Dreamy cherry blossoms

Above: Water on whimsical cherry blossoms.

Dreamy is the current Weekly Photo Challenge. To me, dreamy conjures feelings of contrast. Dreams are often simultaneously crisp and cloudy. Things that don’t make sense feel true. Entire dreams can be vague narratives shrouded in mist, except for one hyperreal detail — perhaps a pair of eyes.

In these photographs a shallow depth of field helps create a dreamy and uncertain aesthetic.

Dreamy cherry blossoms 2

Dreamy cherry blossoms 1

Dreamy cherry blossoms

Amsterdam Street Three

Photography, Portraits, Street, Travel

Stealing a kiss on a canal in Amsterdam.

Final installment of Amsterdam street photography. As with the previous two posts canals and bicycles are prominent. Never have I seen the possibilities of street photography as in Amsterdam, The few I’ve shared don’t scratch the surface.

Amsterdam is a young town, with a energy and openness like none other.

Being from a small town I underestimate how fast scenes in cities evolve, many times I should have been using a faster shutter speed.

Bike sharing is incredibly.

Even boats around canals are incredibly popular.

Evening boat rides around canals are incredibly popular.

Some boaters passed a serenade.

Amsterdam Street Part Two

Photography, Street, Travel

Time to look at more pictures from Amsterdam, one of the best spots to people watch I’ve ever encountered.

Public transport in Amsterdam.

Failed focus in this image. So many layers, but the focus in in the wrong spot. Should be on the boater.

Canal boaters frequently fill boats to max capacity.

Kids on bikes in precarious positions are commonplace in Amsterdam.

Belgium, briefly

architecture, Photography, Portraits, Street, Travel

Above: A duo poses for a picture in front of Manneken Pis, a tiny bronze statue of a young boy urinating. I like taking pictures of people taking pictures, this one has a quite comical element. August 10, 2014.

Not an awful lot to say in this post, was only briefly in Belgium. I will say that Manneken Pis, a small statue of a young boy urinating, is far too popular.

The amount of people around and photographing the statue in the heart of Brussels is baffling. I almost feel bad contributing to the hysteria by posting three photos of the statue. I’ll admit, it is kind of cute, and the figure is often dressed in different costumes – which is probably charming. But with that said, I still don’t understand the draw of this little character.

A small girl gets a shoulder ride past the small statue Manneken Pis.

Crazy crowds surround this far-too-popular figure.

Gorgeous turquoise ceiling of a Brussels church.

The Atomium – design to resemble an atom – was built for the World Exposition of 1958.

Mittenwald, Bavaria: Waterfall and More Mountains

Landscapes, Photography, Sports, Travel

Above: A canyon with cool-blue water cuts through the mountains surrounding Mittenwald, Bavaria. Photographed August 7, 2013.

A long day of hiking is guaranteed to make one sore. One way to loosen up is another hike – this time to a swimming pool under a waterfall. A bike ride and a 30 minute trek up a stream bed led to the pool. The water was not warm, but greatly refreshed achy muscles.

A natural shower and a swimming pool to play in outside near the village of Mittenwald, Bavaria.

The stream bed alone was gorgeous, with teal water, smooth stone and tall canyon walls.

Cool blue canyon.

The road between Mittenwald and the stream and waterfall is occupied with farmland. The return trip at sunset gave me a few great photographic opportunities.

Farmers enjoy mountain views at sunset while driving a tractor.

Faded German signs, a biker and mountain ranges.

Mittenwald, Bavaria: Part One

architecture, Landscapes, Photography, Sports, Travel

Above: Alps rise just north of the German-Austrian border. The winding road leads to the summer house of Kind Ludvig II, whose main castle I featured in an earlier post. Photographed August 6, 2013.

Mittenwald is a small village in the German state of Bavaria. It’s situated on the German Alps and shares a border with Austria. A friend of mine lives there, so it was a few-day stop while traveling in Europe.

Mountains are a high-hop and quick-skip away. Architecture follows strict guidelines. Ski hills and mountain bikes are popular pastimes. There’s more to come from Mittenwald.

Breakfast in Bavaria. A fantastic way to start the day.

Bavarian architecture must follow strict codes, this was one of the nicest examples.

