Picture of the Day - 3/6/09

We visited Sabino Canyon today, which is located in the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains northeast of Tucson. An open air shuttle will take you up the 4-mile paved road and you can either walk back down or take any other shuttle back down. The canyon follows Sabino Creek, which flows year-round and is a popular watering spot for a variety of wildlife. Although we saw little in the way of wildlife, we heard the call of cardinals and saw squirrels and cottontail rabbits. There are several bridges made by the CCC in the 30's and a number of picnic areas along the route. The scenery is pretty spectacular and is worth a visit should you find yourself in this part of Arizona. Pictured, is the spindly ocotillo in bloom, saguaro and beavertail cactus. It generally takes 70 to 80 years for the saguaro to start growing arms. Here's the Friends of Sabino Canyon Web site: http://sabinocanyon.org/sabino.htm.

Picture of the Day - 3/5/09

Today, you get another bonus picture, as we both had a productive day photographically. Both images are from the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, where we were invited by local photographer, Beth Kimes, to join her for a shoot. The botanical garden is currently hosting an abstract glass display by renowned glass artist, Chihuly. The garden is organized by section, with the succulent and desert wildflower exhibits, the more popular. Sheila managed to capture a wonderful shot of a hummingbird feeding on a penstemon. Equally amazing was that this was captured with a Canon S3-IS compact camera. Below, is a shot in the wildflower section that shows some of the abstract glass sculpture. More glass sculpture images and information about the botanical garden may be found on their Web site: http://www.dbg.org/.

Picture of the Day - 3/4/09

Finally - we saw javelinas! These were photographed just outside Chuck's house on the outskirts of Tucson about 11:30 PM. They were not too afraid of our big flashlight (orange spot in the right side) and they allowed me to creep up within about 10 feet. They were attracted to the spilled bird seed along the garden path and made funny "snuffling" sounds as they ate. They also smell a little skunk-like. Javelinas are also known as collared peccaries and are part of the sub-order Suina, as are other swine. They often form herds of 8 to 15 animals. Thanks to Chuck for alerting us when he saw them!

Picture of the Day - 3/3/09

Didn't end up doing much worthwhile photography today, so I'm selecting one Sheila took the day before. I really liked this close-up of a barrel cactus she took, because it shows the multitude of different thorn types. If you look carefully, you'll see that some of them are ribbed and some are hooked. Sheila took this during a 1/2 mile walk we took with her brother, Chuck, through the desert on the outskirts of Tucson.

Picture of the Day - 3/2/09

Most days in Tucson this time of year offer clear blue skies, thus, little chance for decent sunsets. When the clouds started building up this afternoon, we hustled off to Saguaro National Park (East) to capture the cactus just in time for a nice "light" show. Earlier, we spent the afternoon at a wetlands park created jointly by the Tucson Water Dept. and US Fish & Wildlife Service from reclaimed water from the nearby sanitation plant. Although a bit, ahem, smelly, the bird life was prolific.

Picture of the Day - 3/1/09

No photos taken today, so we must dip into the archives of yesterday. Adding to our collection of western oddities, we present the Longhorn Grill in the town of Amado, between Tucson and the arts community of Tubac. Built in the 1970s, patrons enter through the nasal cavity in the skull.

Picture of the Day - 2/28/09

Today. we traveled south of Tucson to visit the San Xavier del Bac Mission (the "White Dove of the Desert"), which was originally constructed from 1783 to 1797. Claimed to be the finest example of mission architecture in the United States, it continues to be run by Franciscan Friers who serve the needs of the faithful. Why the second tower was never completed remains a mystery. The building is currently undergoing a massive renovation and the scaffolding was recently removed from the first tower (left side). About a month later, scaffolding will be erected around the second tower for the 2-3 years it will take to complete. We were very fortunate to be able to photograph the mission without the scaffolding in place! The building is constructed using local materials - fired bricks and sun-dried adobe blocks. Large volcanic from the surrounding hills reinforce the foundation. Plaster was made using sand, lime and prickly pear cactus juice. No wood was used in the construction, except for the lintels, balconies, shutters and doors.

Afterwards, we had a snack of Indian "fry bread" with powdered sugar from one of the many food stalls located in the front courtyard.

