This remarkable bit of Portuguese tile work is in the Santo Amaro Chapel in Lisbon. This is just a small section of a larger installation in the rotunda of the chapel. The tiles are covered with botanical and geometric figures, creatures, people, and body parts such as arms and legs. I presume that the large figure must be Santo Amaro.
Continue reading Detail, Santo Amaro Chapel
We stopped in southern Death Valley to photograph big fields of desert gold flowers along with pink/purple sand verbena. Because they are large plants, the colors from both of those were visible from a distance, especially so in the case of desert gold. As we looked for good photo opportunities for those flowers we started to notice the myriad other small plants and flowers underfoot, including the desert stars.
Continue reading Desert Star Bouquet
Certain architectural features seem to characterize various cities. In Europe, from what I’ve seen, these include the materials available locally for construction, the types of roofs, and the color scheme. This view of the Alfama neighborhood of Lisbon is a case in point — with mostly white-walled buildings and red-tiled roofs.
Continue reading Alfama Rooftops
This little geological vignette intrigued me. While exploring an area in Death Valley featuring very dark, fine gravel that almost has the appearance of shallow dunes, I came across low flat areas where water has obviously collected in the past. Now there was a surface of old mud, cracked into separate pieces as it dried, a familiar desert sight. But here this surface was pockmarked with small black stones.
Continue reading Mud And Stones