Zhengyangmen in Beijing

On 3rd November 2008, the first day of our 3 days Beijing tour, we went to visit the most famous Tiananmen Square and its surrounding. Once we got off the subway train and walked to the ground level from Qianmen subway station, when we looked up, the first building caught our eyes was the Zhengyangmen Gate.

Zhengyangmen is a gate standing by the south end of Tiananmen Square. It was formerly the front gate of the Imperial City and built in 1419. It consists of a gate house and an archery tower. It is 42 meters high and the tallest among all gates in Beijing.

Seventeen Arch Bridge in YiHeYuan

On 5th November 2008, we spent the afternoon in the famous YiHeYuan in Beijing, China. In the old days, YiHeYuan was the summer palace, a private park, for the emperors and their families to enjoy life and relax. Now, it is open to the public. So, we walked into the summer palace to see and feel how the emperors spent their summer vacation long time ago. YiHeYuan is just unbelievably beautiful and gorgeous. The architecture and construction were done in a way that money was no object. It is simply amazing and breathtaking.

YiHeYuan was built around Kunming Lake. There is a small island on the lake. A bridge was built to cross over from inland to the island. The bridge is called Seventeen Arch Bridge. Apparently, it was named after the way it was constructed. We did count the number of arches under the bridge, no doubt, seventeen total. The bridge is just so beautiful from any angle to look at. While we were there around sunset, the light was so soft and the bridge showed us its beauty even more.

New Old Building in Qianmen

During our trip to Asia in 2008, we spent a few days in Beijing, China. On 3rd November 2008, we spent the morning in Qianmen. Qianmen has been the famous and busiest place in Beijing for businesses and shopping. There are many over 100 years old stores in Qianmen. Due to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Qianmen has been undergoing renovation, taking old buildings down and rebuilding just like before. The building on this picture has just been finished but it is still waiting for business to occupy.

Architecturally, this building is quite interesting, round on one end, rectanglar on the other end. The two ends are connected somehow with a bridge. There must be a reason why this building is designed like that. We think that it must be related to the type of business it is being conducted there. Anyway, we will keep our eyes open to find out more on this building and look forward to hearing the historical background behind it.

Orchid in Chapel Hill

I talked to one of our colleagues, Eric, the other days on photography, our common interest. We had very nice discussion on what photographic objects would be. Of course, different photographer has different point of view. I particularly interest in very small things based on my educational background. All of a sudden, I realize that I do not have many photographs of small and beautiful objects in the blog. After looking over our collections, here is one of them.

We were invited to Robin's house to take photos for her orchids on 14th May 2006. Using a Nikon Micro lens, we were able to take a photo on a close-up look of a orchid flower. The core part of the flower in the picture is about one centimeter diameter. We can see clearly the fine detail of that area. Sometimes, we are wondering why the orchid takes so much effort to make the flower so artistic and precise.

Oyster Field in Zhuhai

On 8th November 2008, Johnny's parents and our good friends drove us to Zhuhai in Guangdong Province, China to visit the oyster field and had lunch in the restaurant right by there. Zhuhai is right next to Macao in southern China. We have not been in any oyster field before and therefore it was an eye-opening experience for us.

Our lunch in that restaurant was wonderful too. All dishes we ordered were oyster-related somehow, oyster soup, roasted oyster, oyster with cheese, etc. There were many people there enjoying oyster dishes and we believe most of them concerned only the taste of the dishes. For us, we wish there was some educational displays so that we could learn something about growing oyster. It would be really nice if we had a chance to learn why there were sticks in the water for growing oyster. Why did those sticks arrange in retanglar shape? How could the farmer/fisherman pick oyster in the water?

Dragon Kite in Guangzhou

On 31st October 2008, the Halloween day, we did not stay home for trick and treat. Instead, we traveled to Guangzhou, China. That day, we visited the Yuntai Garden to check out the famous Chinese kites in display there.

Among the numerous kites in the garden, there were 2 huge dragon kites by the front gate, one yellow and one red. This photo shows the yellow one. The dragon head itself is about 3 meters tall. Its tail which is not shown in the picture is about 20 meters long. We believe that this kite can fly. However, it will probably take many people to do it together. Unfortunately, we did not have a chance to the dragon kite flying in the sky. Otherwise, it would have been wonderful.

