How to measure life - by George Carlin

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."

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Formula 1: New Season, New Rules, New Team, New Winner

From worst to first! Brawn Grand Prix has done it! And a storybook one-two finish no less!!

Just a few months ago, Honda dropped a nuke on the Formula One community by pulling out of the sport when it was most needed. The Honda brand had been a horrible debacle the last two seasons, though many believed that their addition of former Ferrari man Ross Brawn would pay some dividends in 2009. Yet, Honda lost faith and gave up on their Formula One program.

But Brawn Grand Prix was born because the team believed in themselves. And how!

Today at Albert Park, Brawn Grand Prix grabbed a 1-2 finish at the Australian Grand Prix in their debut Formula 1 race. Jenson Button easily earned the second win of his Formula One career –and 200th win for a British driver – there is no disputing that. The veteran F1 driver drove exceptionally well from the pole position he earned yesterday in an exceptionally well prepared car. The Briton’s performance put the exclamation point on the great work done by the Brawn organization… They ought thought the rest of the paddock in the off-season, and have completely changed the order of things in Formula One.

Button said of his day, “It always looks easier than it is! When the safety car came out, I struggled massively to get heat into the tires. Just before the safety car pulled in, I flat spotted the tire so I struggled with a nasty vibration. Being in the front should be easy, but it was not easy at all!”
“It’s been a traumatic few months for all of us, but I don’t care! I won the race today, and that’s all I care about!”

For Rubens Barrichello, it was a wild day getting to the podium. While it might have been expected that the Brazilian would cruise around in second following his teammate home after a nice quiet Sunday drive in the park… instead he had a more dramatic day planned.

Barrichello was slow off the starting grid, and slipped back at the start after he hit anti-stall and the car went into neutral. Under braking, Barrichello would not be denied entering turn one. He muscled his way through, knocking the BMW of Nick Heidfeld into the McLaren of Heikki Kovalainen. Barrichello got the best of it with a front wing that held!

Rubens said of his day, “It’s strong, very strong! I was hit from behind, I hit someone in the front, it was a tough race! I thought the car was done. The first stint my nose was falling apart. I had a lot of mixed emotions during the race. “

Though he didn’t think he could get back to the front and finish on the podium, Barrichello skillfully worked his back up through the field as the race wore on. His front wing was replaced during a lengthy first pitstop caused by Nakajima when his Williams ended the day with its nose in the wall after rolling badly off the curbing. Luckily, the Williams driver was uninjured because he held onto the wheel during the contact. Numerous drivers have broken their wrists by doing so.

But the initial bad luck turned into further good luck for Barrichello.

With just three laps to go, BMW’s Robert Kubica was following the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel and attempted to make a late pass. It all went wrong as Vettel defended his position, and both cars were slammed into the wall. Both cars limped around – with Vettel’s eventually stopping at the side of the track - but each of their great days were ruined for themselves, and for their teams.

Short rant - It was another great example of why Formula One should NOT shorten these races! How many times in the last few years has there been great drama following the final pitstops! Apparently old guys like Flavio Briatore who miss their afternoon naps don’t pay well enough attention to understand that concept….

But I digress.

As for the future… Maybe Brawn GP can find further hope and good fortune. Every time that a Formula One team has taken a 1-2 at Melbourne, the winning driver has won the F1 driver’s championship, and the winning constructor has won the constructor’s championship.

The 2009 Formula One season has started like no other in recent memory. Controversy is already fully upon us as the costly shake-up in the regulations has led to much uncertainty since the FIA hasn’t fully clarified the rules before the first race. With the ban on in-season testing, it will be extremely difficult for any of the trailing F1 teams to re-design their cars to catch up.

So expect a very hard fight on April 14th when the World Motorsport council will decide if Brawn GP have built a better car and if they will get to keep their fabulous win, or if the FIA will steal their victory based on hollow complaints from those who were beaten by a better designed race car.

