Dick's Image Blog

2009-10-12T10:52:00.000-07:00

Sue and I returned from a brief but very needed photo trip to Utah and Arizona. Upon our return we found a blog entry sent by our son Brady. I was so taken by the artist that I wanted everyone to have a chance to see her work. The best I could do was to send it along to each of you.

I will get back to my own images shortly.

Enjoy!!!

Sunday, September 27, 2009

The World's Got Talent

Here is the impressive Kseniya Simonova from Ukraine's Got Talent... If they did a global competition, I suspect she'd crush the Western dancers...

She paints with sand, and tells the story of the impact of WWII on Ukraine (hard for us to comprehend - one in four Ukrainians died). This is what I gleaned from the comments. The sand painting starts in 1941. A young couple's love is interrupted by Germany's attack on the Soviet Union, and the man goes off to fight. She has his baby while waiting for him to return, but eventually she receives a letter about his death. The obelisk with a star on the top is a memorial to all people from the Soviet Union who died in this war. The writing at the end of the story reads,"You are always with us." And for you heavy metal buffs, the music concludes with an adaptation of Metallica's Nothing Else Matters.

Note: the second button for the right on the bottom let's you view the video in full-screen.

May 24,2009 Update on California Home

2009-05-24T11:51:00.000-07:00

It has been way,way too long since I let anyone know where we were on the new home. Well, we are getting there. To us it seems slow but everything is moving on schedule and we expect to move from the trailer into the new house this summer. There is still a significant amount to be done but our level of excitement continues to rise. Heck, we should even have a driveway soon.

A New Age

2009-01-07T13:54:00.000-08:00

Viewing this image makes me feel a bit philosophical. At this moment my feelings relate to the new year, the new presidency and hopefully to some meaningful changes. The image was born amidst wildfire smoke in Northern Botswana. The smokiness had the same sort of visual impact on both sunrise and sunset.

Just Watching

2009-01-06T17:47:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since the image of our new digs. Since then we have just sort of been watching everything that's happening - politics, events around the world, financial news (nothing very pleasing). Only the house has been an almost constant learning experience and an "upper".

Bent House Status

2008-11-13T16:29:00.000-08:00

Royal Oaks California November 11, 2008

For those who know we are moving to California and even for those who don't.
This is our home to be from the back garden area. Just think of it as a long rectangle in a live oak grove but think of the house as being bent to fit the grove.

Dick

Aerial Abstract

2008-10-31T06:49:00.000-07:00

Damaraland Namibia

As I review, think rediscover, my images from Namibia I continue to be amazed at the "other worldliness" of the country.

Sue and I are about to cross the U.S. on our way to California with the dogs so there won't be any new images for a while.

Enjoy the election, I hope we will.

Dick

Mud spa for old men

2008-10-29T08:53:00.000-07:00

Etosha waterhole - Namibia

A place for old men to wallow, cover themselves with hot grey mud and then stand in the sun until the mud dries. They then become the white elephants of Etosha. Sort of like the clay masks sold at the pharmacy for better skin care. Above is the mud bath prep phase. I will share the drying phase at a later date.

Dick

Smoky Botswana Sunset

2008-10-24T07:58:00.000-07:00

True Beauty - Botswana

We found her fresh paw prints in the sand and then we found her. It seemed amazing at the time and it still does.

The setting sun in the tree was planned but because of the smoke and distant fires, we forgot it until viewing the images.

For me, the leopard is the most beautiful of all animals. Look for 1 or 2 close ups in the future.

Dick

The Etosha Salt Pan

2008-10-23T07:18:00.000-07:00

The Etosha Reality - Namibia

Another area of Namibia which offers 120,000 sq. kilometers of waterholes, wildlife and totally bizarre landscape opportunities.

The image shown was taken from approximately 5,000 feet and will probably be one of the least abstract of my images. Other than crop away darkened corners and increase contrast, I have done very little to the raw image.

Dick

Waterless Waves

2008-10-22T07:37:00.001-07:00

Sand, Salt and Rock - Namibia

Abstract on a flight above the Namib Desert. No matter what it looks like I promise there is NO water in the image.

Dick

Namibia

2008-10-20T07:39:00.000-07:00

Namib Desert Iconic Dune - Namibia

Just a tease of what's to come. I couldn't resist jumping ahead.

Dick

Thank you General Powell

2008-10-19T16:06:00.001-07:00

Homage to The General/Secretary of State - Botswana

Even if Colin Powell hadn't so brilliantly endorsed Barack Obama today, my image was going to be a big cat. But the specific image selection... After his speech this morning, there was nothing else I could choose. Bravo! - not for the photo, for the man.

Why a Botswana cat?

In order to get the most from the "world class" landscapes of Namibia, it was suggested that we get our need (think "fix") for African big game photography out of the way before concentrating on Namibian landscapes. Whoever gave me this guidance, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

Botswana photography was a great way to begin our African adventure and the landscapes of the Okavango Delta were very different from those we had seen two years ago in Kenya.

I hope to find that my Namibian photography (mostly not viewed yet) will be as spectacular as... Well, good enough to give you a hint of the beauty we observed. When I get to editing my landscapes, you will be the first to see a few of the most interesting images.

Be well,

Dick

Welcome to my first blog

2008-10-18T14:41:00.000-07:00

Namib - Abstract of Salt, Sand, and Garnet (Namibia)

At the prompting of our son, Brady, I have decided to start a photo blog in order to make it easier to share our love of the natural world with our friends.

My wife, Sue, and I are very fortunate to have the opportunity to travel to many of the worlds remotest locations and then to observe and capture images of landscapes and animals at these sites. This blog's purpose is to allow me to post one or two photos a day as I take or edit them. Sometimes I'll just post the photos. Other times I may give a little back story. I don't promise to put photos up while on trips, but when possible I will make the attempt.

So to start, we have just returned from Namibia and Botswana in southern Africa, and I am beginning to edit my photos. I'll share some of these images and supply a little background information when appropriate.

The first image on my blog is an aerial taken above the Namib Desert where garnet dunes sand dunes and salt form an abstract which constantly changes with the wind. The image was captured shooting straight down from approximately 5000 feet, and is shown as observed.

I will send out email notices to my friends when I post something new. In this case, as I find the time to edit my images.

I hope you enjoy my images!