Signs: Pancho Villa Highway? Zapata Road?

August 15, 2013

Another from Don Knuth’s collection of diamond signs, this one collected in Mexico:

Mexico diamond warning sign, from Don Knuth's collection

Location: N16°55.642′, W96°21.618′ photo taken 2008.02.26 in Oaxaca, Mexico by Paula Darwent Near entrance of Mercado de Artesanias (Calle Reforma), San Pablo Villa de Mitla

Perhaps this sign is supposed to warn us against water on the road.  Or mirages on the road.

But when I saw it, I thought of this:

Or maybe this one:

The sign is in Oaxaca, an area that rallied around Zapata.

There’s gotta be a story behind that shotgun blast spray on the sign.  Even more appropriate to the stories of Zapata and Villa, yes?

I wonder what the sign is warning us about?

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Just point your cameras to the skies and shoot: Lubbock on August 14

August 14, 2013

With all the cameras around, if everybody just points their own camera to the skies and starts shooting, we’ll get some good shots.

Tonight the Texas Storm Chasers sent this one out:

Storm over Lubbock, Texas, August 14, 2013 - photo by Texas Storm Chasers

Texas Storm Chasers ‏@TxStormChasers 27m RT @TaylorKLynn: @TxStormChasers Took these from my phone of the storm heading into northern Lubbock! pic.twitter.com/5LQX1qBWsN #txwx

Looks like “Night on Storm Prairie” to me. (Where’s Disney when you need em?)

Shot with a camera phone, I’m guessing from inside a hotel (are those reflections in the window?).  Not sure who shot it, so I’ve just credited “Texas Storm Chasers.”

Weather is cool.  Photos of weather are cool, too.

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Mountain goat nemeses everywhere!

August 12, 2013

Normally I might just let this beautiful photo slide by without comment.

In this case, I find this particularly frustrating.  See that creature?  That’s the same goat that blocked my trail in Glacier National Park.  I’m sure of it.  I’d recognize those beady eyes and horns anywhere! (See the first story linked to in the “more’ section; maybe this goat stopped in Washington on the way to Alaska.)

He’s probably in Alaska now under the Federal Goat Protection Program.

Harding Icefield Trail @KenaiFjordsNPS. #alaska pic.twitter.com/yozsSLnrcD

Interior US Dept of Interior 6h Caption from the Department of Interior: That’s quite the hike to the top. Harding Icefield Trail @KenaiFjordsNPS. #alaska pic.twitter.com/yozsSLnrcD

He probably thinks he’s safe there at Kenai Fjords National Park.  Ha!  He’s farther away, but that just means I have farther to travel to find him!

I’m taking a longer telephoto, a wide angle, and a first aid kit, next time.  I’ll be prepared!

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Signs: Cthulu’s return? Don’t kick jelly fish?

August 12, 2013

Don Knuth at Stanford University collects signs.

Actually he collects photos of signs, especially the diamond-shaped informational-warning signs.

What in the world is this one?

A sign photographed in Australia, in the Knuth Collection.

A sign photographed in Australia, in the Knuth Collection.

Your nominations for captions welcomed in comments.

More, sorta — or maybe, “tangentially related” is a better description:  

Donald Knuth at a reception for the Open Conte...

Donald Knuth at a reception for the Open Content Alliance, hosted by the Internet Archive. Taken October 25, 2005 by Jacob Appelbaum in San Francisco. (Wikipedia image)


Signs of Life: The bowtie on the Paul Simon Highway

August 7, 2013

Driving through Illinois around Chicago — as we had many opportunities to do while younger son James attended Lawrence University in Wisconsin — one can be delighted and amused by the signs marking parts of Interstate 55 as the Paul Simon Freeway.  Simon’s rise up through editorial ranks of small newspapers, to state legislator and U.S. Senator was fueled by his great common sense and very studious habits when it came to history and public policy.

You can’t put all that on a road sign.  But you can put a picture of his bowtie there.  Honestly, we laughed out loud when we saw one for the first time.

I never could find one of the signs where it might be safe to pull off get a good photograph.  Surely someone in Illinois would have one, right?

