Caverns

If you enjoy my photos and would like to purchase some, I want to thank you! Simply visit my Zazzle online shop and browse the product offerings. If there’s a photo you would like to purchase but don’t see it in my shop, please contact me by using the Contact form at the bottom of my home page and let me know which photos you are interested in purchasing, and in what format / medium.

Today I’m participating in the A Word A Week Challenge. This week’s theme is “orange”. I encourage you to click on each photo to see a larger view. If you like what you see, please subscribe to this blog to receive updates of the new photos I post, usually 3 to 5 times a week.

Orange is not my favorite color but I enjoy seeing it in nature and photographing it. I spotted a little bit of orange during my trip to the East Coast. This tiger at the Washington Zoo was very interested in a robin that was standing just a few feet away from him. No need to say that the tiger was way too slow to catch it as the robin flew away.

This isn’t the robin that was standing in front of the tiger. I found this American robin at the Smithsonian gardens behind the red castle. Notice the rings on his legs. I hear there’s a Smithsonian program that tags birds and then ask people to report their sightings on a website, so the Smithsonian researchers can study bird flight paths and patterns.

The backlight at Luray Caverns in Virginia made these stalactites appear bright orange. They almost look like fabric hanging down from the ceiling.

Luray caverns - stalactites with orange backlight — Luray caverns – stalactites with orange backlight

Sea jellies (jelly fish) are hard to photograph in an aquarium because of the low light and their rapid moves. I love how bright orange this one came up, as the light was right behind it.

Orange sea jelly - jelly fish — Orange sea jelly – jelly fish

Of course, I couldn’t do a photo post on orange without pumpkins. A lot of pumpkins from last year’s pumpkin patch.

Pumpkin display - orange pumpkins — Pumpkin display – orange pumpkins

Today I’m participating in the WordPress weekly photo challenge and this week’s theme is “work of art”. Remember you can click on each photo for a larger view. If you like what you see, feel free to subscribe and receive nature photography updates a few times a week.

During my recent trip to the East Coast, I got to see many works of art, including in the various Smithsonian museums in Washington D.C. Some of the art you find in D.C. is larger than life, such as the Thomas Jefferson’s statue inside the Jefferson Memorial.

Wordpress Weekly Photo Challenge: A work of art - Thomas Jefferson's statue at the Jefferson Memorial — WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: A work of art – Thomas Jefferson’s statue at the Jefferson Memorial

Or the Marting Luther King Memorial, the latest addition to the monuments around the Tidal Basin. The monument represents this famous line from Dr. Luther King’s speech in Washington: “Out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope”. That quote is engraved on the side of the stone in which King is featured. What a great image for that quote. By the way, Martin Luther King directly faces the Jefferson Memorial, looking for hope in the man who wrote the Declaration of Independence.

Martin Luther King Memorial in Washington D.C.

Sometimes man can takes nature and create beautiful works of art. I enjoyed photographing this small man-made waterfall from behind.

Of course nature makes some of the most beautiful works of art. I got to see a lot of them in the shape of stalagmites and stalactites when I visited Luray Caverns in Virginia, the largest caverns in the Eastern United States.

Luray Caverns - transparent stalactites with layers — Luray Caverns – transparent stalactites with layers

Luray Caverns - giant stalactites — Luray Caverns – giant stalactites

Here’s Mother Nature at work, displaying its latest creation, a small stalactite in the making. Another million years and it will be as big as the ones shown in the photo above!

Luray Caverns - small stalagmite — Luray Caverns – small stalagmite

Nature in the spring on the East coast displays many works of art in the form of tree blossoms. I got to enjoy many Eastern red bud trees in bloom. What a sight!

But I’ll admit that my favorite probably were the pink magnolias, or tulip trees. A cloudy sky that day made for a great background to photograph the pink magnolia blooms from under.