Ring-Tailed Lemur in Museum of Life and Science

On 1st September 2008, we spent a few hours in the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, North Carolina. They have a few Ring-Tailed Lemur in the museum. They are vegetarian by nature eating mostly fruit, leaves, and flowers. Their life span is about 20 years.

They were far away from us and they were only 1.5 feet long. Fortunately, we had our 70-300mm zoom lens with us and we were able to see their funny faces clearly.

Butterfly in Museum of Life and Science

How often do you get a butterfly flying over and resting on your shoulder? Not very often, we would think. However, if you go to the Carolina Butterfly Pavilion in the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, North Carolina, the chance of having a butterfly resting on your shoulder would increase tremendously. That was exactly what we did on 1st September 2008 when Sue invited us to visit the museum.

This photo was taken was taken when a butterfly was staying on Sue's shoulder. The butterfly seemed to be quite relaxing but Sue was a kind of nervous about it. In fact, she was excited since she did not want to scarce the butterfly away. So, she moved very slowly, gently, and quietly. That butterfly stayed there for a good 5 minutes and that was enough to take a few good shots.

Spider in Museum of Life and Science

We saw a giant spider in the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, North Carolina on 1st September 2008. The spider in this picture is about 6 inches long. If we count the number of legs of this spider, it is eight. We know that insect has six. What is going on with this spider? In fact, spider is not insect, it is arachnid.

Spiders like to stay around the web they build because they get everything they need including food and water. Spiderman in contrast would run around town to save lives. When insects are being trapped in the web, the spiders use vibrations to locate them. Spiderman would use his great vision to see things far away.

Alligator in Museum of Life and Science

We have seen American Alligator many times in zoo or wild. We could only see their eyes and upper part of jaw which were above water level. The other part of alligator body was hidden in muddy water. On 1st September 2008, we were invited by Sue to visit the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science in Durham. The alligators there were in clear water and therefore we were able to see the whole alligator bodies.

It was amazing to witness alligators staying still for at least 10 minutes. In fact, they can hold their posture for hours. While we watched them in the museum, they did not even blink their eyes. Alligators wait without moving until their prey wanders close. Then, they attack and have meal.

Mandarin Duck in Philadelphia Zoo

Chinese people love Mandarin Duck (Yuan-Yang in Chinese) for a long time. In tradition Chinese lore, Mandarin Duck symbolizes wedded bliss and fidelity. We have known Yuan-Yang for years. However, we had never been able to see a live and close-up one until 22nd March 2008 when we visited the Philadelphia Zoo. They have a few of them in about 10 feet away from us. Also, we had the telephoto lens, 70-300mm, with us. The result was that we were able to have perfect views of these beautiful ducks.

Swan Boat in Philadelphia Zoo

On 22nd March 2008, our good friends, Yudong and Yue took us to the famous Philadelphia Zoo in Philadelphia. They have purchased a family yearly membership pass and therefore they visit there very often. Every time they visited the zoo, their son, Ethan, always liked to take the swan boat ride. Since Ethan weigh only 10% of what his dad was, the swan boat was tilted.

When we were there, there were about 20 swan boats in the small lake. All the boats looked the same, white body, long neck, and black nose. Because of the tilting, we had no problem at all to spot which boat Ethan was in.

Giraffe in North Carolina Zoo

Giraffe is probably one of the most popular animals to be seen in zoos. On 20th July 2008, we visited the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, North Carolina. Two of the giraffes came out and hid themselves in the shade. It was a hot day and therefore it was understandably they did that.

Giraffe is the tallest of all land-living animal species. Males can be from 4.8 to 5.5 meters (16 to 18 feet) tall and weight about 1700 kilograms (3800 pounds). Females are usually slightly shorter and weigh less then the males do.

The design of the North Carolina Zoo is quite nice that giraffes are able to run around in a large piece of land. The only drawback we think is that people will have to walk a long way to see them. Once we find a good spot, they may walk away from our eye sights. After we visit the North Carolina Zoo several times, we learn the trick. Whenever we see a bunch of people crowded in a spot, we will rush over there as fast as we can. The chance is that we will be able to see some animals in good viewing angles.

