Urban Landscapes 2014

1- Time is running

The theme of our photos is time is going by.

We took three different photos with three different times of day. The first one was taken at midday. The second one at 4 pm and the third one at 7 pm.

We can see that these three photos were taken at the same place. We took these three photos at the Grande Arche situated at la Défense, Paris business center.

Each time the weather was different. On the first one, the sky is blue, with a few clouds and we can see a can of Coke in the foreground, it's standing. On the second one it's flat on it's side and the sky is grey and cloudy. Finally on the third photo, the can is crushed and the Arch is shining while the sky is darker.

These three photos show the immobility of objects with time while people move on with their lives.

      

2- Different aspects of skyscrapers

We decide to take pictures of La Defense’s Towers. These are 3 photos of an urban landscape which were taken from a balcony during different moments of the day. The first one was taken after a raining time with a rainbow above. On the second one we can see clouds in a blue sky above towers. Finally the third one is represented during the evening, with clouds and the moon in the middle.

Although everybody thinks that these towers are always the same and never change, there are many ways to see it. That’s why we took these pictures : to show you that you never observe it with the same eye.

La Defense is a daily landscape, we often notice it and everybody knows it. People don’t really care about these towers because we are too habituated to see it, therefore we want to show you different aspects. For exemple, tourists don’t evalue it with the same eye than the workers.

Alien Landscapes In Pictures, II

            I had a blast collecting photos for my running slide-show of “alien landscapes” (see my earlier post for May 5), created to accompany the book-signing on June 27.  The McKenna Center at Seton Hill University will be filled with authors selling and signing their works, and I hope to have a slide-show running on my iPad at my table to promote the feelings of my own book, The Man Who Loved Alien Landscapes.  (I’d secretly love a big HD screen to be set up behind me, but that might be overdoing it.) 

            Over a thousand pictures are in the slideshow, so I’m certainly not giving anything away by sharing some here.  I showed three in the May 5 post and here are four more. All of these are terrestrial scenes—nothing interplanetary or interstellar (how I wish!).  But the point is the mood that many of the photos convey, the sense of strangeness, the “pause of reason” (as Samuel Johnson defined “sense of wonder”), the unfamiliarity, the delay before one can orient one’s perception, and the occasional vague hint of the sublime. 

            This first one is from Badlands National Park in South Dakota.  My wife and I were driving through, late in the day when the sun was low, and I suddenly yelled out, “Stop here, stop here!”  Carol, used to me doing this, pulled over and I quickly jumped out and soon was running all over the mounds for views and angles of the incredibly colorful and well-lit views.  The formations are clayey mud deposits that are easily weathered by rain—which seldom comes to this dry realm, but when it does it has a strong corrosive effect since there’s little growth to hold back erosion.  Most of the colors of the mounds are gray (bentonite is the predominant material), but bands of red and, in the lower levels of the park, yellows appear from traces of iron oxide—and the lowering sun added to the heat and mellowness of the scene. 

            This next views are from Yellowstone National Park, and I can’t imagine all the geysers, hot springs, and mud pots making a more “alien” impression.  The various geyser basins make up only small regions in a park dominated by more expectable pine forests, open fields, and mountains (and one utterly magnificent canyon), but walking through the geyser areas makes you feel you’re on another planet, negotiating a crust that is boiling beneath you, that breaks out in peaceful or not-so-peaceful cauldrons of hot activity, right before your eyes or right beside you. You can feel the subterranean steam and hot spray.  And some of the pools are so pristine and blue (and hot) that I started calling them, “the eyes of the Earth.”  You can see what I mean in just these two pictures:

             Last is a cliff in the Grand Canyon.  This is a view from Moran Point on the South Rim.  I could have used many stunning vistas of the entire canyon itself, but I found this one scene so appealing because, even in the stark white-out of mid-day light, the colors of the strata were still glorious.  They were distant and thus paled, so I did increase the contrast to bring out the tones (done to nearly every digital picture), but the colors are accurate--and altogether stunning.  The Navajos call parts of their Arizona realm “the land of the sleeping rainbow,” and you can find thousands of visual examples for that line. As in this image here.

            I hope you enjoy.  

            And since I found so many possibilities for inclusion while doing this, the next post (which I’ll start writing in minutes) will be on three more such pictures.  See you there. 

Argentina Landscapes and Places

Salentein Vineyard

Bodegas Salentein lies in the province of Mendoza—the most important winegrowing region of Argentina—boasting some 350,000 vineyard acres and more than 700 wineries. Bodegas Salentein is a leader in the transformation of the Argentinean wine industry from old-world to world-class.


