Beautifully restored 1953 Kaiser Manhattan 4 door sedan
Kaiser Manhattan /
Photo Blog
The Badlands an Aerial View /
I visited the Badlands National Monument in July 1973 and was struck by the stark beauty of the place. So much so that I decided I need to see the Badlands from the air. We paid for an aerial view via a helicopter ride with cameras in full force shooting Kodachrome slides and Super 8 film. What an amazing ride in the Bell 47G-2 helicopter, flying into the canyons and then darting up flying just over the tops of the formations.
The Badlands are located in southwestern South Dakota. The entire area had once been a great sea that receded, and then erosion began to take place. For thousands of years Native Americans called this area home. In more recent times the sad stories of how this awe-inspiring area was lost to a once great nation of people is truly something that is hard to comprehend. While I was there captivated by the scenery, it wasn't all that long ago that others had lived their entire lives here and saw much more than the rugged beauty of the peaks.
When we first arrived at the monument we took a picture of the sign. The concrete base of the sign remains today, but the sign has changed. Once a nation monument it is now a national park. Below is a picture of the sign that we took in July 1973.
Below is that same sign from the air taken from our Bell helicopter.
More aerial views of the Badlands.
[mapsmarker marker="47"]
First Car Show for 2013 /
I went to my first car show for 2013 this past Monday and I didn't take my camera. That is kind of unusual for me, but I had spent a day taking pictures on May 17th at Pegasus Farm. I was just short of 800 pictures that day and had spent a solid two days reviewing, editing and publishing them, so I was a bit burnt out on taking pictures for the car show. However, it was fun getting together with Rich and Tom for another season of car idolatry. We staked out our usual spot under the shade tree and then went for a walk to see what the show had to offer. Many of the cars and owners were in their favorite spots and we saw many of the same faces we see each year. We are always looking for that rare gem that we can checkout in more detail.
This year I have decided that I am going to concentrate on a few cars rather that capturing the entire show. It is a little more fun to do an in depth photo review of a single car, especially with cars from the 40's and 50's. There is just a lot of stuff hanging off cars from that time frame. It gives me more time to enjoy the show and talk with the guys. I also have a bunch of car pictures from last year that I haven't published yet, so I need to work on those before capturing another couple hundred pictures.
Since I like to have pictures in my posts I decided to add a picture of our earliest form of transportation that was only 1 horse power! A picture I took of a horse at Pegasus Farm on May 17th seems appropriate.
Yellow Billed Hornbill /
On Safari in South Africa I saw the Yellow Billed Hornbill each day I was out on a drive. The bird is sometimes referred to as a flying banana. In the dry season in southern Africa the birds favorite foods are termites and ants. Based on the termite mounds that I saw they certainly need a bird like this. It prefers the climate of Sub-Saharan Africa. Watch the video below to see the bird in action. At the end of the video clip the motion in the background is from a monkey.
Nikon D90 720HD Video Yellow Billed Hornbill from Bhaga Video on Vimeo.
[mapsmarker marker="42"]
1930 Ford Model A /
Pictures of a 1930 Ford Model A
Riverfront Cruise In, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
Why is the 1930 Ford Model A such a big deal? Well it was the car that John Dillinger used in one of the most famous getaways in American history. He knocked out the rear window and his tommy-gun was blasting away at the police. Maybe that is his ghost in there looking out the window!
Total production of Model A for 1930 was 854,263. There was a total of 10 different models and the price was between $433-$655.
[dropshadowbox align="none" effect="lifted-both" width="320px" height="" background_color="#f3cb72" border_width="1" border_color="#dddddd" ]Riverfront Mall Cruise-In, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio[/dropshadowbox]
[mapsmarker marker="27"]
The Mittens and Merrick Butte /
What travel photo website would be complete without a picture from Monument Valley? The Mittens and Merrick Butte are probably the most famous formations in the valley, and are at the beginning of the 17 mile valley drive.Don't pass up the chance to spend a few hours driving through the valley.
[mapsmarker marker="41"]
