2016 Project 52: Week 12: As Far As The Eye Can See

wide angle

Happy Easter from sunny Las Vegas. I am here with 11 friends to celebrate the year 2016...exactly 50 years since we were born. It has been such a great time, we are planning to visit Jamaica together next year to celebrate 51 (who says we can only celebrate round numbers?). Thank goodness for income tax refunds! This is my first time in Vegas and frankly, the city has not really appealed to me. I am really enjoying the time we are all spending together...listening to music from our high school years, chatting around the hot tub and in the Uber cars (yes, I have), gathered around the kitchen, while toasting our birthdays with the cool shot glasses Anthony had made which memorialize "El Grande 50," last evening on the never-ending bus ride back from Fremont street and even on the horrible, hot eight mile hike to see the Hoover Dam. But I really don't love the crowds, the drunk people everywhere or seeing young children where young children really should not be.

I invested $6 in penny slot machines and after winning up to $50, in the end, I came out even. I did cash out $14 ahead but later in the evening my back and feet were so sore that I needed to sit down and the only seats in Fremont Street were in the casinos. I am not sure what we are doing today but after yesterday's and Friday's marathon walking I think some people (me included) might like to just sit around the pool.

About the photos this week, each one was taken with my new wide angle lens. Last Friday in the final email from Aperture Academy about the two day workshop I was signed up for, the list of suggested equipment included a minimum 15 mm wide angle lens. I did not have anything near that so I made a last minute purchase and it was worth every penny. I would not have been able to create these photos without it.

The Valley of Fire is about an hour north of Las Vegas but it seems like you could find it on the moon. Who knew that rock can be red and orange and pink and purple and yellow in addition to the normal rock colours. In addition to the awesome land formations and the phenomenally blue, blue sky, we were lucky with our timing and cactus were in bloom.

The sharp formation at the top of this photo is called Gibraltar Rock. You will see if from a different angle in a later photo.

This is Nike Rock as the sun was rising behind us. We couldn't get the whole area lit up with the sun because our shadows appeared soon after this.

This little cave has been named by photographers but I can't remember that name.

Stark, beautiful landscape in the park.

Pretty cactus flowers on a hill.

The low sun made the oranges so much more orange.

This was our sunset spot for both nights (we had a 20 minute hike out in the dark after shooting). We were crossing our fingers hoping for some clouds in the sky but Mother Nature did not come through. This place is called Fire Wave.