Source: paddocktalk.com


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THE WORLD CHAMPIONS FORMULA1

F1 RESULT GRAND PRIX OF AUSTRALIAN 2009

F1 RESULT GRAND PRIX OF AUSTRALIAN 2009

1. J. Button Brawn GP Formula One Team
2. R. Barrichello Brawn GP Formula One Team
3. J. Trulli Panasonic Toyota Racing
4. T. Glock Panasonic Toyota Racing
5. F. Alonso ING Renault F1 Team
6. N. Rosberg AT&T Williams
7. S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso
8. S. Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso
9. A. Sutil Force India F1 Team
10. N. Heidfeld BMW Sauber F1 Team
11. G. Fisichella Force India F1 Team
12. M. Webber Red Bull Racing
13. S. Vettel Red Bull Racing
14. R. Kubica BMW Sauber F1 Team
15. K. Raikkonen Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro



Not Classified
3. F. Massa Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
8. N. Piquet Jr. ING Renault F1 Team
17. K. Nakajima AT&T Williams
2. H. Kovalainen Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
1. L. Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes *

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Join The Rest of The World

According to World Conservation Union, about 40% of animal that live on earth today are endangered species. If you think you share the responsibility of helping to save them, there are three things that you can do, namely support zoos or animal reserves, avoid buying products made from endangered animals, and don't pollute.

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~Women in Art~

I ran into this beautiful video this morning and fell in love with it!



by Philip Scott Johnson

500 Years of Female Portraits in Western Art

Music: Bach's Sarabande from Suite for Solo Cello No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007 performed by Yo-Yo Ma

Nominated as Most Creative Video
2nd Annual YouTube Awards

For a complete list of artists and paintings visit http://www.maysstuff.com/womenid.htm

Contact information:
eggman913@gmail.com

Single Use is Not an Option

Modern living has brought us many disposable products, ranging from diapers to cameras, for the sake of our convenience, unfortunately at the expense of the earth's sustainability. Never ever use disposable products unless it is truly necessary. Using disposable products is no longer a sign of modern living.

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A bright shining Light

Compact Fluorescent Light bilbs (CFL) is such a fantastic invention! Compared to incandescent lights bulbs , CFL uses only less than a quarter of the electricity to give us the same brightness while lasting up to 10 times longer. Replacing 4 incandescent light bilbs with CFL will reduce almost half tons of CO2 emission every year.

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The Earth is a Fashion Victim

Actually, it is not the person wearing out-of-date clothing, accessories or gadgets that become a fashion victim. It is earth that suffers from our consumptive behavior. If you feel like trowing away old unwanted stuffs, please give it to charity, or maybe you can sell it and make a small fortune out of it!

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No Car Day is a Good Day

COnsider this, every liter petrol used in a car produces 2 kb CO2 emitted into the air. There's a lot we can do to make it up. Always prefer small cars, do car polling at your office, take a bike if you want to go within cycling distance, unload unnecessary things from your car, use public transportation in your leisure time, and many more!

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The West is Red

Last fall I took a photographic tour with friends of the major parks in the states of Nevada, Arizona and Utah. I flew into Las Vegas where I spent the night and took the opportunity to take photos of the city. To the right is an example; it looks like a sea full of jellyfish but is really the ceiling at the Bellagio, one of the many casinos in the strip. The next morning I departed to the Grand Canyon via Hoover Dam. Since I was at the dam last time, photographing the spill side is difficult now since they had installed a glass wall that does not allow anyone to bend over the rail to shoot down.

The Grand Canyon is almost as I saw it last 28 years ago. There is no photograph that can really capture the magnitude of its size or the rainbow of colors. I spent 2 days here and the best time to photograph are at sunrise and sunset. The rest of the time just drive around trying to find sites to photograph later at the times of best light. In the nearby town of Tusayan there is a National Geography Society (NGS) Theater with one of those huge screens showing the wonder of the Canyon. And if you are an aspiring landscape photographer, you can get a tour and lessons there from the NGS experts. I did notice that there is a haze in the air that do not recall from my first visit. There is no way I could remove it with a filter or by using Photoshop that I know...help!!!

Next I went to Bryce Canyon where thousands of hoodoos form rows of towers than remind me of medieval castles in Europe. This park again is at its best early in the morning and the place to go is Sunrise Point, that overlooks Bryce Amphitheater; it is big enough so there is no rush to get a choice photographing spot. Once the sun breaks, you can walk down into the Queen Garden Trail which is not a difficult one to negotiate. This trail is very rewarding, offering opportunities to photograph the Twin Bridges in one of the small canyons and Wall Street (no brokers here). During hours of the day not conducive to photographing it is worth to drive to the the various points but making sure to return in time to Sunset Point to catch the sun going down. In the image to the left, gullies can be seen between the fins that support the hoodoos, the pillars of rocks. These are created by chemical and water erosion.

Fast running water carries the soil away and seeps in between the cracks of the rocks where its freezing and thawing action shapes of the hoodoos.

