Cee’s FFC: Fire

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week, is to “show off a few photos of the Chinese element of fire.”

The only photo I have of real fire, is this one which provided a very welcome bit of warmth when we went for dinner one evening in England to ‘The Barn at Alfold’. The Barn was built in 1590, and its wooden beams are all original, dating back to the days of the Spanish Armada. I wonder if the fireplace is the same age. Incredible to think of how many people must have basked in its warmth, including Ernest Hemingway, who frequented this establishment in the 1940′s, during the Second World War.

We’re all familiar with the sight of candles on a Birthday cake. Elyse managed to blow them all out at once.

At night, houses can look as though they are on fire, like these we saw in Savannah in December.

A true gold and orange sunset like this one over the Venice Lagoon, really makes the sky look all aflame, and that’s when I think the sun looks really hotter than hot, almost like molten lava.

To see more bloggers’ interpretations of Cee’s challenge, just click here.

If you haven’t yet voted for my ‘Trump Tower’ photo in the Rodposse Photo Competition, you can see my entry here. Thanks so much to all of you who have already voted for me. I really appreciate your support. 🙂

My entry for RPC #5: ‘Lines of New York City’

I have entered the Rodposse Photo Challenge again with this photo of  ‘Trump Tower’ in Midtown Manhattan, NYC. If you would like to vote for me, please be so kind as to click on this link, and press ‘like’.

http://rodposse.com/2013/01/30/20th-challenger-lines-of-new-york-city/

Thank you so much. 🙂
This iconic bronze and black beauty, the tallest residential building in NYC, soars 863 feet into Manhattan’s skyline. It was built in 2001 at a cost of between $3-400 million. Wouldn’t you just love to have a peek inside one of those super luxury apartments, or even Donald Trumps penthouse way up on the 68th floor with its gold and diamond covered door?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://rodposse.com/2013/01/30/20th-challenger-lines-of-new-york-city/#comment-6013

Jake’s theme: Focused attention.

“Obstacles are those frightful things you can see
when you take your eyes off your goal.”
~Henry Ford

Jake has given us some fine examples of images which demonstrate ‘focused attention’.  He defines it as “the cognitive process of selectively concentrating on one aspect of the environment while ignoring other things.”

I chose a few photos which to me suggest that something or someone is paying very close attention to the job in hand, to the exclusion of everything else.

This Great Blue Heron outside my house here in Florida, was obviously focusing on his next meal.

My sister-in law’s poodle, Luca, was keenly focused on the rabbit amongst the fairies and black cats in her mom’s back garden. She did make a dash for it, but of course that rabbit was very quick off the mark. 🙂

Little Max was fascinated by the ‘Remnants of Supernova’ exhibit at the Museum of Natural History in New York.

Back home in South Africa, this Vervet monkey was very focused on my bananas in the fruit bowl. Unfortunately for him, the door was closed.

If you would like to join in, or see more very focused pics from other bloggers, just click here.

Italian Walls for Ailsa’s theme.

Ailsa’s new travel theme is walls, and so many of my photos have buildings in them, so this challenge called for a bit of restraint, or I’d be posting a gallery of hundreds.

I really loved the Italian architecture when I visited in October 2011, so decided to feature some of the walls I saw there. Click on any image to be taken to the photo gallery.

The outer walls of the Colosseum in Rome.

Inner wall of the Colosseum

Excavations of ancient walls in Rome.

More excavations.

Pontificia Studiorum Universitas,

Restaurant in Rome.

Ruins of Pompeii

Exotic mural in a Pompeii brothel

Another item on the menu.

The Duomo in Florence.

Hotel in Florence.

Apartments in Venice.

Weathered walls in Venice.

Apartments along Venice canal by night.

To see more bloggers’ interpretations of Ailsa’s theme, just click here.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Love

“If music be the food of love, play on.”  ~ Shakespeare

Whilst roaming in Rome, we were on our way to view some archaeological excavations, when I heard beautiful music and went to investigate. There under a shady tree, was a young clarinetist serenading the passersby. People dropped a few Euros into his case, as they literally danced past. An elderly Italian couple, obviously still very much in love, stayed and danced for quite a while, as he played the wonderful love song, “Besame Mucho.”

