She may be smart. She may be dumb. Whatever. This girl is gorgeous to look at. This picture was compared to J.Lo in a Versace dress. At $80.00 all you need is a decent camera, a slender girl and a white wall for the same photo.
Category: Photos
Now this is a Natonal Emergency
San Francisco’s cable cars will stop running for 10 days starting Friday for repairs. San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency will be refurbishing gear boxes, braking systems, and everything else to ensure that everything is “running safely and reliably.” If you haven’t been to that city you should know that it is at least as exciting and interesting as Manhattan (NYC). The cable cars are more fun than anything at Disneyland. They connect downtown with Chinatown and Fisherman’s Wharf.
The cars will be back on service September 23.
Market and Powell in downtown
At Fisherman’s Wharf before the car is crowded
View of the bay while riding on a cable car
A trip to Europe
After 50 years of marriage I decided to reward my wife for putting up with me all those years. We agreed on a Mediterranean cruise on a luxurious cruise line. We chose the too expensive Oceania Riviera. From beginning to end, the trip took two weeks from the time we left for the airport until we arrived at home.
Perhaps I should have titled this posting “Ship of the Drunk” because many of the people had a martini glass or a glass of wine in their hands from morning to night. Many who I spoke to were clearly inebriated.
The trip started with our flight to Barcelona Spain. When we arrived at the hotel some of the first words from the desk clerk were “pick pockets are a problem here but it is mostly safe.” We would be alert for the entire trip when we walked on the streets of every port on the cruise.
We had been concerned with summer heat and crowds and had specifically chose a spring trip. It turned out we were rewarded with cold, wind, and some rain. Even in the spring the crowds were everywhere as if it was the summer season.
Oceania Riviera’s staff was outstanding. We were treated like a king and queen. The veranda suite B3 category was one the most common suites on the 7th deck. it had a a balcony that included two chairs, two chaise lounges and a table. The bathroom included a full sixed bathtub, a shower and a sink. The storage space was more than adequate. The food was excellent and the service in the dining areas was outstanding, They even insisted on taking our filled plates to our table in the buffet dining room.
The downside on the ship was the excursions. They were expensive and most started at 8, 8:30, and 9 AM. Thanks to the shuttles the ship provided we went into the nearby towns. We missed a lot of sightseeing destinations but my wife was happy. The whole trip was for her after all. I would have gotten up for some early morning excursions.
Here is a list of the ports
Barcelona, Spain
Most interesting there is La Sagrada Familia. That is a church that has been under construction for over 100 years. How did they build it before 20th century construction cranes?
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
This is an island in the Mediterranean Sea that is part of Spain. Not too much to see here. Cathedral of Santa Maria seems to be the highlight.
Marseille, France
A ride on a Le Petit Train Touristique to Notre Dame de la Garde Basilica gave us a ride up and down the hills of the city and a view of the port. Some of the streets are as steep as many in San Francisco.
Monte Carlo, Monaco
Narrow streets and a view of the barricades permanently in place for the famed Monaco Grand Prix Formula 1 race were highlights of our tour of the city. Of course there is the famous casino identified to us by its green roof. The port as all ports we visited were parking places for hundreds of yachts.
Antibes, France
Not famous for anything. Just a pretty town on the Mediterranean coast. This photo was taken from our veranda on the ship using the panorama setting on my camera.
Ajaccio (Corsica), France
An island where the people are more connected to Italy than France said the driver on our excursion. Corsica has no significant economic purpose and it appears that cruise line visits are now an important part of their income stream.
It was partly cloudy at the port with a chilly wind. The excursion took us to Corisca at Hotel Restaurant Monte D’Oro in the mountains where there was a persistent slow rain. Inside were treated to a plate of cheeses, meats and a glass of wine. My camera under my jacket to keep it dry.
Florence/Pisa/Tuscany (Livorno), Italy
The port was Livorno. We never made it to Florence or Pisa. Barbara was not feel well so I took the Oceania Riviera shuttle into the town. the most interesting thing I saw was the farmer’s market. The selections were not the mundane variety seen in Los Angeles farmer’s markets. The food really looked like it had been picked that very day.
Rome, Italy
After disembarking the ship a car took us to our hotel in Rome. We were there for three nights. It was cold a nd rainy the entire time we were there. That did not deter those who were willing to stand in line for hours to enter the Vatican or the coliseum. We decided it was not worth the wait. Still the hop on hop off gave us a view of the many sites.
The trip home was long and we arrived home on Tuesday May 7 at 1:30 AM.
It was great fun and a trip I will never forget.
Are print displays of photography part of the past?
Like film, prints of the photos we take seems to be part of the past. It’s no wonder. Thanks to memory cards that hold thousands of pictures there really is no way we can print all of those images.
