On the water again ...

This time the boat was the Queen Mary (Long Beach) and  tied up to the dock!     My friend Terry & I spent two nights onboard the Queen Mary.  It's an incredible place to visit, lots of history,  and so many photo ops!   We started our time there with a "behind the scenes" tour from a very knowledgeable gentleman who has been associated with the boat for about 17 years.  Lots of funny stories about the history of this magnificent vessel and about the celebrities who have traveled on it.   I've included a few of my photos that I've processed so far.  First one is an overall view of the vessel, taken from the water.  We did a harbor tour one morning.

The following photo  was taken at night -- I loved seeing the lights on the boat.   A surprise when I looked at the photo, I hadn't seen the face in the smokestack until I pulled the shot up on the computer.  Anyone else see it?

This final post is of the city of Long Beach, taken from the sidewalk near the Queen Mary.   

Highly recommend checking out http://www.queenmary.com/Timeline.aspx for more information.  Oh, the food was great too!  

Clouds

We've had a few days of beautiful sunsets and I did, of course, go outside with my iPhone.  The shot on the left was a straight shot, processed with the Filterstorm app.

The second shot was with an app called Quad Camera.  It shoots 4 (or 6) in a row.  I set the timing between each shot to a few seconds so I can move it around a bit.   I also processed this shot with Filterstorm (little bit of lightening needed).

Beam me up Scotty!

Grandson Shane (5 yrs) brought home an alien from kindergarden.  It's about 1-1/2 inches tall & really a cute little guy!   I found a dandelion in the yard and added it before the photograph.  Shane wasn't sure an alien would carry a flower  ;-)   Hipstamatic on the iphone.

Then I played around a bit with a new app:  Decim8 for the two following photos.

Double trouble!

San Diego Zoo Safari Park visit

My grandson Shane and I made a trip to the Safari Park today.   His favorite animal, he said, were the lorikeets.  You get to go in their aviary and feed them a special syrupy mix of vitamins.  The birds were hungry today, and Shane was a happy kid!

iPhone photos, used Diptic app to create the 3-in-1 look.  

Vintage-look photos

Last night I played a bit with the photos and a new plug-in from Topaz Labs.  It's B&W & everything else you may want, so many options.  I chose these three photos and am pleased with the look.  What do you think?

Grandkids photos

No smiles ...

Smile!

Still no smile, but he's hanging in there posing for me!

Family reunion in  Redwood City. Thanks Mike & Cat for having all of us there.  I brought a few of my late-Auntie Mildred's hats and my sister brought a few "guy" hats.  Didn't want to leave the boys out.   I had fun photographing the grandkids in the hats.  A few of them had fun posing ...

Ellery loves her chicken.  

I took some time to use the iPhone camera and snap a few photos along Hwy 395.   These were taken as I got closer to San Diego.  I used a new app (Photo55) to convert them to B&W, then another app (Diptic) to put the four into one.

Self-portrait

One of the things I like to do while visiting different areas is a self-portrait.  I got more than I imagined with this one.  I was looking at my reflection in the mirror in the barber shop and thought that would work.  

When I looked at it tonight on the computer screen,  I saw the second reflection in the glass that is protecting the exhibit.     I was happy with this double reflection!

Shot with iPhone camera, processed with Perfect Photo app.

Eastern Sierras

 I just spent a weekend in Bishop CA.  Besides hiking and looking for petroglyphs, we went to the Laws Railroad Museum.  It's located just north of Bishop a few miles and a great place to visit if you are in the area.  One small room was devoted to old cameras and I was able to photograph several (all exhibits are behind glass to protect them).   I liked this stereo camera & slides and the old barber pole.   There are rooms devoted to medical, dental & pharmacy items.  Other rooms showcase a beauty shop and automobiles.  These cabins/rooms go on & on.  It's fun to see all their collections and one could easily spend a few days there.   Outside there are trains & a replica of a train station.  They were offering train rides this weekend too.

I used my iPhone camera and an app called Photo55.  It gives the photos the look of old Polaroid photos.  I thought it would be an appropriate time to try the app with these old items.  

Bishop CA

I've been visiting my Dad & sister in Reno and am now driving home to San Diego on Hwy 395.  Bishop is about half-way and I usually stay here and explore different parts  of the Eastern Sierras with each trip.  So much to see in this beautiful part of California!  

Today was petroglyph exploration.  With help from friends (Thanks Carol L & Terry), the internet & the BLM, we found 5 sites.   The photo posted here was from one of them.   The sunset/moon rise was at the base of the 5th one.  It was too late to hike into the site, so will return in the morning & find it. 

These photos were taken & processed on my iPhone.