African Ant Bear in North Carolina Zoo

On 20th July 2008, we spent a few hours in the North Carolina Zoo. It was a hot day and we did not want to run around to see everything in the zoo. So, we took it easy and then we saw things we usually would not pay attention to such as this sculpture. This bronze sculpture was created by Chris Gabriel in 2007. It is Aardvark or African ant bear.

African ant bears eat ants and and termites. They have the skill to locate ground-dwelling insects. They use their claws to tear insect mounds apart and take advantage of their long snouts and sticky tongues to pick up their food.

We have been in many zoos before but we have not seen a live African ant bear. If not this sculpture, we would not know anything about that wonderful creature.

Hippo in North Carolina Zoo

Look at this Hippopotamus (often shortened to "hippo") carefully. It is not real and it is just a sculpture. We found it by the picnic area in the North Carolina Zoo by the African entrance. There is no living hippo in display inside the zoo. However, having a live size hippo sculpture would provide another way for people to learn about hippo.

The hippopotamus is semi-aquatic, inhabiting rivers and lakes. The zoo places this sculpture right by the water to emulate the real life situation intentionally. We think that it is a very smart move.

Of course, around this hippo, there is no fence. We can even touch it. We can even sit on its neck. If it is real, would you do that?

Golden Frog in North Carolina Zoo

Do not be fooled by this picture. At first sight, you may think we are showing a picture we took for a Golden Frog in zoo. We took this photo in the North Carolina Zoo on 20th July 2008 for sure. In reality, we took this picture of an illuminated picture. That zoo display we saw is about Golden Frog from Central America which is about one inch long. It is so small that we did not get any good shot for any of those living frogs with the telephoto lens we had. However, there was a nice picture on the wall right by the living Golden Frog display.

From the description by the display, it is so sad to learn that we can not find any wild Golden Frog in Central America anymore. A deadly fungus infected the skin amphibians, destroying entire populations in 2001. In areas before the fungus reached there, scientists collected a group of Golden Frogs and they are now being bred in zoos in order to save the species. Now, we can only see them in zoos.

African Hibiscus in North Carolina Zoo

On this picture, it is a flower of Hibiscus Schizopetalus, better known as African Hibiscus. When we saw this flower on 20th July 2008 in the North Carolina Zoo, we were so amazed of its very distinctive divided petals. It was simply eye catching. Hibiscus Schizopetalus is a species of Hibiscus native to eastern Africa in Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique. It is a shrub which can grow to 3 meters tall. However, the flower was so attractive and we did not even pay attention to the other part of the plant. It is really shame on us.

Meerkat in North Carolina Zoo

On 20th July 2008, we visited the North Carolina Zoo with good friends, Didi and Gigi. It was a hot day and most of the animals were either hiding or sleeping. However, the meerkat display was indoor and a lot of meerkats came out while we were there. They were from 11 to 15 inches in height about 20 feet away from where we stood. Luckily, we had our 70-300mm lens with us and we were able to take some close-up shots for the meerkats.

Meerkats are mongooses. They live in open country of Africa's temperate grasslands and savannas. In this picture, you can see that the meerkat sits upright. In fact, they like doing that. When they sit upright on top of rocks or termite mounds, they will be able to see things further away. If they detect distant threats, they will make some sharp bark sounds to alarm everyone. Then, they all head to underground for safety.

Bateleur Eagle in North Carolina Zoo

In our past visits to the North Carolina Zoo, we noticed that there was a very special eagle called bateleur eagle. However, we were not able to take some pictures for it. In April 2008 when we visited the zoo again, that display was closed for maintenance unfortunately. On 20th July 2008, we went to the North Carolina Zoo again. The bateleur eagle was there finally. We had determined to take some good shots for it and we did. Here is one of the pictures.

The bateleur eagle is really a beautiful bird. From the sign in the zoo, its life span is around 20 to 40 years, weight 4 to 6 pounds, height from 21 to 27 inches. The sign also says "The bateleur eagle takes its name from the French word meaning acrobat, due to the side-to-side balancing motion it displays when flying." Unfortunately, the eagle we saw was in a not-s0-big cage. We did not think we would be able to see its acrobatic flying ability in it.

