Postcard from Chicago – Food

There is no denying I love good food…of all kinds. And when I go to the big city, I want to experience some really good meals with local ambience. I had some specific goals in mind for my Chicago trip and was able to fulfill them all. Now, I am not going to tell you about all my Chicago dining experiences…just a couple.

First and foremost is The Chicago Hot Dog. I looked forward to this one when I first planned my trip. What makes a Chicago Dog so special? Well it is unique and has to be made with certain ingredients in a certain way. Here is the recipe:

A Chicago-style hot dog is a steamed, boiled or grilled all-beef hot dog on a poppy seed bun, originating from the city of Chicago. The hot dog is topped with mustard, onion, sweet pickle relish (often a dyed neon green variety called "Nuclear Relish" or "Emerald Relish"), a dill pickle spear, tomato slices or wedges, pickled sport peppers, and celery salt. No variations are allowed and definitely no ketchup.

Oddly, I could only find these dogs downtown. I am sure they are available in other places, but I could not find them, even in Wrigleyville or in sports bars. So, how do they taste? Fantastic!! A little spicy thanks to the sport peppers, but definitely delicious. But be warned, they are messy to eat. Don’t try eating and driving with these babies. But, when in Chicago, put them high on your list.

Now, when I go to big cities, I love to eat in sports bars and enjoy sporting events with the local fans. And that is easy to do in Chicago as it is a sports-crazed city. So when I went over to Wrigleyville, there was only on place I wanted to eat…Harry Carey’s Tavern.

As I mentioned in a previous blog, Harry Carey, now deceased, was and is a Chicago icon…the voice of the Chicago Cubs for oh so many years. At his tavern, I had a “Holy Cow” burger, named after his favorite broadcast expression. It was very good…but more than that, this tavern was filled with sports memorabilia, photos of famous folks and even a bust of Harry.

But most important, the place was filled with sports fans, even though the Cubs were not playing that day. They were watching baseball and hockey, especially their Blackhawks who are in the NHL Playoffs. Such a great atmosphere for me to be a part of Chicago, even if only during lunch hour.

The final place on my original list was Ditka’s Restaurant. This restaurant owned by another Chicago icon, Mike Ditka. Now, for those who don’t know, Mike was a tight end for the Chicago Bears and later coached them to a Super Bowl Championship in the 80’s. He is a fiery, no-nonsense guy who you don’t want angry at you. But, he will also be honest and straightforward with you with no BS…no matter who he offends. He is currently a football analyst on ESPN and I always enjoy listening to his opinions.

Ditka’s is located downtown on Chestnut Street. It is not a true sports bar, although there is a very nice bar where I am sure you can watch games while enjoying a meal. Ditka’s is first an foremost a restaurant with a great menu and a very upscale decor…even though there is sports memorabilia (mostly football of course) everywhere.

I had a dish called a “Meatloaf Mash”…a thick slice of meatloaf, sitting on a slice of jalapeño cornbread…covered with BBQ sauce, mashed potatoes, and thin sliced onion rings. Oh my God, was it good! And I am not a meatloaf fan. My friend Susan had salmon which she said was absolutely perfect. I washed my meal down with two classes of Mike Ditka’s Ale, also very good.

From what I can tell, Ditka’s serves outstanding food, and I hear their steaks, although expensive, are to die for. I highly recommend you put this place on your list. And yes, that is me in the picture after lunch…my stomach was flat before I went in.

There is one other great meal that I at, but won’t go into detail…it was on the 95th floor of Hancock Building. The view was spectacular to say the least…all of Chicago was laid out before me. But the most memorable part was actually being with friends who I had not seen in a while and whose friendships I cherish.

As you can see, I lived and dined well in Chicago. And I haven’t even mentioned some of the other great meals I had, including some homemade ones. Don’t you just love it when all the elements of a vacation come together so perfectly leaving you with amazing memories that will last a lifetime?

Postcard from Chicago – Things You Can Do With a Bean

As mentioned in the last blog about Chicago’s Bean, here are a few additional photos taken there. It was so much fun playing around with my camera at this most unusual location.

Photo #1 is a distorted look at the Chicago skyline as reflected off of the highly polished surface of The Bean.

Photo #2 is of my good friend Susan, and her brother and sister-in-law. Look at the dimension the Bean adds to the photo. You can see their front, their backs, and even me shooting the photo. How cool is that?

The third photo is another of Chicago’s skyline taken from a different side of the Bean. But if you look in the lower left of the photo, you can see me taking the picture. What a great discovery the Bean was for me and my camera.

Enjoy.

Postcard from Chicago – Strange But Fun

Like any big city, Chicago has its share of unusual, sometimes strange objects you won’t find anywhere else. I am sure there are more than I know about, but here are three objects that I saw that were very unusual, but oh so much fun.

First, in Millennium Park in downtown Chicago, a short walk from the Chicago Institute of Art, is the city’s strangest, but most photographed object…lovingly known as “The Bean.” It is called that because it is shaped like a bean, and a giant one at that. It’s official title, given by the artist who designed it, is “Cloud’s Gate.” Sorry, fella, it is The Bean.

It consists of 168 stainless steel plates welded together, then highly polished to give it a reflective surface with no visible seams. Reflections off of The Bean are distorted to give you a strange, bent view of both the city’s skyline or of the people standing by it. It is interesting to take a picture of the skyline, or even of oneself from different positions to see what kind of distortions you get. I will publish more photos from the bean in a forthcoming blog.

