Weekly Photo Challenge: Saturated

When it comes to color saturation, there is no place like the boardwalk on Venice Beach, California, which happens to be one of my favorite places to photograph. I was there just yesterday and here are some of the very colorful shots I got. Talk about saturation!

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For more on color saturation go to: http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/09/27/photo-challenge-saturated/

Travel Theme: Through

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Pacific Ocean viewed through Palisades Park’s Pergola, Santa Monica, CA.

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Sunset on the Pacific seen through “Gestation,” wooden sculpture by Baile Oakes, Palisades Park, Santa Monica, CA.

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Moon seen through the edge of the Getty Center’s main entrance building. Los Angeles, CA.

This entry is part of Travel Theme: http://wheresmybackpack.com/2013/09/20/travel-theme-through/

Weekly Photo Challenge: From Lines to Patterns

This week’s Photo Challenge is “From Lines to Patterns.” I have quite a few shots that fit the category, so it’s been hard choosing. But here are some. I may post others later.

This entry is part of the Weekly Photo Challenge: http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/09/20/lines-patterns/

A Word A Week Challenge: Arch

The word “arch” sends me straight to Moorish architecture -nobody did arches like them- and to my photos from Spain, especially Andalusia.

Here are some arches from the Great Mosque of Cordoba and the Royal Alcazar of Seville. I’ve also added a couple of shots from the Casa de Pilatos, an Andalusian palace in Seville, which serves as the permanent residence of the Dukes of Medinaceli.

This entry is part of the Word A Week Challenge. For more Arches go to: http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2013/09/17/a-word-a-week-challenge-arch/

Weekly Photo Challenge: Inside

Inside an inactive gold mine in Ouro Preto, Brazil.

Inside an inactive gold mine in Ouro Preto, Brazil.

Looking out the window of my note room in Ouro Preto, Brazil.

Looking out the window of my hotel room in Ouro Preto, Brazil.

Kaya looks out the window of our living-room in Washington, D.C.

Kaya looks out the window of our living-room in Washington, D.C.

At Ray's Restaurant at the LA County Museum of Art, the tables have little drawers. Inside them you'll find your napkin, fork and knife. Loved it!

At Ray’s Restaurant, at the LA County Museum of Art, the tables have little drawers. Inside them, you’ll find your napkin, fork and knife. Loved it!

This entry is part of Weekly Photo Challenge: Inside http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/09/13/photo-challenge-inside/

Travel Theme: Multicoloured

This week’s Travel Theme is “Multicoloured.” Well, I didn’t need to go very far from home for that… Most shots were taken at Venice Beach, California, most definitely a vert colorful place!

For more on this week’s Travel Theme go to: http://wheresmybackpack.com/2013/09/13/travel-theme-multicoloured/

Remembering 9/11

I was in New York last Fall and visited the 9/11 Memorial, still under construction at the time. Needless to say, it was an emotional visit. Like most people in the world, I was terribly shocked and saddened by those senseless attacks. We were living in Washington, D.C. at the time, but on vacation in Brazil that day. Watching the images of the Twin Towers and the chaos in New York, as well as the Pentagon, I felt a terrible sense of loss, anguish, and, for some strange reason, guilt for not being there for my friends and colleagues in D.C.

Pelicans Over Santa Monica Bay

I have a new passion: Brown Pelicans! They are so beautiful, so gracious. I love how they fly in perfect formation and how they plunge-dive to catch small fish, coming very close to the shore, sharing the space with swimmers and surfers. It’s an awesome spectacle. I’m glad they are no longer in extinction!

This is how the Cornell Lab of Ornithology describes the Brown Pelican:

“The Brown Pelican is a comically elegant bird with an oversized bill, sinuous neck, and big, dark body. Squadrons glide above the surf along southern and western coasts, rising and falling in a graceful echo of the waves. They feed by plunge-diving from high up, using the force of impact to stun small fish before scooping them up. They are fairly common today—an excellent example of a species’ recovery from pesticide pollution that once placed them at the brink of extinction.”

I shall improve on my shots of these lovely birds, but for now here’s some I took last Friday in Santa Monica.

Weekly Photo Challenge: An Unusual Point of View

This week’s photo challenge is “An Unusual Point of View.” Here’s mine… 🙂

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Alexander Liberman’s sculpture “Phoenix” is a permanent installation at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art – LACMA. While photographing it, my eye caught the iPad billboard in the background. I thought it might be interesting to make it part of one of the shots. 🙂

For more Unusual POV see: http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/09/06/unusual/