All posts by Marianne Skov Jensen

fighting chance

Now that there’s a fence around Javelina Cafe, this Parry’s Agave will finally be able to have babies.
Agaves send out runners (called offsets) under ground which Javelina find irresistible!
Note the pup in the photo below has already been chewed on. The center looks strong, though.

2009_07_11

Also….a bloom has been allowed to mature, thanks to the fence.
I’m really looking forward to next Spring 🙂

2009_07_11_2

apache plume

1 Comment

We saw many flowers on our road trip but my favorite by far was Apache Plume.
The rose-like flowers are beautiful but the plume seed heads are gorgeous and fascinating!
Below are some of my favorite shots.

Macro shot (cropped) of an Apache Plume bloom with a Flower Fly captured from about 2 feet away.
Canon 24-105mm at 105mm w/500D close-up. I shot at f/8 which renders a soft background with a long lens.

2009_07_09

Macro shot of the amazing seed head. I could have spent the afternoon photographing them!
Approx. same settings as previous

2009_07_09_2

Wider shot of shrubs full of plumes.

2009_07_09_3

Blooms in the shade. This Apache Plume was tree-like so it must have been very old.

2009_07_09_4

Here’s a shot of an Apache Plume in the middle of a Lava Field at Sunset Crater in Flagstaff.

2009_07_09_5

last sunset….last bus

Two photos from our last night at the Grand Canyon.

Last Sunset was a 3 shot High Dynamic Range (HDR) composite captured with my 5DMK2.
2009_07_08

Last Bus was taken with my Canon SX10. I was walking backward as I pressed the shutter.
2009_07_08_2

All in all, our road trip was wonderful. We chose this particular time to go to the Grand Canyon because Canon was there with tons of lenses and cameras for you to try out. They are at the Canyon through July and offer photo walks and instruction every day except Tuesday.

They’re at a different National Park each month through September. Click here to see where they go to next.

grand canyon adventures

1 Comment

We arrived at the Grand Canyon Saturday night just in time to see the last bit of the sunset.

2009_07_06

This morning we hiked to Dripping Springs from Hermits Rest. Although it was really tough, it was amazing!
(My yard work had prepared my legs for the very steep climb (1400 ft elevation gain) but heat and elevation are not my friends 🙂 )

End of the road...beginning of the trail
End of the road...beginning of the trail
Going down was harder for me (bad knees) than the climb out! It took me 3 hours to get to our destination (poor Chris) but only 2 hrs and 30 min to climb back up.
Going down was harder for me (bad knees) than the climb out! It took me 3 hours to get to our destination (poor Chris) but only 2 hrs and 30 min to climb back up.
Wonderful, icy cold water drips from the roof of the cave.
Wonderful, icy cold water drips from the roof of the cave.
Photo ops kept me distracted from the hard climb up :-)
Photo ops kept me distracted from the hard climb up 🙂
Agave encounter...ouch! I didn't realize it hit a vein until I felt my leg get wet. My pant leg was soaked in blood!
Agave encounter...ouch! I didn't realize it hit a vein until I felt my leg get wet. My pant leg was soaked in blood!

Internet isn’t convenient but I might manage to get one more in before we get home.

happy 4th!

1 Comment

I had planned a 4th of July photo yesterday but left my little flag in the RV. So on the way home from the Flagstaff Arboretum, I stopped and took a photo of the flag and then a photo of some really cool grass growing along the roadside and put them together in Photoshop. Turned out to be more fun than what I had planned 🙂

2009_07_04

Here are the originals:

The grass looks like sparklers, don't you think?
The grass looks like sparklers, don't you think?