Also in Millennium Park is Crown Fountain, two 50 foot towers made of transparent glass block bricks, standing at either end of a long, black granite plaza. Behind the glass bricks are high-tech LED video screens. When the screens are illuminated they show the faces of nearly a thousand individual Chicagoans. The faces move and blink, eventually puckering their lips, at which point of fountain of water shoots out where the mouth is. Very fun and a big hit with kids on hot summer days.

Finally, while wandering through Chicago’s most famous department store, Marshall Fields, I came across this interesting mobile hanging from the ceiling. It is three stories high and consists of five thousand balsa wood gliders, the kind you used to buy as a kid and sail through the air. It was an unexpected and unusual find, and I am sorry the photo cannot do it justice.

By the way, Marshall Fields has been bought out by Macy’s, but locals still refer to it as Marshall Fields. Many of us hate to see old traditions go away.

Postcard from Chicago

I’ve been fortunate to have visited some of the most famous art galleries in the world…The Louvre, the Orsay, The British National Gallery, the Uffizi and others as well as special exhibitions of great art. But, the Chicago Institute of Art can hold their own against any of them! It is a very special place, to say the very least.

This very large building, guarded by its two famous lions, sits on Michigan Ave. at Adams St. Inside you will find art of all kinds from all over the world. But be warned, it is impossible to see and appreciate it all, even over several visits. I know…I tried. Most every day of my Chicago visit, I spent two or more hours exploring the numerous wings and gallery rooms. I was able to see many of the worlds most famous paintings that were the most important to me, along with some pleasant surprises…but I had to be content with that.

The sad truth is that after about two hours, my head starts spinning and I can’t take in anymore art. So I would go do other things, usually coming back the next day, or sometimes even later the same day.

On many days, my friend Susan needed to be home and do some work as she had been away for a over a month. So, about 10:10 most mornings, I would walk a block and a half to pick up the #6 express bus to downtown Chicago and about 20 minutes later I would get off 1/2 block from the Institute and be there when it opened at 10:30. Talk about having my own transportation to and from one of the most famous galleries in the world! Later, Susan and I would meet up downtown and head out to other adventures.

Inside is a treasure trove of original art work of all kinds from all over the world. I focused mainly on paintings as that is where my passion lies. There are works here by some of the most famous painters that ever lived. From the early European works of Durer, Rembrandt, Caravaggio, El Greco, Rubens, Delacroix, David, Turner Constable…to the Impressionists and post-Impressionists such as Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Cezanne, Morisot, Van Gogh, Seurat, and too many others to name. Then there are the modern painters led by Picasso, Matisse, Gris, Kandinsky, Modigliani, and Leger. No wonder my head was spinning!

The American painters are extremely well represented with the likes of Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, Frederick Remington, Mary Cassatt, James McNeil Whistler, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Edward Hopper.

This museum is an art lover’s dream. As my friend Susan is a member, I was able to get in free everyday to take in these treasures. For any lover of fine art, this is heaven. Would that I lived there…I would go nearly every day and focus on one painting, bringing a guide book with me so read all about it and appreciate it more.

It was difficult to decide what paintings to show you here, but I chose two of the Institute’s most famous…”Nighthawks” by Edward Hopper and “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte,” by George Seurat. Both are considered the finest works of the respective artists. By the way, I photographed these works as it is allowed, but without flash. Thank God for anti-shake lenses.

I will try and share more great works with you in the future, maybe sneak one in hear or there. If you love great art, I hope you can see this wonderful place sometime in your life.

Postcard from the U-505

There are only five German U-Boats left from World War II…and only one in the United States. It is found at the Museum of Science and Industry, on Chicago’s South Side. It was here that I first saw the U-505 and toured inside to get an all-to-brief view of what life was like aboard a WWII German sub.

The story of the U-505 and how it came to be in Chicago is as interesting as being inside it. Launched in 1941, it was on its 12th patrol when it was spotted off the coast of West Africa in June of 1944. A US Naval Task Force, led by the carrier USS Guadalcanal under the command of Captain Daniel Gallery (a Chicago native), went after it…and after several attacks by depth charges and from the air, it was forced to the surface. Gallery had formulated a plan prior to the battle on how a U-Boat might be captured in tact.

The German crew quickly abandoned ship, but opened a sea valve to scuttle her. But, the Americans moved rapidly to board the vessel and capture it before it could sink. Thankfully, the Germans did not properly set the additional explosive charges and the Americans found and disarmed them and shut off the sea valve and to prevent the boat from taking on more water.

The partially submerged boat was then secretly towed over 1,700 miles to Bermuda…the first time a ship of war had been captured at sea since the 19th century. The crew was eventually taken to a secret POW camp in Louisiana and kept incommunicado until the war ended. This was a violation of the Geneva Convention for treatment of war prisoners, but the U.S. did not want the German high command to know we had the boat and all of its secret codes and devices. If the Germans knew, they would change their codes and the US would no longer have access to German communications. The information gathered on the U-505 turned out to be quite valuable.

