Robert Swanson's photos

A more general view of the base of Devils Tower. The PiP shows a closer view of a climber, working their way up this sheer wall of rock. Image processed with GIMP. (We tried to revisit Devils Tower this August 2024, and arrived the morning after a huge storm. Turns out that the place was completely closed, hundreds or more of trees down, roads washed out, buildings damaged, etc, etc. The rock, of course, is still there. I wonder about these rock climbers, however, and how they fared during that storm.)

Fortunately, I had my telephoto lens, and could capture this image of a rock climber, working his way up the sheer rock wall of the Devils Tower. The PiP is a more general view of the base of the Tower. For Sunday Challenge: striving, always striving. Image processed with GIMP.

Taken in 2007, this is a small shopping area near the big mall in Kahului. These buildings probably date from the 1950's and are typical of the "local" shopping and businesses. The terrible fire in Lahaina is obviously more recent, but keep in mind that this smaller area burned just 2 years before I took this photo (February 27, 2005). Buildings in the area caught fire during a day of very strong trade winds. A large local grocery store, and several businesses were destroyed before the fire department could arrive. We saw the fire from our house, and watched as all of the nearby wooden buildings (similar to this one) burned. - - - - - I failed to add this when I posted the photo. This was 2007, and cell phones were quite popular on Maui. However, the people here are just "talking story" as they say in the Islands. No one seems to be "head down" with their cell phone. The family in the background are enjoying lunch at the picnic tables in front of a restaurant.

Street-side wall of some buildings in Banjul. Taken from the tour bus, as we traveled through the city. Appears to be political graffiti on the wall. Do view on a black background. Image processed with GIMP.

Interesting waterfall and park. A month or so ago, we had heavy rains and this scenic falls became a massive torrent. Didn't even try to get near and take any photos. On this nice day, there were a few people around (see upper right corner). Do view on a black background. Image processed with GIMP.

At the entrance to the local fairgrounds, they have a typical rock. I think that the fence is there to protect the rock, or protect the cars that might run into it. This native stone is used in many buildings in the Sioux Falls, South Dakota area. Not so many years ago, it was quarried and used regionally. The Picture-in-a-Picture shows a LOT more of these rocks at the Sioux Falls park. You see these boulders around, as the farmers who ploughed them up, decided they were too large to completely remove, so they shoved them over to the corner of their field. The plaque indicates the entrance to the fairgrounds. You can see the parking tram in the background, taking fair visitors to and from the parking area. Image processed with GIMP.

A different crop of the veggie judging results at the local Fair. (The judging took place several days before I took this photo, so there has been some wilting.) Image processed with GIMP.

The "back yard" of the food zone of the local Fair. Normally, you are looking at the front of the food truck/trailer/kiosk, checking the prices, decided on your purchase. This is the back, where all of the preparation and setup goes on. Not nearly as gaudy and bright. At night, you probably don't see the back at all, just the bright lights. (In case you are intrigued, "shave ice" is a Hawaiian invention. The "snocone" is more well known: a scoop of crushed ice with flavored sirup on top. The variant from the Islands has taken over the US. The smaller bottles you see on the tables contain the sirups.) Image processed with GIMP.

We visited the local Fair today. The veggies were on this table, showing their red and blue award ribbons. (This is not the State Fair, more like a County Fair, maybe regional. But the same kinds of events go on, from carnival to music concerts, fun rides, and of course, judging home-grown and home-made objects.) Image processed with GIMP.

Operating replica steam locomotive Jupiter at the Promontory Point historical area. This is the site of the "Golden Spike". These locomotives are run every day, out in the morning, and back to the barn in the evening. The color scheme of the locomotives was designed by a Disney artist. Image processed with ImageMagick.

Taken in Muscatine, Iowa, along the river front. It was a lovely, sunny day. This was taken near the very nice fountain (see PiP) Taken with phone and processed with ImageMagick.

The New York Central Railroad Museum in Elkhart, Indiana, is well worth a visit. They have some excellent equipment outside. Sadly, this GG1, one of the most stylish locomotives of the 20th century, needs some loving care. The exterior of these locomotives was artist-designed, the electric locomotives operating for many decades where electric power was available (primarily New York-Boston corridor). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Railroad_class_GG1 www.urhs.org/locomotives#/prr-4877-4879 Image processed with GIMP.

Taken at the New York Central Railroad Museum in Elkhart, Indiana. This table contains some examples of the logo china used in the fancy dining cars of the NYC. Image processed with Imagemagick.

Quite an engineering achievement. This bridge allows shipping to enter and leave the Columbia River at Astoria. Taken with the phone as I was wandering around the waterfront; processed with GIMP.

The flag-in-boot display (memorial?) was located behind the tree off to the right. The school children and adults here in D'Hanis, Texas, are watching, as the huge UP steam locomotive (4014, "Big Boy") passes by. Image extracted from video and processed with GIMP.

The flag-in-boot display (memorial?) was located behind this tree. The crowd here in D'Hanis is blocking our view. The school children and adults are getting ready for the pass-by of the huge UP steam locomotive (4014, "Big Boy"). Image extracted from video and processed with GIMP.

The flag-in-boot display (memorial?) was at the base of this historical information sign in D'Hanis, Texas. We were getting ready for the pass-by of the huge UP steam locomotive (4014, "Big Boy"), when I took these pictures of the locale. Image processed with GIMP.

Taken in the inner harbour of Auckland. There are a number of America's Cup boats tied up there. Image processed with ImageMagick.