Sunset at Mission Bay

We've had beautiful sunsets two days in a row.  I took this last night hanging out at Mission Bay Yacht Club.  

Two more photos from the Queen Mary visit

I'm still processing photos and found these two that I liked.  First photo was taken in a restaurant where  I spotted the shadows on the wall.  I liked the  shapes they formed.

The  flags were flying on the deck of the Queen Mary.

Whale watching in San Diego

This past Monday my friend Terry & I went out on a whale-watching excursion.  The boat left Mission Bay docks around 9:00 AM and headed out in to the fog.  Breakfast  was served as we were underway.  There have been sightings of blue whales in Southern California and we were hopeful -- and not disappointed.

 The first mammals we saw were the Risso's dolphins.  According to the naturalist on board, these are usually shy dolphins, but they were feeding on krill and we  just hung out to watch, and they didn't seem to be worried at all.

One of the crew members was really excited to see a baby along with the mother.   He hadn't seen that before.  




We were also lucky enough to spot two  blue whales.   Again, there was a lot of krill in the area and they were feeding.  The naturalist said the krill was not deep, so the whales didn't have to dive very deep to feed.    We saw them as we motored out to the Coronado Islands in Baja, and again, as we motored back to Mission Bay.

I feel very lucky to have these shots  because when I first downloaded them to my computer and started viewing them, I felt most of my whale shots looked more like a submarine shots  ;-)      So glad I took a second look.

It was a terrific day on the water and we were back on the dock around 5 pm.    

San Diego Zoo and Safari Park

I was at the Safari Park yesterday with Terry and her camera club.  It is actually the first time I've had a good look at the baby gorilla, Monroe.   The Mom (Kokomo) has been a great mother and kept him close to her -- not good for photo ops the few other times I've gone to see him.

He is now 4 months old and she's letting him have a little bit of freedom.  It was extremely enjoyable to watch.  I did get one photo of them that I was happy with.   As you can see here they were enjoying a bit of the sunshine and relaxing.  

Enjoy the link to the Park's website if you would like to read more about him:   Kokomo and Monroe.

More photos from the Queen Mary.

The photo above shows a Scorpion Russian Submarine tied up next to the Queen Mary.  This sub was known as the quietest sub of the Soviet fleet, and we were told that it did patrol the Pacific Ocean.  It was decomissioned in the 1990's, and eventually wound up in Long Beach.  This link will take you to information about the sub:  http://www.russiansublongbeach.com/

The photo to the left shows one part of the interior.  

Reflections ...

 Any time I'm around water, I look for reflections, and Long Beach didn't let me down.   These are my favorites.

Cut paper ...

While in Bishop (Labor Day Weekend), in addition to hiking and exploring for petroglyphs, I went to a crafts fair.   I met Nan, a cut-paper artist.  I was quite taken and very impressed with her art.  I bought a piece and asked to take her photo with it.  She finally agreed ... and here's the photo.

I bought the piece she is holding.


We've been emailing since then and I asked permission to post this photo on my blog, which she agreed to.

She doesn't have a web site (yet), but also sent me 3 photos of work she has done.   I've posted those, plus a piece she did using 2 photos of my grandkids that were on my blog.  She totally captured their mannerisms in her cutout.

This is what she has to say about her work:     "This was call Windows picture in China longlong time age, now call paper cutting. I have some words for that:  Paper cutting art is usually cut out on paper using a knife, razor blade, scissors, or now, modern paper cutting machines specifically used for this intricate type of ancient art.  All of the pictures seen at this display have been created by an artist using a razor blade.

    The art of paper-cutting may be traced back to a period as early as the ancient South and North Dynasties. It appeared around the same time of the discovery of Chinese papermaking."

Here is the photo of the work she did of my two grandkids, and others of her work in general.   What an artist!!!!   If you wish to contact her, let me know & I'll forward your email address.  I'm hoping she'll have a web site soon.

If you look back a few weeks, you'll see the photos she used to do this cutout.  

http://2011photoblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/vintage-look-photos.html

(I hope the above link will take you there.)

These are examples of her work (she sent photos of her pieces).    Amazing!!!

Please remember, this art work is done simply with a mat-knife.  No fancy lasers, nothing other than her eye and her mat-knife.  Incredible pieces.   Amazing artwork.  

More photos from the Queen Mary

Just a few more shots from the Queen Mary.  The tattered flags (flown from the top of the mast to the bow);   looking past the bow I liked the view of the city from the dock; and the strong lines on the deck with the view of the city in the background.