On Flander's Fields...

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row by row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead.  Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw 

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

John McCrae, May 1915

In honor of all the fallen in service to our country,

and to those who served gallantly and returned,

and to those who bravely serve our country now...

We honor you.

Thank you for your service.

View from the Queen Mary...

"Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends...

The mind can never break off from the journey."

Pat Conroy

The Long Beach cityscape from the Queen Mary!

Fooling around trying to get a pic of the city lights through the 

porthole...not an easy task!

Between the inside lights reflections on the porthole window...

to trying to get the city lights in focus instead of the porthole!

All hand held...should have been a tripod and long exposure...

and should have done a little focus trickery so that both

the porthole and cityscape was in focus...

ahhh well...

It is what it is!

For more images around the world, click on the image below!

Struttin'

"Indeed, an engineer designing a structure is not

unlike an artist painting one.

Both start with nothing but talent,

experience and inspiration.

The fresh piece of paper on the drawing board

is as blank as the newly stretched piece of canvas."

Henry Petroski

To see more Black and White images from around the world

click on the image below...

Up, Up, in the Air!!!

"I have often said that the lure of flying

is the lure of beauty."

Amelia Earhart

Click on the image below to see more B&W images from around the world...

Black and White Abstraction...

"There is no abstract art.

You must always start with something.

Afterward you can remove all traces of reality."

Pablo Picasso

A twist on one of the ones below!

Abstractions...

"Abstraction allows man to see with his mind what he cannot see physically with his eyes...

Abstract art enables the artist to perceive beyond the tangible, 

to extract the infinite out of the finite.

It is the emancipation of the mind.  

It is an exploration into unknown areas."

Arshile Gorky

Sometimes...it's just plain fun to play with your photos...

Out of focus?  Play with the angle...

...and the color...and the grain...

and voila!

Patterns, repetition, muted colors...

...then...

...explorations in Black and White.

A crop here...a crop there...a bit of grain.

Lots of crop...lots of grain...and push that color!!!

Find that right angle...pop the color...

...remove the white spot or leave it in?

Explore the angles and curves...more color please!

Another angle...more curves...and OH!  That color!!!

Our road trip began in Atlanta, Georgia, 

at the Marriott Marquis hotel, downtown.

Last June, we were in Atlanta for the 2017 Rotary International Convention.  And being good Rotarians...we went to the bar where all the action was.  Lots of fun people...good drinks...

and an interesting atmosphere...very modern and fun lighting.

Looking up...my mind started seeing my surroundings

in photographic terms.

Yep...had to go get my camera.

Two or three excursions with the camera and a bunch of fun hours post processing...and these were my results!

I thought it might be fun to share a bit of my process...

...one of my most fun photo projects of late!!!

Making a Photograph...

"You don't take a photograph,

you make it."

Ansel Adams

I recently got a new iPhone 8+.

My friend has a new iPhone 10 and is enamoured

with the camera.  She kept telling me what a great

camera it is and that my iPhone 8 has the same camera.

So...we're walking in our nearby botanical gardens,

and I'm playing with my phone camera.  She shows 

me how to do her favorite..."portrait mode".

I just happen to accidentally put the camera

on Portrait mode, Stage Light Mono....

And voila!!!

OK...I'm a die hard Nikon user 

...and now... 

I'm pretty impressed with my iPhone!!!

For more Black and White images...click on the image below!

And for more little corners of the world...