A blown glass sculpture of an East Asian dragon. Unlike European dragons, Asian dragons do not require wings to fly.
Photos and movies
Women in kimono enter the Imperial Palace grounds in Kyoto, 1985. Scanned from a print. Photo © Lawrence I. Charters
Christmas 2018 in Sequim: Sparkly
48º04' N, 123º06' W
Sequim, Washington, may be a small village on a big peninsula, but the town and the Jamestown S'Kallam Tribe go out of their way to make the holiday season sparkly.
Dublin 2019: An Irish Worldcon
53º20'51" N, 6º14'22" W
The 2019 World Science Fiction Convention was held in Dublin, Ireland. Here are some images of various objects associated with Dublin 2019.
Metal and glass creatures of BWI and Columbia
39.18 N 76.67 E and 39.215 N 76.86 E
Stained glass and metal people and creatures at Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, and Columbia Mall.
University of Maryland Womens Basketball at University of Maryland-Eastern Shore
38.21 N 75.69 E
University of Maryland Lady Terps take on the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore in Princess Anne, Maryland, on December 20, 2015.
Pullman to Snoqualmie: a stark journey
46.7 N 117.15 W to 47.4 N 121.4 W
Eastern Washington is not the riot of greenery that people come to associate with Washington. While Washington's flag may be mostly green, half the state is mostly brown.
New Albany, Indiana
38.28 N 85.82 E
New Albany, Indiana, just across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky, played a minor but important role in both the Underground Railroad as well as tensions caused by race and slavery before, during and after the Civil War.
Song 1 at the Hirshhorn Museum
38.53 N 77.01 W
What happens when you get sound and video projected on a continuous wall over 700 feet long?
More Penguin Photos
Penguin photos from November 2011. All these penguins are native to the northern hemisphere.
Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, 10.30.10
38.889 N 77.019 W
The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear was anticipated as a 10,000 to 20,000 person event, to be held for free on the National Mall, and feature comedic sketches on politics and life in Washington, DC. It seemed the perfect fall diversion for locals but -- Out Of Towners showed up in vast numbers, swelling the crowd to 250,000. It also completely clogged local highways and Metro, the Washington, DC, subway system. It was the most traffic Metro had ever handled on a Saturday.
Lilith Fair 2010, Merriweather Post Pavilion
39.208 N 76.862 W
Lilith Fair 2010 had its last show at Merriweather Post Pavilion. The attraction was the music, but it was also a good excuse for comparative photography. Most of the still images were made with a Canon pocket camera, but video clips were made with the pocket camera, an iPhone 3 GS, and an iPhone 4. The results are instructive. (And yes, we've switched to digital LAT/LONG.)
Washington, DC, Cherry Blossom Festival 2010
38°52' N 77°02' W
The Washington, DC, Cherry Blossom Festival 2010 was greeted with spectacular enthusiasm after the long, snowy winter. April 1 fooled everyone with glorious weather and glorious blossoms.
Maryland vs. Clemson, Feb. 14, 2010
38°59'44" N 76°56'12" W
The Fast Women in Shorts take on the Lady Tigers and win, 71-51. It was Valentine's Day, and also an event for breast cancer awareness; pink was everywhere.
Fourth Snow: Snowzilla, February 2010
39°13' N 76°49' W
February 10 saw our third blizzard of the year and fourth snowfall of the season. By the morning of February 11, the open meadow behind our townhouse had over 50 inches of snow, and drifts topped our back fence.
Third Snow, Part Two, February 2010
39°13' N 76°49' W
The snow started at 10 a.m. Friday, February 5, and stopped in fits and start before quitting entirely around 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 6. These photos are from Sunday, Feb. 7 and Monday, Feb. 8.
Third Snow, Part Two, Sports Edition
Special sports edition in honor of 2010 Winter Olympics.
Third Snow, February 2010
39°13' N 76°49' W
The snow started at 10 a.m. Friday, February 5. It is supposed to stop at 10 p.m., February 6.
Second Snow Redux, December 2009
39°13' N 76°49' W
And after 30 hours of snow, the sun came out. It looked like quite a bit more than four to eight inches.
Second Snow, December 2009
39°13' N 76°49' W
The National Weather Service said four to eight inches. Hmmm. Also a short panoramic video of the snow.
First Snow, December 2009
39°13' N 76°49' W
The National Weather Service said one inch. Hah!