Just try to find a good picture of these great signs.  I finally found this one on Flickr:

Paul Simon Freeway Bowtie Sign on I-55 near Edwardsville, IL_DSCN9495c  - Flickr photo by Wampa-One

Paul Simon Freeway Bowtie Sign on I-55 near Edwardsville, IL_DSCN9495c – Flickr photo by Wampa-One

Paul Simon, the Illinois politician, was a great guy.  Search for photos of the Tom Landry Highway signs in Texas, you’ll get a boatload of close-up shots.  Come on, Illinois:  Somebody go get a photo of those “Paul Simon Freeway” signs worthy of the man, and post it on the ‘net!

U.S. Sen. Paul Simon, D-Illinois. Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress

U.S. Sen. Paul Simon, D-Illinois. Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress

 


Steens Mountain, sunrise, or sunset?

July 31, 2013

Either someone just spent a very cold night to get a photo, or they’re getting ready to spend a very cold night.

Which is it?

Steens Mountain in #Oregon

US Dept of Interior: If you haven’t seen Steens Mountain in #Oregon, you really should check out this stunning photo from @BLMOregon pic.twitter.com/H2eePMmfsX

Steens Mountain at sunrise is a very popular image for photographers — but very few get a shot from the mountain itself like this one.

Steens Mountain is a large fault-block mountain in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon. Located in Harney County, it stretches some 50 miles (80 km) long north to south, and rises from alongside the Alvord Desert at elevation of about 4,200 feet (1,300 m) to a summit elevation of 9,733 feet (2,967 m). It is sometimes confused with a mountain range, but is properly a single mountain.

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English: The Alvord Desert playa, looking sout...

The Alvord Desert playa, looking southeast from Steens Mountain, southeast Oregon; Wikipedia image


Geographic jokes, on the Colorado and Green Rivers?

July 29, 2013

Can the scientist appreciate the beauty of creation as much as the non-scientist religious person?

Can you get the joke in this photo, without a smattering of knowledge of geography, and languages?  Or am I looking at it wrong?

Confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers, in Canyonlands National Park.  Photo by Jim Collins

Confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers, in Canyonlands National Park. Photo by Jim Collins, posted on Facebook by Canyonlands National Park

It’s a joke on a planetary scale, if not a cosmic one.

(Hints:  This is a photo looking from the north, I think; “Colorado” means “red” in Spanish.)

Update: Okay, Mr. Higginbotham convinced me.  We’re looking from the west, and that’s the Colorado coming from the top of the picture, and the Green coming from the bottom left; then the conjoined streams flow away, to the bottom right.  So, in the photo, the Colorado River is, appropriately, red, while the Green River is, fittingly, green

Not a majestic joke by Mother Nature, but a poetic way to remind us of the names of these rivers.

Poetry that might make us smile, too.

(It’s rare that these rivers run such dramatically different colors, especially with the Colorado that red, that far north.)

Google Maps aerial photo of the Confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers; match the geography with the other photo, and note the labels on this one.  Tip of the old scrub brush to Mr. Higginbotham.

Google Maps aerial photo of the Confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers; match the geography with the other photo, and note the labels on this one. Rotate this picture 90 degrees to the left, it matches up better.   Tip of the old scrub brush to Mr. J. A. Higginbotham.

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Mark Twain in Fort Worth

July 29, 2013

Mark Twain statue, Trinity Park, Fort Worth, Texas Photo by Barbara Schmidt © 2010

Mark Twain statue, Trinity Park, Fort Worth, Texas Photo by Barbara Schmidt © 2010

I’m falling down in my Mark Twain fandom, obviously.  Barbara Schmidt, who keeps the fine site, TwainQuotes (www.twainquotes.com), features this photo of Mark Twain holding an open copy of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, on one of the main pages at her site.

I did not know such a statue of Twain existed in Texas, let alone within an hour’s travel from my home.  I’ll have to track it down.

Why is it there?  Twain never set foot in Fort Worth, that I know.

What other great statues hide around Dallas and Fort Worth?

More:

Mark Twain in Fort Worth's Trinity Park, by Amy Moore, at Everything Everywhere

Mark Twain in Fort Worth’s Trinity Park, by Amy Moore, at Everything Everywhere.  The statue was created by Gary Lee Price.


History of America, or art in America, or American art, or . . .

July 9, 2013

Brilliant piece from Grant Snider — history teachers, this should be a poster in your classroom, no?  Art teachers?

