Saturday, I spent a couple of hours walking through through the Tower Classic Car Show in Fresno put on by Hot Rods Fresno. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many beautiful vintage hot rods in one place. It was lots of fun. Here is jut one example, a 1960 Chevy Corvette. This one’s for you Rachel…
Who else always wanted one of these?
I’ve created a slideshow of the school children of Amboseli School in Amboseli National Park, Kenya. While on our wonderful trip to Kenya and Tanzania in July 2009, our guide took us to a school in a Maasai village. It was a single classroom with young, primary school age children. We were given permission to photograph them, which I was very happy to be able to do. In the classroom there were no desks, only benches for the children to sit on facing the teacher. There were blackboards on the wall and the room was only lit by the light entering through the open windows.
The children were beautiful and there were a few obvious things about their appearance. First, most of them were covered (head to foot) with a white-grey dust. When we looked into what that was, we found that it was from playing outside in the dirt which contained a lot of volcanic ash from Mount Kilimanjaro as well as salty soda from nearby dry lakes. They were experiencing a draught during the time we were there. We also discovered that the name of the area, Amboseli may have come from the word “Empusel” which means “salty, dusty place” in the traditional Maasai language of Maa.
Second, many of the children had one or more circular scars on their cheek(s). These were a sign of group cohesion, and a means to identify their children from other tribes. Maasai tribal members often are seen with round scars on their cheeks.
Please click the button to see these amazing children:
Moon Jelly Exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium
There is a relatively new jellyfish exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was amazing to be in this part of it. There were a series of these beautifully lit, tall, cylindrical tanks each housing many Moon Jellies. The room was dark and, perhaps, had a 6 or 8 sided shape so there were multiple walls. On some of the walls were full length mirrors and there were reflections of the tanks in the mirrors like in a “fun house.” It was magical and mysterious at the same time. At one point, trying to exit the room, I almost walked straight into one of the mirrored walls. I just loved how this exhibit was set up and the special way it displayed these beautiful jellyfish. Be sure you click on the image to enlarge it. That’s a “must do.”
I encourage you to visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It’s unique and very special. They not only have beautiful exhibits, you can learn how they work towards the preservation and conservation of the ocean. Check out their website here.
(To see the most detail in this image, click on it to enlarge it!)
The Bubba Gump Lady on Cannery Row, Monterey
Bubba Gump Restaurant is just a short walk from the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I always walk past it on my way to and from the Aquarium. A couple of weeks ago I spent a few hours at the Aquarium shooting photos of the jellyfish and other wonderful sea animals there. After leaving and walking back to my car, I decided to sit on a bench in front of Bubba Gump and people watch, I had my camera sitting on my lap and I just started shooting random photos without looking through the viewfinder.
In this shot, I captured the young woman who stands under that umbrella and invites passersby to look at the menu and try a meal at Bubba Gump. In working on it in Photoshop, I decided to just play with it and this is how it ended up.
(To see the most detail in this image, click on it to enlarge it!)
Dance of the Purple-striped Jellies at the Monterey Bay Aquarium
One of my favorite jellyfish at the aquarium are the Purple-striped Jellies because of how gracefully they swim through the tank. You could easily set their movement to music as a graceful ballet dance.
I encourage you to visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It’s unique and very special. They not only have beautiful exhibits, you can learn how they work towards the preservation and conservation of the ocean. Check out their website here.