November 27 Photo of the Day: South Africa

Cape Buffalo at Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park – KwaZulu Natal, South Africa © 2014 Peter Marble

February 3, 2012 – As I mentioned in an earlier post, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi is the oldest game park in Africa and the only one in KwaZulu Natal with Africa's Big 5 (lion, African elephant, Cape buffalo, rhinoceros and leopard).

According to Wikipedia, the African Buffalo, or Cape buffalo, is "highly dangerous to humans" because of its "unpredictable nature". (Apparently birds don't have the same concerns.)

However, Ernest Hemingway apparently figured quite correctly that carrying and using a honking hunting rifle more than evens the playing field. Way to go Ernie!

November 25 Photo of the Day: Sugar Beach, Toronto

Sugar Beach, Queens Quay Revitalization – Toronto © 2014 Peter Marble
September 25, 2012 – Exactly two years and two months ago, the view of Toronto harbour from Sugar Beach was decidedly more appealing than it was yesterday with 100 km/hour winds.
For more information about the Queens Quay Revitalization, visit Harbourfront Centre.

October 30 Photo of the Day: Chilean Patagonia

Parque Nacional Torres del Paine – Chile © 2014 Peter Marble
November 10, 2008 – Here's another shot from our 2008 trip to Chile and Argentina.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, it was a wild day with +100 km/hour winds. Getting a good exposure, much less a reasonably sharp image, was certainly a challenge.
In this particular case, although the highlights are definitely blown out, I love the overall effect of the lone guanaco with the torres (towers) in the background.

October 22 Photo of the Day: Ontario

McGowan Lake – Near Perth, Ontario © 2014 Peter Marble

October 13, 2014 – This is one of several images captured just after 8:00 a.m. on a glorious Thanksgiving Monday morning while driving west on Highway 7 from Perth.

August 28 Photo of the Day: Easter Island

15 Moai at Ahu Tongariki on Easter Island (Rapa Nui) Chile © 2014 Peter Marble

Today marks my 1,000th microstock sale!

For information on how to purchase images, visit PeterMarble.com.

August 15 Photo of the Day: Hungary

Wood wagon – Tokaj, Hungary © 2014 Peter Marble

September 19, 2013 – This was a true "grab shot". As we wandered into the village from our pension for lunch, these friendly fellows passed by.

We had just the one day in Tokaj (a few hours from Budapest by train). Unfortunately the day was a rainy one, but no matter. We were here on the recommendation of a Hungarian friend to find the source of and taste Tokaji Aszú. It is a dessert wine she claimed is otherwise known as "Nectar of the Gods". (Louis XIV apparently called it the "Wine of Kings; King of Wines".

We have since found it in at our local LCBO Toronto and have been known to enjoy a taste now and then on special occasions.

May 22 Photo of the Day: Argentina

Lago Argentino – Santa Cruz Province, Argentina © 2014 Peter Marble

November 13, 2008 – The sightseeing boats at Los Glaciares National Park offer spectacular views of not only Perito Moreno glacier, but also Lago Argentino and the surrounding mountains.

For more about our second day in Argentina, see my April 3 post.

May 21 Photo of the Day: Prague

Hradčany at night – Prague, Czech Republic © 2014 Peter Marble

September 15, 2013 – During our 23-day trip we travelled about every other day, so I opted not to pack a tripod.

On the evening of our third day in Prague I was determined to get a night shot of the Castle District from Most Legií (Bridge of the Legions).

By resting my camera on the concrete bridge railing and using the self-timer on my D7000, I managed to get a few acceptable shots.

I set the timer to activate the shutter five seconds after I pressed the shutter release. This allowed the vibration produced by pressing the shutter to settle down before exposing the first shot. I also set the timer to expose three shots in a row, with a two-second delay between each.

May 20 Photo of the Day: Osprey

Osprey – Beaverton, Ontario © 2014 Peter Marble

May 18, 2014 – This osprey is nesting on a telephone pole along the railway tracks just outside of Beaverton.

Here's the same “fish hawk” landing on its nest.

May 15 Photo of the Day: Romania

Tinsmiths' Tower and Musketeers' Passage – Sighișoara, Romania © 2014 Peter Marble

September 25, 2013 – Our second day in Romania was spent wandering around the ancient citadel of Sighișoara.

