Category Archives: Photography

Another visit to Bodega Bay…my favorite place to watch the sunset

Posted on by annandmeg

Life is pretty amazing here in California. Sure, there are the same stressors and time-consumers here as there are anywhere else, but the beauty of living in California is in enjoying the outdoors and natural wonders of the region. I love exploring this place, finding all the nooks and crannies that don’t show up on the “Top 10 Things to Do” list, and discovering what it is that gives this area the pulse of life that it exudes. While I’ve discovered many a nook, I have also found that some of the most amazing places are those visited by both local and tourist alike. In this case, I point to Bodega Bay and the Bodega Headlands as a perfect example of both locally and “touristically” admired beauty, where I frequently go to find peace and revel at the unmatched awe of the ocean.

You all know I love to take pictures of the ocean, and especially of sunset. Here, I’m trying a few newly discovered features on my E-PL1, including “pop art” and “diorama.” Enjoy.

Looking north along the coast, from the north side of the trailhead.

Looking north along the coast, from the north side of the trailhead.

Looking south along the coast, toward the Bodega Head parking lot and whale watching area.

Looking south along the coast, toward the Bodega Head parking lot and whale watching area.

Soaring

Posted on by annandmeg

Florida is a place of beauty on the land, the sea and the air.  But I will not forget the beauty of the birds as they soared over the water. Environmentalists in Florida remind us that these birds are vulnerable to the toxins in the environment.

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Lunch On The Beach

Posted on by annandmeg

When the tide goes out, the beaches are a bird watcher’s paradise in Florida.  Simply called “beach birds” these small birds are having a feast fit for–well–a bird.

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Lunch anyone?

Morning Sky

Posted on by annandmeg

Is there anything more beautiful in nature than the morning sky?  Here are two views of the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean, in Palm Beach, Florida.  Each one is more glorious than the other.

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For The Birds

Posted on by annandmeg

Pelicans are among nature’s most unusual birds.  They look prehistoric, dinaourish in fact. Graceful in flight, pelicans are cartoonish on the land.

If you want to see pelicans up close and personal, visit Florida.  I photographed this handsome specimen at Lake Okeechobee.  Half the size of Rhode Island, Okeechobee is the largest fresh water lake in Florida.  For reasons unknown to me, tourism is nearly non-existent around the lake.  When we visited a nearly abandoned dock there were a dozen or more men and women fishing for supper.  The birds and the fishermen occupied the dock in harmony, presumably with the birds anticipating scraps of food.  It made it relatively easy to get a few photographs of these wonderful birds.  DSC_0153

Wall Art–Slater Style

Posted on by annandmeg

Driving through Slater, Missouri, we found this train gracing the wall of the local park.

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Metro

Posted on by annandmeg

I love the Metro in DC. The tunnels are beautiful, and there are always interesting things to see while waiting for the train.

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Faces in the rock

Posted on by annandmeg

Faces in the rock

At first glance, this rocky cliff looks jagged and rough. But then different shapes start to jump out. The first face I spotted was the gorilla right in the middle. How many can you find?

View From My Window

Posted on by annandmeg

Oh, how I envy Meg’s California vistas.  The ocean, the rocks and the shore.  I haven’t even mentioned the vineyards.

But late last week I was reminded that Kansas City also has some great views.  When my co-worker encouraged me to look out my office window I was surprised and delighted with the simple beauty of the late afternoon skyline.  Hope you like these photographs “from my window”.

These pictures are taken facing West from the Jackson County Courthouse.  They were taken at about 5:00 p.m. as the sun was setting.  The combination of the rich color of the sky, combined with the lights from the city structures are a simple reminder of the loveliness of city life.

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Even within the course of a few minutes, the colors of the sky changed dramatically.

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Enjoy, and have a great weekend.

Passing Of An Era

Posted on by annandmeg

Terry discovered this rickety old house as we were driving along Highway NN near Slater, Missouri.  Perched on a hill in the middle of the country, it is surrounded by rusting farm implements, a rusted out barbecue grill and evidence of agricultural activity that continues around it as it slowly sinks into the earth.  It looks to me as though it could have been the inspiration for one of the sets for the Harry Potter movies.

As rickety as it appears in this photograph, it is almost impossible to capture the image as we first encountered it.  The debris surrounding the house, and the utilitarian farm buildings built almost on top of it, detract from a more distant image.

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In her heyday she must have been a beauty.  Now she has been abandoned and is literally falling apart at the seams.  While not the only house we saw in a shambles, she was the most elegant.  As such, she captures most effectively, the tragic death of an elegant country residence and, at some level, the changing way of life in rural Missouri.

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She was a grand lady.