To make a long and interesting story very short, the museum eventually acquired the boat, restored it, and put it on display for all to see. I’ve only briefly covered the highlights of this fascinating war story. The whole history of the U-505, its patrols and eventual capture is worth a read and can be found on a special Wikipedia Web page…and of course on display in the museum.

The pictures I have here are only of the outside of the U-505. I was not allowed to take photos inside. I can tell you it was quite cramped and very hard to even imagine how these sailors lived.

A U-boat would go out on patrol for approximately 100 days. There were 59 crewmen aboard and each was given one uniform. No change of clothing, no baths or showers, and temperatures constantly in the 90’s or higher. The few bunks were shared by other crewmen on different shifts. Only officers had their own bunks. One can only image the smells. If by chance, one crewman came on board with lice, everyone had lice very quickly. This was not a good way to live, especially since U-Boat sailor casualties for the war were 75%!

Ventilation was done from hatches on deck when the boat was running surfaced, which meant no fresh air when the boat submerged. The engines used when on the surface were twin diesels which produce their own wondrous smells. When submerged, the boat switched to electric motors powered by batteries kept charged by the diesel engines when surfaced.

Serving aboard a World War II German submarine was most decidedly not a desirable life for a sailor. If you would like see why in graphic detail, I suggest you watch the movie, “Das Boot” (The Boat). It is rather gritty and oh-so-true to the real thing.

I must say I was a bit awe-struck being aboard the U-505, seeing how the men lived on their long patrols. I knew long ago it was a terrible life…and this visit only reinforced those thoughts and my admiration for all submarine sailors of that era. My own uncle served aboard an American submarine in the Aleutians during that war, but would never talk of it.

In the end, one can only conclude it is the average man, the ordinary Joe who fights in any war…it is he and his family that pays the terrible price for the ambitions of our supposed leaders, no matter what country.

Postcard from Wrigleyville

It was a cool overcast morning in Southside Chicago when my friends Susan, Kristen and I hopped on a #55 bus and headed west to the Garfield Station on the Red Line “L” Train. From there, we boarded a north bound train, above ground at this point, passing U.S. Cellular Field (AKA the new Comiskey Park), proudly displaying it banner that the Chicago White Sox were World Champions in 2005…a seeming taunt to the other team in Chicago who have not won a world championship in 102 years.

As we approached downtown, our train went underground for a while, eventually emerging on elevated tracks in Chicago’s North Side. We stayed on the train until coming to Addison Street, our destination. As we pulled into the station, I saw it on the left, right there by the station…94 year-old Wrigley Field, the second oldest baseball stadium in America and home to the Chicago Cubs.

At this point, you must understand that I am still a kid at heart. As a little boy, I lived and died for baseball and football. I was a baseball fan before the Giants moved to San Francisco, my hometown. I collected baseball cards by the hundreds, went to San Francisco Seals games, and watched the only weekly TV broadcast of a major league baseball game, hosted by Dizzy Dean and Pee Wee Reese. Major league ball players were almost gods to me at my young and tender age. So stadiums like Wrigley Field and Fenway Park in Boston, were the home of the gods which I had no chance of seeing, being a west coast boy. The major leagues were far away in a distant, almost fantasy land.

But, here I was, standing that fantasy world, at the real Wrigley Field. Of course I am a little more realistic today about baseball…I still love the game, but don’t really follow the major leagues anymore. They lost me after their second strike in the 90’s. But, on this day, a was a kid again, fulfilling a childhood dream to see this park and walk among its memories, and that is exactly what I did.

For $25, on days when the Cubs are not playing, you can take a guided tour of this grand old stadium. The tour lasts and hour and a half, although mine lasted nearly two hours.

But before taking the tour, my companions and I needed lunch, so we headed for Harry Carey’s Tavern across from the stadium. For those unfamiliar with that name, Harry was the long-time broadcaster of Cubs game on radio and TV who is a huge icon in Chicago. In fact, there is a statue of him in front of Wrigley. His most enduring expression was “Holy Cow,” so of course I had a Holy Cow burger for lunch.

At the appointed time, I enter the stadium for my tour. It was all I could have hoped for and more. We started out in the right field bleachers and heard stories of the famous Bleacher Bums of Wrigley and about the manually-operated scoreboard…five guys that work in there, changing scores by hand, without benefit of heat or air conditioning…or a bathroom (there is a garden hose with a funnel on it).

From there, we headed for the visitor’s locker room, a place filled with the ghosts of great baseball and football players (the Chicago Bears played at Wrigley until 1970). So, I was in a room that once held the likes of Babe Ruth Lou Gehrig, Dizzy Dean, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Jackie Robinson, Vince Lombardi and countless others. This surprisingly small room was the epicenter of my childhood fantasies of the baseball gods who played here.

From there, we climbed up to the press box, and saw the view from high above the stadium. We were next to the guest box where a celebrity is selected to sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” at the seventh inning stretch. Of course, prior to his death, this was the sole job of Harry Carey.

From there we sat in the luxury seats, then on down to the holy of holies, the Chicago Cubs dressing room. All the time, our guide was giving us more stories about the park and its history. Finally, we made our way into the Cub’s dugout and onto the field itself where many of the great memories of baseball history took place. It was here that Babe Ruth pointed to center field, indicating he was going to hit a home run there…and did. It was the stadium where a man with a Billy goat was refused entranced and pronounced his now famous curse upon the Cubs. And it is here where ivy grows against the outfield wall and fans throw back home run balls hit by the visiting team.