Besame, besame mucho,
Each time I cling to your kiss, I hear music divine,
Besame mucho,
Hold me my darling and say that you’ll always be mine.
This joy is something new, my arms enfolding you,
Never knew this thrill before.
Whoever thought I’ll be holding you close to me,
Whispering it’s you I adore.

They seemed oblivious to everyone except one another and the music, which obviously evoked for them, wonderful memories. I stayed and watched them dance, and I really felt the love.

To see more entries for this challenge, just click here.

4th RPC winner. Thank you fans.

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”  ~ William Arthur Ward

This morning when I opened my computer, I was astonished to see congratulation emails from generous fellow bloggers, which told me that I was the winner of the 4th Rodposse Photo Competition, with a record 154 votes. There were some really awesome entries, and I so enjoyed looking at them all. Thanks to Rodposse and to all of you who voted for my ‘Reflections of Amsterdam’ photo.

The photo was taken with a 35mm Kowa SLR, long before digital cameras came into being, and has always been a favourite of mine, so I’m absolutely thrilled that so many of you like it too. 🙂

I almost forgot to show you my lovely certificate. 😀

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Wood

This week, Cee has asked us to show off a few photos of wood.

We all know how essential trees are to the well-being of our planet, but many of them get chopped down for one or other reason. Sometimes they are alien trees and are not good for the other trees around them, as was the case here with these Eucalyptus trees in South Africa.

We use wood for so many purposes, and when visiting New England, one of the things I most wanted to see were the old covered bridges. The beautiful book and film, ‘The Bridges of Madison County’ had really sparked my interest in these.

Wood carving is an ancient craft, and I saw some gorgeous examples whilst in Bali.

Africa is also well-known for its wooden sculptures.

In England whilst visiting a bluebell wood near to my mom-in-law’s, I was surprised to find this beautifully carved bench, just waiting for us to rest our legs.

The oldest tree I’ve ever seen was this petrified Redwood in Yellowstone Park. You might have thought that in the USA, Redwoods are exclusive to California and southern Oregon, but you’d be wrong.

This plaque explains how it got to be there.

Just for fun, here are my two pets in South Africa. Because we travel and are away so much, I have animals that don’t need feeding, brushing, or taking for walks, but are always there waiting for me when I get home.

I know Fido doesn’t look very happy, but it’s just the breed. 🙂

Princess is quite content to sleep on the staircase, and never complains about anything.

If you’ve enjoyed my pics, why not pop over the Cee’s blog to join in, or just check out other entries for the theme?

I would like to thank all of you who have voted for me in the Rodposse Photo Challenge. I am currently in the lead, and voting  ends tomorrow, so if you want to see my entry, just click on the above link, and if you like it, please click on ‘like’. Thanks so much. 😀

This is my entry for the Rodposse photo challenge: Reflection.

If you like this pic, and haven’t already voted for me, would you be so kind. Thank you. 🙂

Rodposse.

Here is a photo of Amsterdam
The photographer is..
Sylvia
https://adinparadise.wordpress.com/
GOOD LUCK

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Wordless Wednesday

Seen on the beach in San Pedro, Belize:

Jake’s Theme: Simplicity

“What’s really important is to simplify. The work of most photographers would be improved immensely if they could do one thing: get rid of the extraneous. If you strive for simplicity, you are more likely to reach the viewer. ”
~ William Albert Allard of National Geographic.

Jake’s Sunday Post this week, says “Simplicity is the state or quality of being simple. It usually relates to the burden which a thing puts on someone trying to explain or understand it.
Something which is easy to understand or explain is simple, in contrast to something complicated”

This being the case, I decided to post a few really simple pics.

Here is a simply sweet little lighthouse that we saw as our ship sailed into Nassau in the Bahamas.

Here are some simply gorgeous Bougainvillea bushes at my mom’s house in South Africa.

Have you ever tasted a simply purple cauliflower?

Little Max obviously thought his sister’s ‘Little Mermaid’ was simply delicious. 🙂

Mr. Meerkat is simply the cutest.

This white peacock is simply beautiful.

Of course my post wouldn’t be complete without something to eat, like this simply scrumptious lobster salad,

and for dessert, a simply divine chocolate mousse.  Enjoy. 🙂

For more interpretations of Jake’s theme, or to join in the fun, simply click here.