When we were in front of the cage, the eagle stayed still most of the time. So, it was not very difficult to find a good angle for the photos. The hard part was actually trying to avoid the wire on the cage net. So, we poked the lens onto the net. The lens was too big that it was not able to get through the hole on the net but it was good enough to avoid any wire on the pictures. Luckily, the eagle was calm enough not coming over to attach the funny looking lens of our camera.

Schuylkill River in Philadelphia

On 22nd March 2008, we spent a day in the famous Philadelphia Zoo. It is the first zoo in America chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on 21st March 1859, opened on 1st July 1874 due to the Civil War. The zoo is located at the west bank of the Schuylkill river in Philadelphia. The east side of the river is New Jersey.

When we got on to the helium balloon which rose up 400 feet high in the air, we were given a wonderful view of the Philadelphia downtown. When we looked closer across the river in New Jersey side, we saw a few houses by the cape. At the tip of the cape, there is a house right by the river. It would be really nice to sit in that house by the window to have a 270 degree view of the river and have a cup of tea or coffee.

Hamadryas Baboon in North Carolina Zoo

On 19th April 2008, we spent a few hours in the North Carolina Zoo with good friends, Kevin, Lori, and Alexis. By the time we were in the Hamadryas Baboon area, we were so tired and hungry. So, we sat down to watch some baboons playing and ate something ourselves. Amazingly, the baboons were so active and they ran around like crazy. It had attracted a lot of people to watch them.

This picture was taken while we were there eating. They are really interesting animals. From the sign in the zoo, male baboon is 2 to 3 feet long and weight 30 to 55 pounds, while female baboon is 1.5 to 2 feet long and weight 20-30 pounds. There are some bigger baboons and we are sure that they were males. However, we could not tell these two in this picture. They might be females or young males. There must be other ways to distinguish between male and female baboons besides the size. If you know the trick, we would very much like to know.

Old Young Man in Chapel Hill

On 31st October 2006, this young man dressed up like an old man came to our house. He even gave us a nice old man style smile. Of course, we gave him a lot of candies he deserved.

Halloween is really a nice festival for all young and old people to enjoy. Unfortunately, we do not get a day off. Otherwise, people would have time to be even more creative in dressing up. These days, people can buy expensive masks and dresses for Halloween costume. On the other hands, we appreciate to see kids dressing up nicely with very little cost such as this one. Well, how did he get the gray hair? Let's hope that it was not from his daddy's latex white paint for the house.

Football Player in Chapel Hill

On 31st October 2006, the Halloween Day, we had many interesting people coming over to our house after dark for candy as usual. They really spent the time and effort to dress up. In return, they got candies. We thought that the effort and reward were not balanced at all. For this kid dressed up as a football player, he did spend a lot of time to paint his face like that. Also, when he met us, he gave us a ugly face for the picture. All those efforts resulted from some candies they would not even eat afterward.

Human beings are quite amazing if you think about it. They would do something just for fun and happiness regardless of the time and effort to achieve that. So, the rules of economics do not apply in people's certain behavior.

Parachute in Andrews Air Force Base

On 19th May 2007, we went to the Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland to see the Air Show. There were so many people getting into the base bus after bus that morning. It was one of the biggest Air Show we have even seen. It was still a little chilly but it did not avoid us from running around to see things we would not be able to see normally.

One of the first shows in the Air Show was the parachuting by the Army. Amazingly, a bunch of those parachuters were able to drop out of a plane and landed on a designated 25 feet diameter circle on the ground. It would take so much courage and skill to do something like that. We were able to use our telephoto lens 70-300mm to catch the moment while a parachuter was about to land. After they landed, we also witnessed how they folded the parachute back into the special backpack for next jump. Also, they were supposed to do the folding within a certain time limit.

Bird in Chapel Hill Final

At 6pm on 29th June 2008, the young bird managed to get onto a branch of an azalea tree about 3 feet above ground. We did not see how it got up there. However, we believed it might jump or even fly. Once it was up there, it stayed there comfortably for almost 3 hours. It was so used to our presence. So, taking pictures would be no problem at all. We even had time to change to different lenses with and without flash to get better shots.