The Tinsmiths' Tower has a rectangular base, pentagonal bastion, octagonal facade and hexagonal roof.

The Musketeers' Passage, or Gallery, is a corridor with a wooden roof resting on stone arches that enabled musketeers to travel safely between the Tower and the Tinsmiths' and Tanners' bastions.

May 14 Photo of the Day: Hungary

Shoes on the Danube – Budapest, Hungary © 2014 Peter Marble

September 23, 2013 – Shoes on the Danube Promenade honors Jews who were killed by the Arrow Cross Party in 1944 during World War II. They were ordered to take off their shoes and then shot at the edge of the water so that their bodies fell into the river.

May 13 Photo of the Day: Ottawa

Reflection of the Confederation Building – Ottawa, Canada © 2014 Peter Marble

May 9, 2014 – On my way to the "Day of Honour" events on Parliament Hill, this reflection presented itself on one of the glass towers at the intersection of Sparks and Bank Streets.

May 6 Photo of the Day: Chile

Our trusty Ford Ecosport and Lesa at our hostel – Puerto Natales, Chile © 2014 Peter Marble
November 9, 2008 – The second leg of our 2008 South American trip began with a 2200 km flight due south from Santiago to Punta Arenas. The next day we drove 250 km to Puerto Natales, from which we planned to visit Parque Nacional Torres del Paine.
About an hour into our four-hour plus drive, the fuel gauge was already getting alarmingly low. We were driving into a major headwind, which required that I keep both hands on the wheel at all times just to keep the vehicle on the road.
Eventually we spotted what looked like gas pumps in one of the estâncias we passed, so I pulled in to see if we could score some fuel. Thankfully, even with limited Spanish, we were able to buy a tank of gas.
When we arrived in Puerto Natales, I called the car rental company. The local agent kindly met us at our hostel, the Erratic Rock II, and agreed that the Ford Ecosport had a reputation for crappy fuel economy... You don't say?

May 5 Photo of the Day: Thailand

Cycle rickshaw Chiang Mai, Thailand © 2014 Peter Marble

December 16, 2004 – This was taken the morning of our first full day in Chiang Mai. On the way to the flower market I spotted this cycle rickshaw. They seemed to be the best way to get around town, although we did take a rather exciting ride on auto rickshaw, or tuk tuk, later that day.

May 4 Photo of the Day: Toronto

Dragon boaters Toronto, Ontario © 2014 Peter Marble

May 4, 2009 – Five years ago today this very accommodating crew of dragon boaters paddled by me inside the break wall along the shore of Lake Ontario's Humber Bay.

I count at least 18 paddlers, plus the steersperson.

Their range of expression, obvious enjoyment in what they were doing, and willingness to be photographed made the shot for me!

May 3 Photo of the Day: Prague

Fighting giants statues at the Castle Gate – Prague, Czech Republic © 2014 Peter Marble

September 13, 2013 – On our first full day in Prague, we took the #22 tram to the Castle Quarter. We didn't get as early a start as we had hoped, but Prague was so busy every where we went, at all times of the day, that I don't think it really mattered.

For those who can capture RAW images on their DSLRs, but don't, you might want to think again. Here's what the image above looked like straight out of my Nikon D7000 before I was able to breathe some life into it with Lightroom.

For more information, check out my Top 5 Reasons People Don't Shoot RAW.

May 2 Photo of the Day: South Africa

Cape vineyards – Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa © 2014 Peter Marble

February 11, 2012 – The last stop on our full day of wine touring was recommended highly to us by our hotel in Cape Town.

These are some of the vineyards of the Delaire Graff Estate, with what I believe is the Helshoogte mountain pass in the background.

This was by far the most decadent wine tasting we have ever experienced, with live music, beautiful views and sumptuous appetizers and wines by the glass.

May 1 Photo of the Day: Manhattan

Rush hour at Grand Central Terminal – Manhattan, New York © 2014 Peter Marble

April 8, 2011 – A full Friday that began with breakfast at the Brooklyn Diner on West 57th, included a walk in Central Park, a ride on the Staten Island Ferry, and a visit to Grand Central.

A wonderful dinner at Amma on East 51st topped off the day.