Mountains, lakes and vibrant greens in the German Alps.

Spectacular Polychrome Pass, Denali National Park

Abstract, Alaska, Landscapes, Photography, Sports, Travel

Above: The steep pitch of Polychrome Pass becomes evident when the horizon is set against the slope. May 2, 2014.

Polychrome Pass is a mountain pass named for Polychrome Mountain on the Denali Park Road, the 83-mile out and back road that takes visitors inside Denali National Park. The narrow, steep, winding pass is breathtaking, and steep.

“Poly” is latin for many and “chrome” is latin for color, so polychrome pass means “many colors.” It’s an appropriate name. Reds, greens, blues, violets, ambers, yellows and browns are just some of the spectrums seen at any given time. With the addition of sweeping vistas, it’s one of my favorite places in the park.

According to National Park Service geological information, Polychrome Pass features basalts and rhyolites deposited by volcanic activity 56 million years ago.

This post will feature some of the many colors and the swirling, striated patterns they create, mixed with grand vistas.

Dall sheep, masters of rocky slopes, forage in Polychrome Pass.

Abstract detail shot of colorful rocks.

Polychrome Pass looking southwest.

Polychrome pass looking southwest, the road winds through to upper left of the image.

Complementary reds and greens are just some of the many vibrant colors that give Polychrome Pass its name.

Shadows and striations make stark patterns.

Polychrome pass looking northeast.

All images were shot during a bicycle trip into Denali National Park on May 2. More to follow.

iPhone roadtrip: Fairbanks to Whistler

Black & White, Iphone, Landscapes, Photography, Travel, Wildlife

I recently returned home from a road trip through Canada, south through Washington, Oregon and California, then north through Nevada, Utah, Montanan, Washington and Canada again.

Because of the quickness both in taking and sharing pictures I really embraced my camera phone on this trip. This is the first of likely a half-dozen posts chronicling the road trip from my iPhone.

All these were featured on my Instagram account, follow me @rwoodpix to see what other adventures I embark on this summer.

The first leg of the trip was roughly 2000 miles, from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Whistler, British Columbia, to do some snowboarding. This first post features shots from the road.

Caribou cross the road near the Canadian border.

Leaving Tox, Alaska, on the morning of March 7, 2014.

Entering Canada

Liard River Hotsprings is a mandatory stop along the Alaska-Canada Highway in winter or summer.

Bison are common along the ALCAN,. The one center left moved minimally, so it was alive when we passed.

Blow out along the John Heart Highway.

Pretty light along the ALCAN.

Train to St. Galen

Landscapes, Photography, Portraits, Travel

Above: Beautiful vineyards and lake landscape shot through a train window in Switzerland. When photographing from any moving object a fast shutter speed is the number one factor to a good image. This was shot at 1/800 of a second, f 5.6, ISO 400.

After taking the cable car to the top of Europe on the Aiguille du Midi it was time to change countries. A brief trip through Switzerland was next on the list.

In my post Train Station Stretch I talked about the pleasures of riding on trains. Fantastic, constantly changing scenery and a intimate view of locals living day-to-day often made getting from A to B very enjoyable. This train was en route to St. Galen, northern Switzerland.

A good time to catch up on the news of the day is the evening train.

The grand scale becomes evident after noticing the small sailboat near shore.

Preparing for the evening.

Yukon Quest day one

Alaska, Photography, Sports, Street

Above: Straight down view from the parking garage during the start of the 2014 Yukon Quest international sled dog race.

The Yukon Quest kicked off February 1, a world famous 1,000 mile sled dog race between Fairbanks, Alaska and Whitehorse, Yukon. Dog teams pull sleds and handlers along the namesake Yukon River, up and down summits and through treacherous trails in some of the worst weather imaginable. A true endeavor for dog and man alike.

The race alternates start and finish between Fairbanks and Whitehorse, this year was Fairbanks. The Chena River in downtown Fairbanks is the usual starting spot, but due to unseasonably warm temperatures the ice was deemed unstable and the race started on 2nd Avenue. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people lined the street to send off racers.

I wasn’t on assignment so I casually photographed the race from the top of the parking garage. I love the chance to combine rugged dog mushing with a city scape – particularly from a high perspective.