For more info: http://www.sanxaviermission.org/

Picture of the Day - 2/27/09

Sheila and I visited the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum today - something I've wanted to do for some time. Unfortunately, on the way there, we got stopped by a car crash and the sheriff had closed the road. So we had to go all the way around the other side of the mountain to get to the museum. The museum - really a zoo - is set in the rolling hillside of an adjacent parcel of land next to the Saguaro National Park (West), near Tucson. Showcased, are animals and plant life typically found in the Sonoran Desert, which extends from northern Mexico up as far north as the Tucson area. The land is covered with saguaro, cholla, barrel and prickly pear cactus - plus many others. A guy from New York asked the naturalist at the visitor center whether anything was dangerous where he intended to hike. The naturalist replied, "everything - it will either stick you or sting you or bite you." There are four varieties of rattlesnake, scorpions, paper wasps, bees, cactus thorns, ocotillo thorns - well, basically, every plant has thorns. Despite that, there are several trails throughout the park and one merely needs to watch where they are going. Tripping during a hike would really hurt, as the cacti are packed tightly together on both sides of the trails.

Pictured abve is a mountain lion we ran into on one of the trails - well, actually, one of the trails in the desert museum! There is a brother and sister on display in a very natural-looking enclosure. Don't think I'd like to run into this guy at night!

Picture of the Day - 2/26/09

We spent the afternoon in Saguaro NP (West) today - staying until well past sunset. Here's a view in the western side of the park at sunset. The house we're staying at is just over the ridge from here.

Picture of the Day - 2/25/09

We arrived in Tucson today and will be staying with Sheila's brother, Chuck, and wife Diane. Their home is right on the border of Saguaro NP (West) and there is a multitude of the Saguaro (and other) cacti on their property. Here's a close-up of one of them. We'll be staying at least a week, so will have a chance to visit many of the surrounding nature hot spots. Stay tuned!

Picture of the Day - 2/24/09

Last night, we stayed at the Bosque Birdwatcher's RV Park just outside the entrance to Bosque del Apache NWR (south of Socorro). Sheila photographed these quail having a breakfast of cracked corn. We spent the day driving through the Gila NF towards the southwest, ending up at Rockhound State Park near Deming, where we collected a few pieces of agate. Most parks prohibit collecting rocks, but this one allows up to 20 pounds per person.

Picture of the Day - 2/23/09

The National Radio Astronomy Observatory's Very Large Array (VLA) is a site I've always wanted to visit and the movie, Contact, just renewed that interest when it was released a few years ago. I don't know how many times I've passed by Socorro, NM, on my way to southern New Mexico to photograph the birds at Bosque del Apache NWR or White Sands NM, but I vowed this time to do it! The VLA is comprised of three long arms (60 degrees apart) with multiple 30m(?) diameter dishes, which can be reconfigured by either "collapsing" the arms or extending them further apart. This is accomplished by using a 24-wheeled double-tracked (on rails) carrier (resembles a giant furniture dolly). The antennas are unbolted from their piers, the carrier wheeled underneath and then the whole works is lifted up, moved to another position and set down carefully and rebolted. The facility is in use 24 hours a day and scientists worldwide reserve time on the system, upload their experiment with specific instructions and the operators on-site conduct the experiment and relay the results back. We were fortunate to be able to watch as the whole line of antennas was repointed a different direction. The visitor center has several nice displays and there is a self-guided loop walk you can take around the facility. Highly recommended if you have an interest in science. The VLA is located 44 miles west of Socorro off Highway 60.

Picture of the Day - 2/22/09

I found the above postcard of Central Ave. in Albuquerque taken in 1937. I tried to duplicate it as closely as I could, but the original appeared to be taken about 10 to 15 feet higher than street level, so I'm not getting exactly the same angle downwards. The major buildings seem to be the same, but the exterior is much different. Notice Keepsake Diamond Rings was around back then. It also looks like a Woolworth store on the left side.

Well, enough nostalgia for the moment - we'll be off Monday to visit the Very Large Array west of Socorro and then the Bosque del Apache wildlife refuge for morning and evening photos.

Picture of the Day - 2/21/09

The NANPA nature photography conference ended today with a final keynote by well-known National Geographic photographer, Tim Laman, who related his years of experience documenting the endangered wildlife in New Guinea, Indonesia and Borneo. Specializing in photographing bird life in the rain forest canopy, he climbs up to the top using bow & arrow to pull up ropes. After building a small blind, he often sits day after day just to get a few minutes glimpse of rare hornbills or birds of paradise - several varieties never before photographed.

