Cosmo Las Vegas

Ron NiebruggeLas Vegas, Nevada, Photos, Travel 19 Comments

View from a room balcony from the Cosmopolitian, Las Vegas.

View from a room balcony from the Cosmopolitian, Las Vegas.

Well we have taken a quick two night trip up to Las Vegas not only to photograph what is not only the most recent hotel and casino, but probably the last new hotel on the Strip for many years to come – The Cosmopolitan.  I not only wanted photos of the Cosmopolitan, but also wanted to take advantage of their amazing balcony views!

We are in one of the smallest rooms – it is still over half the size of our home!  Maybe that is more of a reflection of our home, but the place is nice.  We are here during one of the less expensive times – not only to save a bit of money, but to avoid the crowds.  Even at that, this place is still really hopping – seems to be the place to hang out these days.  Can’t imagine what the weekends are like.  I do know at times this room almost costs as much as our monthly house payment!

So, we are really here for the view and I’m doing everything I can to take advantage.  I have been shooting 3D and regular video and time-lapses, plus a wide range of stills including panoramics and HDR.  I worked late in to the night last night so that tonight after sunset we might be able to enjoy the property a bit.

Arizona Wildflower Update – 2011

Ron NiebruggeArizona, Phoenix, Photos, Travel 9 Comments

Tonto National Forest, Arizona.

Tonto National Forest, Arizona.

What may not show well in this small photo is the nice field of yellow ground wildflowers.

This is definitely been a very poor year for wildflowers, but a stretch of warm weather followed by some a pretty heavy rain last Monday has seemed to produce a mini bloom of wildflowers.

In the two placers I have been spending time, Tonto National Forest, and McDowell Regional Park, I’m beginning to see a few poppies, lupine and brittlebush in bloom.  It isn’t the dramtic colorful hills and fields of wildflowers I have seen in past springs in this area, but at least it is a little something, something.  And, I would think it could get a bit better over the next week or so.

I’ll be making my way to the west side of the state in a few days, it will be interesting to see how that area is doing after the recent rains – I’ll follow up with a report if I find anything worth reporting on!

Saguaro Forest

Ron NiebruggeArizona, Phoenix, Photos, Travel 8 Comments

Saguaro cactus, Tonto National Forest, Arizona.

Saguaro cactus, Tonto National Forest, Arizona.

With clouds in the sky, and a gap above the horizon to the East – I though sunrise this morning could be epic!  But, it was nothing.  So, I used the nice light to play with these guys instead.

Scottsdale Waterfront Photo

Ron NiebruggeArizona, Phoenix, Photos, Travel 2 Comments

Scottsdale Waterfront, Scottsdale, Arizona.

Scottsdale Waterfront, Scottsdale, Arizona.

Any water feature seems to really add to a community whether it is a river, lake or ocean.  Towns like Scottsdale and San Antonio, where such things don’t occur naturally have had to get creative in creating a “waterfront”.

This area of Scottsdale has changed a lot since we first visited this region 4 years ago.  Back then, this area was completely under construction.  Last year it was finished, but not much of the landscaping had grown in.  Now, it really is a nice little waterfront with outdoor restaurants, galleries and residential towers.  It is a big change from the sprawling, low density development that has typically taken place in this region.

Downtown Phoenix has changed even more.  Four years ago everything was torn up thanks to the addition of a mass transit rail system, construction of additional convention facilities and office buildings.  Today, all those projects are complete, and it is a nice improvement.

Wrightwood, California

Ron NiebruggeCalifornia, Photos, Travel 4 Comments

The Yoddler in "downtown" Wrightwood, California.

The Yodeler in "downtown" Wrightwood, California.

I just read that the cute little town of Wrightwood in the mountains near Los Angeles just received another 2 to 3 feet of snow!  That reminded me that I never got a chance to post my photos of the snow storm we experienced there on this trip in mid February.  This is the front porch of a little bar in town that sells great pizzas!

This year of the strange winter only continues – as strange as is was to see Southern California receive more snow then our wet coastal town back in Alaska during February – it is even more strange at the end of March!  Pictures I have seen from back home show almost no snow, and yet Southern California and even parts of Arizona are receiving heavy snow right now!

Lesser Goldfinch

Ron NiebruggeArizona, Phoenix, Photos, Travel 9 Comments

Lesser Goldfinch, Fort McDowell, Arizona.

Lesser Goldfinch, Fort McDowell, Arizona.

I noticed a few people having good luck with bird feeders at this campground so I decided to put one out.  Well, it only took about an hour before goldfinches began to show up!  These colorful birds are a lot of fun to watch and photograph!

Arizona Sunset

Ron NiebruggeArizona, Phoenix, Photos, Travel 8 Comments

Sunset, McDowell Moutain Regional Park, Arizona.

Sunset, McDowell Mountain Regional Park, Arizona.

We have now moved a bit east into Arizona.  As you can see, there aren’t any wildflowers.  We are here a tad bit earlier then normal, but the lack of wildflowers has much more to do with a dry and unseasonably cold winter that included some freezes.   In some parts of McDowell, many plants appeared dead, hopefully they are just damaged by the freeze.

It is possible that late rains, and now unseasonably warm weather might give us a few flowers – but we definitely won’t be seeing the hills of solid color like we did in 2008.