Lawn Chair Flyer

I was enjoying the spectacle of dozens of hot-air balloons taking off in the morning when I spotted this fellow - he instantly became my hero!

This is one of the last photos I took with film before my conversion to the Digital Dark Side. This was back in my all-Commie-camera days, using a Praktica MTL5 with a 135 mm CJZ Sonnar, both made in the now-deservedly-defunct German Democratic Republic (aka East Germany, which was neither democratic nor a republic.)

Steamboat Springs, Colorado, July 2003

Lime Shadow

Proteus Bicycles is a well-stocked, well-equipped and friendly bike shop in College Park, Maryland. This is a very old building by College Park standards, built in the 1930's as a car repair garage. The stucco exterior now sports a flourescent lime paint job that screams to be photographed. I had passed the shop on other sunny days camera-less too many times to let it happen again.

Casing the joint, I did find several good images. My favorite one is this one, the most simple imaginable - just a little pipe vent, it's shadow, and that maginificent lime stucco

I call this a "Seinfeldian Image," that is, it's a photo about Nothing. Just light, texture, and shadow.

Swedish Donut Brigade

I noticed these brightly-colored trucks at a commercial bakery along MD Route 100 several years ago during my daily commute.

Acting as if I knew what I was doing, I brazenly went onto the parking lot as the sun was low on the horizon and tried to capture the bold blues and yellows.

Crossing Bay Bridge

Caboose Detail

The caboose on the Verde Canyon Scenic Railroad. Like the rest of the train, the caboose is dressed up in "Southwestern" colors.

Grafitti Pullman

Red Fractured Rock - Sedona

Looking Towards Cathedral Rock - Sedona

Grand Canyon

We took a sunset tour of the Grand Canyon - probably the best time to see it from the rim.

Ye Olde Hippie Emporium

Sandy & I did a double-take as we drove by this shop in Clarksdale on the way to visiting some Sinagua Indian ruins. I had to stop the car and walk back to check out the shop.

It's full of really nice Native American arts and crafts as well as vintage and "new vintage" Summer-of-Love-type clothing. The back room has shelves full of New Age books, and the smell of burning incense brings you right back to 1969 (frankly, not my favorite time, but the cheeriness of the store and its owner Randy Justis make up for it.)

Watchtower

The Indian Watchtower sits on a promontory at the Eastern end of the South Rim. From this vantage point, you get about a 270-degree view.

The tower was designed by architect Mary Colter in 1930. An artist in the mold of Frederick Law Olmstead, she really knew what she was doing when it came to harmonizing a structure with its surroundings.

As impressive as the watchtower is on the outside, it's the interior, here, that was a delightful surprise to me.

Red Rock Country - Courthouse Butte

OK, you had a two-week reprieve from my vacation photos, but now you're gonna get them right in the face... but I'll be gentle - only one or so a day.

What can I say about Sedona, AZ that hasn't already been said better by others? It's got to be about the most beautiful and mystical place I've ever seen.

I couldn't get over the large formations of red rock. The red is sandstone, colored by a very small percentage of iron oxide, aka "rust." Who knew rust could look so magnificent?

Just about all of the fantastic rock formations in Sedona have names, like Snoopy, Coffee Pot, and Cathedral Rock. This one is called Courthouse Butte.