Monastery Part 2

Here are some pictures of the buildings and gardens of the main grounds of the monastery.  The chapel on the hill that I posted yesterday are outside the main grounds and just down the road 1/4 mile or so.  The buildings are quite dramatic, both inside and out and made for some great pictures although the white chapel is my favourite.  

There were lots of tourist wandering about in addition to the monks and nuns.  Everybody was fully covered with all the men wearing long pants and long sleeved shirts with the women having to have long skirts, long sleeved tops and shawls.  Proper apparel coverups were available at the gift shop.  It wasn't always apparent who were the female tourists vs the nuns but there was no mistaking the monks.  They were all dressed in black robes with crosses on long chains hanging from their necks.  They also had long hair and long straggly beards.  It was kind of like being set back in time to a medieval movie set.     

Enjoy. 

Front gates of the Monastery

Very vibrant colours and textures

We were allowed to take pictures inside the sanctuaries which is somewhat unusual

Most of the interior is pretty spartan except the front of the church.
Very elaborate and intricate decorations

There are 3 or 4 separate sanctuaries.
The interiors are all very similar  

The light in the room was provided by sunlight
as it shone through the stained glass windows.
The effect was a very warm glow.

Such a picturesque place I just couldn't stop snapping.  Well worth a return visit.  

Next up a return to Boyce Thompson Arboretum, street shots in Superior and lunch at Porters. 

Till then. 

Monastery visit. Part 1

The last few weeks we have been out and about trying to tick some things off our list as we realize that our time here is fast coming to an end.   I have been out for a few photo shoots but haven't had time to edit my pictures given our activities and, finally with some warm and sunny weather, it has been nice to simply sit and soak up some sun.  Although as I say that we are set for a couple days of rain as another winter storm hits Arizona.  That should give me time to get caught up a little in my blogging.  

On February 28 myself and 2 other members of our Photography group headed out to visit St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Monastery located just south of Florence, Az.  They have a dress code so long pants and long sleeve shirts are required.  It was a nice sunny day in the high 60s and it turned out to be perfect. 

 Lori stayed home as she had to prepare a salad for our Canada Day dinner later that night although I think after our previous 7 hour hike she had had enough of us.  The Canada Day dinner is held each year for all the park residents that are from north of the 49th and once again it was a fun evening.   

The Monastery presented us with some great scenery and this post will show you the stunning vistas of the first part of our visit.  The white chapel on a hill with beautiful blue skies as a background was simply stunning.  Many of the shots below are actually similar or in some cases the same picture however I have altered the post editing to create different moods.  

Enjoy. 

More pictures of the rest of the Monastery coming tomorrow, I hope.  

Massacre Grounds

On Wednesday Lori, Charli and I headed out with J.C. (fellow Park resident and leader of our Photography Club) to hike and shoot the Massacre Grounds trail.  At the top of the trail there is a waterfall and with all the rain and snow we had last week we figured the falls would be more than the trickle that I saw on a previous hike.  The trail is just over 5 miles with an elevation change of 1100 feet and it took almost 4 hours when I went previously with my hiking group.  They move at a pretty good pace so I knew the hike this day ,with 2 photographers in tow, would be a little longer.  We were on the trail about 7 hours and came back with our water bladders empty and 3 very tired hikers and one tired old dog.  While Lori was a pretty good sport about the lengthy outing she has vowed not to go out with us again.  

We didn't take many pictures on the way up as the skies were overcast however there was an expanding patch of blue and by the time we got to the top we were rewarded as the clouds started to break up.  With temps in the 70's and a light breeze it turned out to be a perfect day for both hiking and photography.  We had lunch at the top of the trail and then headed over to the waterfall.  I primarily used my new 16-35 lens and the pictures turned out pretty good if I do say so myself.   Walgreens is supposed to have a big sale on prints in late March and some of these may be coming back with us on 16 x 20 Canvas prints.

Shooting a wide angle with a huge vista requires something of interest
in the foreground.  The rocks and cactus provided a great foreground while
the blue sky, fluffy white clouds and distant mountains with just a touch
of snow remaining provided a great background and a nice colour contrast. 

Second time on this hike and it is my favourite so far.
The views are fabulous. 

Lots more water coming off the mountain after the rain and snow last week. 

The water trickling over the rock face turns it black.
Makes for great contrasting colours. 

There were actually a lot of other people at the falls.  I had to patiently wait for them to move out of frame but in some situations I ended up having to erase them out in post processing.  

I planted myself on some large boulders at the base of the falls in the
midst of the stream. My feet got a little wet but avoided falling in.  

4 horses and riders showed up for a drink.
Still can't believe they could negotiate all the boulders and loose
rocks on the trail.  Both riders and horses had to be very experienced   

Love the sun ray effect and I didn't even have to do it in post processing.
I believe the diaphragm on the lens has 11 blades and it created the real
neat sun ray effect.  I did have to take out a few sun flares but overall it
handled shooting directly into the sun real well. 

On the way down we came across a patch of yellow California poppies.
With all the rain and now the weather turning warm and sunny I
expect March to be a great wildflower month.  

One last look back at the snow on the mountain.
Not sure when we will see that again.

What a trooper.  This was taken at the top.
Little did she know that her journey had just begun. 

Thats it for now.  I still have the pictures from my visit to the Monastery to edit but that will have to wait as tomorrow we are going to a Home and Garden show with Mark and Jan.  Why would we go to a Home and Garden show in Phoenix you might ask.  Well Mark and Jan are looking for items for their new house and I believe Jan wants Lori there for moral support.  Mark is going to keep the budget in check and I am going to provide him moral support.    

Can't believe its March already.  Our time is winding down with only 4 weeks till we start our trek home and still lots to do.  Guess we have to come back next year.