Desert Sunset, Keys View, Joshua Tree, California
Why are desert sunsets so beautiful? Desert sunsets, like this one at Keys View at Joshua Tree National Park, are particularly red due to the dryness of the air. Moist air tends to scatter light more. Also, deserts tend to have cleaner air, and therefore allow the light a more direct path to the eye, making the color more dramatic.
Night Photography, Joshua Tree National Park, California
I was thinking about setting up to make just this shot when I noticed that my fellow camper Josh (or was it Michael?) had already put a lantern in his…
Baja Cruise: Active on the Sea of Cortez
Just as we hoped, there was never a dull moment on our Baja cruise on the Sea of Cortez. One afternoon aboard the Safari Endeavor, we were chatting in the…
Under the Weather and On the Road: 13 Ways to Feel Better
Four years ago, at about this time of year, I was suffering from a cold or flu, and wrote this post. Judging from the photos, I was in Bangkok. I…
Skip the Resorts, See Historic San Jose del Cabo
When John Steinbeck wrote The Log from the Sea of Cortez, the memoir of his specimen-collecting journey with marine biologist Ed Ricketts in 1940, he wasn't concerned with Baja towns…
Up-Close Gray Whales
Detouring from the Sea of Cortez, our Un-Cruise Adventure took us across the Baja Peninsula to Magdalena Bay on the Pacific for some whale watching. I was hopeful, but keeping…
Baptistery of St. John, Siena, Italy
When it comes to early Renaissance art, Siena is more or less thought of as Florence's little brother. A lot of the same artists worked in Siena. Donatello and Ghiberti…
Portrait of a Ghost Town: Condado de Alhama, Spain
[NOTE: My visit to Condado de Alhama was in 2012, and the photos here were taken at that time. You'll see from the flurry of comments below that present-day Condado…
The Sans Souci Palace, Potsdam, Germany
The Sans Souci Palace in Potsdam, outside Berlin, was the “getaway” for King Frederick the Great of Prussia. The pressure of being a mid 18th Century ruler was evidently so…