Sky Watch Friday 29 May

The weather has moved into rainy season, at a much faster gallop than last year. The skies are either crystal clear or covered with thunderclouds.



Although I haven't had much chance to post over the past month, I'm still taking pictures. I snapped the above picture on a moody late afternoon, where thunderclouds were directly overhead but the light from the sunset lit up the Buddhist temple from the side.



And a very luminous sunset over the Mekong river, looking over Thailand.

This is my contribution to Skywatch Friday, whose members post pictures of the skies around the world.

Gecko dreaming of becoming a butterfly

I took this picture late at night, because I realized I had not taken my picture of the day, then I found the shapes feature.... and it's cool.

ABC Wednesday: S for silver and sleeping

A couple of weeks ago, I walked around the Morning Market in Vientiane, looking for reflections and light. And I found silver. These bracelets were enticing - I took the picture but did not take my wallet out of my bag - this time.



And sleeping - this woman lives behind her shop, and her shop is an extension of her home, so she can take a nap anywhere and any time. Not sure about the profits though.

This is my contribution for ABC Wednesday. I thought I would get all the way through the alphabet this time - well I will but I've skipped everything between K and S.

Water

There's a lot of back-breaking manual labor jobs, with low pay. This truck delivers drinking water around Vientiane, with their staff of a driver and the man who carries the 50 liter water bottles to the houses and businesses.



I wonder what he is dreaming about....

While there is a municipal water system, we only use the water for bathing and cooking. Very few people use it for drinking water - too much chlorine. These men would be out of work otherwise!

Naga and camera

The Naga are serpents which move between earth and the other world, and have a central place in Buddhist images in NE Thailand and Laos. The legend is that the Naga King sheltered the Buddha from a thunderstorm while he was meditating. Naga images grace every templeyard, at the entrances to the buildings and along the roofs.



I bought a Nikon D5000 and I've enjoyed taking photos with it, even though I should stop a moment and read the instruction manual. This picture was a little dark and I didn't get such a great depth of field, so I played with it in photoshop. Turned out kinda cool in spite of my lack of experience.

From Bangkok to Nong Khai

I endured my dental appointment and then resolved to get back to Vientiane for a frantic week of work.

The new airport at Bangkok (well not so new, it's about two years old now) is gigantic and ultra-modern. I haven't gone through there so many times so I arrived two hours early so I could have lunch and make sure to get to my gate on time. Since my last visit, they have installed some beautiful large paintings. Here's a mosaic of images from two paintings:



Unfortunately, I didn't write down the artists' names. The painting of the picnic in the garden is like a Persian miniature but on a large scale. The other painting is of village life and I enjoyed the interactions of the community life on the wall.

I finished the book I had brought with me, so during the 50-minute flight, I stared at the map on the screen. I like watching how it zooms in from this view of Asia. It places me on the world.



Well, the original photo was a little boring, so I altered it a bit in photoshop.

Once I arrived in Udorn Thani, I got on a crowded mini-van to Nong Khai. I arrived late and enjoyed a late evening meal at the hotel. These tuk-tuks were parked across the street, ready to take someone around to all the sights in Nong Khai.

Still alive, still happy

I just realized that while I'm taking pictures and contributing to several photography communities, I haven't kept up with my own blog. Well, whoever is following me, here's a special picture:



I just bought a new camera, in anticipation of a dental work I'll have to endure tomorrow. And I'm learning how to play with photoshop, so I can turn three turtles into six.

I took this shot at the park next to the Emporium shopping center in Bangkok.