City of Prescott

I have always pronouced Prescott as "pres-scott" in the past, not until I moved to Arizona, that I learned the local pronounciation is "press-kit". I guess that's one way to tell a local to a visitor. Prescott was the territorial capital until 1889, and has a large number of old Victorian style homes near the downtown area. It also is the home to the oldest running rodeo, which starts June 30th - July 5th this year.
The city itself is not very big, but combined with Prescott Valley and Chino Valley, the population here is around 110,000 plus. The building/development code is probably not as stringent as Flagstaff, so I see a lot more commercial and residential development here than Flagstaff. At 5300 ft in elevation, the location is cooler than Phoenix in the Summer, while not as cold as Flagstaff in the Winter, making it ideal location for retirees and snow birds, :).

Post Office.

Bronze sculpture, on the lawn of the county courthouse.

Part of the Whiskey Row.

St. Pete, FL

I forgot all about these pictures I took while we visited Tampa for my step-daughter's graduation.
These were taken near downtown St. Petersburg. It's weird, the whole time I lived in Tampa area (10 years), I visited that area maybe a handful of times. It just seemed so far away (and it still is from where we stayed).... I do like the area, it has some really nice homes around the area, the flood insurance is the biggest issue now after 2004's hurricane season.

Lazy afternoon.

Fancy hotel.

This guy was visiting different boats.


Excessive. I wonder how many miles to a gallon of gas? Maybe that's why it's docks. Insane......

Fancy Homes

Near downtown Buffalo, there were plenty of opulent homes of yester-year. From what I have gathered, turn of the century Buffalo is fairly industrious (steel being one of them), so lots of money floating around. Most of these houses are quite large, which I can see some of them have been converted to multi-unit apartments.

The one above is under renovation.

Needs a little TLC.

I couldn't remember if this was a church, or part of university building.

This is called the Mansion, looks like a bed and breakfast now.

Niagra Falls, NY Side

My last trip to Niagra Falls was in 99, upgrading a client's system for the Y2K thingy. Too bad I didn't bring my passport, once again I miss the chance to see Horseshoe Fall from the right side......
American Fall in view.

American Fall again.

From Green Island.Again from Green Island - Looking down.

Not so many tourists today. Very cloudy, the wind was shifting around unpredictably, many people got doused from the spray. Would be nice to have a water proof camera, hmmm, next purchase.

Buffalo, NY

Driving through historic Linwood neighborhood. A lot of neat looking Victorian style houses, some have been remodeled, and few are in need of a little TLC.

Colorful sign.

A store front?

Gothic church.

Little Colorado River Gorge in B&W

Located near Cameron, AZ, the Little Colorado River Gorge is truly a must see if you are in the area. The entrance fee is a measely $2 per car. The only thing I wish is that there's a longer trail along the rim, maybe in the future. On State Road 64 (from Cameron heading towards Grand Canyon East Rim), look for Scenic Overlook sign.

It seems like every time I come through here, its in the middle of the day. There's a lot of shadows to deal with when photographing here. It is nice to just sit there and take in the amazing scenery.

Extreme Close-up

I have read about using the reverse lens setup to get really nice macro captures. I finally broke down and bought a reverse ring from Ebay. The way it works is to attach a lens to your camera body, then attach this reverse ring to the lens, just like a filter, then attach the secondary lens to the ring, reversed, as it is front-element to front-element configuration. Of course, your lens thread must match, I am using 49mm to 49mm reverse ring. The second trick is that the outer lens must be wider than the lens mounted on the body, otherwise, you picture will end up with a tunnel effect. I am using two 50mm lenses.

Sample 1, uncropped. This little grasshopper is less than a centimeter long, so I am getting pretty good close-up on this thing.

Cropped - but from another image I took. Very shallow depth-of-field.

Here's what the setup looks like. I am still playing with this setup, so lots to learn.

Anime Girl Spotted!

Real Life Anime Girl found at Grand Canyon, :). I guess matching platform shoes would be too hard to find.......

Snow in June.

Five days into June, the peaks just received a fresh dusting of powder. This has been a fairly wet year so far, which has really greened up the area.

View of the peaks from another side.

Sedona Flora

Desert life in Sedona. Cacti are starting to bloom. These shots were taken near the Chapel of the Holy Cross- A must see.

A very safe nest - great protection.


Cactus blossom.

Of another kind.

I can't keep my plants alive, in real dirt, and this little pine tree is growing in rocks?!

Tampa From Above

It's been way too many trips recently. Went to Tampa area for my step-daughter's graduation. I think I have caught a cold/flu or something, my whole body is aching.

Down town Tampa.

Looking over the bay - and expensive houses. I wonder how much is their insurance? It jumped up a great deal since the hurricane season of '04.

Courtney Campbell Causeway. From Tampa to Clearwater.

Dunedin Causeway.