Robert Swanson's photos

Taken at the Saguaro National Park, Tucson, Arizona. I used the Panasonic GX85. The wind was blowing all of these delicate wildflowers around. It was difficult to get a clear shot. Processed with GIMP. See: swansonphotos.com/saguaro

Taken during our return visit 2017. Used the Panasonic GX85. See: swansonphotos.com/saguaro

We had some spectacular sunsets during our visits in Quartzsite. I was taking sunset shots, when the paraglider flew overhead. I was able to wait until they were in the frame for this shot. For the Sunday Challenge, this offers several layers of yellow, from the bright sun to the deeper orange. See: swansonphotos.com/arizona

I'm glad that folks on Ipernity are enjoying viewing my images. I have also had some views over on Flickr. If I get 100 views, I'm happy. BUT.... If you want views, put your photos on Google Maps! The image here is a screenshot of my most recent status with Google Maps. I never, ever, imagined that I would have over 300,000 views of a photo! Anywhere...

Taken during the regular air show that occurs in Casa Grande, Arizona. We were there for the winter, and spent a day watching the show and looking at airplanes. Didn't buy any. Taken with the Nikon D700 See: swansonphotos.com/arizona

The Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanic Garden in Columbus, Ohio, has an extensive installation of glass work by Chihuly. This is just one detail of the photos I took during our visit. Used the Panasonic Lumix GX85 for these photos. See: swansonphotos.com/franklin

This was taken inside the special butterfly area at the Franklin Park Conservatory. I'm not an insect photographer, so it was quite a revelation to find that it is HARD to get any photos of these insects, as they flit around the area. See: swansonphotos.com/franklin Taken with the Panasonic GX85.

The gears of a machine at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia. It is a steam-powered printing press. This is a "tool", indeed a very important one in the history of the world. While the original hand-operated presses appeared in mid-1400's, the effect of the printing press is still being felt today in 2023. The historical researcher Elizabeth Eisenstein makes the point that society is still trying to deal with the impact of this invention. The original photo is in color, but I kinda liked the converted image. The conversion was done with GIMP. The photo was taken with the Panasonic GX85.

We were visiting the area, and parked our RV at a National Forest campground near the entrance to the National Park. This setup allowed us to visit the canyon rim at all hours, rather than trying to keep a schedule for a day trip. We got to the rim an hour before sunset, and set up our cameras. We took a large number of photos, while a crowd of visitors closed in on us. Fortunately, our tripods kept the most curious away. I like this image, with deep purple colors on the rock formations, and just a sliver of the last sun's rays. See: swansonphotos.com/arizona

Caught this photo during a typical Arizona sandstorm. The Saguaro was near our RV. The original image was OK, but it was MORE INTERESTING to do some manipulation in GIMP. The experiment seems to have worked out. Looks more like a poster now. Seems surreal enough for the Sunday Challenge. See: swansonphotos.com/arizona

Taken at Saguaro National Park, Tucson, Arizona. See: swansonphotos.com/saguaro

During our stop in Lerwick, Scotland, we had a chance to walk around town. There were lovely plantings wherever we looked. These climbing roses caught my eye, and upon a closer look, I discovered that they were covered in bees. Taken with the Nikon D700, 300mm zoom lens, full telephoto. See: swansonphotos.com/lerwick

As part of our group activities during the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta in 2015, we trained to be assistants to balloon pilots. The training took place at an elementary school in Albuquerque, so we not only learned about the balloon operations, but the school children got a close-up look at the balloon. I've uploaded an image of the balloon completely inflated. www.ipernity.com/doc/2543754/51742722/in/album/1262924 This photo is picked for the Sunday Challenge of "primary colors". I see a LOT of bright green, some bright red, and the sky shows us some blue. Enjoy! See: swansonphotos.com/balloon_fiesta

We attended the 2015 Balloon Fiesta, boondocking in our motorhome. We saw the balloons taking off every good morning, and many landed near us. See: swansonphotos.com/balloon_fiesta

We attended the 2015 Balloon Fiesta, boondocking in our motorhome. Every night the Fiesta had a fireworks show. This was taken with the Nikon D700, trying to get the exposure just right. See: swansonphotos.com/balloon_fiesta and swansongrp.com/P/p/night_narrative/index.html

The scenery was beautiful around Albuquerque, when we attended the 2015 Balloon Fiesta. This is just one sunrise that we enjoyed. See: swansongrp.com/P/p/air_narrative/balloons

Taken as we reached the summit of the Cumbres and Toltec Railroad. The line runs between Chama, New Mexico, and Antonito, Colorado. The summit is near 10,000 feet. The aspens (and others) were displaying remarkable colors. Some of the blur is the motion of the train, some of the blur is bokeh. For the Sunday Challenge, this is a nice way to enjoy the change of seasons. Winter will be along soon enough. At least the conifers in the background will stay green throughout the seasons. See: swansonphotos.com/cumbres

We took a great excursion trip on the Cumbres and Toltec Railroad, from Antonito, Colorado, to Chama, New Mexico. This is a real steam line, burning coal. The line climbs up to a 10,000 foot pass, and we really enjoyed the autumn colors. The next day, we drove to some trackside areas, and took photos of the train heading uphill from Chama. See: swansonphotos.com/cumbres