Photo Friday: From A Different Perspective REVEALED

Thanks to bloggers ideflex, Ingrid and A Regular Cup of Joe for playing along.  To recap, I posted the picture below and asked for guesses as to what the main object in the photo was. I know these aren’t the best photos I could have taken of the area, but I was breaking in my digital camera I received as a Christmas gift and am still learning how to use the thing.

It didn’t take long for these astute bloggers to figure out this was a light rail car. Below is the picture, oriented the way one would see the object normally.

I snapped this light rail train passing in front of Chase Field in downtown Phoenix. Admittedly, I probably went too heavy on the zoom feature.  However, I never really took notice of the bike symbol on the side of the light rail car until I reviewed some of these photos.

Below is a close up of the entrance to Chase Field seconds before the light rail car passed by.

Here is the start of the light rail train.

Photo Friday: From A Different Perspective

I finally got around to uploading some recent photos I took around the downtown area.  When I came across this shot, I started to adjust it.  Before I could edit the photo, I took another look at it and really liked observing the scene from another perspective.

I know what this is, but without me describing the photo any further, can you guess what the main object in the photo?  I’ll reveal in a few days, but I’d love to receive some guesses in the meantime.

Photo Friday: Out for a Swim

Though it doesn’t have the clarity I’d prefer, this was the best I could do without scaring off this pair of quails in my backyard, who were checking out the pool.  They didn’t actually get in, but I think they were contemplating it.  I just thought it was a great visual to kick off the weekend. 🙂

Photo Friday: The Dog Days of Summer

Since I don’t mention the weather enough in my blog (yeah right), I decided to incorporate a few fun facts about the term “dog days of summer”.  What does it mean? Why do we use the term?

The term comes from Sirius, a.k.a the dog star.  Sirius goes through cycles where it rises and sets at the same times as the Sun.  The Egyptians and Romans saw that the dog star coincided with the height of the summer heat and posited that Sirius was adding to the heat.

The “dog days of summer” in the northern hemisphere  is defined as the time period from 20 days before Sirius coincides with the Sun to 20 days after.  This typically begins early July and runs through mid-August, though it can extend to early September depending on the region.

In Phoenix for example,  the monsoon storm season can run through late August – even past Labor Day which results in a longer period of heat and high humidity.

I thought this picture of my uncle’s little doggie was a great visual for “dog days of summer”.  I snapped this in early June when it was still somewhat tolerable outside (which would be before the onset of the dog days).  We were grilling some hot dogs and this guy was enjoying the sunshine in the early part of the afternoon. Of course, after about 10 minutes he ran back inside.

For more information on the term “dogs days of summer”, check out these links:

http://www.factmonster.com/spot/dogdays.html

http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/question.php?number=178/

Weekly Photo Challenge: Nature

UPDATE: Thanks to Tim over at  20 Lines a Day for posting my entry.  You vote for it by “Liking” my photo over at:

http://anexerciseindiscipline.wordpress.com/2012/07/15/weekly-photo-challenge-nature-nicole/

I’m trying my hand at the Weekly Photo Challenge over at 20 Lines a Day.  This week’s challenge is Nature – The Great Outdoors.  I struggled over which photo to submit as I have quite a few.  Should I submit my most recent photos from a visit to my local riparian preserve? Should I submit an older photo from SoCal climbing around Point Loma?

Photo Friday: Accidental Snapshot

Back in the day when I had to use a regular old camera to take pictures, I always seemed to accidentally use up 1-2 pictures per roll.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve taken a roll of film to get developed only to find a picture of:

-A shot of the floor or

-Wadded up tissues from the inside of my purse or

-A wall

Seems my affinity for snapping a photo by mistake has continued into the digital age.  While taking some photos in vicinity of Chase Field, my camera went off while I was climbing up some stairs at the Phoenix Convention Center.  I kept the picture because I thought the twisty staircase actually looked cool.  Maybe I have weird tastes.  Anyhow, below is the accidental snapshot.

Do you have any interesting tales of photos that should have never been?

An Afternoon at Cabrillo

Summer vacation season is in full swing for many people across the globe.  As for me, I’ve opted to spend time at home, especially since I became a homeowner.  Because it is so new for me, spending time at home relaxing feels like a vacation.

Besides, lately I’ve found that I prefer traveling in autumn or spring. Years of relegating vacations to those three months between the end of the current school year and beginning of the next, traveling to various locations in other seasons brings new life even to places I’ve been before.