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Showing posts from November, 2022

Kannally Ranch House (1 of 2)

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Decision to hike last week in Oracle State Park had the added bonus of visiting the Kannally Ranch House.  The original 160-acre ranch was purchased by Neil and Lee Kannally in 1903.  This present Kannally Ranch House was built between 1929-1932 and is open for self-guided touring.   These two photos are straight out of the iPhone.  Tomorrow I will post a couple more that have had some post process editing.

Tiger Stare

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 That I came face to face with this menacing caterpillar while on a hike is not that amazing.  But I was very impressed with my iPhone's ability to instantly recognize this critter from the photo and tell me all about it.  According to my iPhone, this is halysidota tessellaris who is in training to eventually become a Pale Tiger Moth.

Arizona Sunset

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 Amazing colours in the sky in this late October Arizona sunset.  In the foreground is an ocotillo and off to the right a giant saguaro cactus. 

The Shadow Knows

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Was on a hike with a few friends when I noticed this shadowy figure nearby.  The angle makes me look much taller than I really am!

Balloon Glow

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 I have heard of a balloon festival but never the smaller tethered version of a balloon festival called a "glow".  Here are a couple of shots taken a couple of weeks ago at the Eloy Balloon Glow.

Tucson Murals (Part 4)

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  Wrapping up a quick series on Tucson murals are these beautiful artworks.  The colourful one is "Creation Story, Chaos Theory and Quantum Memory" by artist To-Ree-Nee Wolf.  The other is "Desert Soul" by Los Angeles artist artist El Mac (a.k.a. Miles MacGregor).  He said he "associates Tucson with a certain warm spirit of love and creativity, a tranquil Sonoran vitality, and I hope this mural can capture or transmit some of that desert soul". 

Clouds on Fire

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Yesterday's blog entry mentioned the seasonal change from the Lake Ontario vistas to the Arizona cacti.  With that also comes less sunrises and more sunsets.  In this one the clouds lower in the photo appear to have set on fire!

Last Lake Ontario Sunrise (for Now)

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This foreboding sunrise is the last Canadian sunrise in the series for now.  A change of seasons has led to the large extent of upcoming photos being from the American Southwest.   Use of the #sunrise and #lakeontario hashtags may be used in this blog to see others in the series.  They are also available for purchase in photo products at www.fourlens.ca

Gulfoss Waterfall

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This photo - in no way - does justice to this magnificent two tiered waterfall.  The weather in Iceland was quite miserable that day with strong, chilly winds driving very cold rain.  However, I was determined to get some photos, this one from far away and others more close up.  

Tucson Murals (Part 3)

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 Here is another pair of murals that we spotted in a walkabout in downtown Tucson.  The first is on the side of the Rialto Theatre where the band "Bright Eyes" was due to perform.  The interesting three way viewer was on a wall in a parking lot with many other murals.

Wide Sky

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This is a wider format photo of a sunrise overt Lake Ontario taken a month ago.  As the season goes on, the sunrise point moves gradually from left to right at this vantage point.  After the winter solstice, December 21, it will begin moving from right to left.

Icelandic Horse (Not Ponies!)

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Don't call them ponies!  The Icelandic horse may be small but the people of Iceland will not accept you calling them ponies.  These horses are long-lived and hardy.  In their native country they have few diseases; Icelandic law prevents horses from being imported and exported animals are not allowed to return. Minor edits were done to this photo using the Formula app on the iPad.

Tucson Murals (Part 2)

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Continuing with the downtown Tucson murals, here are a couple more.  The "Tucson Together" was done as a message during the pandemic.  It's fonts are from nearby landmarks and the graphics are intended to highlight different Tucson businesses.  "Salvador Duran" by artist Diego Roa is a painting of this talented musician and painter who emigrated from Mexico to Tucson. Duran once said (in Spanish), "I sing my paintings and I paint my music". 

Peeking Over the Horizon

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The sun is just coming up in this bright orange morning.  Good morning, sun!

Hallgrimskirjka

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Hallgrímskirkja  is a Lutherin parish church in Reykjavik, Iceland.  Completed in 1986, it is the largest church in Iceland and one of the tallest structures in the country. Sitting on the Hilltop  Skólavörðuholt,   the church is visible throughout the city.  It is named after Hallgrimur Petursson,  a hymn writer of the 17th century.

Tucson Murals (part 1)

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Tucson Arizona is apparently known for its murals on the outside of buildings, numbering well over 100.  I never knew this until we went for a walk around town a few weeks ago.  At the Tucson Visitor Center, we picked up a map which showed us the locations of 36 murals.  In this blog entry are two of the ones we saw.  The first, by Ignacio Garcia, is called "La Mujer Empoderada" or "The Empowered Woman".  It is meant to represent "strength, leadership and the beauty of boldness".  The second is called Vergiss (the German word for "forget").  It was painted by Irish artist, Fin DAC based on a design he had painted previously in Berlin.  I will more mural photos in coming days.

Interesting Clouds

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 The clouds make this late September sunrise more interesting.

Kerid Crater Lake

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The Kerid Crater in Iceland is an example of what happens when a volcano collapses in on itself.  Add water and you have a lake.

Strange Flying Object

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There I was standing in the backyard barbequing when this strange object flew silently across the night sky.  A bird, a plane, Superman?  Nope.  None of those.  It turned out to be a Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket which had been launched from California and was climbing westward toward a space dropoff of 53 Starlink satellites.  Wow, what a sight!!!  It was fun to see and fun to capture.

Plenty of Morning Orange

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Three orange sunrise shots in this post.  

Grimsby Rainbow

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After the storm, here is a full rainbow with left end dipping into Lake Ontario and right end pointing to Grimsby Ontario.

Golden Full Moon

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This rising moon made a nice golden reflection on a calm Lake Ontario.

Sitting by the Lake

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Here we have two people sitting by Lake Ontario watching a sunset.  The photo was edited with the Prisma app on the iPad to give more of a painterly look.

Harpa Concert Hall

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Here are two views of the Harpa, outside and inside.  Harpa is an architecturally beautiful concert hall and conference center in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Fiery Start

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It was a fiery start to the day on this late September morning.

Macro Veins

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Trying out the built in macro in my iPhone 14 Pro Max and zoomed in on the veins in this leaf.  I like it!

Reykjavik Rainbow

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The weather during our week in Iceland was, for the most part, lousy.  After a particularly bad day of drenching rain, we did get to see a full rainbow from our hotel window.