Summer Visitor

 Margaret spotted this butterfly sitting in a puddle near our mailbox.  

 

We thought at first it might be in trouble.  However, it flew away when I approached -- and then returned again and again.  Just thirsty.

1948

 When we went to watch the flamenco performance on Saturday in Old Town I felt compelled to stop momentarily to photograph this Chevrolet.  Several other people stopped to admire the car also, impressed by the faultless restoration.

I thought my little Canon digital nicely captured the character of the car. The camera is not as compact as my Panasonic Lumix, but it has the virtue of an eye-level viewfinder which makes sunny day photos feasible.

Flor de Alcachofa

 

Sunday at the Museum

 

Walking the Dog

 

Look Up!

 The weather reports show a good week for Albuquerque's annual Balloon Fiesta. 

It has been a long time since I felt tempted to brave the crowds and traffic at the event site.  My usual strategy is to keep a camera loaded with film and wait for some balloons to pass over my house.  The chances look a bit thin this year for that to work as the slight predicted winds are mostly pointing the wrong way.

Rainforest Ghosts

 My little Amazon diorama has reappeared on my desk.  The big fishbowl I found in Las Cruces sat there empty for a long time.  I liked the vessel's clarity and shape.  Then, recently, I saw a small fern I liked and soon afterward a miniature African Violet. I made a quick trip into the Sandia foothills for some moss; that and a bit of potting soil brought the terrarium back to life.

 Last night's PBS news included an interview with a Norwegian human rights investigator about the currently dreadful state of life in the Northwest Amazon where the tropical forest is being destroyed by timber harvesters, oil exploitation and agricultural clear cutting.  Drug cartels reign there now over vast areas with little effective resistance offered by national government forces.

Such a contrast to the time I was there when Colombia's perpetual violence was at a low level. At that point rubber harvesting had receded in importance, and the wisdom of indigenous tradition allowed the region's peoples to regain some degree of dignity and independence. 

A Happy Accident

 

My first step in editing scanned pictures in PhotoShop 12 is usually to click on (Image/Adjustments/Shadows and Highlights).  Recently, I clicked instead by accident on the next item below, HDR Toning.  The result was a one click adjustment of tonalities in the b&w image I happened to be working on, and it looked as good as anything I get from a sometimes lengthy bout with the the Shadows and Highlights adjustment.

I was curious how the HDR Toning adjustment would handle color, so I did a quick digital shot with my Canon Powershot of my always helpful model.  As with the b&w image, the instant HDR Toning result with the color shot was an adjustment of tonality that I thought very good, and the color had none of the garish over-saturation that plagues so many of he HDR images I see online.  There is a menu of adjustments in the HDR Toning feature, but I'm perfectly happy with the defaults.  If I need to make any additional adjustments I would likely use the standard Shadow/Highlights or Contrast features of the program.

I don't suppose any of this would be news to PhotoShop users who are actually proficient with the program, but it will be a time saver for me.

Ends with a Bang

 We ate a lot of artichokes and gave away about an equal number.

Three or four are left on the two plants at the south side of our house.  The blossoms most clearly reveal the relationship to thistles.  In our Southwest climate the artichokes grow all year and one of the plants nearest to a slightly leaky faucet is now about four feet in height.

GMC Morning

 

Catching Some Rays

 

Mid-March Morning

 

At the Museum

 A few images from the current exhibition, 

Coast to Coast to Coast: Indigenous Art from the McMichael Canadian Art Collection

Taksam (woodbug) - Beau Dick

Eagle Spirit - Simon Dick

Transformation Mask - Art Thompson

Chief of the Undersea Kingdom - Johnny Davis

Chief of the Undersea Kingdom - Charlie George Sr.

Crooked Beak of Heaven  - Henry Speck Jr.

Albuquerque Spring

 

The Neighborhood

River Otters at the Aquarium

Morning in Old Town

 

The Cat

 

Early Spring

 Albuquerque is enjoying mild temperatures and mostly sunny skies.

Still time for a late cold snap, but another hot summer is likely on the way.

Curve-billed Thrasher

 

A Little Snow for Albuquerque

 The city's Spring-like weather has been interrupted by a bit of winter.

The jasmine is undeterred.

The Morning Cat