April 30 Photo of the Day: Cambodia

Vendors at Lolei – Temples of Angkor, Cambodia © 2014 Peter Marble

December 13, 2004 – These lovely ladies were very persistent. One of them persuaded Lesa to buy several pieces of fabric and other items.

After the transaction was completed, the seller gently scolded Lesa, with a sweet smile, and said "You could have had three times as many for the same price."

April 29 Photo of the Day: California

Barker Dam Loop trail – Joshua Tree National Park, California © 2014 Peter Marble

October 24, 2006 – On our third day in Palm Springs with our good friends Kelly and Su Mei, I dragged everyone out to Joshua Tree National Park for some hiking and photography.

This shot was taken on the approach to Barker Dam. The 1.3 mile loop trail features Joshua trees and lots of interesting rock formations.

April 28 Photo of the Day: Easter Island

Ahu Tongarki – Easter Island, Chile © 2014 Peter Marble

November 3, 2008 – The moai of Easter Island are the main attraction. With 15, including the tallest on the island, Ahu Tongariki has the most moai of any ahu.

Before and after visiting Rano Raraku we spent a couple of hours happily wandering the site.

Here, for some unknown reason, Lesa felt compelled to provide a sense of scale, in this case, using one of the fallen moai.

For some additional information about ahus and moai, see this PBS page.

April 27 Photo of the Day: Lesotho

Rondavels in the Maluti mountains – Butha-Buthe, Lesotho © 2014 Peter Marble

January 31, 2012 – After a day visiting several projects funded by Bracelet of Hope, we had a lovely evening and dinner at the spectacular Maliba Lodge in Tsehlanyane National Park.

These rondavels, available for overnight guests, survived the fire that destroyed much of the lodge in July of the following year. Thankfully no one was hurt in the overnight blaze and the lodge has been rebuilt and reopened late last year.

This photo, along with many others posted on this blog, is available for sale at CanStockPhoto, Dreamstime, and fotolia.

April 26 Photo of the Day: Beaverton

Railway tracks and beach glass – Beaverton, Ontario © 2014 Peter Marble

October 1, 2012 – Our trips to Beaverton to visit our good friends Barb and Merv usually include some time for me to head out with my camera.

Oftentimes while I'm doing that, Lesa and Barb are scouring the shores of Lake Simcoe in search of beach glass. Here's some of their bounty from a recent outing:

April 25 Photo of the Day: Newfoundland and Labrador

Bustling harbour – St. John's, Newfoundland © 2014 Peter Marble

May 28, 2010 – Each time we go to St. John's, I always enjoy a trip up Signal Hill with its wonderful views of the harbour, city and coast.

In the right of the photo you can see the Queen's Battery with the cannons aimed at the entrance to the harbour.

For another shot from this trip, see my Northern gannet in flight.

April 24 Photo of the Day: Prince Edward County

A screamer of a day – off Waupoos, Prince Edward County © 2014 Peter Marble

July 2, 2006 – All year long I look forward to our annual three-day weekend at Bayside B&B in Prince Edward County at the eastern end of Lake Ontario.

Sailing aboard Wind Chaser, a Beneteau 311, is always a pleasure. However, this year in particular, with gale force winds, was made to order for me. To avoid being overpowered, we sailed with a jib (fore sail) only. Even with that, we had the rails under for most of the afternoon!

On the way back to the marina I noticed a boat that just didn't look quite right.

As it turned out, a couple had spent about eight hours on a rental sailboat powering straight into a head wind and heavy seas all the way across Lake Ontario from Henderson Harbor on the New York side. I guess the wind was so strong that the furled jib was absolutely shredded!

I heard later that it was kind of a first date, and as soon as they docked, the lady aboard simply stepped off the boat and never looked back.

April 23 Photo of the Day: Arizona

View of The Grand Canyon from the North Rim – Near Jacob Lake, Arizona © 2014 Peter Marble

September 21, 2004 – Day 4 of our canyon tour in Utah and Arizona.

On our drive to the Jacob Lake Inn at dusk, we were watchful for deer, however at one point I was surprised to hear Lesa yell "COW". Apparently bovines are allowed to roam freely in that part of Arizona and are a real danger – a half dozen or so were just a few feet off the side the road as we passed them. Who knew!