It was a special day for me, a kid one more time, to see this place and be a part of it, even if only for two hours. At the end of my Chicago visit, my friend Susan asked me what was the highlight of my trip, and I chose this day.

PS: Exactly one week later I flew home to Tucson and when I landed, the first thing I saw upon exiting the plane were the concourse bars’ TV screens showing game from Wrigley Field between the Cubs and Arizona. As I watched a batter at home plate, I was filled with the memory of standing there myself and sitting on the low brick fence just behind him. What a day!

Postcard from Chicago – The Bottom Line

After 11 days in Chicago, here are my conclusions: It is a beautiful, vibrant, very clean city, full of excitement, friendly people, a great transportation system, and an unlimited supply of things to do and see. The city is alive with a fascinating downtown, numerous outlying neighborhoods with their own special flavor, great museums, sports, fabulous restaurants and much much more. It’s the best time I’ve had in a long time.

So what did I do there ? Well for starters, I visited all three of its outdoor major sports stadiums, including an in-depth top-to-bottom tour of 96 year-old Wrigley Field; toured a German U-Boat and a coal mine; saw some of the most famous and beautiful art in the world; got wind and rain in my face from a 4D movie; saw thousands of exotic marine animals; ate several Chicago Dogs; dined at the restaurants of two Chicago icons (Mike Ditka and Harry Carey); had lunch on the 95th floor of the Hancock Building; slept every night just a few blocks from President Obama’s home; took subways above and below the city; walked its most famous streets, including the Magnificent Mile; stood at the beginning of Route 66; listened to Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata at a free lunch concert; photographed myself on “The Bean”; learned why it’s called “The Windy City”; and spent hours exploring a few of Chicago’s outlying neighborhoods…and loved every minute of it!

It was a dream trip, seeing someplace brand new and visiting with old friends. I am just lucky that I love Tucson or it would have been harder coming home.

Chicago is a very, very big place, centered around its large downtown area. It is the third largest city in America with nearly 3 million residents inside the city limits. There is the North Side and the South Side, with the downtown being the dividing line. Its sits on the shores of Lake Michigan, with the state borders of Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan very close by.

Skyscrapers soar to great heights and the city keeps itself clean and well stocked with millions of flowers…this time of year it was tulips. And they are everywhere in the downtown, and in many of the neighborhoods away from the downtown.

I walked my legs off nearly everyday seeing and experiencing the sites, but it was worth it. Living in a large city like Chicago is so different. Most folks don’t own a car, or need one for that matter. You can move all over the city using buses, subways (called the “L” for elevated railway), Amtrak, and another train system called the Metra. There is also the PACE system that brings people from outlying areas to transportation hubs inside the city.

In the days that follow, I wll tell you more about my adventures in this great city and share some of my photographs. I hope you enjoy them.

Postcard from Quartzite – A Petrified Rock

Note: This may be my last blog entry until the first week of May, although I will try to get one in here or there. Am off on one of my road trips, first escorting a friend on her first trip here to southern Arizona, then off to Chicago for 10 days. Am excited about that trip as I have never been there. Will try and do a couple blogs while there, but no promises as I am not sure of my connections yet. But I will try stay in touch, at least by Twitter and Facebook. – JRC

I’ve written about Quartzite, AZ here before, this little town of 7,500 people in the desert that gets about 1.5 million visitors a year. There is a rock shop there that I enjoy visiting with my camera. On one trip, the owner took me into the back to see a large collection of colorful petrified rocks, most of them from trees.

This is one such petrified tree I have not shown here before. I came across it while doing some photo reorganization in my computer. I love the colors of this one and am surprised that I never showed it here before. Anyway, just enjoy the colors and the patterns of this beautiful rock.

Postcard from Zion

I was looking at this photo in my collection section today and wondering if I had ever shown it before. Sure enough, I had…nearly two years ago, I showed you this same photo in a blog. The problem was, it was all washed out! Something happened in the translation from its original file structure to JPEG, causing it to be nothing like the original.

I did not catch it at the time and subsequently have learned how to improve the images that I send along in the blog. Now, I will also be the first to admit, they still aren’t quite as good as the original, but they are pretty close.

Never-the-less, after looking at the original photo in the blog and seeing it again today, I wanted to show you a better version of this shot. I think it is worth redoing.

If you want to see the original blog post, just go to my blog Web site and search for “Zion.” You will find it quite easily. If you do, I think you will agree that is was worth doing again.

Postcard from the Navajo Nation

When one travels the deep back country of the Navajo Nation in Arizona, one never knows what one will come across. Especially if a visitor is not a part of the Navajo Tribe, as I am most definitely not. Such is the case with these twin rock formations.

I needed to get from Canyon de Chelly in Northeastern Arizona to Farmington, New Mexico on semi-urgent business. I was going to take the 2 lane highway near the National Monument north to another highway, then drive east into New Mexico. A park ranger, herself a member of the Navajo Nation, suggested a shorter route that would take me through the Nation’s back roads. Being an adventurous soul, I decided to take her advice.

And am I glad I did. I saw some beautiful country that took me past special rock formations and cliffs and high up into the mountains before dropping me into the plains of northern New Mexico. I have share a couple of previous photos from this trip before…and now you can add this one to that list.