It had been a wonderful experience to see the whole process for a bird from an egg to being premature. Hopefully, it would stay around our house so that we would meet once a while. You never know, it may remember us.

Bird in Chapel Hill Continued

We thought that the 8 days old bird would take a few days before learning how to fly. It turned out to be very wrong. Just a few hours later on 29th June 2008 afternoon at 2pm, the baby bird came out and started practicing how to fly. It went underneath of an oak tree trying to get up on the tree. Its parents were demonstrating and coaching. When human parent teaches a kid how to write, he/she would hold the kid's hand to demonstrate. When the baby bird parents teach how to fly, there is no way for the parents to hold the wings to learn. So, we believe the coaching job for the bird parents will be very difficult.

Bird in Chapel Hill Next Day

We continued to spy on the new born bird in our house. The next day, 29th June 2008, after it was born for 8 days, we found that it moved to a spot about one feet away from the nest. It had grown some since the day before. We are sure that it will start learning how to fly within a few days. If you think about it, human can not even fly even 8 years after birth.

It was hiding behind the leaves and we had to use flash to take pictures. This time, we found that the new born bird was able to reflect with the flash. Its eyes were functioning and that was great. Again, it was not scare of our presence at all.

Bird in Chapel Hill

About a month ago, we found some leaves in a pot of plant. It turned out that those leaves were the construction material of a bird nest. So, we left it alone and started to spy on what was going on in that nest on a daily basis. Later, we found 4 eggs in it in light blue color with brown spots. A week ago, we saw 2 new born birds in it. Today, 28th June 2008, the one week old bird came outside of the nest waiting to be fed by its parents. There was no sign of the others new born for some reasons. However, there was still an egg inside the nest.

With no hesitation, we had our camera out and took some pictures for the one week old bird. It was looking at us with no fear. It knew that we meant no harm. But, its parents were screaming and flying around. They might be worrying apparently. Their mouths were holding food ready to feed the baby. So, we left as soon as we could to allow nursing to occur.

After reading numerous books about north American birds, we was still not able to find out what kind of bird it is. Maybe, we should take a picture of one of the parents to show to some bird experts.

Mission Hill Winery in Westbank

On 13th September 2006, we were on our way from Banff back to Vancouver in Canada. We took a detour to visit the Mission Hill Winery in Westbank in British Columbia. The winery completed a spectacular rebuild in 2002 spending about $40 million. The outcome from what we saw is amazing. The picture shows you the entrance of the winery. As you can see, it is elegant and at the same time welcoming. While we walked the arch, there was a gentleman greeting us and talking to us about the winery. All of a sudden, rain came in and it was pouring hard. We hid ourselves under the arch and kept talking to the nice man. This picture was taken right after the 5 minutes rain. In fact, we saw rainbow after the rain.

Even though we do not drink wine regularly, while we were in Mission Hill Winery, we felt that the winery was alive and well. We did not have time to tour the facility unfortunately. However, we were sure that we would go back there for a much more detailed visit in the future.

Yellow Dog III in Pittsboro

On 3rd May 2008, we went to the Hewitt Pottery Open House in Pittsboro, North Carolina. Mark Hewitt is the chief potter of the pottery. He made this big jar, about 4 feet tall. It is a beautiful piece of art named Yellow Dog III. We think there must be Yellow Dog I and II before this one. The price tag for this jar is 8 thousand US dollars. By the end of the Open House, we are sure that someone would have claimed this master piece.

Lions in North Carolina Zoo

We have been in the North Carolina Zoo many times and we have taken a lot of photos for the lions there. After we review all the lion pictures, we agree that this one is the best of all. This photo was taken on 26th March 2006 when it was still a little cold and chilly. We did not expect the lions would come out and provide such a good posture with the couple side by side. They did and we were really presently surprised to see them like that.

By that time, our zoom lens was not good enough to have some close-up pictures. So, we have to crop it some to emphasize the beauty of these animals. They looked so serious and they would not be able to do "cheese" even though we had tried hard. In fact, while we tried, people around us were giving us their "cheese" smiles.

