PHOTO FOR THE DAY

Love the monsoon season.

PHOTO FOR THE DAY

A RETURN

I've been away from the blogging world for quite sometime. The indirect casualty of many changes in my life, a move, dog illness, surgery, new career, etc, etc, etc. What it boils down to is I let the blogging ball bounce away as I tried to keep all the others up in the air. A feat that was moderately successful, though there were so many balls, it was hard to tell when one dropped to the floor. Least to say, things have settled, a few of the juggling balls have been retired, which has allowed me to pick up the blogging one again. For how long, is any one's guess, including mine. What it all boils down to is there are new photos in the archives. Many, many new photos to be posted.  So, where will this lead? How long will it last? Only the road knows.

Most photos are available for purchase. All at very reasonable prices. Please feel free to email me, if you seen any you would like.

PHOTO FOR THE DAY

I wanted sunset photos without power lines streaking across the image, so I headed down from the bridge and maneuvered the truck into a good spot, which became even better once I hopped up on the roof. Now we're talking. 

PHOTO FOR THE DAY

More trains, coming at ya . Saturday was an excellent photo day.

PHOTO FOR THE DAY

And more trains...

PHOTO FOR THE DAY

I do believe I mentioned trains in yesterday's post...

SUNSETS, TRAINS AND BATS - THE TUCSON I KNOW

Yesterday Tucson had not only clouds, but a smattering of rain! The weather people are saying the monsoons have arrived. Though it's a month early, and we haven't had our traditional 2 weeks of pure hell as we wait for there to be enough moisture to gather so it can actually rain. I've lived here a long time and yesterday's rains actually caught me by surprise.

And along with the monsoons comes the spectacular sunsets Tucson is know for. So I grabbed the camera and decided to do a little sunset photography. I surprised myself by heading not towards the mountains, but away. I hit the very eastern edge of town and while driving over a bridge, noticed a bunch of crazy birds flying in erratic patterns. I almost came to a dead stop on the bridge when I realized they were not cracked-out birds, but bats leaving their roosts for their nightly forays. Ooooooo!

I quickly (and by that I do mean churning dirt) pulled off the to the access road leading below the bridge, but by the time I go there, the bats had finished their exodus. Devastated, I hung out for another 10 minutes before giving up and deciding to head out for the sunset shots I originally intended to get. I believe there was pouting involved, complete with lip dragging and dirt kicking. 

I realized the top of the bridge may be a good spot for photos and headed that way. And it was exceptional, except for the traffic. A lot of it. So those of you who drove by the crazy woman at the crest of the bridge yesterday, that was me, thanks for staying on the road.

I made it to the apex of the bridge just as a train was going under. Woot! Train photos! I was so engrossed with shooting the train and the sunset, it took me a minute to realize the dreaded dust spots in my viewfinder were, in truth, bats. Yay me! There were 4 more batches of bats that came out from under the bridge over the next 10 minutes. Not nearly as many as the first group I saw, but still impressive. What a sight! I even remembered to take a couple of photos. Enjoy!

PHOTO FOR THE DAY

The creepy pecan grove. Love the new editing software. 

PHOTO FOR THE DAY

I love lines in photography. There aren't many places better to find suggested lines than an orchard of trees. This pecan grove is just of I-10 and perfect for photos.

PHOTO FOR THE DAY

I love the Arizona sunsets. 

PHOTO FOR THE DAY

This is just a bit south of Tucson, near Tumacacori Mission. I took more photos at the Mission that I can begin to tell you. So many, I haven't had a chance to go through them all yet. 

PHOTOS FOR THE DAY

 As mentioned, I've been doing quite a bit more urban photography. Here are a few more images from the  burned out building.

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One of my friends stayed with me for a bit over the winter. I was fortunate enough to watch her build a stained glass window. It was fascinating to see the plans and bits of glass and watch it turn into a beautiful creation. Such art.

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Now that I am playing on Instagram, I've spent so much more time photographing urban scenes. If you look closely, there is always a photograph waiting. It may be as simple as security bars covering a window in the Lost Barrio.

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A classic Tucson vintage hotel. It's a shame it's closed down.

PHOTO FOR THE DAY

During a wee bit of urban exploring, I came across a burned building. It was a produce warehouse and all that remains are the walk-in coolers. My heart goes out to the local family who lost their building and business.

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One of my recent favorite train graffiti images from my Instagram postings. Looks like he's been there a while doesn't it? How many places has he seen?

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949

One of my new favorite images. I am hoping it will translate well when I have it printed.

I posted this one to Instagram. The square format changes things just a wee bit.