Pāhoehoe

Pāhoehoe lava flow frozen in time

Scenic Coast of Central California

Avlia Beach, San Luis Obispo

Avila Beach Pier, San Luis Obispo

Piedras Blancas Lightstation, near San Simeon

North from Ragged Point

Ragged Point Sunset

Big Creek Bridge

Ventana Vista

Point Sur Lighthouse

Point Pinos Lighthouse
(under restoration)

Bixby Creek Bridge

In the Mist

Getty Villa

The Getty Villa, located in Pacific Palisades, California, USA, was inspired by the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum and incorporates details from several other ancient sites as well.

Many exhibits occupy the various galleries, but the architecture itself is a major part of its appeal.

It would be impossible to do justice to this place with pictures on a blog post, but here are just a few to suggest what awaits visitors.

Neo-Roman Amphitheater

Helical designs adorn these columns

Inner Peristyle

Fountain Pool in Inner Peristyle

Ancient Coin - one among a large collection

Architectural details

Herculaneum Woman, Roman, A.D. 40–60

Outer Peristyle

Emperor Caligula

Cycladic Idol

Column Detail

Pacific Ocean View

Free as a Bird

Seagull takes flight on the Santa Monica Beach

Tern, tern, tern... (by the birds)

To Everything (Tern, Tern, Tern)
There is a season (Tern, Tern, Tern)

Sandpipers

Sandpipers forage behind the receding waves.

Majestic Na Pali Coast of Kauai

Na Pali means the cliffs, and Kauai's north shore is a gallery of them. What follows is a collection of images, including three stereograms, of many of these cliffs, taken from a helicopter and a boat.

Clear air and bright sunshine highlight the diverse colors of the scenery which vary dramatically depending on time of day, weather, sun and viewing angles, etc. The same scene from the same vantage point may appear very different through the course of a single day. Kauai's soils range in color from beige sandy beaches through deep coffee browns to intense Martian reds. Lush vegetation, clear ocean waters, and the deep blue sky add vivid greens and blues to the scene. Bright clouds gleam a striking white that can overwhelm the camera, often making it difficult to capture the full range of color and illumination in a single frame. As spectacular as some of these views may be, they don't come close to the experience in person.

Two features of the Na Pali coast are the Kalalau Valley and Hanakapiʻai Beach. These appear in earlier posts on this blog and are omitted from this one.

As usual, click on any image to see a larger version.






















Stereogram - click to enlarge; cross eyes to converge the two images to appear as three.
3-d effect will appear in the middle.








Stereogram - click to enlarge; cross eyes to converge the two images to appear as three.
3-d effect will appear in the middle.








Stereogram - click to enlarge; cross eyes to converge the two images to appear as three.
3-d effect will appear in the middle.