Postcard from Rome

It was late afternoon when our flight from London landed in Rome. I was with my then-wife Susan, her two brothers and their spouses. A shuttle bus awaited to take my fellow passengers from the airport to our various hotels. It took about an hour to get to our hotel, located just two blocks away from Rome's main train station. I chose this hotel for that very reason.

While checking in, I noticed a brochure for a night tour of Rome. I talked to the desk clerk about it and she said the tour leaves from near the train station. She checked and there was still room for all 6 o us if we wanted to do it. I checked with the group, and they all said they wanted to do it, some more reluctantly that others. The last thing I wanted to do was sit in my hotel room on my first night in the Eternal City.

The bus picked us up at the appropriate time and off we went to see this magical city of lights. Our first stop was the Trevi fountain, which you see here. It is certainly more beautiful at night than during the day. I had my camera with me, of course, and because of the low light situation, I used Susan's shoulder to steady myself and the camera. It obviously helped because I got a nice, clear photo.

Trevi Fountain is the largest Baroque fountain in the city and one of the most famous fountains in the world. It appears in several notable films, including Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita and Three Coins in the Fountain. The fountain is at the junction of three roads and marks the terminal point of the modern Acqua Vergine, one of the aqueducts that supplied water to ancient Rome.

Legend holds that in 19 BC thirsty Roman soldiers were guided by a young girl to a source of pure water thirteen kilometers (8.1 miles) from the city of Rome. The discovery led Augustus to commission the construction of a 14-mile aqueduct leading into the city, which was named Aqua Virgo, or Virgin Waters, in honor of the legendary young girl. The aqueduct served the hot Baths of Agrippa, and Rome, for over four hundred years.

The plan to build the current fountain was proposed by Pope Urban VIII in 1629, who thought that the then existing fountain was quite dull. After several false starts, fountain construction began in 1732 and was finished 30 years later. It was refurbished a few year before our arrival.

Of course there is a legend that if you throw a coin into the fountain, you will return again to Rome. However it must be done in a certain way…you must toss the coin with your right hand over your left shoulder with your back to the fountain. Of course I did that, as did every member of our party. Each year, over 3,000 Euros are collected from the fountain and given to charity. It is illegal to remove coins from the fountain, but that does not stop a few folks from trying.

Does the legend work? So far, it has not worked for me, although I have been back to Italy since then…just not Rome. But I am willing to give it a fair chance, at least for as long I remain on this planet.

PS: There is a miniature fountain on the left side of the Trevi Fountain. Legend says that if a couple drinks from the “small fountain of lovers”, they will be forever faithful to their partner. Didn't know about that one which probably explains why I am single. Oh well!

Postcard from the Olympic Peninsula

Coastline

The inlets
Wrap around the water
Writhing in the fury of the ocean’s waves,
Obscuring the distance they reveal
To the eyes that gaze absent mindedly
Down their beaches and their cliffs.

Indifferent to the conflict below,
The sun blazes down
But the winds cleanse the skin of its heat
As they are driven from the sea.

The sea that breaks the stoic rocks
And casts the sand’s lonely grains
-Along with the many homeless winds-
Across the beaches which slope
At the feet of their stony bluffs.

But the cliffs stand in austere grandeur
Defiantly surveying the endless waters
Whose numerous, ceaseless, enduring waves
Are kept at bay by the towering unity.

I am of the wind that has no home
In the conflict of sea and land
I am the sun that lights this vision:
Firmament of hills, sea and sand.

Tides come and go but never leave me
Sands shift in time but never deceive me
As sun I shine light on all at hand:
This ceaseless meeting of sea and land.

Poem by: The They

Digital Painting by J.R. Corkrum - “Land’s End”

Postcard from Zion

The trip was meticulously planned. Dates and weather were checked. Hotel reservations were made. Everything looked good. Instead, it was a bust!

The time was November 2015. The place: Zion National Park. It was supposed to be a trip to photograph the glories of Autumn in that most beautiful place. But somebody forgot to tell Mother Nature. I arrived in the canyon one day ahead of my friend and professional nature photographer Dave Forster. My job was to scout the park to find the best place for Autumn colors. Having done this before, I knew the places to seek out for Autumn’s glory.

Except I found very autumn color. The trees were mostly green. What yellow I could find was mostly a brownish yellow…not very photographic. Of the red and orange colors, there were none. To come all this way and not find what you were looking for…well it was disappointing to say the least.