 

Aconcagua Mountain

Aconcagua is located in the heart of the Argentine-Chilean Central Andes, at 22,835 feet, is the highest mountain in the world outside Himalayas. The name Aconcagua comes from the Quechua word and it means "Stone Sentry". This mountain was first explored by the Incas, where they used to celebrate their rites in the Andean summits.

 

Caminito, La Boca

This is the main attraction in La Boca, Buenos Aires's original Little Italy. A pedestrianized street a few blocks long with a colorful, kitschy collection of painted houses known as conventillos (flimsily built houses that immigrants lived in), it's lined with art displays explaining the history of the area.

 

Cafe Tortoni

Café Tortoni was founded in 1858 and is the oldest coffee shop in Argentina. It is unquestionably the most famous. With a rich history, it has been visited by anybody who was anybody in Argentinean literature, politics or art. Hilary Clinton has also visited Café Tortoni and is quoted as saying, "What a treat to visit a piece of history and enjoy both the ambience and the delicious meal."

Hill of Seven Colors (Cerro de los Siete Colores), Jujuy

The different colors correspond to different kinds of minerals, formed during the cretaceous period, 65 millions of years ago after the dinosaurs extinction. I has been proposed as Natural Monument.

 

Hill of Seven Colors (Cerro de los Siete Colores), Jujuy

 

Iguazu Falls in Summer

A memorable experience and a spectacle of nature, they are considered a wonder of the world. These falls originated 200 thousands years ago in the place that today is known as “the 3 frontiers” marked with stone pillars, where the Iguazú river and the Paraná river meet.

Iguazu Falls - The Devil's Throat

This one has become the most impressive falls of the group, The Devil’s Throat. Eighty meters high, it is located on the principal river course. Depending on the water level, you can see anywhere between 160 to 260 falls, that on average flow at a rate of 1500 cubic meters of water per second.



 

Bariloche View from Cerro Otto

San Carlos de Bariloche, the main tourist destination in Río Negro Province and one of the main tourist destinations in Argentina, is located in the northwest of the Argentine Patagonia, at 770 meters above sea level, on the shores of Lake Nahuel Huapi. It is 1,680 kilometres away from Buenos Aires City. The colours and hues of the landscape vary according to the time of year, with each season offering its own special surprise: sheer green in summer, ochre and yellow in autumn, multicolour in spring and stunning white in winter.

Route View, El Calafate, Santa Cruz

El Calafate is a village where the inhabitants have made of hospitality a cult. It is a peaceful and picturesque settlement, a heaven of peace and vegetation, where the Patagonian beauty can be discovered. It is a place where steppes, mountains, lakes, woods and glaciers coexist with rich native flora and fauna.

20 Beautiful Scenery And Colourful Landscapes

Our planet is blessed with amazingly beautiful places. Some of these places are so beautiful that one can't believe unless they visit the place. If you are looking for beautiful pictures of such places than you have come to the right place. If you enjoy looking at pictures of beautiful scenery then you are sure to like this web page. In this page I have posted some 20 or so colorful and beautiful scenery photographs.

Sometime back in Planet Apex I posted 25 beautiful scenery I got in an email. Many people liked it very much. You can see that in the comments I got for posting those beautiful scenery pictures. All the photographs below are real scenery and landscape photos. Some of these maybe a bit touched by digital enhancements made by the photographer or publisher.

Plitvice Lakes in Croatia

Located in a mountainous area in Croatia, the Plitvice Lakes are considered to be among the most beautiful natural sights in Europe. The Plitvice Lakes consist of a series of 16 beautiful lakes in the Plitvice Lakes National Park. The lakes are inter-connected by a series of beautiful waterfalls and set in deep woodland.

Located two hundred miles east of Fiji's main island, the Lau Archipelago is spectacular group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. There are around one hundred islands and islets in the archipelago. The Lau Archipelago is one of the most beautiful places in the world with spectacular unspoiled scenery, a rich undersea environment ripe for exploration, and villages that still honor the old Fijian ways.

Aerial View of Paris City.

Part of Paris city as seen from the famous Eiffel Tower. In Paris they don't allow to tear down old buildings and build taller skyscraper any where you want. You can build tall buildings only in certain zones of the city.

