Beluga Point (Alaska – July 2023)

We pulled over at Beluga Point, a rocky outpost jutting into the waters of Turnagain Arm, on our way to Girdwood. The place is named for the white whales that are often spotted from this location as they make their way up and down the inlet. Belugas are supposedly seen from mid-July through August when salmon are running in Cook Inlet. Although we were there in late July, we saw nothing. In addition to the beluga, supposedly you can see the black fins of orcas as they pursue the white belugas.

Fortunately, we did see orcas a few days later south of Seward.

Posted on July 18th, 2026 under Alaska. Tags: landscape, NIKKOR Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR lens, Nikon Z 50 Z50, pacific ocean. Comments Off on Beluga Point

“Perpetual Ending” by the French contemporary artist Zevs

For generations, the Blower Shed of the Völklingen Ironworks knew nothing but a relentless, ear-splitting crescendo. Massive gas-blowing engines and humming electric motors roared twenty-four hours a day, pushing thousands of cubic meters of air into the hungry bellies of the blast furnaces. The air inside was always thick—clogged with the bitter tang of sulfur, the biting heat of molten metal, and a constant, swirling rain of dark dust. Men worked here in twelve-hour shifts, their faces blackened, communicating only through frantic hand signals over the industrial din. To them, this hall was a living, breathing monster that never slept.

The place closed in 1986. The machines would never turn again, but in their quiet retirement, they had finally become art.

Posted on July 17th, 2026 under Germany. Tags: museums, NIKKOR Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR lens, Nikon Z 6II FX-Format Mirrorless Camera, Saarbrücken, Völklinger Hütte. Comments Off on Happy Friday!

Camping in Richardson Grove State Park (June 2023)

Today we will embark on our first camping trip with our adult children in at least a couple of years. We won’t be going to the place pictured above. Instead, we are off to Trillium Lake in Oregon.

Posted on July 14th, 2026 under Other. Tags: california, NIKKOR Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR lens, Nikon Z 50 Z50. Comments Off on Gone camping

Kenai Fjords (July 2023)

Posted on July 10th, 2026 under Alaska. Tags: Kenai Fjords National Park, NIKKOR Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR lens, Nikon Z 50 Z50, pacific ocean, wildlife. Comments Off on Gone Fishin’

Little O’Malley and O’Malley Peaks from near Flattop Peak (foreground on far right of this image) Alaska – August 2023

The Chugach Mountains cover a huge territory, of which you can see only a small part of in today’s photo. The mountains around Cordova, Girdwood, and Seward are all part of the Chugach Mountain Range.

Posted on July 8th, 2026 under Alaska. Tags: Anchorage, hiking, landscape, NIKKOR Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR lens, Nikon Z 50 Z50, photomerge. Comments Off on Chugach State Park