Silhouette

 

I took this photo when I was at the Desert Botanical Garden in the evening a couple of weeks ago.  I liked the look of those saguaros in silhouette against the evening sky.  The more I looked at this photo, the more I noticed.  Do you see that teeny-tiny white dot in the middle of the mountain?  That is actually a hole in the mountain.  It's a popular place for people to climb when visiting Papago Park which is just on the other side.  Looking up, I see bird perched on the top of one of the saguaro's arms.  And, all the way to the left and just above the horizon, I see an airplane on landing approach going into Sky Harbor International Airport.  There are lots of things to see in this simple photo.

Mini Concert

 

My good friends Julie and Dave, hosted a fund raising event for the Phoenix Symphony on the patio of their home in Paradise Valley last Sunday.  It was a wonderful afternoon event with music provided by a string quartet from symphony performers.  The weather was perfect for this outdoor event which you can tell from the reflection of the mountains in the window behind the musicians.

As you can see, they had a pretty good turn out for the event.  There were more people behind me.  I think everyone had a good time.  I know I did.

A Unique Desert View

 

I recently spotted this mural along Thomas Road and at first I thought it wasn't quite finished yet.  Then I realized that the ladder to the left is painted into the mural.  I also recognized those monotone saguaros.  They are distinctive to the murals of Andy Brown who goes by the name SLeisure. I love the doorway in the middle that seems to go through that mountain and into another space similar to the this space.  And that ladder on the left appears to be reaching for a star. On the day I took this photo, the mural's sky blends right into the real sky.  Nicely done Andy!

Taking part in Monday Murals.  

Enormous Talent

 

I don't often get to see inside the training center at the Desert Botanical Garden but when I was there for that iPhone class, I saw some truly spectacular paintings hanging in the hallways between the classrooms.  One of the employees there told me that the garden usually features one artist at a time and hangs their artworks here for one year. 

This extremely talented artist is Ariana Enriquez. 

She is a young artist living and working in Mesa Arizona.  Her paintings are breathtaking.  

Here is a link to her website.  She does murals as well as paintings.  I was so impressed by her work.  

What enormous talent!

Phone Photography

I recently upgraded my iPhone to the iPhone 16 Pro and I wanted to learn more about the new photo features that the phone offers.  I took a class at the Desert Botanical Garden specifically about using the iPhone.  A lot of what they went over in the class I already knew but  there were a few new tricks to learn.  I had never used the Portrait mode on my phone very often and there was a lot to learn with that feature.

So after the class I spent some time experimenting with that feature and adjusting the depth of field.  The two photos above are of the same two blooms, the bottom one using portrait and top just regular photo mode.

In this one I totally blurred out the background.

And, in this one I used something called 'Stage Light' for focus on the flower and darken the background.  

There is a lot more to experiment with.  I'll be playing around with these new features for weeks.

Expensive Art

 

I saw these paintings at the Scottsdale Ferrari Art Festival that I wrote about last week.  These were some of the most expensive pieces I photographed.  Above is a painting by Fritz Scholder, a very well collected artist.  The piece is untitled but is described as a pueblo scene.  The price tag is $140,000.

To the left is a painting by Jaune Quick-to-See Smith and it's called "Sunflower".  It was on display from an auction house who placed a price between $100,000 and $150,000.  

In this booth I found some Gustav Kimpt works so I asked for more information.  These are all prints and the one in the center is priced at $125,000.  It is number 62 out of 230 prints.

This painting is by Paul Pletka and it's called "Two Kills".  I had not heard of this painter before so I did some internet searching.  He is not Native American but he has been fascinated by Native subjects all his life.  He now lives and works in New Mexico.  This painting was priced at $60,000.

There was a lot of interesting art to admire at that event.  

Hiding Among the Reeds

 

When I was at the Desert Botanical Garden last Wednesday evening, I took a walk along the longest trail in the park waiting for it to get dark.  At the little pond I stopped to see If I could see any activity and I found this fellow hiding among the reeds and cattails.  He looked so dark in the twilight that I almost missed him.

I think he saw me and decided to sit very still until I moved on. 

Twirling Skirts

 

I was in downtown Phoenix last Friday for another performance of the Phoenix Symphony.  Walking to Symphony Hall, I saw that there was some kind of Mexican festival going on right across the street.  They had food vendors out and this group of women were dancing to some lively music.

I snapped a couple of quick shots and captured the blur of those colorful skirts twirling around. 

Theme Day: Stripes

 

When I was at the Heard Museum a week ago, I saw this Native American textile on display in the gift shop and I thought it would be perfect for today's theme of "Stripes".  

City Daily Photo Bloggers post a photo on the first of every month based on an assigned theme.  April's theme is "Stripes".  You can see other blogger's posts by clicking here.  You can see my past theme day posts by clicking the "Theme Day" label below.

The View From Inside

 

When I was at the Desert Botanical Garden last Wednesday, I found one of those metal sculptures that was designed to climb inside.  So I did.  Here is a photo looking out from inside this sculpture.  

Here it is with the large opening and a wood floor so visitors can see what it's like inside one of the giant sculptures.  I'm glad I found this one while there was still some light in the sky.