Below is a picture of the El Vado Motel, claimed to be the "purest Route 66 motel surviving". Unfortunately, the other claim "70 years of continuous hospitality on Route 66" has been interrupted. Built in 1937, the motel is located near the Rio Grande River west of the downtown area.

Picture of the Day - 2/20/09

I spent all day at the photo conference, so no pictures of interest were taken today. Sooo, we'll show you a couple more taken two days ago. This first one was a shot Sheila suggested, looking west down Central Avenue near sunrise - the old Route 66, with downtown Albuquerque in the distance. We travel down this road every day as Sheila drops me off at the convention center, which is just to the right and behind the tall building.

As you drive closer to downtown, more of the original 20s and 30s architecture appears. Of course, during the 50s and 60s, flying saucers were all the rage and we managed to catch one crash-landing.

Picture of the Day - 2/19/09

Hi All, a bonus picture today...!

Central Avenue in Albuquerque is the route of the historic Route 66 and includes several of the original 1920's through 40's-era buildings. Most have been transformed into an eclectic set of more modern shops, but the style downtown remains. One exception was encountered during my walk around the downtown area tonight. I came across The Library Bar & Grill, which recently opened in 2005 and includes an unusual set of "books" as a part of its storefront. You may have to enlarge to read the titles.

To redeem myself for including such a modern photo as above during a discussion of old Route 66, I had dinner of wonderful New Mexican food at Lindy's Diner, which has been in continuous operation since the 1920s.

Picture of the Day - 2/18/09

Sheila took the photo of the day while I spent the day attending an Adobe Lightroom workshop taught by Tom Hogarty, product manager of Adobe's Lightroom development team. Lightroom is a workflow oriented photographer's editing and image management tool that's pretty impressive. It includes a lot of functionality of Photoshop, but at about half the cost.

Pictured is Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National MonumentPark northeast of Albuquerque about 30 miles. There's a 1 mile loop trail through the hoodoo formations, which are the product of volcanic eruptions of pumice, ash and tuff deposits.

Picture of the Day - 2/17/09

Today was another work day for me. While I slaved away doing more extractions(!), Sheila took the afternoon off to wander through Old Town; ending up at the Rattlesnake Museum, after which, she received a Certificate of Bravery! The Rattlesnake Museum hosts more different species than the top six zoos combined. Pictured below is a sidewinder (crotalus cerastes) coiled and ready to strike. What appear to be eyes are really scent-sensing "pits". The eyes (with vertical pupils) are directly under the "horns".

Picture of the Day - 2/16/09

I'm afraid this was my day today - no pretty pictures. After reorganizing the contents of the trailer (we kind'a threw everything in). I spent the remaining day and evening processing images I took of a local physical trainer in Colorado Springs. He's rather unique, in that he uses Russian kettle bell weights for his training regimen - primarily focusing on the training requirements for lacrosse players. That's a 50-pound weight he's holding in the air, by the way. He's working on a book project and I took a series of photos (in 8 frame/second bursts) of each of his exercises. The white backdrop helps me in selecting him during the extraction process. After the author selected about 180 images, I'm now extracting him from the background using Photoshop - -and extracting...and extracting...! It takes a steady hand and lots of patience! Really glad I brought my graphics tablet along, as I'd hate to do all the extractions with a mouse! I'll be working on finishing up this project in the next week, but hopefully will find the time to get a few more interesting travel pictures for you.

Picture of the Day - 2/15/09

Today, we took the Enchanted Circle loop trip NE of Taos, with the route roughly circling Wheeler Peak, New Mexico's highest mountain at 13,141 feet. We started off driving north of Taos to Questa, cutting east up the Red River Valley, with several campgrounds on the right side and a large Chevron mining operation on the left side. After circling though the town of Eagle Nest, we headed back west through Angel Fire ski area and the nearby Vietnam Veteran's National Memorial pictured here. There is a nice visitor center, as well. The afternoon found us headed to Albuquerque and our camp for the week. Monday and Tuesday will be work days - and then the NANPA Summit starts.