Grant Snider's

Grant Snider’s “American Art, exploring a country through its paintings”

In the course of a junior-level, high school U.S. history class, students should experience each of these works, and many others.  This is one whimsical way to work with serious and uplifting material, no?

Mr. Snider has a short essay — inspiring — and the information on each of the works he portrays, at the Modern Art site (I’ve added links below, here).

Since that formative vacation, the art museum is always one my of first stops in visiting a new city. In the comic above, I’ve curated my ideal collection of 20th-century American art. Here’s a list of works in order of appearance:

Jasper Johns, “Flag”

Edward Hopper,Morning Sun

Ellsworth Kelly, “Red Blue Green”

Wayne Thiebaud, “Refrigerator Pie”

Grant Wood, “Young Corn”

Roy Lichtenstein, “Whaam!”

Stuart Davis, “Colonial Cubism”

Andy Warhol, “Campbell’s Soup Cans”

George Bellows, “Dempsey and Firpo”

Jackson Pollock, “Autumn Rhythm”

Georgia O’Keeffe, “Sky Above Clouds III”

What are your favorite American art works, and what do they portray or demonstrate that you like?

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What rocks Yosemite? Granite

July 7, 2013

Yosemite’s Nature Notes #20 (I’m behind):  A short film discussing the astonishing manifestations of granite in Yosemite National Park.

English: El Capitan in Yosemite National Park ...

El Capitan in Yosemite National Park viewed from the Valley Floor — one of the more famous granite formations in the Park. Wikipedia image

The film is simply named, “Granite.”  Steven Bumgardner produced the film.

Yosemite’s chief formations are granite, an igneous rock.  Much of the terrain was carved in the granite by glaciers and glaciation — so what Yosemite shows is how fire and ice combine to make rock, to make rock formations, and to make rocks of astonishing beauty.

(This is not a place to bolster creationist ideas.  This is real science, looking at God’s handiwork first hand.)

A North Carolina university makes field trips to Yosemite?  I’d love to take that class!

Watching this film, you get a sense of how important it can be to the education of our children to travel in the summers, to take vacations to our National Parks, and to places like Yosemite.

Where are you taking your kids this summer?  Kids, where are you going?

Enjoy it.  Geology lessons are often fun, and this one, on film, is more fun than most.

More:

Close-up of granite from Yosemite National Par...

Close-up of granite from Yosemite National Park, valley of the Merced River – Wikipedia image


You didn’t believe in Ents, and then you met the redwoods

June 19, 2013

Giant redwoods in Sequoia-Kings National Parks

US Department of Interior, May 30, 2013 – Sometimes you have to look up to appreciate the beauty of America’s great outdoors. @SequoiaKingsNPS


Time lapse at Everest – Elia Saikaly

June 13, 2013

English: Mount Everest North Face as seen from...

Mount Everest North Face as seen from the path to the base camp, Tibet. Wikipedia image

A pick from the staff at Vimeo.

It’s astonishing how many people ascend Mt. Everest in our time.  Look at the tent city.

Everest’s beauty is stunning, always has been, but is now revealed by high-definition image capture unavailable just 10 years ago, now distributed by the internet.

These photos are mostly from about 25,000 feet in elevation — about where much domestic U.S. air travel occurs.  The weather up there is spectacular, if you’re not in it. It’s spectactular if you’re in it, too — but I’m viewing it from Dallas, where we’re above 90 degrees in the day, now, just 800 feet above sea level.

As these climbers risk their lives in adventure (10% of all people who attempt to summit, die), the Himalayas suffer from effects of global climate change.  Pakistan suffers from flooding today from premature and quick melting of glaciers.

What a great planet we have.  Can we keep it?

Notes from the film maker, Elia Saikaly:

eliasaikaly.com
Experience the beauty of Mt. Everest at night in time-lapse.

While most climbers slept, I attempted to capture some of the magic that the Himalayan skies have to offer while climbing to the top of the world.

Here’s a bit of what I endured at the end to make this possible: eliasaikaly.com/2013/05/into-the-death-zone/

One of the most rewarding parts of the journey was being able to share it with thousands of students on epals.com/everest

This time lapse video is comprised of thousands of photographs, processed and assembled on Mt. Everest.

