Thoughts and photos from various places in the world.
I took this photo during our recent camping trip to the Blue Ridge mountains, somewhere near Natural Bridge, VA. Although the sky was overcast during our first night, it cleared up afterwards, and we couldn’t believe how many stars were visible during our second night. It was so beautiful and peaceful, that I couldn’t help but feel God’s presence there.
Sometimes, I wake up and skies like this one greet me. How can I pass on taking a photo when I’m faced with such beauty? I cannot, will not, must not.
Taken in North Bethesda, MD.
This was taken from the roof of the Key Bridge Marriott Hotel in Arlington, VA. I’d just finished a meeting and asked a favor from John, the hospitality manager: could he please let me go up for a few minutes to take photos? He kindly agreed, and he, along with a security guard, escorted me through the labyrinthine corridors of the top floor onto the pebble-lined roof.
What a gorgeous view that hotel has! I quickly took a whole series of photos, and I still need to post-process quite a few of those. I really like this one, as it shows the sun just about to fade over the Virginia hills while the old Potomac River goes on about its business.
The story behind this photo is a bit interesting. Ligia and I were visiting St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York when I took this photo. I didn’t have a tripod with me, so this was taken handheld with my 24mm lens. This is why I love fast lenses and cameras that have very little noise.
Three weeks later, close friends of ours were visiting, and I had a gift for them. I asked them to go through the photos I took in Manhattan and pick out one they liked best. I’d then postprocess and print it on the spot. They picked this one and I did my part. A day or so later, I uploaded it to Flickr, and it made it to Explore within 12 hours.
Why the title? Because more people seemed to walk out than walk in.
This past weekend, Ligia and took a trip out to the countryside. Our favorite haunt is River Rd, way out in the fields hugging the Potomac hillsides. There are so many beautiful places out there, and trails galore. You can bring your bikes along, park your car, and push the pedals around all day, exploring the C&O canal trail or the country side roads.
On our way back home, I noticed this field and the reddish hue of its earth. I had to make a U-turn and photograph it. To help give you a sense of scale, that green line at the horizon is made of full-size trees.
Raoul Pop 