New Orleans

This April, 2015, I have the honor of being selected as an "Official" photographer for the annual New Orleans Quarter Fest. So, I thought in anticipation of that I would post a few of the pictures I submitted in the required portfolio. I love some of these and they were all taken at Quarter Fest a year or two ago when I first attended.

Enjoy.

Quarter Fest is a celebration of local musicians. Many will be familiar with the New Orleans Jazz Festival which draws the biggest names in music from all over. Last year Bruce Springsteen and The Eagles were headliners. This is really cool, but the city wanted to have a festival honoring locals and Quarter Fest is it. There are stages along the banks of the Mississippi and throughout the French Quarter you can find locals playing on every corner, like those above and below.

New Orleans is a real "Foodie" city and one of the highlights, for the more adventurous, is Cray fish (say, craw fish) or Craw dads, or mud puppies, what ever you prefer! These were available from a street vendor as were many other delights.

Bourbon Street has a reputation that is known world wide and experience tells me that it is mostly justified. So, when I saw this happy couple celebrating their marriage by strolling, lovingly down Rue Bourbon, I couldn't resist a quick pic.

Remnants of times gone by abound in this beautiful city and much of it is very purposely maintained. One of my favorite restaurants in the city is housed in a building in which Jean Lafitte, a pirate and privateer who died in 1826, was known to have frequented. I thought this hitch post was particularly beautiful with the various layers of paint, applied over who knows how many years, showing through.

Just a couple more shots from around the city. first, a simple doorway, in the sunlight.

And finally, one of the mornings the fog lingered far longer than most days and this riverboat just seemed spectral. It, too, made me thing of long past days, pirates, and the mystery of the Bayou and New Orleans.

So, these are some pics from visits past. If this next journey in April yields any that are interesting I will update them here at some time in the future.

A few prize winners and a couple not!

I stepped out of my comfort zone and entered a few pics in a local contest. When I visited the site I was hoping just to not be embarrassed and was thrilled to find I had actually been awarded a few ribbons.

Mission Xan Xaviar Del Bac, The White Dove of the Desert, near Tucson, AZ.

Del Bac, again, in the ever changing light of the Southwest! This one of my favorites, even though it did not win any ribbons. Odd what people like!

Sails in the Red Sunset, off Waikiki Beach

A child entering the beautiful Vietnam memorial in Jacksonville, North Carolina. I attempted a new processing technique and it paid off, First Prize!

Sidewalk flower in Albuquerque. I love it but not even a mention!

Jess actually took this pic and  I processed it using the same technique as above.Second Prize for Jess!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed these, I will try to keep more up to date on this site.

Maine in all her majesty

I was in Maine about this time last year. Like anyone who has ever been there, perhaps especially in the fall, I was just stricken with the beauty. These are just a couple of pics I thought you might enjoy.

 Who you looking at? You looking at me?

 

Renaissance Festival 2012

Twin Falls, Idaho

I was completely surprised and somewhat stunned by the beauty I encountered in Twin Falls. One travels over a huge gorge to enter the city and not far from there is Shoshone Falls. Here, I encountered something I had never seen before, in fact, I hadn't know it was even possible. I saw both ends of rainbow! Unfortunately I didn't find a pot o' gold and I didn't have a lens wide enough to capture it all in one photo. These will give you an idea.

These are not lined up perfectly, but as I said, you get the idea.

This next couple are from at the edge of town itself, a little further down the river from the falls above. You actually walk from a shopping center parking lot to where I shot these.

Baltimore Harbor

Baltimore has numerous attractions and sights to see. These shots were taken when our Irish family came to the U.S. for a visit. These are each from Harbor Place; a beautiful, welcoming, hanging basket and the U.S.S. Constellation. The Constellation, of course, is the sister ship to the U.S.S. Constitution, Old Ironsides. We have heard sea shantys sung from the decks of the Constellation, while sailors demonstrated how the music aided the work of hauling sails. Very impressive!

The National Aquarium is a huge draw to the Baltimore area. You could, very easily, spend more than a day exploring the wonders of this magnificent "otherly" world!

Olympia Washington

 This beautiful view is from one of the parking lots at the at the Capitol grounds in Olympia.