Picture of the Day - 2/14/09 (START)

Welcome to the Wyatt's "Photo of the Day" for 2009! Sheila and I have started on a journey through the Southwest today, with a week-long stop in Albuquerque for the NANPA Summit (www.nanpa.org), continuing on to Tucson to stay with Sheila's brother, Chuck, and finally traveling through southern California to visit her other brother, Jack. Depending on job assignments, we may drive as far as the Bay Area, prior to heading home. Like last summer, this will be a working vacation and photo safari and we're pleased to share it photographically with you once again. As I get a chance, I'll also be posting these on the blog

The picture above is a grove of aspen trees on the west side of La Veta Pass, west of Walsenburg, CO. The time was about 3:30 in the afternoon and sun was just peeking through the heavy overcast and creating a soft side light on the tree trunks. The wind was blowing hard and created this windswept scene.

We're spending the evening in Taos, NM and plan to tour around this area a bit before continuing on towards Albuquerque.

Indianapolis Airport Tunnel

There are times it pays to always have your camera with you ready to shoot. Often I've found that carrying the professional gear isn't always ideal and recently purchased a compact Canon PowerShot SX110 IS in a pouch on my belt for occasions where I'm not necessarily on assignment, but when I come across an opportunity as you see above. I was consulting in Indianapolis mid-December and had landed at the new Indianapolis Airport. This is the tunnel connecting the main terminal to the concourse and it's filled with flashing red and blue lights - similar to the tunnel at the Chicago Airport. I noticed the reflections of the lights in the brushed steel of the motorized walkway and setting the camera down, I let it auto-expose with this powerful result!

Portland Head Lighthouse

Portland Head Light in Portland, Maine harbor. I just caught the last vestiges of sunset and it was COLD (16 degrees F) and WINDY (25 mph) during this shot! I was glad to run back to the warm car!

Weird Old Building - Maine

Shortly after I entered Maine on Highway 2, I noticed an oddly shaped building off to my right. It appeared to be an old barn-like structure in the center of an apple orchard. Pulling off, I took a couple shots, which almost remind me of an oil painting. Upon closer inspection, it rather seemed to be an old residence and maybe workshop.

Birch Trees - New Hampshire

New Hampshire has groves of birch trees in the White Mountain area - equivalent to and in the same family as our aspens in Colorado. I saw this small grove off to the side of Highway 15 north of the White Mountains.

Covered Bridge, New Hampshire

I recently traveled to New England on business and having a free day, decided to make a circle trip from southern New Hampshire up to the White Mountains, across to Maine, SE towards Portland and back down to Boston. There are many covered bridges in this area and I stopped at a couple of them just south of the White Mountains.

Picture of the Day - 9/2/08 (LAST)

One last shot the sums up the trip for me. This was taken by good friend Robert Morrow as Sheila and I were walking back to the car after completing yet another covered bridge photograph in Indiana. We recently celebrated our 31st anniversary during this trip and that this extraordinary woman has chosen to stick with me through all these years has been a real blessing from God. Even though she's experienced chronic headaches for the last several years (much better now that we've found a couple great doctors), she volunteered to do much of the driving so I could concentrate on my photography. She shares with me a natural curiosity to "see what's around the next bend" in the road. She's the perfect travel partner and I love her with all my heart!

Sheila, this picture is for you!

Picture of the Day - 9/1/08

These grain elevators were located off I-70 between Limon and Burlington. What caught my eye was the wispy clouds and deep blue sky. After traveling through several mid-western states with gray skies and brownish crops, the green grass was a relief.

This will be the last dispatch of the "Picture of the Day", as we have arrived back home to blue Colorado skies. Sheila and I hope you've enjoyed viewing these images as much as we've enjoyed selecting them from among the hundreds shot each day - a task that was actually pretty challenging. How does one select the best and most representative picture from the myriad taken each day? Well, wrapping things up, we lived successfully in our 24-foot trailer for six weeks and traveled over 10,000 miles - a new record! We appreciated the many positive comments from several of you and perhaps there will be another Picture of the Day sequence in the future.

Picture of the Day - 8/31/08

After six weeks on the road, covering two photo assignments, finalizing an engineering article for Test & Measurement World, outlining and completing an article for Backpacker Magazine, creating a front cover design for our engineering society magazine, visiting friends & family and most importantly, HAVING A LOT OF FUN in between, it's time to head on home to Colorado.

After attending church with Mike & Wanda, we headed for Hutchinson, Kansas, home of the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center - an amazing collection of early German, U.S. and Soviet space program artifacts. On display are early V1 and V2 rockets designed by Werner Von Braun, who (with his design team) later surrendered to U.S. forces near the end of WW2, to become one  of the major rocket designers for the U.S. space program. The museum steps through rocket design history in Germany through the early satellite experiments by the U.S./Soviet teams, and all the way to the manned space programs and eventual moon landings. They managed to collect a real lunar module, lunar rovers (both U.S. and Soviet), actual V1 and V2 rockets, the Apollo 13 capsule and much more. Pictured is an actual space suit used during one of the moon landings. Highly recommended!