Costco is discontinuing its photo printing services at most of its stores due to slow demand.
I have a Canon inkjet printer that does a fabulous job of printing. I just do not use it very often. And that is the issue.
Just how many people are collecting prints of the photos they have taken? Thanks to our ability to take thousands of photos and show the best on line just who is scrapbooking anymore? My 64K memory card can hold over 11,000 pictures. The camera is set to take all photos as JPEGs at the highest megapixel count.
We have twenty albums that are rarely viewed. There is no more room for more albums. I get far more attention for my snaps showing them on-line. How about you?
It seems most people are displaying their photos on line on websites like Flickr and WordPress. I asked two avid amateur photographers if they create prints and their answer was rarely.
That bring me to the next question. If you can obtain outstanding photos for display on line with a smartphone what value is a $3,000 camera?
My photos get attention on this website and Facebook. They were taken with cameras that cost $300 to $500 and smartphones. Can you tell the difference? I cannot.
Oh, there are twelve photos that were printed and I proudly display at my house.
Balboa Park in the San Fernando Valley
Bonaventure Hotel
US Bank Building in Los Angeles
Standing 72 stories on Bunker Hill, the building holds a prominent position in business and in popular culture. It has appeared in numerous movies and even been fictionally destroyed for dramatic effect in such films as “Independence Day,” which saw aliens blow up the tower as they began their invasion of Earth.
The building was the tallest west of the Mississippi River until another building the Wilshire Grand Center competed on June 23, 2017 opened with one more floor.
Still, going to the top of the US Bank Building is fun to do and besides the views there is a glass slide from the 70th floor to the 69th floor that is mounted to the outside.
The views from the those two floors are spectacular.
City at sundown (Photo taken by a friend)
Westin Bonaventure Hotel (numbers indicate the weight the roof will support in thousands of pounds)
Hollywood sign and Griffith Park Observatory in the distance
Snowcapped Mount Gorgonio and Mount Baldy.
A wave building on Oahu’s North Shore, Hawaii
This photo was on my computer when I restarted the processor.
The North Shore on Oahu is a great place for photographers to capture vivid images of the Pacific in motion, as the beach’s legendary monster waves rise up before breaking on the beach. This long-exposure photograph, shot early in the morning, shows off the power and motion of the water as it rises to form a curled wave. These waves make the North Shore one of Hawaii’s prime surfing destinations. When his ship, the HMS Discovery, was navigating the South Pacific in 1778, British explorer Captain James Cook noted the locals out in the waves riding on boards. Surfboards date back to at least 500 CE and possibly much further back in history.
View from Moro Rock in Sequoia National Park, California
From about the age of 12, I have visited Sequoia National Park many times. The view of the Sierras from Moro Rock is nothing less than spectacular. The park service maintains a staircase stretching a third of a mile, and climbing over 300 feet up to the summit. Moro Rock rises in the center of the park, and exceeds 6,700 feet in elevation.
Visitors can see the sweep of sequoia forests below, and the jagged peaks of the Great Western Divide in the distance. And if you did bring your climbing gear, you’ve got a thousand-foot vertical challenge waiting on Moro Rock’s west face.
View of Moro Rock from the road below
Venice Skatepark in Venice Beach, California
Not far from my home the boardwalk at Venice Beach was known more for bodybuilding than skateboarding, but since 2009 the thrashers have been giving the weightlifters some real competition. People-watchers looking for a little high-speed drama congregate at the Venice Skatepark, a large concrete plaza set right into the beach. Skateboarders maneuver through two swimming pool-like bowls, a twisting and turning snake run, and a section replicating an urban street with steps, platforms, and metal railings. The city-owned property is free to use, but mastering the skills to tackle this flow takes time, practice, and a lot of nerve.
Yes that mountain horizon is on the masthead of this blog.
Vieste on the Adriatic coast of Italy
If Italy’s boot-shaped landmass has a spur, that spur is Vieste. The cliffside village juts out into the pristine waters of the Adriatic, with numerous hidden beaches and grottos along the town’s coastline. Vieste may seem as if it’s frozen in some romantic past. That’s due in part to the fact that this seaside village, with the wind-and-water eroded cliffs, is within the boundaries of Gargano National Park. Efforts to preserve the park’s natural beauty have greatly influenced policies intended to protect the town of Vieste as well.
Avenue of the Giants
The Avenue of the Giants is a scenic highway in Northern California, U.S.A., running through Humboldt Redwoods State Park. It is an old alignment of U.S. Route 101, and continues to be maintained by the state as State Route 254. We were there about 25 years ago on our way home from the Oregon Caves.
Along the way we stopped at the Trees of Mystery located in the heart of the Redwood Empire, at the very center of Redwood National and State Parks. Trees of Mystery is California’s premier nature attraction on the North coast!
Coast Contact 