Erie Canal Bridge [Sky watch Friday]

Rochester is fortunate to have many bodies of water in and around it. These include the Finger Lakes, the Genesee River, [Great ]Lake Ontario, Niagara Falls, Irondequoit Bay, and the Erie Canal. They make for numerous sports/recreational activities, as well as photographic opportunities. I have posted a number of images for SWF with the Genesee River [aka the Genny] -- in fact, my blog site header was shot on its shoreline. Today’s image was shot during a walk along the Erie Canal in Pittsford, NY. It was another one of those occasions where I had to resort to using my cell phone to capture what I thought was an irresistible view. 

Rochester Skyline Sunset [Sky Watch Friday]

This continues my 'in and around' Rochester shots. To repeat what one of my photography gurus said, the best camera you have is the one you are carrying. Well, all I had at the time I shot this was my cell phone. As I was waiting for a traffic light to change, this is what I saw and had to capture [albeit, at low res.]; so, one shot and onwards.  Just a little cropping and a few bright-spot removals were all the post-processing I did. I just cannot get into an 'always have my DSLR with me' frame-of-mind... sigh.

Cobbs Hill Reservoir Walk [Sky Watch Friday]

It's time to get back to showing off more Rochester sights. The reservoir up on Cobbs Hill is a favorite place to take a walk, view the city sky line [I have some earlier posts of this], picnic, and/or make music. The black picket fence enclosing the reservoir is punctuated by the presence of a series of lamps, which never fail to catch one's eye. But, it it is not easy getting the right angle/alignment in a shot. Actually, I thought this was fairly decent -- and, it showed some nice blue sky. Hope you like it.

Yellowstone Park [Sky Watch Friday]

This image was generated in the summer of 1979, when the Hattman family was driving cross-country. Yellowstone Park, which is a truly wondrous place -- it has something worth photographing in every direction. The original image was on a 2x2 slide, which I scanned, and the digital version is what you see. To be honest, it needs some editing [to remove some of the Schmutz in the sky, and to reduce the slight blue caste], but I thought I’d post it anyway. The colors in the pool are are due to algal or bacterial [or both] growth. These organisms are thermophiles and acidophiles; i.e. they can grow at very high temperatures and high acidity [probably relatives of the earliest living critters on earth]. Sorry to be so pedantic ----

(Another) Aruba Sunset [Sky Watch Friday]

  

There are already several Aruba Sunset images posted in my Archive, but, I think that there is always room for one more. This was shot [hand-held] earlier this year using my Canon A-720 ‘point-and-shoot’. I mention that to reiterate that one does not need the latest hi-tech camera to generate a good image. 

Icarus [Sky Watch Friday]

This is the last of my 'through the tour bus window' images taken in Ireland last month. It is a statue of Icarus [from Greek mythology], which stands in a roundabout in the town of Ennis [western Ireland]. Some background I took from Wikipedia: Ennis was going to celebrate its 750th anniversary in 1990. In its honor, an aviation company [now defunct] commissioned the statue.  Although the sculptor [John Behan] named it Daedalus, apparently the townspeople began calling it Icarus, and that name stuck. Anyway, as we circled the roundabout, I had just one chance to shoot, and managed to get the backside of it. All the unsightly electric/phone lines were 'cloned out' in Photoshop Elements.

Similarities [Sky Watch Friday]

The two images below come from two vastly different locales, but they bear a striking resemblance in their architecture. The image immediately below is a detail of the Albi Cathedral in the southwest of France. Originally named the Cathedral of St. Cecilia, its construction was begun in 1287 and completed some 200 years later. Now considered to be the largest brick structure in the world, it was had been intended to be a fortress. This view of this side of the church certainly leaves no doubt about that. However, the interior is totally surprising -- it is full of color and decoration, quite the opposite of the stern and forbidding exterior.

 

The next image is that of the Grain Tower located in Schoen Place, right along the Erie Canal near Rochester. Residents of the area pronounce it ‘Shown’ Place; that bugs me since it deserves the German pronunciation [which I cannot spell phonetically in English; you either know it or you don’t]. While this is not a brick building, its size and shape always makes me think of Albi. The structure is actually grey, but the setting sun [and a little help in Photoshop] gave it some color. Oh, I forgot to note that I shot this with my cell phone camera.

Ireland's Changing Skies #2 [Sky Watch Friday]

As 'advertised', I am posting more shots from the emerald isle wherein the sky ranges to brilliant blue with white puffy clouds to just bright grey. In short, we saw everything during our tour; so, there was no way to get bored.

 

This is St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. It was shot on perhaps the nicest day we experienced. 

There were  many lovely vistas along the Ring of Kerry route. 

I'm embarrassed to say that I do not remember the town in which I shot this from a short foot-bridge. Then again, that is not an important detail ---

This shot was taken just outside the Belleek Ceramic Factory [the lupins in the Arrays below were just at my back].