Bird of Paradise

This macro shot of a BIrd of Paradise was taken earlier today. The colors are brilliant. It's nice to be able to have flowers blooming to take shots of. I know on good authority it is colder elsewhere as I have been told so very recently!

One Headlight

Another image from the classic car show a couple of weeks back. I thought the image of this headlight was interesting enough to be a photo on its own.

Rock Grain

I found this detail of the side of a rocky cliff very interesting. This is a detail of the rock grain.

"Good Old Days"

This is a photo of the hood ornament of a 1939 Packard, model 1701. Saw it a the Del Mar Classic Auto show last weekend.

Stairway to Angel's Landing

This is a "staircase" leading up towards Angel's Landing. It appears steeper in real life than it does in the photo. The chain is to hold on to to prevent tumbling down the mountain or off a cliff. It would for a very quick trip back down to the car.

Majestic

I don't remember the actual name of this mountain in Zion. I call it "Majestic" for obvious reasons.

1954 Chevrolet Bel Aire

I saw this classic 1954 Chevy Bel Aire in the area and took a couple of photos. The sun wasn't ideal, so I was limited to some close shots rather than the car as a whole. Here is a photo of the Chevrolet logo on the grill. Another change of pace from the nature shots...

Roots, Reposted

I have reposted this image with the change of sharpening the tree and roots while leaving the background as it is. My hope is to pull the roots from the background a bit better.

Red Bark

Something Completely Different

Just for a change I decided to upload this photo of the Palomar Observatory at Mt Palomar, not too far from where I live in North County San Diego. Although I have been up to visit several times before, this was the first time that the dome was rotating. I took this shot as it spun by. This is a shot of the 200 inch Hale Telescope, which for a while was the biggest telescope on earth. Visit their website for additional information.

Yucca

I thought the color and texture of this yucca plant in Zion was interesting.

Mother and Father Detail

For those interested in seeing the chisel marks, here is a close up shot.

Mother and Father Sky Create the World

As it was explained to me by our guide, this is a representation of "Mother and Father Sky Creating the World." These images are off the beaton path and not publicized due to problems with people destroying them by carving their initials, copying them through destructive means, or attempts to break off and sell them. They were created by taking a hard object and punching a point in the rock "veneer." Each figure represents hundreds of these individual chiselled points. It is part of a larger collection of petroglyphs, but these figures were selected and the photo was cropped for emphasis.