Photography Gallery 16

Photo Galleries << Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Next >>

Florence's Classic Il Duomo, seen from the Camponile on a Rainy Day

The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (English: Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flower) is the cathedral church of Florence, Italy. The Duomo, as it is ordinarily called, was begun in 1296 in the Gothic style to the design of Arnolfo di Cambio and completed structurally in 1436 with the dome engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi. The exterior of the basilica is faced with polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink bordered by white and has an elaborate 19th century Gothic Revival façade by Emilio De Fabris. The cathedral complex, located in Piazza del Duomo, includes the Baptistery and Giotto's Campanile. The three buildings are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site covering the historic centre of Florence and are a major attraction to tourists visiting the region of Tuscany. The basilica is one of Italy's largest churches, and until development of new structural materials in the modern era, the dome was the largest in the world. It remains the largest brick dome ever constructed. The cathedral is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Florence, whose archbishop is currently Giuseppe Betori.

Rock Concert

Pacific Sunset, Pebble Beach

Enjoying a Garden in Carmel, California

Bleached Bones of the Olympic Peninsula

Tabacon at Night

Spooky

Mt. Rainier National Park

Mount Rainier National Park: 235,625 acres on the west-side of the Cascade Range, located 100 kilometers (50 miles) southeast of the Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area. Mount Rainier National Park is approximately 97 percent wilderness and 3 percent National Historic Landmark District and receives approximately 2 million visitors per year. At 14,410 feet, Mount Rainier is the most prominent peak in the Cascade Range. The mountain stands nearly three miles higher than the lowlands t o the west and one and one-half miles higher than the adjacent mountains. It is a n active volcano that last erupted approximately 150 years ago. — National Park Service, Mount Rainier

Running Water, Central America

Red Rock Canyon, Nevada

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area in Nevada is an area managed by the Bureau of Land Management as part of its National Landscape Conservation System, and protected as a National Conservation Area. It is located about 15 miles (24 km) west of Las Vegas, and easily seen from the Las Vegas Strip. The area is visited by over 1 million visitors each year. The conservation area showcases a set of large red rock formations: a set of sandstone peaks and walls called the Keystone Thrust. The walls are up to 3,000 feet (910 m) high, making them a popular hiking and rock climbing destination. The highest point is La Madre Mountain, at 8,154 feet (2,485 m). A one-way loop road, 13 miles (21 km) long, provides vehicle access to many of the features in the area. Several side roads and parking areas allow access to many of the trails located in the area. A visitor center is located at the start of the loop road. The loop road is very popular for bicycle touring; it begins with a moderate climb, then is mostly downhill or flat. Source: Wikipedia.

Sunset, San Juan, Puerto Rico

On a Pier in Hudson River Park, Looking Back Towards Manhattan

Clear Day In the Zocalo, Mexico City

The Zócalo (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈsokalo], plinth) is the main plaza or square in the heart of the historic center of Mexico City. The plaza used to be known simply as the "Main Square" or "Arms Square," and today its formal name is Plaza de la Constitución (Constitution Square).[1] This name does not come from any of the Mexican constitutions that have governed the country but rather from the Cádiz Constitution which was signed in Spain in 1812. However, it is almost always called the Zócalo today. Plans were made to erect a column as a monument to Independence, but only the base, or zócalo, was ever built.[1] The plinth was destroyed long ago but the name has lived on. Many other Mexican towns and cities, such as Oaxaca and Guadalajara, have adopted the word zócalo to refer to their main plazas, but not all. It has been a gathering place for Mexicans since Aztec times, having been the site of Mexica ceremonies, the swearing in of viceroys, royal proclamations, military parades, Independence ceremonies and modern religious events such as the festivals of Holy Week and Corpus Christi. It has received foreign heads of state and is the main venue for both national celebration and national protest.

Fog off Mulholland Drive, Los Angeles

The eastern terminus of Mulholland Drive is at its intersection with Cahuenga Boulevard at the Cahuenga Pass over the Santa Monica Mountains (at this point Cahuenga Boulevard runs parallel to Hwy 101—Hollywood Freeway). The road continues to the west offering vistas of the Hollywood Sign, downtown Los Angeles, and then Burbank, Universal City and the rest of the San Fernando Valley with the San Gabriel, Verdugo, and Santa Susana Mountains. The road winds along the top of the mountains until a few miles west of the 405 Freeway (San Diego Freeway). Just west of the intersection with Encino Hills Drive, it becomes an unpaved road not open to motor vehicles. This part is known by many as "Dirt Mulholland"--popular with hikers, horseback riders, and mountain bikers--and an issue to developers and preservationists. It offers connections to other unpaved fire roads and mountain bike trails as well as a decommissioned Project Nike command post that has been turned into a Cold War memorial park. The paved road begins again east of Topanga Canyon Boulevard, at Santa Maria Road. Shortly thereafter, Mulholland Drive splits into Mulholland Drive and Mulholland Highway. Mulholland Drive terminates at Hwy 101 (Ventura Freeway), where it becomes Valley Circle Boulevard. Mulholland Highway continues to the southwest until it terminates at State Route 1 (PCH) in Leo Carrillo State Park at the Pacific Ocean coast and the border of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties.

San Francisco

A popular quote incorrectly attributed to Mark Twain is "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."[57][58] San Francisco's climate is characteristic of the cool-summer Mediterranean climate[59] of California's coast, "generally characterized by moist mild winters and dry summers."[60] Since it is surrounded on three sides by water, San Francisco's weather is strongly influenced by the cool currents of the Pacific Ocean, which moderates temperature swings and produces a remarkably mild year-round climate with little seasonal temperature variation. Among major U.S. cities, San Francisco has the coldest daily mean, maximum, and minimum temperatures for June, July and August.[61] During the summer, rising hot air in California's interior valleys creates a low pressure area that draws winds from the North Pacific High through the Golden Gate, which creates the city's characteristic cool winds and fog. The fog is less pronounced in eastern neighborhoods and during the late summer and early fall, which is the warmest time of the year. Source: Wikipedia.

Tio Pepe Sign in Madrid

Rainy Day With an Umbrella, Next to Roman Aquaduct in Segovia, Spain

As the aqueduct lacks a legible inscription (one was apparently located in the structure's attic, or top portion), the date of construction cannot be definitively determined. Researchers have placed it between the second half of the 1st Century AD and the early years of the 2nd Century—during the reign of either Emperor Vespasian or Nerva. The beginnings of Segovia itself are likewise not definitively known. The people called Vaccaei are known to have populated the area before the Romans conquered the city. Roman troops sent to control the area, which fell within the jurisdiction of the Roman provincial court (Latin conventus iuridici, Spanish convento jurídico) located in Clunia, stayed behind to settle there.