Been a bit quiet of late as you

Been a bit quiet of late as you may have noticed….but with the summer seeming to be on it’s way, I’m planning on being out and about more in the coming months.  I had a busy May Day bank holiday – pics are already on flickr – and I’ve plans for the coming Spring bank holiday if the nice weather holds out.  Looking forward to a good summer of photography here 🙂

Someone posted this link to me on facebook…..it’s a great little read for anyone interested in photography…. http://www.messynessychic.com/2013/02/18/found-at-auction-the-unseen-photographs-of-a-legend-that-never-was/

Ain’t no bugs on me

They say everything is bigger in America, well I have to say that does include the bugs as well….I came across this chap in Sedona….he could have been sunbathing but I think he’d gone to meet his maker…..

Not what I was hoping for

Well with just two more days until I go back to work I’m frantically trying to get through all the holiday photos….we managed to lose a couple of hundred of the 1100 so far….more filtering to follow tomorrow me thinks!  What pains me, though, is that I’ve come back from America with masses of great family holiday snaps yet very few good and even fewer great photos.  I’m kinda gutted really, I could’ve and should’ve done better 😦

Happy Snapping!

It took me most of Saturday and a part of Sunday but I’ve finally got all our photos uploaded to my pc.  Between me, Denise and Steph the final photo count was 1,146 photos.  Now comes the task of going through them to get rid of the really bad ones, then going through again and getting rid of the bad ones then sifting through again and getting rid of anything else that isn’t good, then go through them again to see which ones we want to print for an album.  Finally I’ll go through them one more time to see if I can find a few worthy of putting out on the web.  I could be gone for some time….if I’ve not returned by next week send a search party :o\

That’s It

We’re finally home and so is 40% of our luggage the other 60% having been put on the next flight and currently scheduled for delivery to us today (thanks Delta!).  As much as I love our holidays in America, it really is nice to get home to my own bed, a decent shower and a proper bacon butty!!!  We’ve had a great time, and done and seen some amazing things. 

Now, it’s time to start going through the 900+ photos we all took on a full sized screen and seeing how good and how bad they really were!  And to start planning and saving for the next one.  We’re thinking in two years time and going somewhere different and giving the desert a miss.  Personally I’m thinking exploring more of Colorado and doing a bit of Wyoming to take in the one place I’d love to go…Yellowstone National Park.

Highlights of the holiday for me?  The ride in the Hummer Limo, the view from the top of Stratosphere and most definately the best thing for me was the wild deer by the side of the road on the way back from the Grand Canyon….especially the one that looked straight down my lens as I photographed her.  Truly amazing!

Phoenix to Vegas, baby

Ok so updating my  blog every day didn’t exactly work….I had good intentions but wifi has been a bit  hit and miss and since we got  back to Vegas on Monday we’ve had so much to fit  in.  So here’s a quickie of what we’ve been up to this week….

Sunday morning, Phoenix, Arizona – the view of Camelback Mountain from our room….it’s not a great shot though as Interstate 17 runs between  the hotel and the mountain…..

From Phoenix we had a four hour drive back up  to Kingman and we arrived right in  the middle of a storm as it’s the end of monsoon season here in the desert. 

Monday, back  to Vegas after a short detour to  the old mining town of Oatman where we saw  the usual wild donkeys wandering the streets.  

And Monday night  this  was us having an epic time in Sin City

 

This was taken by the driver of the stretch hummer limo we hired so we could really live it up for a while…

And I  have  to  say what a blast it was…we had an amazing time swigging champagne and waving at the tourists on  the street…I swear  they thought we were famous cos they all kept taking photos of us lol

 

So now we’re on our last day and who’d have thought  it….President Obama is in town  too….we were just about to head out up The Strip but found we couldn’t get out of the motel onto any of  the streets as the police had cordoned it all off.  There were a few people gathering so we went to rubberneck too.  We found a friendly policeman who told us that the Pres was heading past en route to  the airport so I got my camera out and set  it up to get a photo….unfortunately the motorcade  was going much faster than I expected….

but the nice police officer was happy to pose for a photo or two 

Eventually we got out and we headed up to the top of Stratosphere for what has to  be the most spectacular view of Las Vegas I’ve ever seen…definately well worth the $18 entrance fee.  Just a shame  they  don’t allow  tripods up there

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So that’s pretty  much it  for  this holiday…..hope you’ve enjoyed what I’ve managed to  post and I’m going to  try and keep this blog running. TTFN

Red Rocks and Lizards

It’s  now Sunday morning here and am just stopping by to say hello before we go for a breakfast buffet at Golden Corral.  On the way down here we stopped at Sedona and had a pink jeep tour and got  tossed around the desert  for 2 1/2 hours….here’s us

 

and here’s the view from the middle of the desert…..

 

While we were in Sedona we did manage to  find a fair bit of wildlife again….this little chap was just lazing in the sun….

 

And we found this guy hiding under a rock…..

 

Has to be said that this has been  a great  year for wildlife – we’ve seen more this year than ever before.  Today we’re heading back up to Kingman and then to Oatman on  Monday where wild donkeys freely roam the town so  expect some cute donkey pics then lol.

 

See ya soon

Oh Deer!

Well it’s been a great few days – so much for updating this every day….just  not had the wifi to get online.  So far we’ve eaten lots, swam and shopped.  We’ve also been and looked at a  big hole in the ground called the Grand Canyon.  Hopefully, I’ve got a good panorama or two to put  together when we get home!  Impressive and awe inspiring as  the Grand Canyon is, though, the best bit was on  the drive back to Flagstaff when a pair of wild deer ran across the road in front of us.  I just happened to have left my camera on the centre console so after I stood on the brakes and slowed down I grabbed the trusty Nikon and snapped a couple of shots off.

 

We stopped  and went in search of them – me doing a quick change to my 55-300mm  lens and Denise manning the camcorder.  Much to our surprise and delight, there was a whole herd of deer  just  grazing in the woods a few  yards from the road.  Snapping like a lunatic I couldn’t  believe my luck when this girl  looked straight down  my lens….

 

Such an amazing moment!   Anyway, today is our last of three days in Flagstaff, early tomorrow morning we’re heading to Sedona  for a Pink Jeep tour where we get bounced around the desert in a pink jeep for 2 1/2 hours then heading on down to Phoenix where, according to local news and weather reports, monsoons are in full swing!  More to follow then 🙂

Todays transport