Orchid Fever Close Up

 

Here are some close up shots of a few of the beautiful orchids in the Orchid Fever exhibit I featured on Friday.

None of these orchids were labeled so I don't know any of their names.

They were all so beautiful. 

I enjoyed finding all the exotic shapes and sizes.  Some are tiny thumbnail sized while others are big and bold.  

I loved this orange one with a touch of red.

Light Bloom Revisited

 

The main reason I went to the Desert Botanical Gardens last Wednesday evening, was to see the Light Bloom exhibit one more time before it ends on March 30th.  I was planning to go over the weekend but then I thought that if I went mid-week, I might have less crowds to deal with.  It was still pretty crowded.

I repeated a photo of this spot.  My previous photo from last October ended up being my photo of the year for 2025.  

It was a struggle getting photos without people in them.  I will say that the new tool available on Mac's Photos app called "Clean Up" works exceptionally well at erasing the occasional human encounter.  I erased two people who walked into my first photo above. Two people walked between the two sculptures and as you can see, you can't tell they were ever there.

This last one hangs at the entrance area.  I caught this shot on my way out.

You can see my original posts from last October here and here.

I'm glad I got to see the sculptures all lit up once again.

You can read about the artists known as HYBYCOZO at this link.  They have permanent installations at museums and government buildings all over the world.

Orchids and Cactus

 

There is a new exhibit at the Desert Botanical Garden.  This time it features orchids, lots and lots of orchids.  It's called Orchid Fever and it's to celebrate the opening of a new exhibit gallery that was recently completed.  

This exhibit showcases orchids growing side-by-side with cactus and succulents.  It makes a great photo opportunity.  

As you might have guessed, I took lots of photos.  Between all the art shows I attended last weekend and this visit to the garden, I have more photos than I know what to do with.

Tiffany

 

One of the booths at the Scottsdale Ferrari Art Fair was occupied by a New York City antiques store called Lillian Nassau LLC. They had a large display of Tiffany Lamps on display.

This one is a Tulip Table Lamp and it was priced at $185,000.

This one is a Dragonfly Table Lamp and it is a bargain at $165,000.  

Those lamps are gorgeous.  Expensive but certainly gorgeous!

Scenes From An Art Fair

 

I have a few more scenes from the Scottsdale Ferrari Art Fair that I attended last Sunday.  Above is the booth for ARTNWORDZ an artistic group that does works of art over printed pages.  

To the left is a sculpture by Richard MacDonald called "Blind Faith".

Above is the booth for Light Hunter Studios featuring the photography works of Michael Fatali.  I got to talk with Fatali about his work and the places he goes to get these great photos.  That one on the middle wall with the moon peeking between arms of that rock formation ended up on the cover of coffee table book called "The World's Top Photographers".  That is quite a photo!

This booth is for Vallarino Fine Art.  I loved the contrast between the painting in the center and those abstract works in the background.  That center painting is by Susan Bright Hertel and it's called "Early Morning".  

This last photo is the opening scene as I entered the art fair.  It's looking right down the center row of booths.  

An Art Filled Weekend

 

This last weekend was another busy one for me.  It was filled with art and art events.  Starting on Friday when I went to the annual Celebration of Fine Arts event.  It runs from mid-January through March and I hadn't been there yet.  It was another fascinating day meeting and talking with the artists.  The space above belongs to Cindy Dimascio.  She paints with acrylic paints ads a little 3-D effects to many of her pieces.

On Saturday I went to the Heard Museum for another "Artful Mornings" lectures.  This time one of the curators talked about the different types of print making and featured several artworks from the collection.  This one is by Marwin Begaye and is a wood block print called Inner Strength.  It just won first prize in the recent Indian Fair and Market.

On Sunday I attended the Scottsdale Ferrari Art Fair.  This was a new event that happened over the weekend and featured over 100 galleries and art brokers with a few fancy cars scattered around the building.  This show was truly something to see.  There was every style of art you can imagine from all over the world.  There was so much to see it was almost overwhelming.  

Obviously I'll have more photos to show you over the weeks to come.  I was very busy snapping photos right and left.  

Speaking of art, I have a new artwork up on my love of art site. It's an unusual painting.

Faces!

 

I saw this building recently and I have no idea what it is or why there is a chainlink fence surrounding it.  The mural caught my eye.  I didn't see a signature but as you can see, I couldn't get very close.  I have to make a plan to visit it again to see if I can get an idea of what all those faces mean.

Update: I learned that this is the office of The Journey Venture Studio, a Healthcare Innovation Center.  It's in the process of reorganizing right at the moment.  Thanks to Stefan from Photos from Haninge for the update.  

Taking part in Monday Murals.

A Little Something for Spring

 

I was at the Heard Museum yesterday morning for one of those "Artful Mornings" talks and I arrived early so I took a stroll around the grounds.  I was drawn to the flower pots in the courtyard.  They were overflowing with beautiful colorful flowers.

I even met the lady to tends to the flowers and she seemed truly thrilled that I was enjoying them.  

A few minutes later I saw another photographer photographing the flowers.  I hope that gardening lady knows that lots of people are enjoying her gorgeous flowers.