Picture of the Day - 8/30/08

Our last day with cousin Mike and Wanda found us in Tulsa at the Tulsa Gardening Association's greenhouse and garden. It includes a nicely landscaped garden area with nearby greenhouse with central fountain and four wings. One wing included cacti and other succulents. While I photographed many of the flowering plants, my favorite shot was of this barrel cactus. I liked the fact the larger two framed the central cluster. Using my Tamron 28-300mm lens, I focused on the central subject allowing the framing elements to go slightly out of focus. What really caught my eye were the orange/green color banding. Image data: 1/200th second at f8 (at 135mm).

The remaining day was spent shopping at an antique mall. Tomorrow, he head to Hutchinson, Kansas to visit the aerospace museum there - then it's back to Colorado to finish off the trip!

PIcture of the Day - 8/29/08

We spent the morning at the Tulsa Air & Space Museum. Although small compared to some of the larger air museums, I was impressed with the many operational simulators they had collected. These included an F-14 video-based flight simulator, a wind tunnel flight simulator and a simulator for the remote arm on the space shuttle. I got to play with all these and, although my flight skills were very rusty, I never crashed! The remote arm had me picking up a round cylinder and placing it in a round hole. Similarly with a square shaped block. The controls were a couple of joysticks and the only feedback I had was a couple of small video monitors. The control panel was a duplicate of that on the shuttle. The two docents were quite impressed with my skills - space shuttle, here I come! At least they didn't have me try placing the square peg in the round hole!  : )

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and chatting with cousin Mike and wife Wanda. They are such a fascinating couple! Mike buys items at local auctions and resells them on the EBay auction site. I love to take portraits of people using natural lighting, but I liked this silhouette the best as he's working at the computer. I also converted the remaining color portions to B&W. Not enough people smoke pipes these days!

Picture of the Day - 8/28/08

We left Bob & Mary's house and headed to Claremore, Oklahoma to visit my cousin Mike and wife Wanda. On the way, there wasn't too much to inspire, however, once we arrived at Claremore and became a little lost trying to find our RV park, I noticed this amazing sunset display. Had we not been turned around, ending up on a narrow country road, I'd have not had a clean foreground for this image! I'm amazed how often God places me at the right spot and all I have to do is press the shutter. I believe Ansel Adams was quoted similarly. I'm sure this phenomenon has a name, but I'm at a loss...

Claremore is located just NE of Tulsa and is the location where Will Rogers grew up and worked his ranch. There is now a fantastic museum with countless artifacts and mementos from his life. What a fascinating man!

Picture of the Day - 8/27/08

This may be a long posting. Sheila and I visited the Creation Museum near Cincinnati, OH today with friend Bob. The museum is the brainchild of Ken Ham, originally a Christian missionary to the U.S. (imagine that!). Ham is originally from Australia and has been speaking to churches and engaging in public debate on evolution, and related topics, for several years. The museum contains a collection of scientific evidence that supports a "young" earth (~6000 years old), a worldwide flood (Noah and the ark) and that the earth was, indeed, formed in a literal six days as described in the Book of Genesis by the God of the Bible.

This picture from one museum display is a fossil of the "last meal of a perch" (Mioplosus) collected from the well-known Green River Formation in SW Wyoming. It is on loan from William and Agnes Minnich, Wayne, NJ. There are many other examples of vertebrates (such as this perch, birds and dinosaurs) and invertebrates (such as jellyfish) and insects that were basically "frozen" within seconds by some cataclysmic event. I've also seen pictures of fossilized fish in the middle of giving birth! The theory of evolution says these creatures were buried over millions of years and fossilized. But the question in my mind is "wouldn't flesh and bone rot or get eaten long before they were covered and fossilized over millions of years?" I suspect "millions of years" is an incorrect interpretation of the physical evidence. If interested, there are more interesting questions below. We had a great time at the museum and if you're in the Cincinati area, be sure to check it out!