Don’t ask me the name of these rocks, for I surely can’t tell you, and even if I could, I am sure I could not pronounce the Navajo name. No matter. I am just happy I got to see the sights.

Postcard from the Grand Canyon

Worn, whipped,
Battered, beaten,
Blasted, eroded,
Erupted, uplifted,
Over time and tide
And baked by the fiery heat of a billion suns,
Most of all shaped and formed
By the relentless flow of a great river
Called by man "the Colorado."

Each ancient rock of stone faces has a story to tell;
No storyteller can tell the true tale.
Words pale, inadequate to explain
The work of wind and rain, sleet and snow,
Tectonic plates and lava flow
That shaped this canyon grand.
Only the omnipotent hand
Could create the Grand Canyon -
Not from might alone; no, and not just art.
The omnipotent worked with power and heart
To create this magnificent canyon,
A masterpiece of soul and art.

From “The Grand Canyon Epic” by James L. Manniso

Postcard from Palisades – Another Truck

My last blog on the old tuck I found up in Palisades Canyon brought in a lot of responses, which surprised me a little. So, I decided to show you another interesting and somewhat colorful truck from the same place.

Obviously this is an old fire fighting truck…this one formerly belonging to the US Navy. It is not quite as colorful as the last truck I showed you, but it is in better shape and has a unique personality. I just wish I had pulled the weeks on the right side before I photographed it…but, of course, it wasn’t my property.

I hope you enjoy this one also.

Postcard from the Palisades

There is an interesting back road that runs from near Wenatchee, WA to Ephrata, WA, my old home town for 16 years. This road is called the Palisades Road and runs through Palisades Canyon, hence its name. It was a nice way to get to Ephrata, although much of the road is unimproved and very rough. There is a tiny little town on that road, also called Palisades.

Near the town is a graveyard of old trucks and cars, backed up to a granite cliff. I think someone in Palisades is a collector as all the vehicles there are quite unique and fun to see. All are in bad shape, but that is part of their charm.

Now, I have a passion for photographing and even painting old, abandoned vehicles, especially the ones that have become quite colorful in their old age, usually with the help of Mother Nature. This truck falls right my wheelhouse as a photographable, even paintable, image. I had quite forgotten about it, but came across it today while looking for a suitable image for this blog.

For those of my readers who live in Central Washington who might be looking to see something different, take a drive on this road and enjoy what you find.

Postcard from Organ Pipe

I decided to show you a couple more photos I took last week at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. These photos could be subtitled: Mountains, Clouds, Cactus, and Wildflowers.” In the first photos I showed you last time, I concentrated on the wildflowers. In this edition, I wanted to show you all the amazing elements that make up the beauty of this place, and how they all contribute to a lovely photograph.

The array of colors in these photos is pretty good, if I do say so myself. Having a rainstorm clearing at sunset really helps with the composition and color arrays.

Actually, even without the wildflowers, these are pretty good photos. But having them here just makes them so much better. Last year there were no wildflowers on this hillside because of lack of rain. Well, we got the rain this year and these are the results.

I may never bitch about it raining ever again.

Postcard from Organ Pipe – Wildflowers and Cactus

Yesterday started out with rain and wind. But my photographer friend Dave Forester from Wenatchee and I checked out the forecast and saw it may clear up about 3:00 PM with 50% clouds in the sky. So we took a chance and headed southwest to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.

Now if you don’t remember my past blogs about Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, let me refresh your memory. This National Monument lies right on the Mexican Border and is home to a very special large species of cactus known as Organ Pipe cactus. When you look at these photos, you can easily pick out which of the cactus bear that name. About 98% of all Organ Pipe cactus in the U.S. are located inside the park boundaries.

It is a 2 1/2 hour journey at best, but we ran into some heavy rains along the way, so it took a bit longer. Eventually made it to the Visitor Center and asked if they knew where there might be a concentration of wildflowers and Organ Pipe cactus. She showed us a point on an unpaved 21 mile loop road called the Ajo Road. As the start of the road was just right across the highway from the Visitor Center, we headed out.

After bouncing and jiggling our way across the desert, we found the exact spot the ranger pointed out…a hillside cover with Mexican Poppies and Lupine, and of course, featuring the Organ Pipe cactus and some Saguaro cactus as well. Sadly, the sun was still behind the clouds. But by 4:30, it broke free and it played peek-a-boo with us for the next 2 hours. We did a lot of standing around waiting for the next ray of sunshine to snap our shutters, but it was worth it.

Here are just two samples of the photos I took yesterday. More will eventually follow. In the second photo, the mountains you see way off in the distance are in Mexico.

It was a good day on the side of that mountain, and I am glad we went, even though we had another long journey to get back home to Tucson. The wildflower season is only still beginning here in the Sonoran Desert, but it is spectacular.

Postcard from Prescott – The Infrared View

A couple of weeks ago I published a photo from Prescott, AZ of two roses complete with honey bees. Well, here is another view of the same rose bush, but this time I applied an infrared filter to give it a different look.

Shooting with infrared film in a film camera can yield some interesting results. The film sees only infrared light bouncing off the subject. It does not see the usual red, green and blue light, thus the images can be quite different and still interesting.

