Photography: My Shot – Earthen Details

March 4, 2020Jeff

“The devil is in the detail.” — Gustave Flaubert

Not only is the devil the the detail or details, as a photographer I find inspiration and beauty in the details. I am not the best photographer and have little hopes of attaining that title. I enjoy photography for many reasons, but let me address just one.

A significant benefit I receive from my photographic hobby is learning to see. We all look at a multitude things every day; perhaps millions of things if we could count them. But how many of us actually “see” those things at which we are looking?

Photography has given me an appreciation for taking my time to look at an object or a scene. I now search for the details; the small things that make the location or item special. The picture below was taken at Cathedral Gorge State Park in Nevada. If you are going through that area, I recommend it as a very picturesque and worthwhile stop.

While at Cathedral Gorge, I hiked among the canyons created by the eroding clay hoodoos. They were very intriguing in their other-worldly appearance.

This specific grouping of hoodoos served as a collection point for a number of tumbleweeds and these earthen structures created a chimney-like opening where they piled one on top of the other to make an amazing composition.

What struck me was the beautiful coloring and the synchronicity of the two natural aspects, i.e. the eroded clay hoodoos and nature’s tumbleweeds. They came together to form a wonderful, natural image – nature as artist!

I love the textures of both the formations and the tumbleweed. The brown tones bind them together to create, what in my opinion, is an artistic rendering.

Seeing the opportunity, however, doesn’t necessarily mean a photograph is going to successfully capture it the way it appeared to the observer and therein lies the beauty, the challenge and the motivation of photography.

I can’t think of a better hobby for people seeking to express their creative souls than that of photography.

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Metadata

File Name: 0000199-Tumbleweed plays among the hoodoos – Cathedral Gorge, NV
Capture time: 9:55 AM
Capture date: June 13, 2019
Exposure: 1/30 sec @ f/13
Focal Length: 20mm
ISO: 125
Camera: Nikon D3300
Lens: 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

Edited in Lightroom

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Check out Jeff’s Instagram account for more interesting photos!

Romantic and Fabled Granada, Spain

July 30, 2019October 10, 2019Jeff

Traveling from the mountain town of Ronda, we headed to the fabled Spanish city of Granada. Our residence during our stay in Grenada was the elegant Alhambra Palace Hotel.

The hotel was constructed at one of the high points surrounding the town and afforded views of the rooftops and distant mountains.

This was one of the views looking out of our hotel window.

A special Flamenco program with accompanying Sangria was hosted for our group. This took place in a cozy theater venue designed to provide an intimate entertainment experience.

Visitors will find that Granada has a certain romantic flare almost any time of day, but in the evening this allure intensifies. The subdued lighting along the downhill slope of the street leading to the main part of the city is just one example and one website describes it as “Andalucia’s most dreamy destinations.”

The older parts of Granada offered more of the quaint, winding cobblestone streets and colorful housing that we found throughout our tour.

The marketplace arcades were interesting with maze-like narrow alleyways. Churches rose above the pedestrian thoroughfares to cast their religious overtones.

In and around the Calle de la Calderería Nueva (the Street of the New Cauldron Factory) there is a significant Moorish influence and this sector sometimes assumes the moniker of “little Morocco.”

Of course there were the familiar vendors of spices and…

exotic teas.

Herbalist and Essences from Granada
The sign – “Teas, Plants and FLowers collected. Safron, Spices, Granada’s products.
Natural cosmetics. Tea items and Incenses.”

A number of merchants were selling Turkish mosaic lamps that we hadn’t seen or noticed during our stops at the previous Spanish cities and towns.

Here is a vendor setting up his display of goods to attract passersby using the colorful garb as a lure.

We enjoyed strolling around the city in the early morning as the plazas were just awakening and tourists were fewer in number.

The colorful mosaic tiles of San Juan de Dios Roman Catholic Church atop the dome-like structure caught our eye.

And likewise as part of the facade of the Church of Iglesia de Santa Ana in the Albacin Quarter

Most tourists will want to visit the older sections of Granada as they should, but there are more modern flares to be enjoyed as well. This statue of Queen Isabela accepting the proposal of Columbus is set in front of a modern office building at the Plaza de Isabel la Católica (Columbus Square).

And in a nod to our technological societies there was a battery recycle bin on at least one corner in the central section of the city.