Revenge of the Bay Hydrographer
38º19'56" N 76° 27'24" W
The Bay Hydrographer is a NOAA craft used as a test bed for hydrographic survey technology. It was retired at the end of 2008, replaced by the much more capable Bay Hydrographer II.
Penguin Gallery, 2007
38º59'30.31" N 77° 1'47.42" W
The cast of March of the Penguins sits for some portraits, plus a look at the Silver Spring mural, "Penguin Rush-Hour."
March of the Penguins, 2007
38º59'30.31" N 77° 1'47.42" W
March of the Penguins was not filmed in March. No film was used, either. It is a film about drastic, disruptive climate change.
U.S. Naval Observatory, 2007
38°55'15.48 N 77°04'00 W
The U.S. Naval Observatory has nothing to do with Zen. It is the official home of the Vice President, houses telescopes used as the foundation for modern maritime navigation (and the discovery of the two moons of Mars), and is home to the atomic clock used for world-wide martitime navigation.
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
39°19' N 77°44' W
Harpers Ferry does not have a ferry, and is not associated with minstrels, but does have the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers.
Antietam, Maryland
39°28' N 77°44' W
Antietam, on the rolling hills of Maryland, is the site of the costliest one-day battle in American history.
Shepherdstown, West Virginia
39°25' N 77°48' W; 39°25' N 77°47' W
Shepherdstown is the oldest town in West Virginia, across the river from the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
39°49' N 77°13' W
Gettysburg is a quiet, hilly town in Pennsylvania, scene of the largest battle of the Civil War.
Early Spring
39°13' N 76°49' W; 38°59' N 77°01' W
The Early Spring photos were taken just because it was 2006. And the sun was out.
Warm Day at the End of Winter
39°13' N 76°49' W
Warm Day at the End of Winter could easily be called Playing with a New Camera.
Fast Women in Shorts
38°59'44" N 76°56'12" W
Fast Women in Shorts is a photo gallery of the 2005-2006 University of Maryland Women's Basketball Team, holders of a 28-4 regular season record and the NCAA 2006 champions.
February 2006 Blizzard
39°13' N 76°49' W
We had 28 inches of snow and wind in February 2006, when the forecast was for six to eight inches.
Sheffield, England
53°22' N 1°27' W
Sheffield, England is home to the University of Sheffield. A one-time center for iron mining, smelting and manufacturer, it was one of the most heavily bombed English cities in World War II.
Paris, France
48º51'24" N 2º21'3" E
January 2005. Christmas decorations are still up.
Scotland
55°51' N 4°15' W et. al.
Scotland covers an August 2004 visit to Glasgow, The Highlands, Loch Ness, Inverness, Castles Urquhart, Cawdor Castle, Brodie and Culloden, Central Highlands, Castle Glamis, St. Andrews, Scone Palace, Edinburgh, Roslyn Chapel. Plus Hardian's Wall and a brief stay in Iceland.
Washington, DC, Cherry Blossom Festival
38°52' N 77°02' W
Washington, DC, Cherry Blossom Festival is nicely self-descriptive, from April 2004. While small scale compared to Tokyo, or even Kamakura, it still has its own delights, such as Segways.
Tour of Washington, DC
38°53' N 77°02' W
Tour of Washington, DC, is a December 2003 meander past the White House, the Navy Building, Blair House, the Renwick Gallery, DAR Hall and a CNN set.
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
39°57' N 75°11' W
University of Pennsylvania covers trips to UPenn in June, July and August 2003.
NI2003 — 8th International Congress on Nursing Informatics, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
22.9º S, 43.2º W
Held June 20-25, 2003, in Rio de Janeiro, this was the second Nursing Informatics Congress held in the Southern Hemisphere.
Very Large Array, National Radio Astronomy Observatory
34º04'43.5" N 107º37'04" W
Very Large Array is part of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, located on a high, flat plain in an empty part of New Mexico.
Hatch, AZ and Chile
32º39'57" N 107º9'31" W
Hatch, AZ claims to have the "world's best chile pepper." It certainly has a lot of them.
Pima Air and Space Museum, Tucson, AZ
32°08'22" N 110°52'09" W
Pima Air and Space Museum is a look at one of the world's most extensive aircraft collections, in Tucson, Arizona.
Cochise, AZ
32°06'47" N 109°54'46" W
Cochise, AZ, is a quick tour of a very remote town at the edge of a very dray lake in Arizona.
Washington, DC, Cherry Blossom Festival
38°52' N 77°02' W
Washington, DC, Cherry Blossom Festival is not redundant, but from April 2002.
