more. Still, there’s plenty of cleared and accessible space available around it — so it’s not too tough to make a good photo of it. Here, one of the structures called “Adjoining Rooms” blocks your view of the fencing around the Temple’s base.
I made this photo from just west of Structure 12 (which is also now fenced off). On spring and autumn equinoxes, the Sun rises in the temple’s door, directly in line with the stela that frames the left side of this image. As you might imagine, that means those dates are quite crowded ones at this (normally sparsely visited) site.
Scooting on around
So I went on a little trip to Texas last week for business, and managed to grab a window seat on the way down. Â This gave me a fantastic view when our plane’s flight crew had to play dodge-the-thunderhead a few times on the way.
This is just one of the beasts we had to work our way around (the orange tint is from the last bits of sunset working their way through the clouds).
Waiting for a break in the weather
Life’s been a bit busy for us lately, but we managed to run off into the mountains for a little R&R over the July 4th extended weekend. Â One of our stops was the neat little ghost town of Ashcroft, near Aspen. Â On our way through the sights, my daughter alerted me to this little hummingbird perched on an old bit of wood.
Fortunately for me, this little guy was very patient on his perch — alert and watchful, but never startling or making any apparent move to fly off.
Sky lights
I’ll admit there’s nothing of great societal import in this shot — just a beautiful sunset, taken along I-25 in northern New Mexico.
I grew up not too far from where I took this shot — one thing I miss about New Mexico is the sunsets.
Taking flight
It must be the kid in me, but I’ve always loved taking airborne images while traveling. Â I managed to get a window seat for this sky / sea shot over the Pacific ocean, somewhere near Hawaii:
Getting on toward sunset
Nothing terribly profound — just a sunset I had to grab a camera to save…
Clear flying
A nice (mostly-)blue sky shot from last October’s Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta:
Fade to black
I took this shot over my daughter’s shoulder (she insists on having the window seat) on the flight home from our spring trip to Washington, D.C.:
OK, I’ve tweaked the contrast 6 ways from Sunday on this one, but haven’t messed with the color — which is why I’m amazed at how both the foreground clouds and background sky get less-blue / more-black at the top / bottom of the frame.
Blowin’ in the wind
On our recent trip to Hawaii, I was happy to see that wind power seems to be catching on there. At one point we were driving along a highway that essentially parallels the coast, and saw a wind farm in the distance. Since we had a bit of time to kill, we headed off down a local road to get closer.
I took this shot from the side of the road (a single-lane access road for the local short-strip “airport”), just outside the fence. Pity the sky wasn’t clearer, but I still like the contrast between the windmills and meadow. If I find the time, I might just have to tinker with this shot in Photoshop to get rid of the clouds…