______________________

Following is a reply I made to a recent posting in my good friend, Jere Joiner's blog (http://pikespeakpolitics.blogspot.com/):

Jere states, in part: "Setting aside the seven days, today's scientific explanation of how the universe was formed (Big Bang, etc.) follows precisely the way it’s described in the book of Genesis. Coincidence? I don’t think so. Science and religion used to be on the same page. They will be again some day."

My reply (basically in agreement with Jere's posting):

I believe science and religion ARE on the same page, and always have been. It's just man's interpretation of the evidence through the years and liberal society's suppression of a Supreme Being and Creator that's dismissed this evidence.

There's a huge amount of recent scientific evidence - primarily geological and astronomical - that only makes sense if you are open to considering a "young earth" (~6,000 years), a worldwide flood and creation occurring over six days. Unfortunately, this evidence (of course) remains unpublished in the popular media. Many stalwart scientists are starting to admit there must have been a Supreme Creator of the universe.

Check out the following link for more info. Their store sells several scholarly books on this subject. 

http://www.answersingenesis.com

By the way, the Big Bang Theory has largely been dismissed by most scientists; both creationists and evolutionists. However, this has also not been published in the media.

To whet your curiosity (and those of your readers) here are a few items that can't be easily explained by "millions of years" or evolution.

1. Fossilized fish in the middle of a bite (fish in fish's mouth) - something occurred rapidly to kill them (flood?)

2. Fossilized fish in the midst of giving birth - ditto above.

3. Fossilized tree trunks clearly cutting across distinct geologic strata - like that could happen through millions of years!

4. Fossilized cone shells in the Grand Canyon strata all pointing the same way - a fast occurring flood? Normally, they point in random directions.

5. Human footprints along with dinosaur prints in the sandstone formation of an ancient creek bottom in Texas.

6. Fossilized jellyfish? Wouldn't they have decomposed long before pressure through "millions of years" would have fossilized them? Ditto with the fish examples above.

There are many other biological examples that are difficult to explain via evolution that I won't go into right now. However, the Second Law of Thermodynamics (systems degrade over time) is a biggie.

Picture of the Day - 8/26/08

Many states in the midwest, northeast, and northwest have collections of covered bridges built between the mid-1800s through about the 1920s. Parke County (with the city of Rockville as the central hub) in Western Indiana claims to be the "Covered Bridge Capital of the World" with 40 local bridges. Many of these are still in use. Usually, they are named after the builder - in this case, McAllister's Bridge, which was built in 1914 and crosses the Little Raccoon Creek. It spans 126 feet and continues to be used today. This image was created from a composite of five separate images spaced apart by 1 stop of light each (one "stop" being equivalent to half or double the amount of light). This allows reproduction of detail in both the highlights and shadow areas - something a single frame is unable to capture due to limited dynamic range of the imager chip. This more closely simulates what the human eye is able to capture.

We photographed 12 bridges today!

Picture of the Day - 8/25/08

"The American Farmer" - We're driving from the Detroit area in Michigan through Ohio to visit with our good friends Bob & Mary in Indiana. This is a pretty typical farm in this part of the country. The crop pictured is soybeans, which are used in a variety of ways (oil, part of margarine, tofu and protein supplements). Feed corn is usually alternated with the crop of soybeans to keep the soil from "wearing out". I decided to emphasize the sky because the clouds were interesting and to give the farm a sense of place.

Picture of the Day - 8/24/08

We spent most of the day at the highly acclaimed Henry Ford Museum in Greenfield (near Dearborn), Michigan. Ford loved to collect the latest technology of his day and days past - and steam locomotives formed a major part of the exhibit. The engine pictured here is a 1941 Allegheny - among the largest and most powerful of their day. They were designed to haul freight; mainly coal and iron, in trains up to 1.25 miles long. The engine and tender weighed over 600 tons! A six-foot person would be about even with the C&O logo on the front. Top speed was 60 mph. Diesel-electric engines soon took over and all 60 locomotives in this class were retired after only 15 years of service.

I was born in 1951, just as steam engines were nearing the end of their era. I remember moving from the San Francisco to central Orange County, California in 1953 and taking the steamer to get there. I still have the small wooden suitcase my parents gave me to hold a few toys and books during the trip. As I was just two years old at the time, the engine must have made quite an impression to have remembered the trip so vividly.

Tomorrow, we turn homeward-bound...