Hanging Rock Park in North Carolina

We like to go for long trips, visiting friends and family and touring some cities and historical sites. However, planning for a long trip takes a lot of effort. It is much easier to go for a day trip and we do not have to plan much and pack a lot. For day trip around where we live, we like the Hanging Rock Park in North Carolina very much.

On 9th October 2005, we visited that park once again with good friend, Kevin. it was a short drive to get there and a short hike to the top of the rock. Once we were up there, the view was gorgeous. It was cloudy that day. Otherwise, this photo would be much nicer. In case you do not notice, there is an eagle flying in the sky in the middle of the photo. We sat on that rock for a long time enjoying the view and having lunch. Of course, we left no trash there. The only thing we took from there was pictures and we left only foot prints behind. If we stepped on the ground gently, we did even have to leave any foot print there.

Horse in Mt. Airy

Normally, we do not pay much attention to business sign. However, once a while, we see a really nice one such as this one on this picture. On 15th June 2008 while we were on our way to the Levering Orchard for cherry picking, we stopped by a convenient store named Lucky Horseshoe. Outside the store, we saw a life-size horse sculpture about 20 fee above ground. That sign had attracted our attention and we are sure it would get more customers because of that.

Cherry Picking in Ararat

On 15th June 2008, we were invited by Sue and Gary to take trip to Levering Orchard in Ararat, Virginia. Levering Orchard is a farm growing cherries, pears, apples, etc. The farm is celebrating its centennial this year. It was found by Ralph and Clara Levering in 1908.

Cherries grow on trees. So, we had to climb up on ladders to at least 8 feet above ground to pick them. In a few hours, we had been in a lot of treetops. It was a fun experience to be able to pick our own fruits. Actually, we ate a lot of cherries while we were up there. We picked and ate the cherries right away so no one could get fresher cherries than that.

Washington Monument in DC

Most people in US must know what that is. That is the famous Washington Monument in Washington DC. On 6th November 2004, we took one of our best friends, Raymond, to tour DC. Raymond resides in Hong Kong, China and DC is a wonderful place for him to visit in order to know more about US history.

That monument was built in honor of George Washington. The shape of that monument is like an Egyptian obelisk, 555 feet and 5/8 inches high. It was finished on 6th December 1884. It is one of the older attractions in DC. While we were in the Mall area, we was able to see it from a lot of places and it looked nice from different angles. We found this angle quite attractive since it had the reflection in the water. Also, the curved side walk by the water was very artistic. It would be a lot better if there was an airplane on the top right corner. We simply could not spend too much time waiting for one.

C-5 Galaxy in Pope Air Force Base

We always enjoy going to Air Show. On 6th October 2007, we visited the Air Show in the Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina. Once we walked in to the base, the first huge airplane we saw and touched was the C-5 Galaxy as shown in this picture. There are only 131 C-5 manufactured from 1969 to 1989. So, we were so lucky to see one in person. We even walked through the plane cargo area from the tail to the head.

The cargo compartment can hold a total volume of over 34 thousands cubic feet and 75 passengers. Surely, it is capable of carrying big things through the air to somewhere far away.

Ballet in Chapel Hill

On 2nd June 2007, good friends, Sue and Gary, invited us to attend the ballet performance by a bunch of students in a ballet school. Their daughter, Jessie, was one of the dancers too. We were presently surprised to see some wonderful dancing skills by the youngsters. They were very focused, well-dressed, and well-trained. The show was well-organized and professional.

The lighting during the performance was a kind of gloomy and we did not want to use flash of course. So, we had to bring up the iso value of our camera and make good use of our VR (vibration reduction) lens. Since the movement of the dancers were so quick, we were not able to take sharp pictures most of the time with the equipment we had by that time. The only time we could get good shots was when the dancers stayed still such as this one. This picture was taken at the very end of a performance. Everyone had a nice smile on their faces and they stayed like that for a few seconds. That was enough time for us to take a few shots. In fact, in most cases, a few seconds were what we only had to catch some wonderful moments.