Beautiful Mosel River in Germany

The scenery along the Moselle river is characterized by sunny vineyards, steep hillsides, picturesque wine villages and romantic towns. The Moselle cycle route follows the course of the river, offering not only beautiful panoramas but is also almost climb-free.

Punch Bowl Falls

Punch Bowl Falls is a waterfall on Eagle Creek in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, Oregon, United States. Punch Bowl Falls is quite possibly the most photographed waterfall in the entire Pacific Northwest. How many thousands of green color shades are there in this picture!

England is a land filled with beautiful scenery. This is a scenic photograph of a part of the Grasmere village which is a popular tourist destination, in the center of the English Lake District. This world famous village is a classic tourist attraction by the River Rothay with attractive architectural and historic character.

Beautiful Seychelles Islands

This is a photograph taken from a mountain in Seychelles. As you can see Seychelles is a beautiful country that consist of islands like in this photo. It is situated in the Indian Ocean and was once a British colony like so many other beautiful islands in the Indian Ocean.

Beautiful Galapagos Islands

The Galapagos Islands are beautiful tropical islands located in the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Ecuador. These islands are actually an archipelago of volcanic islands. The Galapagos Islands are extremely famous for the sheer beauty of the islands themselves. 

Victoria Falls in Africa

The famous Victoria Falls of Africa. This waterfall is located in southern Africa on the Zambezi River between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe. Victoria Falls is the largest waterfall in the world. It is also one of the world's most beautiful waterfall.

Snow covered mountain

Picture of a hot spring located in Turkey

A hot spring located in beautiful Pamukkale in Turkey. There are so many hot springs and travertines, terraces of carbonate minerals left by the flowing water in this area. These provide a unique appearance of the area and make Pamukkale one of the most unique places in the world.

Galle Fort in Srilanka

This is the famous Galle Fort located in the city of Galle in southern part Sri Lanka. It is said to be nearly 500 years old and the fort is still intact and one of the world heritage sites. People still live in the age old colonial houses of the fort and it is one of the best preserved forts in the world. This amazing picture is obviously taken from a helicopter. You can see the interior of the southern Sri Lanka and the Indian Ocean in the background.

Eagle Cap Wilderness

Another beautiful scenery from America. This is a photo of Eagle Cap wilderness in summer/autumn. The Eagle Cap Wilderness lies in the heart of the Wallowa Mountains in northeastern Oregon. It is one of Oregon's premier backpacking areas and is regarded as a recreational paradise

Most UK countrysides heating in the summer sunshine is picturesque. In this photograph you see sheep grazing in a green pasture in English and Welsh border. It's an amazing vista! 

Green country road.

Beautiful scenic country road shaded by trees. This will be a great road to drive a Ferrari GTO I wrote here about previously.

Blue Lake in Mount Gambier

Areal view of Blue lake in Mount Gambier, South Australia. It is a large monomictic lake located in an extinct volcanic maar associated with the Mount Gambier maar complex. It is one of four crater lakes on Mount Gambier.

Beautiful Glacier Canyon scenery.

Beautiful scenery of thunder and lightning

Saint Michael's Mount

This is a picture Saint Michael's Mount is a rocky tidal island and a commune in Normandy, France. It is located approximately one kilometre (just over half a mile) off the country's north coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches. The population of the island is 40 odd.

Cape Farewell

This beautiful sceneries is cape farewell. Cape Farewell is a headland in New Zealand, the most northerly point on the South Island. It was named by a crew member of Captain James Cook who discovered Australia. It is said that this was the last piece of land seen by them in their great voyage of discovery before returning home.

Linear Landscapes: 3rd Grade

I made this lesson during my student teaching. Basically, 3rd graders create a landscape using lines only! It sounds simple, but a lot of them have a hard time grasping this concept. I tried to assist by creating an example.

I started the lesson by talking about this piece by Emil Harmin. We talked about the types of lines that are found in the picture. I also asked students about the texture the line-types create i.e. bumpy, flowy, windy, etc.

I showed this photograph:

And this was the "teacher's example" I created to demonstrated how to create a landscape using lines only.

Previously, I did a watercolor wash on top of the landscapes; I decided not to this round, maybe next time.

Students used this landscape photograph to draw from. I told the students they did not have to do the reflection in the water, but they were allowed to if they wanted!

This lesson is a great way to get students thinking about the element of line!

Here are some student examples! I apologize for the quality/shadows on each photograph. I take these photos with my iPhone, it's hard to capture the beautiful art completely!

Good morning Singapore

Senkoji temple of Japan