Themes - Sunsets

You can be in a place of the world where they don't speak English, drive on the wrong side of the road, eat things we think are crazy, or simply strange. No matter where you are though, a sunset is something to pause for. Nature is one of God's gifts for us to enjoy, but some things are a little more special than others, to me. Mountains, lakes, oceans, trees, etc. are there to stay, for the most part. You only get 1 sunset a day, best case scenario. 

So I've accumulated a handful of pictures taken in the waning hours of sunlight.

These two were taken on a hill in Andrew Molera State Park, in Big Sur California in 2011.

There is a spot just a short walk outside of the town of Manarola, in the Cinque Terre area of Italy, where you can watch the sunset over the Italian coastline and the Mediterranean. These two were from my visit in 2007.

Both taken from the same spot.

Then in 2008, I got another in CT:

One of the best sunsets I've ever witnessed was from a hillside overlooking the town of Dubrovnik, Croatia. All around Dubrovnik, there are small mountainous islands in the Aegean Sea. The sun setting makes the silhouettes of the islands even more impressive than in broad daylight.

Vancouver, Canada has some great sunsets, eh? In fact, they've even named one of their beachfronts after them. Sunset Beach on the west side of the island offers some great evening sights. 

2010 Olympic mascot, Inukshuk, putting Vancouver to bed:

During a trip out west with my brother in 2007, we spent a few days in Arches National Park. In Arches, there is a spot called Delicate Arch, which is an image that shows up on the Utah license plate. It's a great spot for watching the sun go down, as you can watch the sun descending directly on Delicate Arch. There are also great views in all directions though, as you've got the sun setting directly to your west and the San Juan mountains due east. 

Taken from a spot just above Delicate Arch

People had been walking all around Delicate Arch, getting their picture taken with and enjoying close-ups of the picturesque arch. Right at about the time the sun started going down on it, everyone cleared out to sit back and watch. Comically though, one person tried to run up to the arch to get their picture taken by it as the sun was going down, and he got booed off the "stage" by the rest of the audience.

I wish I had had a better camera at the time, but it still looks pretty decent for a point and shoot pocket camera. Finally, the sun went down over the horizon and this is what we saw from the Delicate Arch area.

Later in the same trip, we saw the sun going down over some of the high walls near our campsite in Zion National Park. The sunset was not all that amazing, but the rays coming over the mountain walls were pretty cool.

The desert has some of the best sunsets you will find anywhere. I think its a combination of not having much city light polluting the atmosphere, but also the reds and browns of the earth really accent the dimming sunlight. These were taken in the middle of nowhere Utah, while driving from Knoxville to Redding, California.

Check back later. I may add some more if I catch any more good ones.

Themes - Skylines

Over the years, I've had the fortune of visiting a lot of the great cities in the United States, Europe, and even one of Canada's. I wish I could go back and make a more concentrated effort to catch some great pictures of each of those city's skylines, because I think a skyline says a lot about a city. How crowded is it? How clean is it? Do they have mountains nearby? Do they have water nearby? Are the buildings uniform, or do they all just seem thrown together? You could go on and on, these are just a few that I think of when I see a city. First impressions are big after all.

In no particular order, here are some of the cities I've snapped.

Vancouver, Canada:

Seattle, Washington:

Also a great one taken of Seattle at night, from Gas Works Park on the other side of Lake Union. My sisters and I spent the 4th of July watching fireworks from this spot. It was quite an experience, experiencing Seattle for the first time with fireworks in the sky, and this view in the background.

Portland, Oregon:

Downtown Portland, OR with Mt. Hood in the background

San Francisco, California. You might also recognize the "Full House" cameo, a.k.a. the "Painted Sisters".

Or, a little closer to SF, taken from Telegraph Hill:

London, England - 2007:

Although not your traditional sky-scraper dominated skyline, this is still pretty cool. Taken from one of the towers on Prague's main bridge, overlooking the Old Town.

Another less modern cityscape, Salzburg, Austria - a photo of the Old Town:

With a little bit of irony, here is one segment of the Las Vegas skyline, of the New York, New York Casino:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:

Saint Louis, Missouri:

And because it's my hometown, I had to throw it in. The breathtaking downtown Knoxville skyline, Sunsphere and all:

Themes - Corner Buildings and Perspective

Back to my "themes" trend. One of my favorite themes in pictures I've taken is the of corner buildings, or similarly, a shot that shows perspective. I don't know why these interest me so much, but they're fun. Normally I just like landscape and nature pictures, but these are a divergence from my norm. Here's a few from all over:

In July 2011, my sister and I went to visit our other sister who was living in San Francisco at the time. We got to play tourist while she worked during the days. San Francisco has so much to see, yet somehow I managed to take interest in some of the most nondescript buildings and sights. Like those below:

Building on Market St. in downtown SF.

Homes in the Haight-Ashbury area of SF

World-famous Lombard Street in SF

My sister and I were standing at the end of Pier 7 (I think it was #7) when I noticed how the pier seemed to be narrowing the further away it was. It also seemed to be pointing to the Transamerica Building, one of SF skyline's most iconic buildings.

Later on the same trip, the three of us visited Vancouver. We stayed in the heart of downtown, so it was easy to walk just about anywhere for some great views of the city. Vancouver is a beautiful city set right at the feet of some mountains. Forget the mountains though, I've got buildings to see!

 This picture below was taken from the Cambie Street Bridge, over False Creek and looking towards downtown. The bridge railing gave that appearance of perspective that I sometimes stumble across.

Very thin high-rise - Vancouver 2011

Thin building on the corner of 2 intersecting streets, near Gastown district of Vancouver.

To conclude the trip, we stopped over in Seattle for a few days. This building was just down the street from our hotel in downtown. I think the bottom floor was actually a sports gear and memorabilia store. The building was cool though.

When I visited Madrid, Spain, in 2006, I noticed this building just outside Madrid's Plaza Mayor. 

A similar building in Rome, from 2007:

I love this photo, taken in Rome, 2008. It's almost as if there is a reflection. Somehow this particular square and the nearby neighborhoods are almost perfectly symmetrical. Gotta hand it to those Italians.

Speaking of symmetry, I also found one taken in Brussels, Belgium the year before. This is in their main park in downtown, near perfrect symmetry.

 The photo below was taken in Prague, 2008. No backstory on this. It just fits the theme.

This was taken in London, 2007. This might be the thinnest building I've ever seen. Wouldn't you agree?

I also found one in Bordeaux, France during a brief stay in 2007. Very French architecure, oui?

Sticking with French architecture, and while in France's best known city, this one was taken in the artist neighborhood of Montmarte:

Ljubljana, Slovenia is a quiet European capital that most people probably don't make any stops to. I can't say there is anything amazing worth seeing there, but its still a cool city. You can see many of the buildings from the Soviet days, bland and seemingly hopeless, mixed with the traditional European architecture. The people seemed ready to forget their Communist days and ready for more visitors to come. The city had a great river running right through the heart of the old city, lined with cafes and bridges.

During a family trip in the winter of 2005, we made a stop in New York City. The Big Apple. The City That Never Sleeps. Home to the "world's first skyscraper", the Flat Iron Building. Every time I visit NYC, I make a point to stop by and see this building. I don't know why, but it's fascinating.

And finally I'll end with one from my hometown, Knoxville, TN. I don't think this bar exists anymore, but there used to be a Patrick Sullivan's in Knoxville's Old City district, on the corner of Central and Jackson.