Category Archives: Travel

DIA

I had some shots on a previous post of Denver International Airport. I was back there again after that visit and we flew an approach that brought us past the airport before circling back in to land. I got some shots of the field as we came by. They give some idea of the size of the airport as well as its ability to expand in the future. The layout of the runways also shows up well. This is an example of what you get if you design an airport from scratch rather than expand one you already have with development encroaching upon it.

DIA Terminal

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Unlike living in Chicago where you had a strong chance of getting a direct flight to most places, I often find myself changing planes in other cities these days. Sometimes the layover is a quick one and others I have a bit of time to stretch my legs and get something to eat. I recently went through Denver en route to my destination. The terminal that Southwest use at Denver has an interesting center section. A shuttle system takes people between terminals below the ground. It comes in to the heart of the building in an open section that you can look in to from the main terminal level. It appears to be designed to look like an ancient ruin that has been unearthed.

Hanging above it is a Learjet which obviously gets a passing look from me. I was more interested this time in the “ruins”. A panorama seemed like the best option so I took the shots to stitch together later. As it happened, the return leg came back through DIA although this time it was late in the day. I did get some shots of the main terminal building as we taxied out for departure. It certainly is a striking structure.

Devon Energy

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Energy is big business in Oklahoma. Oil and natural gas are a large part of the economy and, judging by the size of its downtown location, Devon is a big player in the market. Until I went there, I had not heard of the company. However, once you are there, you can hardly miss their tower which dominates the skyline. It is a pretty simple structure in principle but there are a few features that catch the eye. The gentle curve in towards the top is interesting and the texture on the windows had me looking at various ways to shoot it.

The overall shape did make me think of something less than flattering though. I did not read the Lord of the Rings books as a youngster (or since) but I have seen the movies. The shape of the building made me think of the eye of Sauron atop the tower in the films. You may think I am delusional for seeing this but that was how it struck me. I am not suggesting Devon is an evil corporation – it’s just the building reminded me of a film.

As the sun went down, I had varying options with the light on the tower so tried shooting from various angles and played with the exposure to get the effect I was after. I also got a few shots of it after dark when I was walking back from dinner. I’m not sure whether I like the building or not but it has certainly got my attention.

17 Mile Drive

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It has been a while since I took a trip along 17 Mile Drive. The last time was when we still lived in Chicago and had a vacation in California with some of my family. Since moving to California, we haven’t done this part of the tourist trail around Monterey and Carmel. However, some great friends came to stay with us and that made for a good reason to head down that way.

17 Mile Drive is a lovely area but a bit prone to the weather. While we were there, the sun was out and shining on Monterey itself but a short drive away on this part of the coast and things were a lot more overcast. Such are the vagaries of the weather on the coast. Still, it wasn’t unpleasant and may have kept a few extra tourists away so we had the chance to run along at our own pace and always find somewhere to park when required.

The point for me of visiting the drive is the coastline. Some like to see the amazing houses that can be yours if you have a substantial chunk of change. They do look nice but it is the waves, the rocks and the wildlife that attract me the most. There will be more to come from this place.

Myriad Botanic Gardens

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In the heart of downtown Oklahoma City is an oasis from the normal bustle of a city in the form of a botanic garden. This is not something on the scale of some of the other botanic gardens I have visited over the years. It is more of a park that has been nicely landscaped. However, it is known as the Myriad Botanic Gardens and it has a glasshouse at its center. This is a cylindrical structure that spans a pond.

I got to the gardens at the end of the day and with limited time before it closed, I didn’t bother to shell out the entrance fee (which did seem a bit steep). Instead, I was more intent on getting some shots as the sun started to set. I wasn’t alone in this idea. There were a few photographers like me wandering around looking for shots and a considerable number that were there professionally shooting individuals and family groups against the various backgrounds the garden had to offer.

Aside from the cylindrical glass structure, there were water features, sculptures, a stage in the round and an open space with a stage at the end for free concerts, one of which was setting up while I was there. A reggae band were getting ready and, as I strolled around, they started their performance so I had a nice bit of background music while I enjoyed the evening which had cooled nicely to the high 90s from the earlier temperatures in the 100s!

While the downtown area of Oklahoma City has not struck me as one that has a lot of people living in it, there was a good sized crowd at the concert as well as those walking around the gardens. It seems to be a popular spot and, being within a couple of blocks of my hotel, it was a pleasant change from the usual hotel environment.

Bricktown at Night

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As part of the regeneration program that is underway in Oklahoma City, an area known as Bricktown is becoming a focus of development. It is a short walk from the heart of downtown. What was there before I don’t know but I imagine bricks had something to do with it. There are a lot of restaurants, bars and hotels in the area with a canal structure running through them. It is also the home of the minor league baseball stadium.

I stopped off for dinner one night after wandering around the city a bit. After my meal, I was walking back to the hotel and grabbed a few shots of the area. It was pretty dark and I had the ISO ramped way up but you can get a bit of a feel for the area. You can also see the lights of the baseball stadium in the background. I guess that they had a game that night. There are also horse drawn carriages plying their trade on the streets. This was a familiar sight when we lived in Chicago. They have gone to town on the lighting of these examples though. I guess it helps get some attention.

Oklahoma City Memorial at Night

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In previous posts about the federal building memorial in Oklahoma City, I talked about how it is lit at night and that I wanted to go back. This I have now managed to do. I showed up around sunset and walked around the whole memorial. I was traveling light so no tripod, only a GorillaPod. This worked fine for most things. I was interested to discover text on the end of the memorial which lit up at night. I had thought it was a blank wall previously.

The subtle lighting across the memorial was very nice. As the sky color faded, I got a bunch of shots, some with quite long exposures which helped to blur out the other visitors of which there were plenty. The gentleness of the scene was what I wanted to convey since it was even more apparent in the dark than during the day, even though it is a calm place then too. That the place feels so peaceful while remembering such a violent event is a tribute to those who created it and maintain it.

Night Flight to Oakland

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Heading home from a work trip meant an evening flight back into Oakland. Our run in brought us across Tracy and Livermore and I could get a good view of the towns before we crossed the hills near Fremont. The lack of lights is a good indication of where the hills are sometimes. There was a lot of cloud lurking over parts of the area and this was lit from beneath by the city lights. The effect was rather cool as I looked out so I tried to get shots that expressed that too.

I grabbed a few shots out of the window. Something interesting was happening with the camera as the first shot of the burst was what I was expecting but subsequent ones seemed to go for a far longer exposure with the associated increase in blurry failures. I shall try and work this out but if you know why this might happen, please let me know in the comments.

Rock Climbing

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The scenery in Yosemite attracts a lot of people but some of them want to get a bit more personal with the rocky landscapes. Climbing is very popular and, when you stop to take a look around, a quick look up may well reveal a few brave fellows scaling the heights. I initially didn’t notice a group above us at one of our stops but then I saw someone else looking up and took a more detailed peak myself. I saw some people up on a ridge and only then noticed some people lower down on the face of the rocks as they descended. The long lens doesn’t quite give you the impression of their height but I assure you they were a long way up.