Shot on a Canon 5D Mark II
-Canon 2.8 16-35mm
-Canon 2.8 24-70mm
-Canon 2.8 70-200mm (which was way to heavy to carry beyond 6400M)
-TL Remote was purchased off eBay

Edited in Final Cut Pro
Processed in Adobe LightRoom
Movies compiled in Quicktime

Music: A Heartbeat away purchased on goo.gl/AJZcM

I hope you enjoy it. If you do, please leave a comment and let me know what you think.

My stock footage, professional and charitable work can be see on my website at eliasaikaly.com
And on FB: facebook.com/elia.saikaly.adventurer

More:

2004 photo mosaic the Himalayas with Makalu an...

2004 photo mosaic the Himalayas with Makalu and Mount Everest from the International Space Station, Expedition 8. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)


Holes in the wall, Glen Canyon NRA

June 11, 2013

Ever get one of those days you just want to find a nice, warm hole and crawl inside?

Then head out to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area:

There are many unique areas within America’s public lands. Case in point this spot in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.  Photo: Cassandra Crowley

Caption from America’s Great Outdoors: There are many unique areas within America’s public lands. Case in point this spot in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Photo: Cassandra Crowley

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Horizons of South Dakota at night, in wonderful time-lapse

June 11, 2013

Photographer Randy Halverson lives and shoots in South Dakota, mostly.  Here’s an almost-five minute piece showing the night skies of South Dakota with a little Wyoming thrown in.

Halverson’s description:

If you have ever been in a wide open landscape the most interesting thing isn’t necessarily the landscape itself, but what you see coming over the horizon. Growing up in South Dakota the landscape itself can be beautiful at times, but that doesn’t compare to what the sky can do, especially at night. Combine that with the landscape, and it makes for great photo opportunities. More information and stills at dakotalapse.com/2013/06/horizons/

Bear McCreary (The Walking Dead, Defiance, Battlestar Galactica, etc) once again helped me with some original music for the video. This time he suggested adding vocals to the mix. Brendan McCreary and his band (Young Beautiful in a Hurry) did just that. They came up with “I Forever” The single is available on iTunes tinyurl.com/pgrq45p , Amazon and other online sources.

I shot Horizons from April – October 2012 mostly in South Dakota, but also some at Devils Tower in Wyoming. From the rugged Badlands, the White River valley and the Black Hills, the horizons seem to endlessly change.

Download the 30 minute long Horizons feature at dakotalapse.com/2013/06/horizons-feature

Photography and Editing – Randy Halverson
Production Assistants – River Halverson and Kelly McILhone
Color Correction – Jeff Zueger – Spectrum Films

Sponsors:
Dynamic Perception – The Stage Zero and Stage One dollies were used in many of the shots. I can’t recommend them enough for a quality product at a low price. dynamicperception.com/#oid=1005_1

Borrowlenses – Throughout the summer I got some great Canon and Zeiss lenses from Borrowlenses to use in the shoot. They have great service and every lens performed flawlessly. So if you ever want to try out a lens ,or just need one for an special shoot, give them a try! borrowlenses.com

Granite Bay Software – I try to avoid flicker in sunset or daytime timelapse while shooting. But sometimes it is unavoidable. I used GBDeflicker to smooth out the flicker in some of the sunset timelapse. granitebaysoftware.com/

Equipment Used
Canon 5D Mark III, sometimes with a 2nd from Borrowlenses.com
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 60D

I used a variety of lenses, many from Borrowlenses.com

Canon 14, 16-35, 24-70, 50 F1.2, 70-200mm lenses

Zeiss 21, 25, 35mm lenses

Nikon 14-24mm with Novoflex Adapter

Available in 4K resolution.

Contact for licensing footage, shooting rates or anything else.
Randy Halverson
dakotalapse@gmail.com

Tip of the old scrub brush to Yahoo! Sideshow blog.

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Description unavailable

Devil’s Tower, Wyoming; image by americanbackroom.com


Long’s Peak in the Milky Way

May 17, 2013

I admire those who are able to capture a good image of the Milky Way in a photograph.

Here’s another one, with Long’s Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park as a foil.

Milky Way and Long's Peak, Rocky Mountain NP - Pat Gaines photo

The Milky Way rises over Long’s Peak (14,259 feet) as seen from 9,600 feet up Trail Bridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. Photo: Pat Gaines

Is it easier to get good photos at that altitude?

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