Western Washington
47°38' N 122°38' W
Kitsap County, December 2001.Included are Point No Point Lighthouse, Bangor Naval Sub Base Deterrent Park, Bremerton Naval Hospital, Dyes Inlet. There is another collection of these images in the full 1600 x 1200 pixel size, the maximum resolution of a Canon S300 Digital Elph digital camera. I use some of these images as desktop images.
Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC
38°58' N 77°01' W
Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC, is a retiring look at the Eisenhower Suite.
Pensacola, Florida to New Orleans, Louisiana
30°25' N 87°13' W to 29°57' N 90°04' W
Blue Angels, National Museum of Naval Aviation, National Museum of Naval Aviation Flight Line, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Pensacola Lighthouse, Fort Perkins, Fort Barracas, Air Memorial Elgin Air Force Base, Air Force Armament Museum, Pass Christian, River Walk New Orleans, French Quarter New Orleans, USS Alabama Park.
Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
42°02' N 70°32' W
Stellwagen Bank is a National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of Massachusetts, headquartered in an old Coast Guard station in Scituate. This visit is during a frozen February 2001.
Walla Walla, Washington
46º03'52" N 118º20'35" W
The oldest town in Washington State, Walla Walla was founded as a mission by Marcus Whitman in 1836. It later became a Hudson's Bay Company outpost, a territorial fort, and the capitol of Washington Territory. After Washington became a state, Walla Walla was offered a choice between a state prison and a state university; the town picked the prison, as it offered more opportunity for jobs. From a visit in November 2000.
Western Washington
47º38'40" N 122º41'41" W, 47º34'12" N 122º39'09" W, 47º58'08" N 123º29'54" W, 48º13'04" N 122º40'57" W, 48º07'01" N 122º45'37" W, 48º07'05" N 123º25'50" W
Silverdale, Bremerton, Hurricane Ridge, Whidbey Island, Port Townsend and Port Angeles. From sea level to skyline.
Lake Chelan, Washington
47º50'28" N 120º02'47" W
Lake Chelan is an inland fjord, fed by mountain glaciers, that flows into the Columbia River. These photos were taken in 1999.
Along the Columbia to Walla Walla, Washington
46º03'52" N 118º20'35" W
Photos taken with an early digital camera along the Columbia on the way to Walla Walla, Washington. These photos were taken in 1999.
NOAA Wave Pool
Photos of the NOAA Wave Pool, taken March 31, 2000. Also, first stop-action video of the Wave Pool and second stop-action video of the Wave Pool.
Gripsholm, Sweden
59º15'21" N 17º13'09" E
A brief visit to the royal castle of Gripsholm, west of Stockholm, in October 1997.
Stockholm, Sweden
59°19′46″ N 18°4′7″ E
A brief visit to Stockholm, the largest city and capital of the Netherlands, in October 1997.
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
52°22′23″ N 4°53′32″ E
A brief visit to the largest city and capital of the Netherlands, in October 1997.
Badlands National Park, South Dakota
43.8º N, 102.3º W
Established as a National Monument in 1939, the Badlands became a National Park in 1978. In addition to the iconic heavily eroded buttes and mesas, the park is also the largest mixed grass prairie in the United States. These photos are from August 1991.
Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota
43.9º N, 103.5º W
Originally planned as a tourist attraction to draw people to a very empty part of the U.S., almost everything about Mt. Rushmore was moved, revised, and rethought during its construction from 1927 to 1941. Established in 1925, the memorial was not formally dedicated until 1991. These photographs are from August 1991.
Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho
Grand Teton: 43.8º N, 110.6º W; Yellowstone 44.4º N, 110.6º W
Yellowstone National Park is the world's first national park, established by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872. The park encompasses the largest supervolcano on the North American continent, and over half the identified geysers in the world are in the park. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978.
Grand Teton National Park was established in 1929, and initially did not include the valley of Jackson Hole. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., bought up much of the Jackson Hole region and set it aside for protection; it was added to the Grand Teton National Park in 1950. These photos are from August 1991.
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
36.1ºN, 112.1º W
The Grand Canyon of the Colorado River cuts an immense valley as it winds its way through the soft rock and soil of Arizona. At 227 miles long, up to 18 miles across, and a mile deep, it may not be the deepest canyon in the US (that honor belongs to the Grand Canyon of the Snake River), but by any other measure is a Grand Canyon. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. These photos are from June 1991.