In the way up to Arches, I stopped at Kodachrome Basin, a state park, named after the famous Kodak film by an NGS Expedition back in the last century due to the contrast and vivid colors found in the area. There are several monolithic sand pipes as high as 170 feet. The one featured to the right is an HDR image of the pipe known as Chimney Rock; the same rock was photographed by the NGS and appeared in the National Geographic magazine issue of September of 1949. If you check the magazine, there is no noticeable change in the rock other than the color, mine is not as red as the one published. There is a sign by the rock providing the above information as well as a photograph of the rock. There are arches in this park as well as other colorful mountain ranges, one can be seen to the left of the Chimney Rock in the photo presented. On the way to this park there are lots of interesting sites to photograph such as abandoned all houses and at the Park Headquarters, large number of mule deer can be seen at sunset. After departing this park late, I was lucky to get the last hotel room left at Hanksville to spend the night.

Arches National Park was the next destination, another site that I previously visited, and the air

was clear and not hazy as experienced

at the Grand Canyon. Stayed at Moab

that was a sleepy town at this time of the year, with lots of restaurants but most of these were closed for the season. Arches is a magical place with great opportunities to get stunning images with a bit of patience, a tripod, the right lens and camera. I said patience because even in the fall, there were many visitors, and to get a great photo, one must wait for them to move. To the right is an image of Delicate Arch, the result of the magic of HDR photography.

Nearby at the the Canyonlands National Park is the famous Mesa Arch. This is a place photographed by the "Who is Who" in the world of landscape photography and I am sure you have seen it several times. The morning I was there, there were photographers lined up along the length of the arch with no space to spare. Some with large format view cameras, doing it the old way. Aspiring wannabees like me had to sneak in between the huge tripods under the threats that if "you touch my tripod I will...". Well, I survived without being impaled and got a sample photo to the right.

Finally I reached Zion National Park, a magical place. There were trees, grass, waterfalls and red was not the dominant color of the landscape. I got here when the trees were at their peak of fall colors and the weather was perfect. I spent most of the time photographing the Lower Fall in the Emerald Pools Trail, this is the largest and most photogenic than the Middle and Lower Falls.

This was my favorite site of the whole trip and samples for you to judge are below (sorry but I am having a terrible time lining up the images in the Blog).

I called this Blog the "West is Red" because red is the predominant color in that part of the country. I had a difficult time trying to adjust the color in the images to eliminate the ever present red cast. And finally, I must thank my photography mentors Ed and Manuel, who patiently waited for me past sunset every day, and did not leave me behind.

Friendly Cleaning Products

Most Cleaning products such as detergent, soap, or tile cleaner, actually have unclean effects for our earth. Some can even endanger our health. Whenever possible change your cleaning products with more environmentally friendly cleaners, or use cleaners wisely. Muscle power is healthier than chemical powder!

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More Than Just Electricity Bill

Turning off lamps in empty room, unplugging unused electronic appliances, using only energy savers, such as solar water heaters, and so on, will benefit you more than reducing your electricity bill. If every house in the world saves its energy use, imagine how much energy we can save!

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DirectTV Special Offers

There’s never been a better time to trade up to Directv TV; wherever you look, there are excellent deals to be had on new systems. Direct T V Deals can be found all over the Internet, with different packages to suit all budgets and needs.

Many Direct T V Offers cash rebates on your first few months’ service, so you can save money after installation, too. If found on internet that There is a Directtv company that offer Direct TV Specials of the year, so you can get free movie package.

One final thing to bear in mind, when comparing the DirectTV Deals that you find on the Internet, is the level of after-sales service you can expect. Make sure that your DirectTV Deal includes either free or competitively priced service and support in case anything goes wrong with the system. Choosing the right company will ensure that your Direct TV deal will give you years of viewing pleasure.

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The Garden of Goodness

If you love gardening so much, you could help protect the environment by implementing organic gardening in your own yard. Organic gardening excludes synthetic fertilizers and synthetic pesticides. It relies on natural compost and biological pest control.

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Less Paper is Better

Papper is one of the largest items that most households and offices consume. Sadly, most paper production comes from the forest and requires large amount of water in processing. Reducing paper use in our home and at the office, for example by using both sides of paper when printing, will be of great help in saving our planet.

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Waste No Water

In many parts of the world, clean water has become a rare commodity. And that part of the world is just getting bigger and bigger every day! you can take part in saving the world from being thirsty simply by paying more attention on your water usage at home. Check your plumbing regularly and fix leaks promtly.

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Inspiration From my Kids

These two cartoons were inspired by my two youngest daughters. Zury was just like the first cartoon. She sucked her thumb until she was nine and as a toddler she walked around dragging her little blanket and wearing my slippers. She was always quiet and just stared everybody down.

