Scenics

jThe sun had just set and a full moon rose over the deep blue waters of Crater Lake. My wife grabbed for her camera.
I snorted. "You'll never get anything with that 'point 'n shoot'". True to her nature, she clicked away despite my scoffing. Here are the results.
(By the way, my photos of the same scene were pretty unremarkable.)

. The Great Pyramids of Giza. Almost 40 years ago, as a college student, I had the good fortune to do some traveling. I was fortunate to be able to take these photographs while spending a few days in Egypt, about half way through a three-month trip.
This collection of pyramids are those that are generally thought of when one speaks of the "Egyptian Pyramids." The three small pyramids in front are the Queen's Pyramids. There are some additional Queen's Pyramids on the right side of the photo. Right behind the Queen's pyramids is the Pyramid of Menkaure, the smallest of the three great pyramids. Behind Menkaure's pyramid is the Pyramid of Khafre, the only pyramid with any remaining casing stone ( the smoother material at the top.) At the rear is the Great Pyramid of Khufu, also known by the Greek name of "Cheops." This is the largest of the three pyramids. These original transparencies were so faded that much of original color was irretrievably lost. So, in the restoration process, I took the liberty of darkening the tones to enhance what color that still remained and to add a dramatic flavor to the photographs.

The Sphinx with Khufu's pyramid in the background. The belief that the nose of the Sphinx was shot off by Napoleon's soldiers is a myth and may not be true. The structure is carved from soft limestone and the nose may well have fallen of its own accord as the Sphinx became old.

The Great Pyramid of Khufu, Cairo, Eygpt, 1963. Khufu is also known by the Greek name of "Cheops." The base of his pyramid covers an area of 13 acres or 7 city blocks. Some of the building blocks weigh as much as 9 tons. Flautist Paul Horn recorded a portion of one of his albums in the burial chamber of this giant structure. Khufu is the largest of the Great Pyramids of Giza.

Gorse weed, Bandon, Oregon-1972. Gorse (Ulex europea) is native to Ireland and Scotland. It is a noxious weed of deadly beauty. In 1873 it was planted in Bandon, Oregon as an ornamental, where it thrived. It has resisted subsequent attempts to eradicate it. The thorny plant is not only difficult to handle, but, at certain times of the year, generates within its tissues a natural flammable oil. In 1936, this peculiar characteristic all but doomed the tiny town of Bandon. It is not certain how the fire started, but within hours the inferno had consumed 484 of the 500 buildings that constituted the community. Within the town, much of the weed has been finally controlled by the fact that commercial development in this pleasant environment has deprived even this vigorous weed of habitat. In the area pictured, for example, the gorse is gone and this entire area is covered with homes.

View from The Nuuanu Pali, easily accessible from Honolulu, Hawaii, 1974. One reason the view is so great is that this vantage point is atop sheer cliffs of almost 1000 feet. This beautiful viewpoint owns a bloody history. In 1795, King Kamehamea forcefully united the Hawaiian Islands by backing the opposing army over the cliffs to their deaths 985 feet below.