Photography

[KingOfPain]

Pacific West Coast - Los Angeles

This was like the blind men and the elephant, is a story of a group of blind men who have never come across an elephant before and who learn and imagine what the elephant is like by touching it. Each blind man feels a different part of the animal's body, but only one part, such as the side or the tusk. LA was the end of a cruise, a transition to fly back to Vancouver. The ship started to enter port in the twilight hours before sunrise. It was quite a long ride from land ho to where we docked. It was totally not what I expected. Although I still enjoyed seeing different scenery, I wasn't impressed with LA by what I saw. I will first present you with a short video of the trip, see if it sets the mood...




If I have to live here I think I will die young. It was depressing to me. as you can see that trip took from middle of the night to sunrise. Brilliant sunrise, but.




It got even worse once the color was gone and the smog filled the sky, with the sun behind the thick clouds.



Lego Land




One has to make the best what's handed to us - Work the geometric shapes, the haze, apocalyptic feelings....







And the feeling carried all the way to the airport. Twelve years after 911.



Now, I know that was not a fair judgment of LA. San Pedro, although now a part of LA, is a busy major hub for import and export. I am seeing the worst of LA (except for the slums), well, not even the real LA. It was a long and expensive taxi ride from the dock to LAX. Hence the blind men and the elephant.

At least, it was glorious leaving LA. It was blue skies from above!

A glory, also known as a glory of the pilot, a pilot's glory or a pilot's halo, is actually an optical phenomenon. It's not created by the shadow of the plane, but it can appear concurrently and in the same place as one.



In hind sight, I should have booked another day or two to spend in LA. But Vegas was calling.
Speaking of which, I would have to brag that for the entire week of CES I was in Vegas I did not gamble at all. Not until the call for boarding (to leave), then I put a dollar into the slot machine and walked away!



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[RefSteel]

Oh wow - I had forgotten how frequently I used to see random helicoptors in the sky when I lived in Los Angeles! (And an impressive shot of your plane's Brocken Spectre too!)

At least, it was glorious leaving LA.

Shades of Tim Minchin!

I have ... a lot of stories from Los Angeles, but I think not only a visitor but even a lifelong resident (and I'm not one) will never know more than little pieces of the city.

[darrelljs]

Speaking of which, I would have to brag that for the entire week of CES I was in Vegas I did not gamble at all.

That's discipline; the last time I was in Vega for CES I spent more time in the poker room at the Wynn than on the showroom floor .

Darrell

[KingOfPain]

Mexico, Costa Rica

Wikipedia: There are multiple types of volcanoes in Mexico. Volcanoes can be of different types such as cinder cone volcanoes, composite volcanoes, shield volcanoes, and lava domes. Each of these variations of volcanoes forms in its own way. Cinder cone volcanoes are the simplest type of volcano. This volcano forms from particles of solidified lava that ejected from a single vent. When the lava is eruptive and blows into the air, it separates into small fragments that solidify and fall around the central vent to form an oval cone at the top of the volcano. “Composite volcanoes or stratovolcanoes, make up some of the world’s most memorable mountains: Mount Rainier, Mount Fuji, and Mount Cotopaxi.”[1] These volcanoes are very steep sided and symmetrical, in a cone shape. They have a conduit system which allows the magma to flow from deep within the Earth’s surface. They have many vents within the volcano which allows the lava to break through the walls, which allows for the volcano to grow up to thousands of meters tall. Composite volcanoes are also known to explode violently, as (for instance) Mount St. Helens did in 1980.[2] Another type of volcano, known as shield volcanoes, are very large and look like shields from above. The lava from within shield volcanoes is very thin, so when it pours out in all directions from the central summit vent, it travels for long distances. These volcanoes filled up slowly over time, with eruptions creating layers on top of layers. Unlike shield volcanoes, lava dome volcanoes are created by small masses of lava that are too thick to flow very far down the slope. They commonly occur within the creators of large composite volcanoes. The dome grows from lava expanding within the volcano. When lava domes explode, they violently release huge amounts of ash and rock.

The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt is the Neogene volcanic arc that takes place on the southern edge of the North American plate. It is approximately 1000 kilometers long. It overlies the Rivera and Cocos slabs. It’s a unique volcanic belt, as it is not parallel to the Middle American trench, where most of the stratovolcanoes are usually positioned....

