Stories Behind the Images - Wish Avatar
An important aspect of realizing wishes and dreams is visualizing how things can be. In the process of expressing wishes on Wishes4Life you are asked to select an image from the gallery or upload your own image that best represents your wish.
We are grateful to Eugene Lally for sharing his beautiful photos and the stories with our community. Gene is an space scientist and a well known outdoor photographer. His work has been exhibited in museums, universities, libraries and used on magazine and book covers. One of Lally's papers introduced digital photography in 1961 while at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA. It was titled, "Mosaic Guidance for Interplanetary Travel" this was the first presentation of a digital photography concept and digital camera design usable on spacecraft and for general photography.
Learn more about a true visionary and a pioneer Eugene F. Lally.
Starting with the top 6 photos, left to right.
1. Nubble Lighthouse, York, Maine
A small rocky island a short distance off the coast of Maine. So close yet so far away across a short distance of ocean. It is accessible by a people -carrying bucket suspended by a cable or occasionally at low tide. It is my favorite Maine lighthouse because being on a close island and having brightly colored buildings adjacent to the lighthouse make it iconic in composition with a wide angle lens.
2. Albuquerque Balloon Festival, New Mexico
Every October the largest hot air balloon festival in the world is held near Albuquerque. Getting up early before
the dawn you will see the balloons being inflated and the ascent of over 500 extremely colorful hot air balloons at one time. One of the best Kodak moments you will ever see. Time your trip right and on one of the days of the Balloon Festival, Trinity Site (Manhattan Project) the site where our first Atomic Bomb test was detonated in 1945 and a few hours drive away, is open to the public one of its only two days each year. Not much there to photograph except some twisted steel from the holding tower but just being there gives you a sense of history. It is in the neighborhood of Roswell, NM but space aliens are not included
3. Taos Mission, New Mexico
This is one of my favorite American Indian Pueblos with the most aesthetically beautiful buildings in my opinion. It has not changed in over 1000 years and the Taos Indians still live there without heat and running water as they did originally. This photo was taken late one November during a snow shower. I walked around and positioned the setting sun right where the Mission wall meets a ladder going up its side wall creating an interesting optical flare at the intersection. The next morning before dawn in 20 degree temperature I photographed (after asking permission, she said one photo only) an Indian lady with two water pails walking down to the creek. It was frozen over. She pulled a hatchet out of a nearby tree, chopped a hole in the ice, filed her buckets with water, replaced the hatchet back in the tree for the next visitor, walked back to her pueblo and climbed a ladder to her upstairs adobe walled pueblo apartment. My photo with her carrying the buckets has been used in magazines and note cards for years.
4. Yellowstone National Park
This is one of my all time favorite photographs because so much came together for the photo. Great white clouds and a deep blue sky reflecting in the hot volcanic pool of battery acid pH, distant mountains with burned out trees from the world famous forest fire in 1988, red/orange mineral deposits to add unusual color at the edge of the pool, and mist hanging low over the hot pool. It doesn’t get any better for a photographer. Some called it a lucky shot but don’t ask how many days I was there to get this.
5. Picuris Pueblo, San Lorenzo Church, New Mexico
This pueblo has been occupied since A.D. 750. At the time of the first Spanish contact about 1538, Picuris had 4,000 residents. Recently the tribal enrollment was only 342 with half living off the reservation. It is a beautiful mission to visit and is still in use. Another photo taken from under the ladder with my back up against the wall shooting with a wide angle lens outward through the ladder has been a winner.
6. Morro Bay, California
Morro Bay is another of my favorite photo spots. It is just off Route 1 but most people drive right buy it on the way rushing to the Hearst Castle and Big Sur so it is void of the usual hoards of photographers. Huge Morro Rock, two fishing piers with rusting fishing boats plus all the bird and sea otter and seal life make for different photos at every visit. Seen here are two pelicans at sunset soaring past the north end of Morro Rock that has an upward looking face-like shape. There is so much bird activity in the air that a tripod is not practical so you just catch them in flight wherever they look interesting or frame a great background and wait for birds to fly into your frame as was done here.
Share your inspiring images wish us: Photo challenge: Inspirational wish avatar images
Related
Dreams, Nature, Wishes | tagged Eugene F. Lally, Photographer, Visulizing, Wish Avatar, Wish Photo, wish image Permalink Print Article