Today I bring you eight of my favorite images from among those I have seen in the past few days.

I really like this Trey Ratcliff black & white version of the old Flatiron Building in New York City. I have seen this building in person.  It was an unusual way to fill this very narrow street as it intersected with four other bits of urban pavement.

I think the choice of b&w is perfect for this old and odd piece of architecture. The whifting clouds help make the scene interesting as they oppose the harsh lines of the building. The view is distorted by the use of a very wide angled lens. This type of parallax was/is of course taboo in technical architectural photography, but welcome in art.

I think this picture says Redwoods as much as any I have seen. Redwood images looking up the trunks into the sky are of course not new, but this particular “ordered” view of four primary trunks, with both haze and a sunstar, is completely different from the images I have previously seen. I think this shot makes a perfect “natural” compliment to the manmade image we previously viewed. Photographer/artist Ian Plant deserves the credit for bringing us this great picture.

Modern architecture with its unique twists and turns, and its conflicting patterns and tones, is a natural choice for abstract photography. Aaron Yeoman brings us this twisted, compressed, conflicted yet beautiful black & white view of a stairway in London.

Brian Rueb gives us this beautifully composed image of the California coast. Brian proves that powerful photos don’t have to be taken at the edge of light. There is beauty around us at all hours of the day.

Simple is often beautiful, and this Bernd Flicker butterfly photo proves that. His somewhat symmetrical composition works well here because of both that simplicity I spoke of, and the fact the subject is almost full frame. I cannot picture this image with the butterfly off-center. The depth of field didn’t completely cover the focus on the right wing but that doesn’t effect my eye’s journey at all.

This one is after my own heart. I love foxes and I love photographing them. Roesellen Raimond made this tack sharp and endearing image of a European Red Fox kit, and I am glad he chose to share it with the world.

Cute Fox Cub
by thrumyeye http://goo.gl/i9rbhV

It doesn’t get any better than this. This is a great pose and an image that is both clean and sharp, of a spectacular European Bee Eater. I am proud to say I borrowed this picture from my Flickr Photos group named of course, Earth Images. Evgeny Melnikov is the photographer.

This is the link to Flickr’s web page of what it considers Earth Images best recent images. There are some good ones but I often disagree with Flickr on what Earth Images best photos are. http://www.flickriver.com/groups/earthimages/pool/interesting//

I’ll finish today with this delicate and special flower image by Alaa Aomrei. If you like flower photography as an art form, it is impossible not to like this picture. I could certainly see this image hanging on a wall in a top gallery.

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There is a television station I occasionally watch, that plays videos and music from the world of country music. I turned it on the other day and there was a pretty young lady singing a song and the theme was, I’m damned if I do, and damned if I don’t. I doubt there is a human being that’s ever lived who hasn’t felt that way from time to time. At work, with friends, wherever. At one point in the video there was a church behind the singer. It had a cross on the roof and a sign that read Jesus Saves or something similar. I don’t remember the actual lyrics but in general she sang, if I don’t go to church, I’m told I am doomed to damnation, but if I sit in the front row,  I’m told I am self-righteous and judgmental. Religion, just like every part of life, has its “can’t win for losing” side to it.

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This past Saturday afternoon and evening saw a local PBS TV station (channel 36), show non-stop, the nature/outdoor photography programs, Travels to The Edge (Art Wolfe) and Wild Photo Adventures (Doug Gardner). They alternated the two shows every 30 minutes for many hours. I sat through almost every program despite the fact that I had seen all of them before. These are two very different shows although they are both well worth watching. Art’s program is a world travel show. We wander the world with Art and see things through the eyes of a photographer. Doug Gardner’s program is a filmed entirely stateside and is a nature photography “how to” show. I enjoy shows like this and I am actually surprised, with serious outdoor photography being so popular right now, that there is not more programming of this sort.

I must admit there are times when I watch shows like this, rather than being thrilled, I am instead saddened that my traveling and photography days are over. In fact, there are times, when I am wandering the internet in search of great pictures to share on this blog, I develop a slight bit of sadness that I am only a spectator, instead of the participant, I once was, As a lady photographer friend of mine used to say, “it’s a lifestyle” not just something you do. It gets into your blood.

Go out and celebrate nature by creating a few pictures today.

God Bless,                                                                                                                    Wayne