Day 169 - Being rained out

This is also from the photo contest I intended to enter.  I was trying to set up a shot, where it looked as though children had abandoned their play.  Before I completed my set up, it started to rain, and I did have to abandon it.  The rain actually made this picture for me!

Day 168 - Ribbons of light at night

So, I'm finally getting around to editing photos I took in the past. This is from a contest I was going to enter.  I was trying light writing, and well, that didn't work out too well.  This is one of my test shots to figure out composition and settings.  I liked the ribbons of light from the passing cars.

Day 167 - A fallen tree

Just recently had a chance to edit some photos from the summer. Here is one from a time I met with a friend and we went for a walk in the park, talked about everything and nothing.  It was a great day away from all the stresses of life.

Beyond chatting, we were trying to take very particular pictures that I had envisioned.  Sadly, those didn't work out, but I really did love this one.

Day 166 - Anthurium

Random Anthurium I saw at the grocery store.  Don't you think that it looks plastic?  I assure you, it is real.

Day 165 - 'Tis the season

Was at the mall in this weekend, and this is what I saw... It's not early for the holiday season, but I had forgotten how elaborate the set up can be.  I went another mall, and saw that they had Santa there too.  I personally don't celebrate Christmas, but I do love Christmas because of the ubiquitous "Christmas spirit"!

Day 164 - Under the street lights

Another photo from my early morning walk.  I really liked how these plants (no idea what they are!) looked against the sky under the orange street lights. 

Day 163 - Water droplets

This was taken about 3 minutes after the one I posted yesterday.  The water drops on the trees from the morning fog was mesmerising. 

Day 162 - Hydrant

As I was walking home, I noticed this fire hydrant, and thought, when did hydrants become yellow?  If you look at the top, you can see the silver reflective paint fighting it's way through.

You can't really tell, but this was taken as the sun was rising.

Day 161 - Self-portrait

When I was at the Air and Space Museum, I happened upon this thermal imaging camera... or something.  I actually have no idea what it was, but I had to take a self portrait. I think most people actually missed this until they saw me taking a picture of this screen.  So, yes, this is a little blurry, but I didn't have the opportunity to retake it.

I really don't like selfies...so, this is probably the closest I'll get to being on my own blog!  

Day 160 - Wedding bouquet

Ever take a picture that you take and feel that it's nice, but not the greatest, but everyone else loves it?  This is one such picture.  This was from the friend's wedding from a few years ago.  I love the bouquet, but not in love with the photo.  I guess, at the end of the day, when you are taking pictures for a friend, it's about what they like and not your vision.

Day 159 - Colourful make-up

This is from a few years ago when a friend was getting married.  She asked me to come along for a make-up trial, and while the artists worked away, I took random pictures for my friend.  Although I think there are way too many colours of various make-up products out there, I love colour! So, I took pictures of the eye shadows.

Day 158 - A place to call home

I'm volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, and I have to say it is one of the most rewarding experiences. I love charity that you are invested in more than merely donating money.  With this organization you can see your "donation" (of time) at work in a real way, touching the lives of real people.

I love this tradition that they have at Habitat, where the volunteers are allowed to write messages to the families receiving the homes, and these get built right into the supports of the home.

Day 157 - Not quite a spice market

This was the closet I got to a spice market in Morocco.  This was taken in the market place close to where I was staying. I love the different textures and colours you find in the markets.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take more photos in the market, since every time I tried to take a photo, the shop owner wanted to be paid for it.  It was strange.  As it was, this picture was taken surreptitiously!

Day 156 - Any idea...?

I was looking at my pictures from Baltimore and DC, and this was among them.  Can't for the life of me figure out what it is, but thought it looked really interesting.

Any ideas what it might be?

Day 155 - "...placed for you the stars...."

Really busy these days, so just added some text to the astrolabe...

Day 154 - Astrolabe

When I was in Washington, DC I spent a lot of time at the Air and Space Museum.  Though I'm not in the sciences, they do fascinate me.  Place like the Air and Space Museum are amazing displays of human ingenuity! This picture is one such display.  This is an astrolabe from early Islamic history.  An astrolabe is used to locate and predict the positions of the sun, moon, planets, and stars, making it a useful tool for mariners (for navigation) and astronomers.  In the Islamic world, it was also used to calculate the Qibla (direction of prayer) and to find the times for prayers. Such simple (?) yet effective technology!

Day 153 - Slowly...