Cabin in Boone

On the last weekend of October 2007, we camped in the KOA Campground in Boone, North Carolina with a lot of good friends. It was freezing cold in the evening and therefore, we had to put on winter clothing. In that campground, most people drove in with their RVs (recreational vehicles), parked there and enjoyed the natural environment. We did car camping, drove there, opened up our tents, and camped there. It was really fun.

Within that campground, there were some cabins for rent too. This picture shows one of them. It was a kind of small log house. Unfortunately, we were not able to get in one of them to check it out. From the outlook, it looked nice. We would not mind to wake up in a cabin like that for sure.

Golfing in Durham

On 25th May 2008, we were invited to visit the Lakeshore Golf Course in Durham, North Carolina with a bunch of good friends. In the golf course, there is one spot which is for practicing golf stroke. The ball is lighter than the regular gold ball and we hit the ball to the lake. All the balls in the water float to the surface and eventually they are collected to be reused. So, we paid for 2 buckets of balls, drove them one by one to the lake, then we were done. It is an interesting system.

One of our friends, Hy, was practicing his golfing skill and he showed his son, Bryan, how to do that too. Bryan, 4 years old, was very interested in hitting the golf ball as far as his dad did. So, he was trying to listen and learn the techniques. We said that he was off to a good start to become a good golfer.

Japanese Garden in Duke Garden

On 25th May 2008, we spent a couple of hours in Duke Garden in Durham, North Carolina with some good friends. In the garden, we walked into a section designated to be Japanese style. One of the typical objects in Japanese garden is stone garden lantern. This one we saw in Duke Garden was as tall as a human being. It was right by the water. We took this picture from across the pond using our 70-300mm zoom lens. If we did not have such a telephoto lens, we would have to row a boat on the pond to take this photo.

Potter's Cabin in Pittsboro

On 3rd May 2008, we visited the Hewitt Pottery Open House in Pittsboro, North Carolina. We had a chance to meet the master potter there, Mark Hewitt and have some nice conversations with him. Mark has some apprentices learning from him. One of the apprentices is able to live in a cabin right there in the Hewitt Pottery site. We took a few photos of that cabin. Here is one of them.

When you look at the cabin, simple and cozy. That kind of living environment is capable of producing great potters.

Rose in Duke Garden

On 25th May 2008, we visited the Sarah P. Duke Garden in Durham, North Carolina. Duke Garden has been one of our favorite gardens for taking pictures. It is close to home and therefore it is easy to get there, spend a few hours, and enjoy the atmosphere. By the front door of the garden, there were a rose garden growing some beautiful roses. Here is one of the pictures there.

As far as we know, growing roses in North Carolina is quite difficult. Bugs love to eat them, in particular, Lady Bug. A couple of years ago in our neighborhood one afternoon, all of a sudden, all of the Lady Bug came out all together. Kids were screaming and running away from them. We saw thousands of lady bugs flying above us. That was quite an experience. However, nobody has been able to tell us why the lady bugs did that. Also, how could they communicate with each other so that they all came out at the same time?

BC Ferries in Bristish Columbia

We took a trip to Canada in early September 2006. During that trip, we spent a few days in Victoria visiting good friends, Joyce and Bennet. To travel between Vancouver and Victoria, we decided to drive and took the ferry by BC Ferries. We were able to drive our car onto the ship which was really fun. On 10th September 2006, we left Victoria and took the ferry back to Vancouver. The ship ride took about one and half hour. While we were on the ship in the middle of the ride, we saw this ferry heading to the opposite direction. So, we were able to take a few pictures from good angles.

The ferry was able to hold hundreds of cars. In this picture, the rectangular opening is for cars to get in and out of the lower decks of the ship. Once we parked our car in the lower deck, we went up to the upper deck to enjoy the scenic view around. It was really a wonderful experience.

Typewriter Eraser in DC

In DC Mall area, there are so much to see. So, whenever we have a chance, we would see a small portion in that area. On 23rd November 2007 Thanksgiving holiday, we visited DC Mall again and spent most of our time in the Arts Museum. Interestingly, there is an outdoor section of the Museum with a lot of contemporary sculptures. They call that Sculpture Garden.

