Please vote!

I had a great Saturday morning!  I was part of a fun photo outing which involved only my club but many photographers around the world.  Scott Kelby (a renowned photographer) started the annual Worldwide Photo Walks three years ago. 

The entire concept inspiring the walk is fantastic - to think that on the same day in numerous communities around the world photographers were wandering around, on the same mission, on a photo treasure hunt.  Immediately afterwards everyone meets for lunch and then in the days afterwards the bounty from the treasure hunts trickle in.  Each person submits the one they like the best to Scott's website and also the flickr website for their gallery.  I especially like the random group shots of the photographers taken around the world. 

Some of the subjects were lower on the list of things I gravitate towards shooting so it was a little stretch for me. For instance, I rarely take photos of people because I feel shy doing so - I either feel intrusive or just plain funny taking candids of strangers... whereas this time some of us had a pair of delightful little girls to photograph. I think this exercise made you look harder at familiar surroundings.  At any rate, which of my photos do you think I should submit? 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/skywalkerbeth/sets/72157624468654509/show/

Thanks for looking!

I chose this one to submit.  I did not win.  Nonetheless, this was fun. 

Yes, it really is that blue!

More photos of scenic Switzerland... These photos were all taken from an ICN train - IC stands for "Inter City" (which means FAST) and the N must stand for "tilt" because that is what it does. The regular IC trains do not tilt around curves but the ICN trains do lean into curves. Not quite like a motorcycle (there was no scraping of knee pads) but the effect was quite noticeable. Hang on to your drinks!


The train ride was beautiful but when we got to Lake Lucerne we all gasped. So blue! I assume this is due to glaciers, because the last time I saw water that blue was when I flew in a little Cessna 172 over Whistler, British Columbia, to see the glaciers in those parts. Glacier Lake Blue I called the color then, and it is stupendous.

Enjoy!

Hiking in the Alps - a perfect ending to our trip

 

These were all taken at Schynige Platte in the Berner Oberland. Dad is pointing out the hash marks on the trail which warn of difficult conditions. He is a trouper!  He had broken his hip four months before we left on our trip and he went hiking in the Alps with me!  Whatta guy.

The mountain you can see through the flowers is, I believe, the Eiger.

Lovely Lavender

This year I won't be in Provence, but I am very lucky to get my lavender fix right outside my front door.  See the previous blog post, with all the bees in lavender?  They greet me each morning. 

These photos were taken on a mini-road trip with my friend Monica a few weekends ago.  There is a little farm in Pennsylvania, not far from Gettysburg, which has an annual Lavender Festival.  They grow a wide variety of lavender and one particularly vivid and fragrant kind is called Hidcote.  Most of these photos are of Hidcote Lavender.  Enjoy.