I've been staring at this photo and playing around with it on my phone.  This is what I ended up doing with it.  What do you think?

Edited this on the PhotoGrid app on my phone.

Day 152 - Mosque shining with light

I don't know how I missed this one before.  This is a picture of a mosque just after the sunset prayers.  I loved the colour of the sky, so I decided that I would take a picture of the minaret with this light behind it.  Love the light burst effect.

Day 151 - Light fixture

If you are a Facebook friend or follower, you have seen this one already.  I liked it so much, I thought it was worth putting up here.  I love this light fixture a local pizza place/cafe in Morocco, so I had to take a picture.

Day 150 - Road home...

I haven't been on the trail by my house for some time, so I took the long way home couple days ago.  Same trail I took the pictures of Tasha, when I started this blog.

Edited this on the PhotoGrid app on my phone.

Day 149 - Lights in the trees

Was at a gala tonight, and as I drove in, I saw they had these really nice lights on the trees.  I kid you not, I love the way lights look on trees, if done right.  These were done right.  At the end of the night, I went to take pictures of the lights, and discovered that the lights were not regular lights, but little flowers.

I have photos of these lights on the DSLR, but no time to edit right now!

Day 148 - Lunch!

Ever have a random craving? Today's inspiration - mango salad. Mangos, green pepper, carrots, green onions, and red and white quinoa, tossed with lemon juice, coriander leaves, green chillies and little salt.  All drizzled with pineapple and cayenne pepper sauce.  Mmmmm.... little hot, little sweet, little, and little sour.  All yummy! And, makes for a colourful picture!

Day 147 - Memories revisited

I've been a little busy over the last week or so, and then I wasn't feeling well, over the last couple days, so I've had to pull some pictures from the archives. I came across this one, from my brother's first convocation.  Good memories, of his graduation and of UofT.  Yes, I have a renewed appreciation of the things I have experienced, including my time at university.

Day 146 - Tomb of the unknown soldier, Canada

As I was posting about Tour Hassan, I remembered that it was the location of the Tomb of the unknown soldier for Morocco.  I remembered this photo I took of the Tomb of the unknown soldier in Canada in 2007.

Day 145 - Under construction

I had to take this picture, since it was funny to me.  This was the US Supreme Court when I visited in September.  It was under renovation, and the tourists didn't seem to notice!  People were still taking pictures with the building, etc.  How could they not notice the scaffolding?

Day 144 - Interesting book stores

It appears I've run out of pictures from Morocco since I have not had the time to edit photos from my bro's DSLR, which I borrowed. So, here is another one from my trip to Baltimore.  This was inside a Barnes & Noble on Inner Habour.

Day 143 - Aqueduct system

Bare with me and my geek moments at Volubilis!

There is nothing exciting about this photo, except that this was part of Roman aqueduct system.  For my Latin course, we each had to do a project about some aspect of Roman society, and I ended up studying the aqueduct system.  It was fascinating to see how advanced their water systems were to supply water to public baths, latrines, fountains and private household, and here were the remnants of it thousands of years later.

Day 142 - Arch of Caracalla

Total geek moment when we visited Volubilis, near Meknes between Fes and Rabat.  In high school I studied Latin, and learned a lot about the Romans; so, this was exciting!  I never thought that I would see a partly excavated Roman city, and in Morocco, no less! I could have spent a whole day here.

This is a look at Arch of Caracalla from below.

Volubilis is another UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Day 141 - Through the fence

This is another picture from Tour Hassan in Rabat.  This was through the construction fence.  I liked the the way the fencing directs the eye to the Tower. I took this picture while a random guy (not a tour guide, but expected payment) told us about the area and the fact that this was the site of an uncompleted mosque from the 12th century.

So, the Tower was intended to be the world's largest minaret, so it was equipped with ramps. It is said that the ramps were installed so the muezzin could ride a horse to the top of the tower to call the adhan.

Did I mention that this is a UNESCO World Heritage Site? Another interesting fact, this is also the site of the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Day 140 - When you can't see the road

Feeling a little philosophical today, or maybe feeling philosophical after seeing this picture.

Another picture from the back seat....we were driving to Rabat, and this was the only morning it was foggy. It had me thinking about my analogy, from the other photo, about roads and the future.  More often than not, the road of life actually looks like this.... foggy and unclear.  You know the road is there and you have to continue to travel it to get anywhere. Just a reminder for myself.