On our way back to the hotel to refresh a bit before we set out for our next adventure, we passed a seemingly popular bakery with happy cookies!

We were happy indeed because our next stop was the fabled Alhambra Palace.

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Continue reading about our trip to Portugal and Spain.

Read more Hiking and Exploration posts HERE

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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.

©Jeffrey B. Ross 2014 – 2019 – JBRish.com

Photography: My Shot at Puente Nuevo – Ronda, Spain

July 3, 2018July 6, 2018Jeff

It was an unusual decision for us, but we decided to take a trip to Portugal and Spain this spring. Usually we enjoy hiking the national parks and beautiful areas of the United States while our knees and joints can still take to the hills and dales America the beautiful has to offer.

One of our favorite stops on the tour was Puento Nuevo in the town of Ronda Spain. My wife and I often remark at the historic nature of towns in Europe which are very old compared to those in the United States. We tend to think of something as being old if it was founded two hundred years ago, but in Europe we are often talking about multiples of that or even thousands of years.

Ronda was first settled in the sixth century B.C. That is old! The photograph above is one of my favorite shots from our trip. It was taken from the Puente Nuevo bridge which is the largest of a number of bridges spanning the gorge of the Guadalevín River that meanders through Ronda. I was hoping to capture the beauty and uniqueness of this spot and I think I managed to do so fairly well.

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Metadata

File Name: ronda_spain_PuentoNuevo_DSC_3082.jpg
Capture time: 9:36 AM
Capture date: May 16, 2018
Exposure: 1/320 sec @ f/9.0
Focal Length: 22mm
ISO: 100
Camera: Nikon D3300
Lens: 18.0 – 55.12mm f/3.5-5.6
Edited in Lightroom

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See more photography posts HERE and visit Jeff’s Instagram site HERE

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Vide-Ohs: Dust in the Blood (Hiking the Grand Canyon)

January 22, 2018January 22, 2018Jeff

JBRish readers know that one thing we enjoy and write about on this blog is hiking and exploring natural places. We appreciate all forms of wildlife and types of terrain, but the mountains and canyons have a special pull on our adventurous spirit.

The Grand Canyon is indeed one of earth’s treasures and it is a shame that mankind has tried to take advantage of its bounty by harvesting natural resources and obliterating some of the pristine beauty.

Below is just one photograph I took on our visit to the North Rim. It was taken with a very simple point-and-shoot camera with only 8 megapixels of resolution when most of today’s cameras start at twice that number and many go to three or four times that and beyond.

North rim of the Grand Canyon near the Lodge

Even with the limited ability of the camera and the photographer, I think you will agree that this is a pretty, colorful picture taken near “the Lodge” at the north rim of the Grand Canyon.

I am also sharing the trailer to the movie Dust in the Blood detailing the journey of filmmaker/photographer Pete McBride and writer Kevin Fedark as they try to hike the 750 mile length of the Grand Canyon.

Dust in the Blood – Trailer from Pete McBride on Vimeo.

From the Vimeo web page hosting the trailer:

In 2016 filmmaker/photographer Pete McBride and writer Kevin Fedarko set out on a 750-mile journey on foot through the entire length of the Grand Canyon. From the outset, the challenge was far more than they bargained for. More people have stood on the moon than have completed a continuous through hike of the Canyon. McBride and Fedarko took a sectional approach, achieving a feat that many adventurers have taken decades to complete. Others have lost their lives trying. But their quest was more than just an endurance test – it was also a way to draw attention to the unprecedented threats facing one of our most revered landscapes.

Throughout their passage, McBride and Fedarko encountered an astonishingly diverse and powerful landscape, rich in history, that is now facing perhaps the gravest crisis in the 98-year history of the Grand Canyon National Park.

Directed by Pete McBride and produced by the award-winning team at Insignia Films, THE CANYON is a story of extreme physical hardship that stretches the bonds of friendship and a meditation on the timeless beauty of this sacred place. It is an urgent warning about the environmental dangers that are placing one of America’s greatest monuments in peril and a cautionary tale for our complex relationship with the natural world.

More Vide – Ohs

To See additional Interesting Videos, click HERE

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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.