That evening we overheard a couple in the restaurant who arrived after dark and travelling by motorcycle talk about how scary it was with so many deer on the road.

Just for fun, here's a scan of one of my grandmother's slides, taken I'm guessing in the late 50's at the North Rim.

April 22 Photo of the Day: Toronto

The Promise of Spring – High Park, Toronto, Ontario © 2014 Peter Marble

April 22, 2010 – What a difference four years makes – It snowed here last Tuesday!

April 21 Photo of the day: Texas

For Eugene Stuart Marble 1924-2014 – Lee County, Texas © 2014 Peter Marble

May 7, 2013 – This is my favourite tree near Eugene's and Caroline's property, "Green Heron", on the last day I saw my uncle Eugene, who passed away today.

April 20 Photo of the Day: Romania

Râșnov Citadel – Braşov County, Romania © 2014 Peter Marble

September 27, 2013 – On our fourth day in Romanian Transylvania we hired a car and driver arranged by the gregarious owner of our hotel in Braşov, the wonderful Casa Rozelor.

Among other sites we visited that day, including Bran Castle, we toured the ruins of Râșnov Citadel.

Just for fun, here's how the photo looked before I removed what I considered to be the extraneous people and paths and fiddled with it in Lightroom.

April 19 Photo of the Day: Argentina

Patagonian Landscape – On route to El Calafate, Argentina © 2014 Peter Marble

November 12, 2008 – Our drive to from Puerto Natales was delayed by Chilean authorities who, for some reason known only to them, decided to close the border to Argentina for a day or so.

There are several routes from Puerto Natales, but our gas guzzling Ford "Ecosport" necessitated that we take the shortest and roughest one. We had been unable to obtain Argentinian Pesos in Chile or Canada, so when we stopped for gas in Esperanza, the poor attendant actually crossed himself when we were finally able to settle the bill by paying in U.S. cash.

April 18 Photo of the Day: Hungary

Hungarian regional train – Eger, Hungary © 2014 Peter Marble

September 22, 2013 – On our sixth day in Hungary we headed back to Budapest by train.

Our decision to travel by train as much as possible on this trip turned out to be, by and large, a good one.

The regional trains in Hungary are inexpensive, on time and reasonably comfortable, but not especially modern by North American standards.

The EuroCity (EC) trains winding their way through Eastern Europe, although faster, do tend to fall behind schedule as we discovered waiting for EC trains in Slovakia and Romania.

Then there is the challenge of using the online sites, such as MAV-START, the Hungarian site, to pre-book tickets. I'm still waiting to see if they will refund me about $400 CAD from two failed attempts to book a sleeper car from Budapest to Sighisoara, Romania.

April 17 Photo of the Day: Czech Republic

Tram in front of the National Theatre – Prague, Czech Republic © 2014 Peter Marble

September 12, 2013 – Our first day in Prague, after an overnight flight from Toronto via Heathrow, was spent walking and getting oriented. By the time we passed the National Theatre at about 4:00 p.m., I was definitely ready for a pivo.

We made our way back across the Vltava river to Mala Strana (Little Quarter) and found a great spot for a break near our hotel before heading out for an early dinner at the U Fleků micro-brew pub.

April 16 Photo of the Day: PEI

Marsh Boardwalk – Cavendish Beach, Prince Edward Island, Canada © 2014 Peter Marble

August 12, 2011 – Following a family wedding in Moncton, New Brunswick, about 20 of us descended on the cottages at Brackley Beach on PEI for a week or so. By the fifth day, Lesa and I needed a break and spent a lovely afternoon poking about at Cavendish Beach.

April 15 Photo of the Day: South Africa

Elephants at Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park – KwaZulu Natal, South Africa © 2014 Peter Marble

February 3, 2012 – The oldest game park in Africa, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi is the only one in KwaZulu Natal with Africa's Big 5 (lion, African elephant, Cape buffalo, rhinoceros and leopard). We were lucky enough to see all but a leopard.

The most exciting part of our evening game drive was when two white rhinos, who didn't take kindly to being startled as they came out of the bush, charged our jeep. We had an experienced driver who thankfully was able to back down a dirt road in the dark slightly faster than the rhinos could run.

