Road Trip

About two weeks ago, my brother and I found ourselves taking a spontaneous road trip to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. It turned into a 12 day trip that took us as far as California and back. I took a lot of different pictures and kept to my theme of places of worship. So my last two projects will be far away from the mid atlantic region. Both sites are very interesting. The first is the White Sand Dunes in Alamogordo, New Mexico. It is considered a sacred site. The second is harder to summarize because it is so many different things. For now, we will call it a church in Felicity, California.

The White Sand Dunes
The White Sands are located in Alamogordo, New Mexico which is about 216 miles south of
Santa Fe. It is nearly 230 square miles of gypsum sand. It is also home to a lot of interesting plants and animals. It is considered a sacred site used by Native Americans for vision quests. There is also frequent claims of people witnessing UFO's and extraterrestrial activity in the area.

I have not been able to find a name for this particular plant but they were very interesting to view and touch. They appear to be flowers but have the hardness and texture of wood.

Week 7 - Virtual Trip

     This snap shot was taken of the Yuan Yang Hani rice terraces in China. I found myself being drawn more towards natural landscapes, however these man made rice terraces seemed to strike the perfect balance between the beauty of nature and ingenuity of man. I adjusted the saturation to bring out the colors as well as adjusted the levels to intensify the highlights and shadows.

   
      This snap shot was taken of the Lencois Maranhenses National Park in Brazil. I loved the colors of the sunset reflecting off of the dunes as well as the patterns they created. I again adjusted the saturation to really bring out the sunset colors as well as the levels to provided truer blacks and brighter highlights.

     This snapshot was taken of the Icebergs of Greenland. I thought the reflection of the iceberg in the water gave the shot life and dimension. I adjusted the saturation levels of the water and sky as well as sharpened parts of the iceberg to draw the eye and provide more of a focal point.

     This snapshot was taken of an Iceberg lagoon also located in Greenland. I loved how the colors in both the ice and water were so vivid. I adjusted the levels to bring out the shadows and highlights and again adjusted the saturation to really make the colors pop. I also sharpened part of the iceberg to draw the eye.

     This next snapshot was taken of the Great wildebeast migration in Kenya. I thought the shear number of animals made for an interesting shot, although I did sharpen some of the animals to bring them more into focus. I adjusted the saturation slightly to bump up the colors in the shot. I also adjusted the levels to create truer blacks.

     This snap shot was taken of the facade of a church in Russia. I loved how ornate and detailed the building was. I again adjusted the levels and saturation to make the colors of the church stand out.

     This last snap shot was taken of the Science Museum of Prince Felipe in Valencia, Spain. The photo shows the interestingly shaped building surrounded by a pool of water at night. I was drawn to the unique architecture of the building and liked how symmetrical it was.