The next day, Dave showed up and we took a tour of the canyon. Nothing had changed…there was nothing here to photograph. On our last Autumn visit, the colors were spectacular! We both nearly wore out our cameras. We took hundreds of photos, a few of which were shown here. This time, our camera stayed in their respective bags.

Just before you leave the park, there is a junction…the left one being the road into the high country of Zion. It’s a spectacular road, with amazing views of the park as you climb higher and higher, ending in the mile-long tunnel that brings you out into the high country. We decided to give the high country a try, even though autumn ends early up there because of the elevation.

As we emerged from the tunnel, we found mostly what we expected. Autumn was pretty much over here as there was snow on the ground. The higher we went, the more snow we found. Then we came upon the scene you see here: the last tree of autumn in the high country set among the red rocks so prevalent in Zion. Of course we stopped, both hungry to do something with our cameras.

We shot several images, each of us in a different spot. Dave was down below near the tree while I was stationed where I took this photo. Eventually Dave joined me up above and we continued to take pictures, each looking for that perfect composition. I think this photo was my best, although certainly not the best photo I have ever taken in Zion. This location partially saved our earlier disappointments down below.

The next day we headed further east, joining up with highway 89, then the beautiful Highway 12. With stops in Bryce National Park, then on to Hole-in-the-Rock Road and down to Dance Hall Rock, the photos of which have been shown here before. From there we headed back toward Zion, but turning on different highway that eventually led us up to 10,000 feet and Cedar Breaks National Monument.

So while the trip was not a total bust, I have to say that Zion Canyon was supposed to be the highlight of this trip, but it just did not happen. But that is the life of a photographer…sometimes you get lucky, sometime you don’t.

Postcard from Phoenix

Just last Saturday, I had the pleasure of attending the Indy car race in Phoenix. It was quite a race…won by Scott Dixon driving the #9 Target Car…the very car shown here. Except I did not take this photo in Phoenix. Rather, I photographed it last August in the winners circle in Sonoma, CA when he won that race and the 2015 Driving Championship. He is one heck of a driver. It was nice to see him win again.

The Sonoma track and the Phoenix track are two birds of a different feather. The Sonoma Raceway is a 2.5 mile road course…Phoenix is a one-mile oval track…well almost oval. It has four banked turns built into it…not sharp turns, but turns never-the-less.

I’ve been to two races in Sonoma and now one at the Phoenix course. This is the first time in 11 years that Indy cars raced in Phoenix (to be truthful, although the course is named The Phoenix International Raceway, it is actually in Avondale, just west of Phoenix). In Sonoma, I was far enough back from the course, that the engine noise didn’t bother me. Not true in Phoenix. Although we were high up, the course is small enough that the noise was unbelievably loud…especially at the start. Wow! And I didn’t bring any earplugs.

These cars moved at unbelievable speeds, anywhere from 185 to 191 MPH. And they never braked for the turns…they just took those turns at full speed. They could complete one lap in 19 seconds.  I was using the Verizon Indy Car app on my iPhone, so I could not only monitor the race standings, but the individual car statistics, including speed, gear changes, braking and more.

The Chevy equipped cars had the advantage over the Honda cars on this course. The top ten qualifiers were all Chevys. Three Honda cars hit the wall on Friday before the race, but were all rebuilt and raced on Saturday, although they started at the back of the pack. At the end of the race, 8 out of the top 9 finishers were all Chevys.

There was a lot more drama here about drivers and their cars than I’ve told you, but it would probably only interest hard core racing fans. It was exciting and fun and I got to watch a replay of the race Sunday morning on TV. I will go back next year for sure but will chose different seats. We were right at the start/finish line, but when the cars came off the last turn they were hugging the wall in front of us, so it was not a good view and the forget about decent photos. In fact, one driver hit the wall in front of us and skidded down the track along the wall. We never saw it.

One nice thing about this year’s cars, they have large computer generated electronic numbers on their cars that show their positions on the track during the race. I must admit at 190 miles per hour, it was difficult to see the number as they came by us. The light can also show their time in the pits when they come in for fuel and tires. Pit stops are critical in racing. The faster you can get in and out the better. In fact you could say Scott Dixon won the race in the pits as he moved up because he pitted faster than one or two cars in front of him.

Of course, for me, this is just a preliminary race for the big one coming up on Memorial Day Weekend in Indianapolis. It is the 100th running of “the greatest spectacle in racing” and I will be there for my very first time. Can’t wait. I got my ticket, airline flights, cars, and hotels all arranged. After Saturday’s race, I am ready!