The Glacier National Park

Eduardo Martinez posted an article in Spanish, El Parque Nacional de Los Glaciares (The Glacier National Park) with a very impressive collection of photographs. He is kind enough to send me a link to the article which included one photo of mine.



I wish to visit the Glacier some day again, soon, before the glaciers are completely gone -- according to the article, "Scientists say that by 2030 all will be gone."

Change

Now there is an idea. We could probably start a project.

婺源小记

婺源之名，早就有所耳闻了。真正决定安排行程还是在网上看了一些照片之后才有实际行动的。

一、晓起

我们一行八人租了一辆国内叫做“商务车”的小面包，车的外观与 minivan 没有多少差别，但是车内却多了一排座，显得有些拥挤。我们也没有机会细做安排，到了婺源县境，天色已透亮。在路边看到了晓起村的大广告牌，就将车拐进了晓起。

此处乡间曾经是商贾流行，文风淳厚。晓起村口这块牌楼虽然有些怪异，村人想要引人注目的心情可以理解。村中旧日徽商家居犹在，只是残败了，如南唐后主的词里写的，“雕栏玉砌应犹在，只是朱颜改。” 虽然婺源的乡村美景，不知吸引了多少游人，但村里人生活不富裕，还是很明显的。

村里的新老房屋还基本保持了这一带的“徽派”建筑风格，白墙、灰瓦、飞檐、画栋。村口的溪流边一座两层木制小楼，一边飘着“木楼饭店”镶蓝杏黄酒旗，想来春夏之际，在此小餐，听听溪水潺潺，心境一定不错。

二、江湾

江湾号称是前国家主席江泽民的老家，实际上是不知道多少代之前的老家了。不过，借着老江这一面大旗，江湾显然是获益不少。一座萧江宗祠修得就气势不凡，让人好奇修缮这座祠堂的钱是谁掏的腰包。而一条主街也是别的村子里看不到的，街灯柱上挂满了红灯笼，在江南冬日的细雨洗濯之下，显得清新可人。尽管空气湿的似乎可以捏出水来，颇有寒意，但是也赋予眼中景色浓重的江南诗韵。不过，满街的店铺也给江湾增添了浓重的商业气息，或者这也是这一偶游人较多，供求关系之故吧。要看江湾的真实一面，还要走进主街之外的小巷里，去寻找那些村里人家门前高挑的酒旗、茶旐。

我们的车出了江湾，回头看去，白墙黑瓦的村子在烟雨中格外醒目。我们在路边停下车，我奔向村子的方向，拍下了《江湾 - 雨中印象》。没有三脚架，只好把有些模糊的照片处理成油画了。

三、李坑

如果是开春了来，李坑一定是江南“小桥流水人家”绝对完美的写照。不过，细雨绵绵的冬天却好似为李坑的景色泼上了浓墨重彩。

这个小小村落里浓缩了人文、佛教的理念，村里更有旧日的“大夫第”，与今天村里人酿的青梅酒的相对。从村头走到村尾，我们看了村人家里旧日嫁女的花轿，又见了村中唱戏的高台，一样的白墙、灰瓦、飞檐、画栋，想来这村里过往的读书人就是这一方水土在这样的氛围里养育出来的。一条溪水绕村而流，溪中停靠着空载的游船，不难想象春夏旅游旺季的时候这村里村外是怎样一番景象。

一日游过，婺源给我留下的就是这三个村子的冬日印象。要记下来的似乎很多，可是过了这些日子，许多细节就像那日的烟雨一样有些朦胧了。私下祈望后面还有机会在春天油菜花开的时候再去拜访婺源。

Waiting for dinner

Waiting for dinner.jpg
Originally uploaded by jiggerpress.

A classic long exposure photograph. But this one is extraordinary not just because it is done with a digital camera, but also because it has packed so many factors of excellent photography in it.

The extra long (2491.5 seconds) exposure has recorded tracks of stars, movement of clouds, even a car driving across the desert scene. Night scene is transformed into day. Reading this picture, you see time frozen in this snapshot, yet you feel time flying away fast at the same moment.

This is only one example of the photographer's marvelous work.

Ah, Shanghai!

P1000084a
Originally uploaded by xie-wei.

The thumbnail version of the image did not show much beyond the magnolia in thick fog.

When I got to the larger sized image, I saw the TV tower further in the fog. This tower on the east bank of the Huang-Pu River has been a landmark of the new Shanghai.

It should be early spring now in Shanghai. Soon the wet season will begin. Shanghai, and large parts of China south of the Yangtze River, will be drenched by spring rain that never ends. But then the earth will become green -- may be it already is over there...

The layers in the photo is intriguing. The three birds not only balance the composition of the image, but also add motion to it as well. Over all a non-flashy photograph, very much like the subtle season in that land.

"Mary wasn't a virgin"

Flickr Queen is probably not at all an overstatement. I have admired her creativity for some time but I probably have never commented on her images before.

This one drew me in. It is good photograph, although may be not the best from her. The title certainly caught my attention.

Many people seem to agree with my thoughts expressed in my "God's Billboard" entry on this blog. I am not religious but I do admire people who truly believe. I just despise those who only want others to believe that they believe.


Back to the photo. The tension from her hands creates an attraction to the red flower in the center of the picture. Overall, the lighting is very well done and the red colors make the entire image dramatic.

[Edit]: The owner has chosen to remove access to the static image referenced here. But the image is still available by clicking the image above.

Giants

These giants always attracts my attention. These were seen on I-10 in California outside of Palm Springs. The scene on the day before was much more interesting. The air was clear. A sudden shower cleaned up the dust in the air. But we were running somewhere fast on the highway.

We drove around quite a bit the second day and took some pictures. But the perfect lighting and shadows from the previous day's clouds were gone.

Looks like California has moved one step ahead of the rest of the country.