Gone to See Europe 2014. Day 75: Semester at Sea, Summer 2014 Semester Voyage. Gdansk, Poland.
Sunset through the barbed-wire fence at Westerplatte. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/16, 1/125 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro, Focus Magic, and Photoshop CC.
Summertime Nature in New Jersey. Sourland Mountain Preserve
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on a Joe Pye Weed Bloom at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 500 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 250, 500 mm, f/5, 1/600 sec). Lens mounted on a monopod.
I’ve visited the Sourland Mountain Preserve several times after returning from Iceland. There are a couple of patches of Joe Pye weeds that the Yellow (Tiger) Swallowtail and Black Swallowtail butterflies are attracted. I did see one Clearwing Hummingbird Butterfly, but wasn’t quick enough to get a picture. I only saw one thistle in bloom. Didn’t see any Praying Mantis (butterfly predators). Also, only one Monarch Butterfly.
Gone to See Germany. An Excursion to Luther & Bach Country with Pastor Walter Still. Day 1: Frankfurt to Eisenach.
After a long overnight flight to Frankfurt, Germany I met up with my parents and brother to begin the Luther and Bach tour. Just after we arrived there was a security issue at the airport closing the terminal. We joined the 36 folks in the tour group and had lunch at “Paulaner in the Squaire”. Since the terminal was closed we had a long outdoor walk to the bus (with all of our luggage). Germany is experiencing an extended heat wave (~ 90 °F). It was an initial test of the stamina of the group as many were exhausted, hot, and dehydrated by the time we got to the bus. Fortunately, the bus had water bottles for sale (1 $ or €). The bus driver managed to get all of our luggage loaded under the bus. Our tour bus for the next 10 days took us to Eisenach. After checking into the hotel (Stigenberger Hotel Thüringer Hof), I did a short walkabout where I found the statue of St. George Slaying the Dragon.
Is this the buck that brought the invasive “Mile-A-Minute” vine into my yard? It is hard to believe how many trees were killed by this vine since then…
Gone to See America August 2010 Road Trip. Day 6: Eastern Sierra Photography Workshop with Michael Mariant. Bodie State Historic Park.
Images taken on my second visit to Bodie State Park in 2010. California maintains the park in a state of arrested decay. The park is a National Historic District, and is known as a wild-west gold mining ghost town. I also got an image of the Schoolmarm’s hat on my first visit to Bodie.
Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed here.