Reviews, Recipes, and Random Slices of Life

Again, doing a quick Monday roundup of my most recent Flickr favorites, in the interests of brightening up what is usually a rather blech day.



Mmm...tropics. This photograph is amazing in the large size (click on "All Sizes" on the photo page), as one can make out details that show the true scale of it.

( Runners-up, in small size )

The vivid colors are fantastic, and the position of the hut and the rising sun make this photograph really pop. Dawn is always a wonderful time, and the unusual emptiness of the beach and the deserted lifeguard shack have an odd sort of serene whimsicality.

New wallpaper for the work computer. I'm very much in the mood for seasonal photographs right now (and seasonal things in general--I stopped off at Target and now I've got a wreath of metal jack-o'-lanterns hanging on my front door and a little metal "haunted house" claiming pride of place on my dinner table). The russet red of this photograph and the mist rising to the treetops is lovely. Looking at it, I can almost feel the cool dampness of the air against my skin.

New wallpaper for the work computer. This seems like the sort of photograph that I would take, were I in such a lovely place. Not enough people look up and marvel at the beauty of it. I do, and so, apparently, does this person. I also chose this photo because I need something to remind me that it's still Fall, despite the blizzard outside the window. It was only after I chose it that I read the description and realized that it was actually taken in Minnesota!

New wallpaper for the home computer. This photograph takes the natural and stages it in a very un-natural way--twisted, against a harsh black background, with water droplets carefully arranged on its surface. The color and vibrancy shine through, however, and the texture is fabulous.

New wallpaper for the home computer. It has a nice sense of distance and horizons stretching to infinity.

I wish I could be standing on a beach like that.

The composition of this shot echoes the classic still life fruit studies, with architectural interest added by the positioning of the stray stems--probably entirely accidental. The color palette is rich, and the positioning makes it ideally suited for a wallpaper background.

More subjectively, it has a nice seasonal feeling to it. Fall and Thanksgiving on the way....

Also, I've never seen fresh cranberries up close before.

New for the work computer.

If the world was made of cotton candy, this is what it would look like. I'm generally not a fan of the color pink, but I am a fan of cotton candy. The built-in old-fashioned bicycle is what really makes this photograph for me, though.

( Marigold with rain drops )

New wallpaper for the work computer. Chosen because of the brilliant colors, the prismatic effect of the raindrops, and the unsettlingly alien appearance of a marigold in macro.