Zibelle on the other hand, was a fireball. She was like the Tasmanian devil. After a nap she would wake up with this little grin on her forehead, that looked like two little horns. ;D

My oldest James I drew many times as he was growing up.

Then there is Mickie, the youngest who I turned into Cupid at six months old.

Something About Shopping

Plastic shopping bags are common in many countries and are intended for single use. While we use it only for few hours, it takes five hundred years to be decomposed in environment. So, it is advisable to bring your own shopping bag to reduce the use of plastic bags and to lessen the burden of the earth.

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Frogs of Costa Rica

Whenever anyone think about Costa Rican frogs, the red-eyed ones come to mind. Frogs are not easy to photograph and very difficult to find. I spent hours looking for them and listening to their calls, and when I got close enough, they stopped calling. The best time to look for them is near water just after sunset where they start looking for mates and food. They can be found on leaves but most frequently underneath them, making their photographing most difficult. I went out 5 nights and was able to find frogs only twice. I set up my camera in aperture priority at f 8 or 11 and ISO 400 with a 150 mm micro lens and a shoe mounted flash set to Hi Speed Sync. I rigged the flash with a Petzl Tikka XP attached with Velcro to the top of the flash so that I could illuminate the subject for focusing. I also used a diffuser attached to the front of the flash. The 150 mm lens gave me about a foot of distance to work with. The focusing was done manually by moving the camera back and forth until I could see the frog's eye more or less in focus; I left the fine focusing to whatever I could obtain from the depth of field achieved from using small f stop openings. Needless to say, lots of shots were wasted.

Although I had been to Costa Rica several times, I photographed these frogs in November, which is considered the rainy season there; I do not of the odds of finding frogs at other times of the year. These frogs seem to stand still at times but in occasion they move constantly making their photographing very difficult. All the time I was with them, they did not appear to be interested in eating but in finding mates. The male will seat in a choice leaf and inflate its throat like a balloon and sings to his heart contents until the girls came around. Some of them took a look at the charmer and keep going; maybe his serenade was not to their liking. I was lucky to get a mating pair, they did not mind me at all; the female will move around carrying the male on her back; this situation took as long as an hour.

Of course not all the frogs were of the same species and I found the one to the right the most appealing.

He was very tenacious and stayed calling for mates for a long time but I did not see if he was successful in attracting mates. Frogs are having a difficult time now a days and it is blamed to the greenhouse effect. They seem to be mostly affected by viruses, fungus and other agents. There is not a real consensus as why this is happening but their disappearance will be a great loss since they feed mostly in insects and they in turn are eaten by birds or humans (in the case of bull frogs.)

Costa Rica is a photographers' paradise with a diversity of ecological niches in the mountains, the Caribbean and Pacific coasts, which are quite different. I found the Pacific most rewarding when it came to photography. Birds are the major attraction for photographers and there several ecological reserves available with nice forests and accommodations. Transportation is a challenge due to the conditions of the roads, particularly in the rainy season, when the roads may get washed away by flash floods. A four wheel drive is highly recommended as well as a GPS since most streets and road are lacking road signs. And beware, you never know when a frog may mistake you for a meal.

Tree For The Earth

The earth loses tropical rain forest at an alarming pace of approximately 93,000 square kilometers a year. Loosing forest is like loosing our lung! The forest provides the earth with oxygen. Lend a hand by planting trees whereever and whenever you think will help restoring fresh air

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Rosmy at the Support Group

WAY TO PRESERVE YOUR FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

PRESERVE YOUR FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

MY INDONESIAN MAID SHARED WITH ME A WEEK AGO THAT SHE TESTED A WAY TO PRESERVE FRUITS AND VEGITABLES, WHICH SHE SAID WAS ONE OF MY AUNTY WHO TAUGHT HER WHEN SHE BABY-SIT AT ONE FAMILY IN KL. THAT FAMILY WAS USING 'ALUMINUM COATED PLASTIC BAGS' TO KEEP THEIR FRUITS AND VEGETABLES FOR WEEKS AND ITS STILL FRESH!!! ITS SOO AMAZING.

I THOUGHT ITS A GOOD IDEA TO SAFE SOME UNWANTED RESOURCE WHICH MOST PEOPLE WOULD THROW THEM AWAY WITHOUT 2ND THOUGHT. AND HERE I AM SHARING WITH YOU THE USEFULNESS OF THE UNWANTED RESOURCE IN ACTION.

HERE IS THE KIND OF ALUMINIUM COATED PLASTIC BAG FROM QUAKER. YOU CAN USE ANY OTHER ALUMINIUM COATED BAG WOULD DO.



