Robert Swanson's photos

Just one of the interesting sights at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney. Pretty strong fence there. (Have A Nice Weekend, perhaps at the zoo...) Image processed with GIMP.

One of the decorative items near the Pavillion of the Taranga Zoo in Sydney. Image processed with GIMP.

We stayed in Sydney quite near to Chinatown. The Arisun Korean restaurant was just a few doors down. Their fried chicken was wonderful. HAVE A NICE WEEKEND (really Merry Christmas to all on Ipernity!) The restaurant was an interesting experience, because they were constantly playing Korean music videos on multiple screens. Image processed with GIMP.

While the exterior of the Opera House is quite famous, don't miss the interesting details inside. While the outer shell can seem austere with concrete here and there, this interior acoustic wall, made up of many wood strips, is warmer and even friendlier (?) in its own way. Image taken with the (at the time) new Panasonic GX85, and processed with GIMP.

We had a fun day, visiting the Zoo in Sydney. We were also fortunate to see the Zoo in Melbourne, and a wildlife refuge near Sydney. The animal life is amazing. This is the Pavillion building at the Zoo. Image processed with GIMP

We spent December 2016 in Australia, visiting Sydney and Melbourne. While walking through The Rocks area of Sydney, we came upon this holiday-themed sculpture. Seems to be made from plastic milk crates, and the name "Crate-Mas" is certainly special for the holidays. Image processed with GIMP.

We spent a beautiful day in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North Unit) when the fall leaves were very colorful. This was taken inside the campground, and you can see an RV parked under the trees. Image processed with GIMP.

We spent a beautiful day in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North Unit) when the fall leaves were very colorful. This was taken at the entrance road to the campground. Image processed with GIMP.

We were on a Holiday cruise from Melbourne, Australia to New Zealand and back. During the cruise, we celebrated Christmas, and then arrived back in Melbourne just in time for their spectacular New Year event. This was the "champagne pyramid" onboad ship, waiting for the big night. Image processed with GIMP.

These chains were used in the whaling factory on South Georgia. That area is now being converted to an environmental display. We visited South Georgia on our 2008 cruise, one of the very few full-sized cruise ships allowed to stop there. (Most of the ships that come in are the small, adventure type ships.) It was the equivalent of August in the Southern Hemisphere, and it was snowing the whole time that we were visiting.

We are big fans of our Tilley hats. When we see other folks wearing those, we just have to take a picture. These people were on the tender as we visited Grand Cayman in 2008.

We were entertained in Tonga by singers, dancers, and musicians. Here the brass band is waiting on the benches for their turn to perform. Image processed with GIMP. Forgot to add that these people were probably seriously affected by the recent volcano eruption near Tonga (including a tsunami). Please keep them in your thoughts.

Have a great weekend! This burrito was our special lunch today. There was a Cinco de Mayo event in a local park, and there were dozens of food trucks around. We saw a fellow eating the biggest burrito I've ever seen, and asked him where he got it. He pointed out the truck, and off we went. My wife and I had to share this one, it was that big! Image processed with GIMP. (oh yeah, pork, black beans, rice, and yes, potato chips(!)) The red salsa was nicely spicy.

We took a great cruise in 2019 on the Oceania Marina. While walking around this elegant ship, we saw a number of decorations, including this vase. Added to Sunday Challenge as a "still life". According to some sources: "A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or man-made (drinking glasses, books, vases, jewelry, coins, pipes, etc.)." Image processed with GIMP.

In the heights overlooking the port of Bodrum, Turkey, we visited these interesting windmill structures. Image from Nikon D80 in raw, processed by RawTherapee, later by GIMP.

The front area of the Baldwin Home Museum in Lahaina. We were there around the holidays, which explains the Christmas decorations on the street light poles. Looks like a nice place to sit and enjoy the endless parade. (UPDATE 2023: I fear that these buildings are now just smoking ruins.) Image processed with GIMP.

During one of our visits to this remarkable town, I spotted the red church door through the iron fence that surrounded the church. Image processed with GIMP.

We were told about this place by some other folks at the RV park where we were staying. The small town of El Rito, New Mexico is pretty remote, but very interesting, and worth a visit. The highlight for us was enjoying a dinner at El Farolito. This tiny restaurant consistently wins statewide awards for their food. They were very friendly and welcoming. Image processed with GIMP.