Picture of the Day - 8/23/08

We decided to relax, reorganize the trailer and catch up on email and blog postings today. While I was busy photographing fellow geeks all week, Sheila took a few exploratory trips around the Detroit area. One of these trips included the Detroit Zoo, which features an underwater observation tube in the harbor seal tank. I loved the bright color and the ambient lighting. The people watching give the composition some perspective within an almost surreal abstract surrounding. Taken with a Canon PowerShot S3-IS.

Picture of the Day - 8/22/08

While Detroit's city center is impressive, times have been hard on the region's manufacturing industry. In our wanderings, we found several areas of crumbling tenements, gutted buildings fenced off and general squaller. The entire city is strewn with trash and it's obvious there's no pride among the citizenry who live there. There is much opportunity for urban redevelopment.

On a more upbeat note (get it?), Detroit remains a center for musical talent and there were several street concerts the week we were there. The "Motown" sound lives on here!

Picture of the Day - 8/21/08

OK, just one picture from the conference I was photographing - only my good friend and fellow photographer, Brent DeWitt from HP - obliged and took the photo for me. I'm posing with Hao An (technical editor) and Xie Hong (Chief Editor) with Safety & EMC Journal, China's largest product regulatory magazine at 500,000 circulation. I had recently written an article for their May 2008 English edition and it was a real pleasure to see them again.

Picture of the Day - 8/20/08

Here's one more architectural shot from yesterday, as the conference photos today wouldn't be of much interest. This is the General Motors world headquarters complex, which includes the Marriott (conference hotel). See what I gave up to live for the week in our trailer?  :)

It's located right on the riverfront across from Windsor, Ontario, and just down the street from Cobo Center. Since this angle was catching the sun's reflections, I decided to reduce my aperture down to a minimum (f28) and create these eye-catching sun-stars. I corrected the vertical tombstoning distortion using Photoshop's Edit > Transform > Perspective control. I wonder if they'd use this for the cover of their next annual report?  :)

Picture of the Day - 8/19/08

Well, you'll be getting another dose of architecture, because downtown Detroit has plenty worth capturing. This is the old Mariners' Church, next to GM's world headquarters. According to the nearby plaque, in 1842, according to the will of Julia Ann Anderson, Mariners' Church was organized to serve the spiritual needs of the Great Lakes seamen. The Gothic Revival church was built in 1849 on the northwest corner of Woodward Avenue and Woodbridge Street. In 1955 the church was moved to make room for the Civic Center plaza. Hauled 880 feet along steel rails to the present site, the 3000-ton limestone structure blocked Woodward Avenue traffic for 21 days. The church was immortalized in the 1975 ballad "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" as the "cathedral" where "the church bell chimed 'til it rang 29 times."

Picture of the Day - 8/18/08

The engineering conference venue is in Detroit's Cobo Center - a very large conference building located downtown near the riverfront. Looking out across the Detroit River lies Windsor, Ontario. Detroit is Joe Louis' hometown and he's immortalized here in the main lobby of the Cobo Center.

Picture of the Day - 8/17/08

We finally arrived at our KOA Camp near Detroit, where I'll be photographing a large engineering conference this week. I'll try to find some non-conference pictures to share, but no promises, as the job will keep me fairly busy.

Here's a picture of one happy dog! Foxie loves to travel with us and has adapted well to the gypsy life we're living. As she caught sight of me checking out the campground, I caught her with my Tamron 28-300mm travel lens looking out the screen door of our trailer. This KOA is a large RV park located near Ypsilanti, about 20 miles SW of Detroit.

Picture of the Day - 8/16/08

Today, we spent the entire time trying to get close to Detroit, driving through Wisconsin, Illinois and ending just east of Gary, Indiana. There were no pictures worth sharing today, so how about one more - a 180 degree panoramic - from Roosevelt NP. This was taken at one of the higher viewpoints in the loop drive of the South Unit. I used Panorama Maker 4.0 to stitch five individual images together.

We plan to stay at a nearby KOA camp near Detroit for the entire next week. I'll try to continue sending non-conference pictures, if I can.

Picture of the Day - 8/15/08

This morning, we drove the scenic loop at Theodore Roosevelt NP (South Unit) - a little-known park in western North Dakota. A couple white-tailed deer posed willingly for us. The park lies along the Little Missouri River and is the general area where Roosevelt spent his time hunting. He also bought into a ranch just south of the park, later moving to the North Unit a few miles from where we were. The Civilian Conservation Corps (created under Roosevelt's "New Deal"), created several improvements around the park in later years.