YOU CAN PUT PLENTY OF FRUITS AND/OR VEGETABLES IN IT..



AFTER 1 WEEK... THE VEGITABLES ARE STILL FRESH!!! AMAZING!!! ISN'T IT???! NO DEHYDRATION AT ALL.:))



LOOK AT THE OKRAS, THEY ARE STILL VERY VERY FRESH WITHOUT ANY DEHYDRATION AT ALL.



BUT DON'T FOLD OR SEAL THE OPENING OF THE BAG. JUST LEAVE THE BAG OPEN AND IT WILL DO THE MAGIC WORK FOR YOU ALREADY... TRY IT OUT... YOU WOULD SURE LIKE IT VERY MUCH TOO.

INSTEAD OF THROWING THE USEFUL THINGS AWAY, RE-USE IT AGAIN, AND YOU WILL BE INHERENTLY JOINING THE GROUP OF 'SAVING THE MOTHER-EARTH' CAMPAIGN TOO.

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Miracle Picture

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Antelope Slots

Last fall while driving from the Grand Canyon towards the Arches National Park, I passed by the town of Page, Arizona. Coming into town, I saw a sign pointing towards the Antelope Slots and another in the opposite direction pointing towards the Horseshoe Bend. I continued down the road to visit Lake Powell and then stopped at the town for lunch. Much to my surprise found lots of shops selling tours to the Upper and Lower Slots. I have no idea of what these were until I went to one of the tour offices and saw the picture of the slots. These images are very unique to anyone in the photo world. I got a ticket and to the Upper Antelope I found myself going in an open truck with two benches facing back to back. Upon arrival, I was unloaded in the company of about 9 other adventurers and taken to the entrance of the slot, where we were given a lecture as to how to behave and related safety concerns. The entrance to the slot is just like walking into a cave. In the summer of 1997, eleven tourists were drowned when caught by a flash flood inside the slots. You are given about 2 hours to go through the Upper Slot in the company of a guide. Being my interest photographing the Slot, I stayed behind and photographed them to my delight. This type of photography requires the use of wide angle lenses, a full frame SLR, and tripod is a must due to the low light. Using the tripod was cumbersome due to the narrow passages inside slot and the curvature of the walls. The results were incredible; two images are to the left. You have probably seen images of the slots in which there is a ray of sunshine coming down from the top creating a unique effect. Most of these images are created by the photographers. While there, there was a British photographer with his assistant creating the "sun beam" effect. This was done by the assistant throwing handfuls of sand into the air so that the dust will be hit by the light creating the beautiful effect. That was nice for them but no for me; it destroyed the clean air within the slot creating a dusty atmosphere. After visiting the Upper Slot, there was no option but to stay one more day to photograph the Lower Slot. The next day, I arrived at the Lower Slot about 9 AM and stayed till about 2 PM. Here there are no guides and you go on your own; photographers get to pay an extra fee that it was worth it. To enter this slot you must go down a set of narrow stairs that were difficult to negotiate carrying a tripod, the exit is just like walking out of a cave just like in the Upper Slot. After returning home from this trip I read about other photographers tips as to when to photograph these slots who recommended that noon time is the best time when the sun is overhead and one gets the best light. I would say that anytime between 9 AM and 3 PM are great time to get the light play within the slots. I will also say that the best time to go would be in the late fall and winter to avoid the summer heat and the tourist season. When leaving the Lower Slots I noticed two large smoke stacks; these belong to a large coal power plant. I wondered why locate such a facility here when there is so much electric power being generated by the hydroelectric generators at the Lake Powell Dam.

Upon departing the Upper Slot the day before, I took a short drive to Horseshoe Bend located in the Colorado River down from Lake Powell. This was an amazing geological formation create by the meandering river creating oxbows as it eroded the sandstone. I arrived there late in the afternoon and the light was against me so I decided to come the next morning. I arrived about 5 AM in darkness which revealed a starry sky. While waiting for sunrise I proceeded to photograph some the constellations and in particular my favorite one, Orion. When the sun began to break I set my tripod and camera at the "edge" and hoped for it not to tip over and held to it by the cable release. I did not move the camera until I left about 9 AM. Early at sunrise is the best time since as the sun rises, the illumination pattern change. I did take hundreds of images of the formation and took series of photos to experiment with High Dynamic Range (HDR) images. The image above is the result of HDR. It is time consuming but the results are worthwhile. Page, Arizona is a well worth stop full of wonderful sights. They even have Balloon Festival every year. Highly recommended.