Avila Beach Headland

For Scenic Sunday (hopefully the meme will get going again), here are three very different photos of a headland near Avila Beach in California, all taken within 15 minutes of each other one morning in May. The first shows it shrouded in mysterious fog.

As the fog cleared I took a very wide-angle shot of it from the pier.

And finally I wanted to show the cliffs.

We have our mountains here in Colorado but nothing like this!

Classic Western Storm

Here's a recent summer thunderstorm photo taken from our front yard - this is straight out of the camera, no editing.

I love these Western American skies - you're literally looking through the base of the thunderstorm. And it's my Skywatch Friday entry for the week. And I'm also linking it to ein stück himmel (a piece of heaven).

I often get questions on how I get lightning photos. This one was taken around sunset. I used an ND-4 filter, which simply darkens everything without changing the colors, allowing me to take a longer exposure to increase the chances of capturing a lightning flash (this one was 4 seconds long). I shut the aperture down to f/8.0; I don't normally like such a small aperture on a digital camera because it starts to soften everything, but it allowed a longer exposure which is the key for lightning photos. I live an area where we get frequent thunderstorms. And most importantly, I stayed safe, the storm was further away than it looks.

Too Many Miles!

Earlier this summer we helped our daughter move out to California. Here's a photo I took of our navigation unit on the way back, on Interstate 40 in California. It's telling us to stay on this road for the next 658 miles (that's 1059 kilometers for most of the world)!

We had already driven for a couple of hundred miles at that point, and we finished that part of the drive before stopping for the night at a hotel in Albuquerque. And the next day we still had hundreds of miles to go before getting home! In total we drove about 2,700 miles (4,345 kilometers) in 5 days. This post is part of Our World Tuesday. And since there are several triangles (the two most obvious being the one representing the car and the shape of the roads in the Nuvi's screen) and Tina's PicStory theme this week is "triangular" I'm also linking it there.

And as another "too far" photo - my car's odometer just went over 200,000 miles.

That mileage is 321,931 kilometers. And almost all of those miles are over 6,000 feet (1,828 meters) elevation! (In case you're wondering it's a Toyota Corolla and so far has given me very little trouble.)

More South Korean Seas

Here's another photo taken near Busan, South Korea, of a lighthouse. On a clear day you're supposed to be able to see Japan from here, but we certainly didn't!

Vintage Weekly is the place to see more old scans like this.

Under the Pier

I took some photos under the pier on Avila Beach when I was there earlier this year. It was possible to walk right under it and I loved the light.

I lived by the sea for many years, but not recently, so I love seeing it.

Here's one looking under the pier from the beach.

Join me next week for some final Scenic Sunday views from California's Avila Beach.

Dark Trees, Bright Sky

On a recent hike in Sesame Canyon, I thought this photo of a bright sky with nearby tall, dark pine trees might make an interesting capture for Skywatch Friday.

Air Force Football Tailgate

We sometimes go to United States Air Force Academy football games, which are very popular in our city. Before the games we get together with one of the Academy academic departments for an American tradition called a tailgate, where we eat food, drink soda and beer, and have a good time. Tailgating is serious in America, it's part of the college sports tradition. Large barbeques are used to cook the food.

Portable generators provide electricity for music and other essentials.

This is Colorado so we can count on blue skies and sunny weather (although the temperature may be cold).

 And of course, there's food, food, and more food. (And of course drinks of many different types.)

Tina's PicStory theme this week is "my favorite color" - I have two and this post is full of them. I love blue especially in the sky (probably from my English upbringing where it's rare), and green on growing things. And this is a very American part of Our World Tuesday.

Busan Sea

For Vintage Weekly, here's a cloudy photo of the sea near Busan, South Korea, taken during a 1998 vacation (this is a scanned print).

Despite the clouds I thought the scenery was nothing short of stunning.

Avila Pier

For this week's Scenic Sunday post, I'm following up from last week's photos from Avila Beach near San Luis Obsispo, here are some photos of the pier on the beach. Early in the morning there was some light mist around.

Of course I had to take a photo with a very narrow depth of field along the boards (taken with my 50mm at f/2.0.

And here's one looking back towards the shore.

Sometimes I wish I lived near the ocean. Join me next week for some photos under the pier.

Colorado Painted Clouds

For Skywatch Friday this week, here's a recent summer photo of clouds that could have been painted in the sky. This was taken from my front yard.

This is exactly what it looked like, it's straight out of the camera with no editing.

Stormy Deck

Here's a photo of our deck after a recent thunderstorm. I wasn't sure whether I'd get anything useful but was fairly pleased with how it came out.

I'm linking it to Tina's PicStory theme this week of SOOC (Straight Out Of the Camera), which almost all my photos are.

Mountain Shadows Community

I was a volunteer at a concert yesterday for the community of Mountain Shadows which was so hard-hit by the recent wildfire (almost 350 homes were lost). The sign below is based on the Colorado state flag.

It was held in a local park, and I think the several hundred people there had a good time. Several area bands performed, vendors were selling various delicious foods, and there was a really positive spirit in the air.

Slowly the area is starting to recover. Trees are green where they aren't burned, and houses are starting to be rebuilt - I know one family that lost their home and they are hoping to be back in a new house by Christmas!

The atmosphere was festive and fun.

And there was plenty for the kids to do with face painting and this wonderful lady making huge bubbles for them!

This is an early Our World Tuesday post. I have quite a few more photos from this event which I'll post over the next few weeks. All today's photos were taken in the park at the concert.

Busan Market

For Vintage Weekly, here's a fish market in Busan, South Korea, scanned from a print taken in 1998.

I hope you're enjoying these photos of South Korea as I've got lots more to post.

Avila Beach

Here is the first in a series of posts from Avila Beach, not far from San Luis Obispo in California. We were there earlier this year when we helped our daughter move.

I thought it was very beautiful, so different from my part of the country.

And it's always a treat to be near breaking waves.

To see lots more beautiful scenes visit Scenic Sunday.

Skyless Hawaii Skywatch

You're probably wondering what Al's thinking posting this boring photo of concrete for Skywatch Friday. There isn't even any sky visible!

Well, to an expatriate Englishman, this was a strange sight indeed. Notice how the signpost in the foreground has no shadow except the sign - the sun was directly overhead, and that was a new experience for me back in 1997 when I took this photo on my first trip to Hawaii, and my first trip to the tropics. So while many of my readers may see this several times a year, it's a rarity indeed for people in Europe or North America!

Monument Hike

One of my favorite activities in the world is hiking, so this post is for Our World Tuesday as well as Tina's PicStory theme of H. This hiking trail was in the town of Monument nearby our house.

There are lots of hills and rocks in the area.

And even a mountain, Mount Herman.

I hope you enjoyed this hike as much as I did!

Incomplete Busan Bridge

When we were in Busan, South Korea, back in 1998, I loved this view near the water including an incomplete bridge.

I'm linking this old scanned print to both Vintage Weekly and Sunday Bridges.

Flower & Ladybug

From a late-spring hike in Sesame Canyon, here's a wildflower...

And a wild ladybug, slightly dented.

This is for the Weekend Flowers and Scenic Sunday memes.

Colorado Springs Sculpture

For Skywatch Friday this week, here's a simple photo of a sculpture in Acacia Park in downtown Colorado Springs.

If you're attentive you'll realize it was taken earlier in the year while the trees were still bare.