Here, I used infrared filters that I added to Photoshop on a digital image. It too yielded some interesting results…perhaps not true infrared, but interesting non-the-less. As you know, I love to play around with digital special effects, always looking for something different. I think you have to agree that this is different.

Enjoy (I hope).

Postcard from Tucson – The First Wildflowers

One year ago, there were almost no wildflowers to be seen in our part of the Sonoran Desert. This year, it will be just the opposite…because this year we had lots of rain at the right time. The ground was saturated and the weather has warmed up. It’s wildflower time!

Truthfully, it is still a few days early…except for this one place I found yesterday. There is a web site specifically designed for wildflower reports and someone graciously reported a carpet of wildflowers be seen on Picture Rocks Road just on the west side of the pass.

When I read that, I didn’t have a clue where that was. Turns out it is only about 10 miles North from here. So, around 4:00 PM, I gathered up my camera equipment and headed out.

On the way there, I found absolutely no wildflowers blooming even on the eastern side of Picture Rock Road. It is beautiful desert country and I was surprised there was not a wildflower in site. I continued up over the pass, and lo and behold, found myself in the northwest corner of Saguaro National Park West. As I came around a bend in the road, there they were…beautiful carpets of golden poppies amidst the desert flora. Also mixed in were a few purple flowers that I cannot identify…but mostly it was poppies.

They covered the hillside and the flat ground below it. It was a magnificent site for the eyes, and here are the first photos. After snapping my shutter numerous times, I continued west on the road and found no additional wildflowers. This small area was the only place where they could be found…and in such abundance. It was strange, but, as I said, it is early days yet.

After my friend Dave finishes up his art show, we will be heading out on a photo expedition looking for more wildflowers But, for now, enjoy these first fruits of my labors.

Postcard from Tucson - Baseball

Spent yesterday out at Tucson Electric Field with my friend and fellow photographer Dave Forester from Wenatchee, WA. We lucked out with excellent seats, three rows from the field, right behind the first base dugout, so we both took our good cameras.

It was a beautiful day, about 75 degrees, with the sun mostly at our backs. The game was between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Cincinnati Reds. Of course, being a spring training game, it doesn’t count for much of anything except allowing regular players to tune up for the upcoming season, and letting new players show their stuff.

Now, I don’t follow major league baseball anymore, except for an occasional glance at the standings. But, being Arizona and Colorado both train in my adopted home town, I just have to go watch some games. I still love the game of baseball.

And, of course, this is the last year that these two teams will train here. Spring Training has been an integral part of Tucson life since 1947…but it all ends this year. Next year, all the teams training in Arizona will be located in and around Phoenix. I am a little sad about that.

Ironically, the first major league team to train here in ‘47 was the Cleveland Indians, who we will see today vs. Colorado.

But yesterday’s game was great fun, with the Reds winning 13-7. Both Dave and I had our own fun playing sports photographers. And I think we were both pleased our results.

The first picture shows an Arizona player being hit in the back by a pitched ball. I know these blog images are a bit small, but if you look closely, or double-click on the photo, you can see I captured the ball as it bounced off the player’s body. The second photo shows an unsuccessful pick-off play at first base. The secret of photographing baseball is to shoot lots of photos and maybe you will get lucky with a couple of good ones.

It was a great day at the ball park, perfect weather and some enjoyable photography. I will miss baseball when it leaves here.

By the way, Dave is down here for the Spring 4th Ave. Festival and Art Show. He has a booth and is showing some of his incredible nature photographs. If you are in the area, look him up. As for me, while I will miss the Spring Training games coming to Tucson, I don’t miss doing art shows on the road anymore like Dave is doing. I am happily retired.

Postcard from Ellensburg – Autumn Surprise

Yes, I know…we are approaching Spring now and no one welcomes it more than myself. However, I came across some Autumn photos that I took a few years ago and couldn’t resist the challenge posed by this image.

It is of a country road just south of Ellensburg, WA, a place I always made a point of visiting in Autumn when I lived in the Northwest. Long time readers may remember a photo I took of this same road a few years prior to this one…when the road was covered with leaves. It was used on a music CD album cover.

There was a delicious ground fog this day, and I wanted to create an image of gloom, even though the fog was beginning to lift about the time I took this photo. You can see a bit of the fog in the background. To create a “gloom and doom” feeling, I had to take some outrageous liberties in Photoshop…but, I was in a playful mood anyway.

Although it has the qualities of a painting in some respects, I still consider it a photo. I did take a single pass with a Dry Brush Filter that comes with Photoshop, but most of this image was enhanced with photographic filters…taken a little to the extreme perhaps…but I hope you will forgive me for having a little creative fun.

Postcard from Olympic National Park

This photo was taken high on a cliff above the Pacific Ocean, but still inside the boundaries of the Olympic National Park. While the Washington State coastline doesn’t match the shear overall beauty of the Oregon coastline, it does have its special places.

I wasn’t sure how this photo would look when I took it, but I think it turned out rather well. You could almost rate it as one of those peaceful places one finds when out and about in nature. It’s a simple image with much beauty to offer the viewer.

Note: Postcard blogs might be fewer in number in March. It is a busy time for me with lectures, concerts, major league baseball spring training games, UofA sports, and a couple of planned photo expeditions. But, don’t go away as I will stay in touch and things will return to normal as the weather gets hotter down here and I am forced inside. The joys of being retired.