©Jeffrey B. Ross – 2018 – JBRish.com

Hiking the Peralta Trail, Gold Canyon, AZ – 20160620

June 20, 2017Jeff

NOTE – Keep in mind that we took this hike and these pictures represent the trail as we saw it in December, 2009. The trail may have changed a bit since them and some of the flora may no longer be exactly where we are reporting, but this is a good representation of things you may find along the way. Perhaps you will find even more intriguing highlights.

Of course the large rock formations and mountains will remain largely unchanged.

More mountains come into view

Hiking in the mountains is interesting because the hiker’s view is almost always partial. What I mean by that is that people cannot generally see all the mountains around them at the lower elevations. On the Peralta Trail, this is no different. As we hiked higher and higher, the more distant mountains began to come into view.

Read more about the Peralta Trail HERE.

Previous posts and photographs in the Peralta Trail series in chronological order:

Trailhead – Posted June 3, 2017

Trail Sign – Posted June 4, 2017

Rugged Terrain – Posted June 5, 2017

Hands Up Saguaro – Posted June 6, 2017

Mountains beckon hikers to travel upward – Posted June 18, 2017

Window Rock – Posted June 19, 2017

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Hiking the Peralta Trail, Gold Canyon, AZ – 20160618

June 18, 2017Jeff

NOTE – Keep in mind that we took this hike and these pictures represent the trail as we saw it in December, 2009. The trail may have changed a bit since them and some of the flora may no longer be exactly where we are reporting, but this is a good representation of things you may find along the way. Perhaps you will find even more intriguing highlights.

Of course the large rock formations and mountains will remain largely unchanged.

Mountains begin to appear all around

It wasn’t long after we left the trailhead and began our upward trek that the mountains began to rise up around us. The trail was easy to follow and the way was clear. As John Muir notably said: “The mountains are calling and I must go.”

Read more about the Peralta Trail HERE.

Previous posts and photographs in the Peralta Trail series in chronological order:

Trailhead – Posted June 3, 2017

Trail Sign – Posted June 4, 2017

Rugged Terrain – Posted June 5, 2017

Hands Up Saguaro – Posted June 6, 2017

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Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 149 (Glacier Point – Liberty Cap)

December 5, 2016December 5, 2016Jeff

Liberty Cap from Glacier Point — Liberty Cap mountain viewed from Glacier Point

When standing at Glacier Point and soaking in the panorama that lies before you, it is almost overwhelming. There are mountains on top of mountains.

Closer to the pedestrian viewpoints, however, there are some that loom large and add to the beauty of the foreground scene. There is one very recognizable landmark among the sea of hilltops and peaks. Just to the left of Vernal Fall in the picture is Liberty Cap mountain.

Apparently this is quite hikeable and draws a good number of adventurers. You can read more about the hike to Liberty Cap at the linkk below:

SummitPost.org – Liberty Cap Hike: Yosemite

Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.

See previous Year of Yosemite (YOY) posts HERE. If you want to read the introduction to the YOY series, CLICK HERE.

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Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 61 (Hetch Hetchy Falls)

August 23, 2016Jeff

Our day hiking at Yosemite’s Hetch Hetchy reservoir was overcast and threatening at times. Wapama Falls (bottom center) was putting on quite a display as seen from the bridge leading to the tunnel and the trail. Less robust, but interesting Tueeulala Falls can be seen diagonally to the left of Wapama Falls.

Do you have a question about our visit to Yosemite? Ask it in the comment section.

See previous Year of Yosemite (YOY) posts HERE. If you want to read the introduction to the YOY series, CLICK HERE.

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Meta Data – Day 61 YOY – Year of Yosemite

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Capture date: June 11, 2016
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JBRish.com – quips & queries

A life of musings, queries, quips and quandaries

mountains

Photography: My Shot – Earthen Details

“The devil is in the detail.” — Gustave Flaubert

Romantic and Fabled Granada, Spain

Photography: My Shot at Puente Nuevo – Ronda, Spain

Vide-Ohs: Dust in the Blood (Hiking the Grand Canyon)

More Vide – Ohs

Hiking the Peralta Trail, Gold Canyon, AZ – 20160620

Hiking the Peralta Trail, Gold Canyon, AZ – 20160618

Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 149 (Glacier Point – Liberty Cap)

Year of Yosemite (YOY) – Day 61 (Hetch Hetchy Falls)