recent mentions: JUXT, AFAR, and "why I love AZ"

The last few days have been full of good news for

some photo-recognition;

truly an honor...

Yesterday, the 1000 Words Showcase by JUXT featured this image,

"not quite twins," which I took about a week ago at the Mission San Xavier del Bac:

Today, I found out that this photo/highlight,

"Up Close at the Raptor-Free-Flight,"

is a finalist for Week 3 of the AFAR/Vayama "Catch the World" contest:

...and "on the path to spring in the Sonoran Desert," 

a finalist in the annual "Why I Love AZ" photo-contest:

(voting ends March 29th...)

A couple of Honorable Mentions!

For the 2013 Mobile Photo Awards "Travel" category,

two of my submissions made "Honorable Mention!"

One from Seoul:

Hyangweonjeon, or "The Pavilion of Far-reaching Fragrance,"

in Gyeongbokgung Palace,

is one of the loveliest spots in Seoul.

(ColorSplash app in addition to snapseed

used for both of these images,

taken with an iPhone 4.)

...and the other from the opposite side of S. Korea,

from the coastal city of Sokcho:

"Red Doors, Sokcho, Korea"

(Abai village neighborhood)

So, if you happen to be in New York City 

February 22-28,

these images will be among those on display

at the SOHO Gallery for Digital Art...

Check out the rest of the winners and runners-up;

so compelling, and all taken and edited solely with mobile devices.

It's such a thrill and privilege to know that a couple of my iphoneographic efforts 

will be on display with all of these great images...

The Great East Gate, published...

Recently, the afar.com magazine site featured this:

--a photo of a fruit vendor's cart 

in front of Dongdaemun,

the old East Gate of Seoul...

Afar.com has a weekly feature entitled

"What we're reading"

--a collection of the editors' current recommendations...

One of the recommendations was a link

to this article in the Smithsonian magazine,

"Welcome to Seoul, City of the Future."

(it's a great read!)

Thus, the context for using my photo...

published, from this past spring...and a scene of the desert's 'second spring'

Published in this past Thursday's Tucson newspaper,

a scene from this past spring:

(also available as a card; click on "photo-cards" tab above)

And from just last weekend,

a scene of some of the wildflowers 

near Sabino Canyon, just north of Tucson--

the monsoon rains bring what 

some call a 'second spring' in the desert:

--paperflower, sacred datura, and morning glory--

(taken with iPhone4;

edited using 

snapseed, PicFrame, and ColorSplash apps)

Back from the NW...and a profile

My wife and I were able to spend the first part of this month back in the Pacific NW--friends, family, familiar food and landscapes...


...and my new 'favorite hiking panorama' is this, stitched together from 8 photos, taken above Lake Colchuck during a hike in the central Cascades, about 2h45 out of Seattle, and not far from Leavenworth:

A perfect summer day: the peak in the middle is Dragontail Peak, with Aasgard Pass to its left...the jade color of the lake is caused by the presence in the water of 'rock flour'--glacially ground...

I also played with my iPhone a lot; to see some of those images, click here.

And, while up in Seattle, I was informed (and flattered) that I am being 'highlighted' with a little profile article on the website of the travel magazine AFAR...

"early blooms"...

...always a fun surprise to find a photo published in the morning paper:

"Around the World in Color"...two out of twelve...and voting still possible!

Afar, the travel magazine, recently posted this album on its facebook page:

...photos from yours truly...

--the first one circled is of the Astronomers' monument in Griffith Park, in the hills above Los Angeles:

(took and edited this on my phone)

The one underneath is one of my favorite photos from the year my wife and I lived in Nicaragua:

I was biking around the colonial university city of León, Nicaragua, running errands...a colorful building across the street caught my eye, and since I had my camera in my backpack, I stopped, got off my bike and took a couple of shots. But then, when I turned around to get back on my bike, I noticed that it was parked against THIS vibrant wall. Wow--COLOR! A humble wooden building, instead of the more typical stone-and-stucco structure--when I leaned the bike against the wall I hadn't even noticed it; I'd biked up and down this street many times without really seeing it. Stop and park. Notice.

AND--you can still vote for us for the 'Dream Trip Photo Contest!' 
(please please please...yes, this is shameless...)

Condé Nast tweeted this earlier today:

Thanks for your support!