Category: photo sets

5 arched gates

Here are 5 photos of arched gates that I have come across over recent years.

Malahide, Ireland, 2014


Sevilla, Spain, 2009


New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 2005


Portland, Oregon, USA, 2012


Shanghai, China, 2012

This is another unintentional series of photos. Had I had the series in mind, I likely would have framed gates more similarly. (Also, I do wish I could go back in time and replace the point-and-shoot camera I was using in 2005 on my trip to New Orleans. I suppose it would also be worthwhile just to go back to New Orleans…)

3 more gates, in silhouette

Yesterday’s featured gate reminded me that I have many other gates in my photo archives, several of which I also photographed in silhouette. These 3 very different gates were ones I saw on my travels of recent years.


Paris, France, 2007


Sevilla, Spain, 2009


Beijing, China, 2012

6 unrelated photos

Here are 6 photos I took over the past 9 years or so, on various travels to other countries, as well as to places closer to home.

London, England, 2005


Volklingen, Germany, 2007


Sevilla, Spain, 2009


Massachusetts, United States, 2011


Macao, 2011


Dublin, Ireland, 2014

A gallery of damaged leaves

This seems to have been an especially good year for caterpillars, because I’ve noticed that almost all of the leaves that fall (as well as those still up in the trees) have quite a few holes or other evidence of having been munched. In spite of these flaws, I still find the leaves to be quite beautiful. Many of the holes even add to their character. (This is not the first time I’ve made that observation.)


An orange leaf (or what’s left of it), outlined in red.


This leaf was thoroughly munched before falling to rest on the thick carpet of moss.


The bright orange and red leaves tend to steal the show, but bright green and yellow leaves can still be quite eye-catching. (It was the colors more than the holes that caught my eye with this fellow.)


I like the way the mottled surface and holes of this bright red leaf echo the patterns of the rocks in the asphalt.


This graceful oak leaf has tiny holes spread out over its surface.


The holes in this oak leaf look quite lacy.


After taking this photo a few days after the photo above, I realized that it was almost certainly the same leaf that caught my eye again. (If you mentally flip it over, you can see the same shapes in the holes.) It’s interesting to see how the color of the leaf continued to change after falling on the ground.


I am not the only one who enjoys finding interesting leaves. Also, notice the funny ring of green around a hole in this leaf.

assorted views of a tie-dye leaf

Today is the autumnal equinox here in the Northern Hemisphere, and the official first day of fall. I am going to use this as an excuse to post more photos of leaves. (Though, actually, it’s just multiple photos of the same leaf. But still…)

I was quite taken by the range of colors and patterns that could be seen on the surface of the same leaf.

It had quite a range of textures, too.

And it glowed beautifully when held up to the light.

This was a maple leaf that I found in my mother-in-law’s yard last September. Coincidentally, this was actually September 22nd of last year, which turns out was the autumnal equinox last year.

chipped and peeled layers of paint

Among the categories of things that regularly catch my eye are the patterns formed by weathered and cracked paint. (Like on, for example, dumpsters. Or subway walls. Or the lines painted in parking lots.) I especially enjoy seeing when the layers of paint reveal something of the varied history of the painted surface. (Or at least the varied trends of colors of decades past.) The varied railings and turnstiles at an old amusement park, for example, offer an especially fun array of multi-colored layers. Here are an assortment of shots I took of chipped and weathered paint from around Canobie Lake Park in New Hampshire during my visit there in August..

an assortment of leaves wearing water drops

After yesterday’s dried out and rather monochromatic leaf images, I figured I’d branch out to some more colorful and much less dry leaves.


Periwinkle leaves (and flowers).


English ivy.


Leaves of a blueberry bush.


Hydrangea leaves.


Fallen oak leaves.

Have I mentioned before that I’m a sucker for water drops? Oh, right. Yup.

a few specimens of stone flora from Dublin

For someone who is not especially fond of flowers, and for someone who has been known to kill off plants in my care, I sure do take a lot of photos of plants and flowers.

I also enjoy taking pictures of buildings, and their interesting details as they catch my eye. It shouldn’t surprise me, therefore, to have discovered that I had amassed a collection of plants and flowers carved from stone that adorned various buildings around Dublin.

All of these were taken in Dublin in May of this year, during my visit there for a conference.

It would have been great if I’d made note of which buildings, or at least which locations, bore these interesting details. Of course, I didn’t.