April 14 Photo of the Day: Thailand

Longtail boat on the Chao Phraya – Bangkok, Thailand © 2014 Peter Marble

December 8, 2004 – Known as reua hang yao in Thai, these ubiquitous and noisy craft have long drive shafts at the stern that also serve as rudders.

Taking the ferries on the Chao Phraya is a fun and efficient way to travel to many of the temples and other sights in Bangkok.

Here's a short video clip taken on the river on the same day.

April 13 Photo of the Day: Romania

Palace of the Parliament – Bucharest, Romania © 2014 Peter Marble

September 29, 2013 – With 3.77 million square feet, it is the world's second-largest administrative building after the Pentagon. Another claim to fame is that in 1992 Michael Jackson is said to have stood on one of its balconies overlooking Nicolae Ceaușescu’s version of the Champs Elysees and addressed a large crowd by saying, “Hello Budapest!”.

On our last stop in Romania, it absolutely poured both days in Bucharest. Not to mention that the entire experience totally creeped us out – from what we presumed was the mafia boss doing business in the restaurant in our hotel, to the cabby who couldn’t make change for the equivalent of a fiver, to the hotel room door that wasn’t locked when we returned after having carefully made sure we had locked it on the way out.

Thankfully on the second night we found a wonderful nearby wine shop. The proprietor spent a good 45 minutes discussing which wine would go best with the bread and cheese we had picked up for dinner.

April 12 Photo of the Day: Chile

Pedestrian bridge to Hosteria Pehoe – Parque Nacional Torres del Paine © 2014 Peter Marble

November 10, 2008 – Torres del Paine, about 100 km from Puerto Natales, is the primary reason we traveled to Chilean Patagonia.

The day we drove to the park was apparently the first in several weeks that it wasn't raining there. We found out later however, that the wind was howling at about 100 km/hour!

When I was researching the trip I read that some poor bugger had his luggage dropped into the lake while crossing the bridge to the hosteria – my guess is that it was simply blown out the staff member's hands.

April 11 Photo of the Day: Toronto

Pedestrian Bridge over the Humber River – Toronto © 2014 Peter Marble

September 23, 2012 – This is one of my favourite bridges in Toronto. I know this shot was taken in the fall, but most days of the year you will see people on bikes, with strollers or walking or jogging across this bridge.

April 10 Photo of the Day: Chicago

Young Couple at The Standing Lincoln – Lincoln Park, Chicago © 2014 Peter Marble

April 24, 2005 – The third day of a wonderful weekend visiting the Art Institute of Chicago, the Shedd Aquarium, and other Windy City's sights, including the Wrigley Building and Chagall's street art.

We had such a great time Friday night at Andy's, that we went back Saturday night to see the Mike Frost Project.

On Sunday we happened upon these two in Lincoln Park.

April 9 Photo of the Day: The Moon

The moon – from Waupoos, Ontario © 2014 Peter Marble

August 4, 2012 – Nearly every year of the past 12 we have been fortunate enough to spend a few mid-summer days and nights in Prince Edward County.

I have tried several times to photograph the moon over Lake Ontario and for this shot, I braved the late night, early August bugs.

Special thanks to Lightroom® for helping to bring out the detail.

April 8 Photo of the Day: Manhattan

Brooklyn Bridge © 2014 Peter Marble

April 9, 2011 – Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge is one of the joys of any visit to New York.

This time, as usual, we started on the Manhattan side and an hour or so later were wandering about in DUMBO (down under the Manhattan Bridge overpass).

April 7 Photo of the Day: South Africa

African Penguins – Boulders Beach, Western Cape, South Africa © 2014 Peter Marble

February 12, 2012 – After lunch on our way out to Cape Point, we stopped to visit the colony of about 3,000 penguins just outside of Simon's Town. They were very accommodating subjects.

April 6 Photo of the Day: Lesotho

Local village children – near Butha-Buthe, Kingdom of Lesotho © 2014 Peter Marble

February 5, 2012 – day 14 in Africa. After the church service we basically drove our rental 4X4 up a small mountain on a boulder-strewn "road" to get to the Tlhakhuli foster home where we spent the night.

These children walked up from the small village below to find out what was going on and to visit their friends, all AIDs orphans, at the foster home.