Evening moments

There’s a finite amount of time in the evenings when sunlight bounces along the Earth. Peaks are aglow with sunshine while valleys are bathed in shade. Distant hills paint their elongated shadows across the land as if laying down to sleep, while light, refracted through the atmosphere, dapples colors on clouds floating in the sky. Sometimes these moments last for a few brief seconds and sometimes for a few minutes. Each of them is beautiful and unique. To capture one either on film or in our memories is precious. Evening Moments.

Nikon D800 Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 @ ​34mm f/14 ISO 100 1/20 sec

#TravelTuesday Louvre

Ages ago, just outside of what was then the city of Paris, a fortress was built to protect Europe’s largest dominion. This fortress was known as the Louvre. It stood just west of the infant city on the banks of the Seine river. The year was 1190. Over the centuries the original design changed drastically and the intended purpose evolved into what many consider to be the world’s greatest museum. Opening day as a museum came on August 10th 1793 not too long before the French Revolution. During Napoleon’s reign in France many of his conquests brought priceless works of art to the Louvre. Many were returned after his defeat, but some remain. The most famous pieces housed in this grand setting are the “Venus de Milo,” the “Goddess of Victory (Nike)” and the “Mona Lisa” by da Vinci. There are thousands upon tens of thousands of precious antiquities in the Louvre and only about thirty percent are on display. This is not uncommon for most behemoth collections in the world. The permanent collection occupies approximately 650,000 square feet of space, so be prepared to spend quite a bit a time if you want to see everything on display (and bring good walking shoes).

The pictures below:  

The first is taken from the upper floor of the museum looking out across the entrance which is underground beneath the glass pyramid.  The second is at night when the Louvre is lit up to show its exterior beauty to Paris.  

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Nikon D800 Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 @​ 32mm f/13 ISO 100 1/60sec

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Nikon D800 Nikkor 28-300m f/3.5-5.6 @ 28mm f/13 ISO 100 9 image HDR

Earth Day 2013

I remember Earth Day from elementary school. I don’t think I was given a clear view of the concept because I thought everyone would be wearing tie-dye tee shirts, holding hands and singing “Michael Row the Boat Ashore”. It sounded hippyish and weird, but Earth Day represented an awareness of how important our “Mother Earth” is to all life we know in this universe.
I’m not someone who preaches about global climate change, greenhouse gasses or ozone depletion. What I do believe is this; some day the Earth won’t be here anymore and that our world changes every day. I embrace the tender gift of life being sustained by this fragile planet on which we live. I cherish it. Earth.

​Nikon D800 Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 10stop ND filter @ 28mm f/22 ISO 100 30 sec.

Greetings from Paris!

My wife and I are spending a few days in the city of love and there’s a lot to see. If I don’t post for a few days please don’t hold it against me. Be back soon.

Nikon D800 NIkkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 @ ​28mm f/7.1 ISO 100 8 image HDR

Blue Flowers

There’s a field in the southern part of West Chester that has wonderful sunsets. In the Autumn the Sun drops nicely between two mounds of Earth far in the distance. I pass this field sometimes driving through West Chester, traveling to client’s homes, and last Saturday I could hardly believe my eyes. In the fall the field is full of yellow hay and browning long stalks of grass but Saturday was quite a different sight. I’m glad I just happened to glance at the field while I was passing or I might have missed it entirely.

​Nikon D800 Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 52mm f/16 ISO 100 5 image HDR