Postcard from Prescott – Double Bees

It’s March…it’s almost Spring. I can’t help think of the beautiful flowers soon to be gracing all our landscapes. So I am jumping the gun a little bit and showing you this double rose complete with two bees.

I photographed this last summer up in Prescott, Arizona. I say up as Prescott sits at 5,300 feet, 95 miles northwest of Phoenix. It is a beautiful mountain city with all the amenities as is often visited by Phoenix residents who want to escape the lower desert’s heat.

This photo was shot in a city park in downtown Prescott. It features a beautiful rose garden. As you might imagine, I took several pictures. I like this one because of the color of the rose and, of course, the two bees. Enjoy.

Postcard from the Grand Canyon – First Painting

While wandering through the gift store at the Grand Canyon, I came across several book collections of paintings of the Grand Canyon by many artists. They covered a long period of time and thus several different artistic styles.

I knew when I paged through the books, I would make an attempt at a painting from one of my many photographs. So, here is my very first attempt.

I chose to use an impressionistic approach, making sure that the canyon itself stood out from the rest of the objects in the painting. I have let it sit for a few days, as I usually do, just to see if I really like it…and actually I still do. I am throwing it out here on the wall (so to speak) and see if it sticks.

This image is from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, and is one of the many side canyons in the Park. It is near Bright Angel Point and is actually the first part of the canyon you see when approaching the North Rim. Sorry it is so small, but that is all the space I am allowed. If you double click on it you will a larger version.

Postcard from a Dream

It is in a dream…the perfect place to find peace and contentment. It is a lake high in the mountains in autumn…still warm enough to sit outside and read…quiet except for the birds. The sights and sounds tempt us to just sit and stare at the absolute beauty of this place.

In the dream, when the sun begins to set, it’s time head into the cabin to light a warm fire and watch the sun set through the window. It has been the perfect day of peace and solitude…time to gather one’s thoughts and ponder moving forward.

It is a dream, but real enough to want it for a short time. No one can stay here long, but we all dream of that perfect place to rest our body and spirit…to revive our hopes, then move forward to the next step of life’s journey.

It is just a dream.

Postcard from Tucson

Yes, this is Tucson…the very east side of town actually. The photo was taken at Saguaro National Park, Eastside (There is also a West version of the park, not far from where I live) about one year ago.

The mountains in the background are the Santa Catalina’s, obviously the day after a snow storm. You can make out portions of the east side of the city in the background. To the right of this photo (where you can’t see) are the Rincon Mountains. This portion of Saguaro NP is up against those mountains. As I may have mentioned before, Tucson is nearly surrounded by mountains, even though most of the city is in the flatlands.

I still find it interesting that one can photograph a Saguaro cactus in the desert and still have snow in the photo. Actually, it’s rare, but Tucson has been known to get some snow. It is a great place to live for so many reason and I am very glad to be here…especially in the Spring. Stay tuned for the first photos of desert wildflowers…it won’t be long now.

Postcard from Long Canyon

Sometimes I wonder at my luck at arriving in the right place at the right time, with camera in hand. More often, it is the wrong time of day, wrong light, wrong sky, wrong everything. But, in my journey through Long Canyon I got lucky. A rain storm had just ended, the clouds were breaking up, and the light was almost perfect.

I’ve written about Long Canyon before…but to refresh your memory, it is along the Burr Trail, which is off of Highway 12 in Utah. I believe I have already shown you some of my better pictures from here, but I thought I would put another one on-line.

This is a gorgeous canyon, off of the beaten track, but still easy to get to. There is a plethora of photo opportunities along its 6 mile trek. I just got lucky that day with everything being right… and thank God for that.

Postcard from Oak Creek Canyon

Every day I pray to God
To turn my mind into a serenity-flower,
My heart into a purity-flower
And my life into a simplicity-flower.

Happiness means
The serenity
Of the mind.

Where is Heaven,
If not in the serenity of the mind,
Purity of the heart
And simplicity of the life?

Sri Chinmoy

Postcard from Olympic National Park

This is another of those peaceful places I found in my travels. It is the lower portion of Bunch Falls…located at the southern most entrance to Olympic National Park, on the rain forest side of the park. You get to it by driving past Quinault Lake and staying on the dirt road heading east. It is right at the entrance sign to the park.

I got lucky this day as it did not rain…which is saying something as this portion of Washington gets about 140-170 inches of rain per year. It is a true rain forest, but all that water keeps the forest green and the falls and creeks flowing. One can really appreciate a beautiful place like this on a day without precipitation as they are few and far between.

There are many peaceful places to be discovered at this beautiful national park, especially on the western side. But check the weather forecast before you go so the rain doesn’t interrupt those special moments of tranquility.

Postcard from Glacier – The Adams Grove

In the spirit of my last blog tribute to Ansel Adams, I thought I would share this black and white photo I took a couple of years ago in Glacier National Park. I knew when I took it I had seen some similar photos done by the master many years previous. I saw two of those similar photos last week at the Ansel Adams exhibit.

This is my attempt to at something similar, not only in subject and composition, but also in the final approach to making the print…contrasts, sharpness and use of his Zone System. As I said, his influence is always with me.