One of the sculptures there as shown on the picture was created in 1999 by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen entitled Typewriter Eraser. A boy leaned on the sculpture and you can tell it was quite tall. We have used typewriter long time ago. However, we do not remember we have used a typewriter eraser like this one. Anyway, it was a nice looking sculpture made by stainless steel and fiberglass. Unfortunately, the sky was gloomy. Otherwise, this picture would be much nicer.

Jordan Lake in North Carolina

The day of 24th May 2008 was beautiful, not so hot but sunny in central North Carolina. We went to visit the Jordan Lake State Recreation Area in with good friends, Lingxing and Longhua. Jordan Lake is huge and we can only visit the lake a small part at a time. That day, we visited the Parkers Creek area which is mainly for camping and picnic purposes. After we parked there, we took the longest trail and hiked all the way from the beach area to the very end of the campground territory. It was a wonderful hike under the shadow of tall trees most of the time, really enjoyable. By the time we reached the end of the trail, we overlooked an area by the water with people fishing. It was so peaceful to see such a moment. Some of them sat on beach chairs with fishing rods on their hands. Others stood by the water and waited for fishes to come. When we saw that, we believed the people there would have been very relaxing. In fact, seeing such a moment was quite enjoyable for us too.

Alexis in Duke Garden

We visited the Sarah P. Duke Garden on 25th May 2008 with good friends, Kevin and Lori. Their daughter, Alexis, went there with us. Alexis, 2 years old, has been trained nicely and properly by her parents to love animals and nature in general. Once we reached the Duke Garden parking lot, she saw a fish tank, went there, then crouched to check out the small fishes. People around there were so amazed to see a little girl have so much interests in fishes. To record such an important moment, we immediately pulled our camera out and took a few pictures. Luckily, Alexis had so much patience. She spent quite a few minutes by the fish tank, looking here and peeking there. So, we had a little time to find a nice angle to document that amazing event.

Lotus Flower in Duke Garden

On 25th May 2008, we visited the Sarah P. Duke Garden in Durham, North Carolina right by the Duke University with the Mar family. We like that garden a lot since it is well-organized, well-maintained, and beautiful. It was a hot day but it would not avoid us from running around to take some good pictures.

The lotus flowers were blooming there as shown in this picture. However, the best of this photo is that a dragon fly is sitting on top of the flower. It stayed there for a long time for some reasons. So, we had more than enough time to get some good shots. Unfortunately, it was a little far away from us. Even though we were using the 70-300mm zoom lens, it was still a little too far. Because of that, we had to crop the original picture some.

Marguerite in Chapel Hill

Spring is always the best time to see beautiful flowers. Around our neighborhood, our neighbors are so good in landscaping and maintaining their flower beds. We can tell there are so much nice human touch in their yards. However, we found these flowers on a spot which was not very neat on 4th May 2003. We believe they are wild flowers.

Well, wild flowers have their ways to present their beauty such as these two. The upper one was about to open up while the lower one was going to follow. A combination of them showed nicely on a picture. We have enjoyed seeing this picture ever since.

Castries in St. Lucia

When we took the cruise trip to the Caribbean by the end of January 2008, one of the stops was St. Lucia. St. Lucia has been a part of the British Commonwealth since 1803. Before that, the island was occupied by the French. The cruise ship docked by the town named Castries. Castries is a nice little town with some colorful local markets for great shopping.

This picture was taken from the top deck of the cruise ship overlooking the town. As we can see, the buildings are so colorful. When we looked at it, we had a mixture of joyful and peaceful feelings.

Andy in Beverly

We love to take pictures for baby and kid since it is so enjoyable to be with them. On the other hands, it is a challenge to get them to do what we want them to do in order to get some nice shots.

When we visited our good friends, Lixin and Qing, in Beverly, Massachusetts on 16th August 2003, we met their son, Andy, 13 months old by that time. Unexpectedly, taking good pictures for Andy was no trouble at all. He listened, focused, and was extremely patient. His mom was working on some baby food to feed him. Andy knew it and he simply watched how the food was being prepared to make sure that the whole process was acceptable. He sat there quietly and waited for the food. When one looks at this picture, one can tell that there is something in his mind. What is it? No matter what you say, we are sure that your guess will be a good one.