The Ring Of Fire. Densely populated volcanoes around Central America



Mexico wasn't the destination, but the flight path to Costa Rica took a slight curve to the east banking west providing a wide open view of the range. Once again, thanks to my lucky charm for sitting on the right side. I am glad I had the chance to witness the Ring Of Fire from above. I can see there were miles and miles of wilderness dotted with volcanoes; some more active than others.



And some not so far from human habitat




I have not played tourist for the longest time. I am not a laying on the beach and drink cocktail all day kind of tourist. But it was enjoyable that I had no agendas, other than attending a destination wedding. I get to sleep in
Playa Hermosa, which translates to Beautiful Beach, is located in northern Guanacaste Province. I would rate it a 7 out of 10 as far as beaches are concerned. 
A really nice time share condo to have stayed in. Very much enjoyed! However, it did not escape me that people are living in rusty shacks soon as I step outside the gates.




Del Coco Beach - The more popular larger center (still just a little village) 6km away attracts more tourists, perhaps a younger crowd. The main street is lined with cars selling food out of the trunks. It looked as they do better business than most of the restaurants. You learn to say "Dónde está el baño?" real quick. I am not saying they are necessary unsanitary, it's more a matter of different resistances and immunities.





What is charming is that Costa Rica has done an awesome job at eco preservation, at least what I can see from these villages. Wildlife is everywhere, where people live.

That's the best capture of these busy buggers I can manage. *Hangs Head In Shame*


Creepy


I came from a broken home


Hermit Crab Convention
Notice the black sand


Turtle Watching in the dark. Hoping to catch some turtles coming out of the stormy sea to lay eggs.


Apparently, turtles are not sensitive to red light, so we shine red light on their asses to better see the live action. I felt like a perv....


Sunsets

Vantage point


A brilliant sunset clear to the horizon. Hoping to catch the Green Flash.

The green flash and green ray are meteorological optical phenomena that sometimes occur transiently around the moment of sunset or sunrise. When the conditions are right, a distinct green spot is briefly visible above the Sun's upper limb; the green appearance usually lasts for no more than two seconds. Rarely, the green flash can resemble a green ray shooting up from the sunset or sunrise point

The differences in a few minutes


The show is not over when the sun sunk below the horizon. The after glow is often more spectacular.

 
Another day, another sunset, somewhere else.


10 minutes later, shifted 10 feet to the left..



And, this is as far as I have made it down to Central America on the Pacific Coast. Good Night Y'all!


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[Mjmd]

Spectacular.

Really like that 2nd volcano shot.

[KingOfPain]

Food Art

Some of you might already know that I have owned and operated restaurants as a chef in the early years. One thing I like most was to carve and create fruit and vegetable garnishes. It's a creative process that is also enjoyably relaxing. The other thing I like is that you can always eat your healthy mistakes. I tell you, I make the most beautiful Vegetable Soup with my mistakes

Recently, I just did up a spread of salad bar as a gift for a friend's wedding; something money can't buy and it was well worth my time. He thought I meant a few carrot and celery sticks, slices of radishes, and a handful of Cherry tomatoes...

One corner of the spread.



Crabs everywhere


There were birds and bees



And the flowers and the trees


And a thing called love


Might as well throw in a butterfly and some mice


Now, imagine all this going onto a soup afterwards





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[Krill]

You know you aren't supposed to upstage the bride on her wedding day?

I know that this could have been a wedding with two grooms

As ever KoP, I am in awe of the time and skill it takes to create these pictures.

[RefSteel]

Yeah, wow - I'm imagining the wedding party's reaction: "Oh, good, KoP's gonna deal with some vegetable platters, one less thing to worry about," turning into "Holy heaven, this is gorgeous! How did he even do all this??"

And yeah, to me, that looks delicious. I can just imagine that soup!

[KingOfPain]

Even my carrot and celery sticks would look like this.




Some simpler cuts








The crab done with Zucchini I often saute it and serve as a vegetable with seafood dishes.


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[Boro]

Is that a pair of penrose triangles made of carrot?