Brian Collins is my incredibly gifted nephews. Among his other achievements is photography. My brother, David Crook, took Brian to Desert Botanical Garden recently. Just see what he came up with: a Malachite butterfly (I am so envious) and a cactus blossom. Each first photo is Brian's, and I did a little redigitizing in the second in each group. Brian Collins rocks.
How thrilling to be able to photograph blossoms in my own yard and neighborhood. One of my huge prickly pear cactuses has some stunning yellow blossoms, and my neighbors' red hibiscus is in full and radiant bloom. Couldn't resist.
I recently took this photo of a Julia butterfly on a daffodil at Desert Botanical Garden, and the Arizona Republic published it today in the Arizona Scenic section. However, it didn't seem to display as well as I would have liked. Perhaps too much of the background wasn't focused, but then that's the way it's supposed to be. At any rate, I played around with the photo to see if I could give it a bit more definition. First: the original.
And the touched up photo is here:
What do you think?
One of the many things I like about the Arizona Republic is that is asks its readers to participate. I'm part of a group that responds to some of its surveys. And I submit photos, along with many other photographers. Yesterday morning, the Republic published a photo I took Tuesday. Here it is: a beaver tail prickly pear blossom from one of my own cactuses:
The weekend of March 29-30 found me and Martha Retallick with cameras in hand at Desert Botanical Gardens, Sun City Sun Bowl Rose Garden, and White Tanks Regional Park. Here are a few that I took:
Breathtaking hedgehog cactuses dotted the landscape as we hiked Ford Canyon Trail in the White Tanks.
The Sun Bowl roses graced the southwest corner of the Sun Bowl and provided a delightful hodgpodge of colors and shapes.
Desert Botanical Garden provided many fabulous photo opportunities. Here is a Julia butterfly having a brief respite.
What is as cute as a little kitten interacting with another cat? Let me re-phrase that: I love to watch my new kitty, L'il Bear, interacting with the newly senior cat, Shadow.
The little one just worships Shadow. In fact, he is Shadow's shadow...
Hydrangeas abound on the Big Island. Gorgeous bushes line the driveway of the place I'm staying. The assortment of blossoms you're looking at is at the beginning stages of what will soon be a robust blue color. The inner ivory color is extremely beautiful as well.
When I was growing up in Washington State, our home had two hydrangea bushes: one with blue blossoms, and the other with pink.
Memories!
Today we went on the Holualoa Coffee and Art Stroll, an annual event that showcases many brands of local coffee, plus arts and crafts. While strolling on the grounds of the Holualoa Inn, I spotted this red torch ginger. Enjoy my rendition of this incredible flower!
I'm visiting relatives in Hawaii, and wanted to share a lovely apricot-colored hibiscus with you. There is a huge hibiscus plant behind the house, and I'm enjoying the blossoms tremendously.
R.H. "Harry" Lodge, Division Overseer of Oahu Sugar Company, tells his story of December 7, 1941. Lodge was also a brilliant photographer, and many of his works fill the publication Waipahu at War, which he compiled. I have a copy of this wonderful publication.
A Report on the Pearl Harbor Attack on December 7, 1941 as it affected my section of Oahu Sugar Co. Ltd...R.H. Lodge
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor came as a sudden shock to all of us. How the military could have been so unprepared is one of the puzzling aspects that has not yet been solved. Months prior to the attack, the F.B.I., Army and Navy Intelligence had made studies and census of the plantation workers living on the perimeter of Pearl Harbor which was part of the Waipio Peninsula under my supervision. A few of these workers were Japanese, the balance Filipinos. It appeared obvious that the reason for the study was to plan the evacuation of these people in case of attack. Yet the military, particularly the Navy was caught totally unprepared...
Continue reading "A Report on the Pearl Harbor Attack on December 7, 1941" »
My brother and I just spent some time at the marvelous Phoenix Zoo. Here's a rendition of a cute baby Orangutan:
And here are a couple more...
My brother, David B. Crook, shot a series of dragonflies yesterday afternoon. I did brief edits of each, but not much was needed.
A recent trip to Hawaii gave me the opportunity to photograph some stunning plants and flowers. These two anthuriums are the handiwork of Alice Jenkins. She's an amazing woman.
Recently, my niece Michell Burton came to visit her grandparents, David and Janet Crook. One day she and I went to Glendale Industrial Park to see what the ducks and geese were up to. One never knows!
My brother, David Crook, took some incredible sunset shots yesterday using his new Pentax *ist DS camera. He lives in Westbrook Village, and went to the lake to do some shooting. Plus, he sent one of the sunset photos to Channel 5 in Phoenix, and they ran it tonite. Way to go, bro!