Postcard from Tucson – Ansel Adams

I spent Thursday afternoon at the Tucson Museum of Art enjoying a large print exhibition Ansel Adams photography. The prints, from a private collection and are all original prints done by the master in his darkroom. The exhibition covered the gamut of his work from Yosemite and other national parks to oceanscapes, photos of San Francisco, portraits and close-ups in nature. Some works I had never seen before.

He was a master of the black and white negative and print. Much of his life’s work is housed at the Center for Creative Photography here on the campus of the University of Arizona. But these prints were not from there.

I’ve known about Ansel Adams most of my life…mainly because we tread many of the same paths. He lived and loved San Francisco as did I. He became a master photographer in Yosemite National Park, where I spent much of my youth. We both visited and photographed many of the same places in the West, not because I was trying to copy him, but because we shared a love of the same country.

He was my inspiration during my early days of photography, both with a camera and in the darkroom. I make no claim to being a master photographer as he was, but if I have any decent qualities about my work, it is due in large part to him.

If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you know I love black and white photography. Adams wrote many books on the subject and created the Zone System. Believe it or not, black and white photography is much harder than color, even in the digital darkroom. So, seeing his work again the other day was a reminder of how great he was and how is work will endure as long as there are photographers. Personally, he is the baseline in which I measure my own skills in black and white prints.

You know this blog is mostly about me, my photography and paintings, and my travels. But today, I make way for a real master of the art form and show you one of his beautiful prints of Half Dome.

Postcard from Canyonlands – Peace by a Lake

Sometimes, with luck, peaceful places can be found in grand settings. Last blog, I showed you a very small place inside Zion where it just seemed so peaceful. But I found that same feeling of peace on the shores of this lake set deep inside red rock country.

It was getting towards late afternoon when I found this lake. It was right near the one and only road into the Needles section of Canyonlands National Park. It was late November, long after the tourist season ended, but before the first winter snow storms. There was no one on the road but me.

I stopped to photograph the scene, but quickly realized the quiet beauty of this place. I stopped to take it all in and think about where I was, what I was doing and why I was here. I was traveling then, with no home address, sleeping in my van, and seeing all new sites every day. I was discovering new places and learning new things about myself. My new life was before me, the future was unknown, and I was at peace.

Postcard from Zion – Peaceful Places

When traveling in nature’s realm, I look for places that reflects peace…by that I mean a quiet little corner where I can sit alone and feel absolutely at peace with the world…a momentary slice of paradise.

Here is a quiet nook I found in Zion National Park. Many places that I find peaceful often have a stream flowing through them. This one has the additional benefit of beautiful contrasting colors not often found in one tiny locale.

It is nice to be able to sit in a place like this and let your mind wander…to get away from all the craziness of normal life to find some measure of inner peace, even if only briefly. Life is for learning and peaceful places like this let you reflect on what you have learned without knowing you are doing so.

Postcard from Zion – A Slightly Off-Color Slot Canyon

One of the popular features of the American Southwest are slot canyons. These often very narrow canyons are a source for hikers, explorers, and photographers.

By definition, courtesy of Wikipedia, “a slot canyon is a narrow canyon, formed by the wear of water rushing through rock. A slot canyon is significantly deeper than it is wide. Some slot canyons can measure less than 3 ft across at the top but drop more than 100 ft to the floor of the canyon. Most slot canyons are formed in sandstone and limestone rock.”

The slot canyon shown here was photographed from up on high. Sadly, I could not find a safe way down to explore it, so I had to settle for this single photograph. But, of course, I could not leave well enough alone. As I am want to do, I played around in Photoshop to see where I could take it. I ended up working with some bizarre colorings. These colors, while false, are only weird enhancements of the original colors.

The result is a strangely likable image that borders on an abstract painting. I think that is what I like about it the most…one is not quite sure what one is looking at. But that is the fun of it…stretching the mind in both creation and observation. Enjoy…I hope!

Postcard from Tucson – The Macro

Now, we move into the very extreme close-up, where the subjects are bigger than life. Its called a macro. In this photo, I got as close as is possible with a normal lens, although one can get even closer with a special macro lens.

While I don’t have one of these for my digital camera yet, I did own one for my film cameras. In this shot, I moved in as close as I could with my zoom lens, first taking the focus to its closest point, then moving the camera until the flower was in focus. Although I did this without a tripod, one is strongly recommended. Like the close-up in the last blog, the depth of field here is almost next to nothing, so precise focusing is critical.

The real joy of a macro photograph is an enlarged print. When you do this, the flower and the bee become bigger than life, thereby grabbing the attention of the viewer. The is no foreground or background to worry about…the subject is all that counts.

There is an exciting new feature in Photoshop that allows you to first take a series of pictures with your camera, changing the focus ever so slightly each time. The Photoshop will take all the images and combine them into one image so that everything is in focus. I haven’t tried it yet, but will do so one of these days. To take all these images requires a tripod, and absolute control over exposure and color temperature. But the results I have seen are amazing.

I hope you have enjoyed this mini-series on capturing your images from the widest angle to the tiniest flower and bee. We started with a wide field view of Bryce canyon and worked our way down to a honeybee in a flower. The purpose of this exercise was to get your eyes and mind working toward looking at a scene as a whole, then narrowing you vision down and down and down until you find the part of the scene that makes the most artistic sense.

Actually, I could get even tighter with my images, showing you the molecular structure of the bee’s knees, but someone would have to lend me their scanning electron microscope.