My Blog - Mat's World Photography

Fun at the Beach

Antoinette Addison — Tue, 18 May 2021 23:40:41 +0000

Squirrel

Antoinette Addison — Sun, 09 May 2021 22:42:00 +0000

A little squirrel was perched in a pine tree right next to our balcony in Mammoth.

On the Road in Eastern California

Antoinette Addison — Sat, 08 May 2021 21:30:41 +0000

Looking West Towards the Sierra Nevada

Looking East Towards the White Mountains

Bees

Antoinette Addison — Fri, 09 Apr 2021 22:07:43 +0000

A swarm of bees came by the house and rested for a while in a tree. Quite something!

Wabi Sabi

Antoinette Addison — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 18:34:00 +0000

An imperfect yet gorgeous butterfly. A perfect illustration of Wabi-Sabi: the Japanese Philosophy for a perfectly imperfect life.

Comic Time

Antoinette Addison — Thu, 11 Jun 2020 18:14:57 +0000

Julien, our resident hawk, doing his morning toilette, and looking rather absurd. So much for grace and beauty flying off!

Our Resident Hawk

Antoinette Addison — Sun, 03 May 2020 18:04:01 +0000

This is Julien, our resident red-tailed hawk. He thinks he owns the place or that, at least, it’s a great spot for confinement. I was very careful to respect social distancing recommendations.

Orchids

Antoinette Addison — Sun, 05 Apr 2020 22:35:57 +0000

Small Variation

Antoinette Addison — Sun, 29 Mar 2020 19:13:33 +0000

Same idea as my previous post, but a very different effect. One of the things I enjoy most about photography is that you can take similar subjects and get completely different results.

Le Rouge et le Noir

Antoinette Addison — Fri, 27 Mar 2020 11:04:00 +0000

In honor of a very famous French book (The Red and the Black) by Stendhal, published in 1830.

Tulip Close-up

Antoinette Addison — Thu, 26 Mar 2020 21:36:25 +0000

Tulips

Antoinette Addison — Tue, 24 Mar 2020 19:39:58 +0000

I have always liked photographing flowers, but have not had much time over the past few months. Now, there is more time and I hope to post photos on a more regular basis.

Morning Fog in Santa Ynez

Antoinette Addison — Thu, 26 Dec 2019 21:11:46 +0000

Snow over the Santa Ynez Valley

Antoinette Addison — Sat, 30 Nov 2019 19:44:27 +0000

An unusual sight!

Venice - from Ponte dell'Accademia

Antoinette Addison — Sat, 02 Nov 2019 23:59:36 +0000

I took a few photos of the Grand Canal from Ponte dell'Accademia as the night fell on our last day in Venice. Thanks again to my brother Jacques for this fantastic trip!

Venice - from San Giorgio Maggiore

Antoinette Addison — Mon, 28 Oct 2019 15:47:00 +0000

We took a vaporetto (public water bus) to San Giorgio which is one of the Venitian islands. In addition to being beautiful, it was a great viewpoint from which to take photos of Venice.

Venice - A Few Random Shots

Antoinette Addison — Sun, 27 Oct 2019 23:06:07 +0000

I did not take a lot of photos during the day. I wanted to be free to walk and look around, visit places, eat gelato, and not worry about my camera. But here are a few random shots (mainly from or near our hotel).

Venice - From our Hotel Window

Antoinette Addison — Fri, 25 Oct 2019 00:44:52 +0000

My brother gave us a trip to Venice for our 30th anniversary; and not just a trip: a huge room in a palace hotel with view over the Grand Canal. It was spectacular. Thank you, Jacques! Here are photos I took our first evening, from the room window.

Dolomites - Friends

Antoinette Addison — Sat, 19 Oct 2019 01:01:06 +0000

I prepared this slideshow as a thank you to our very good friends Lise Dallaire & Jacques Massicotte for including us in their Dolomites trip. As you will guess from watching it, and from my previous posts, we had a fabulous time - we always do when we travel together, and we have been to seven continents together. Thanks to Jacques and Shawn for contributing photos.

Dolomites - One Last Hike

Antoinette Addison — Thu, 17 Oct 2019 15:20:00 +0000

One last hike, with 360-degree panoramas and a final view of our friend Sassolungo (second photo).

Dolomites - View from our Window

Antoinette Addison — Wed, 16 Oct 2019 21:24:00 +0000

The view from our hotel window above St Ulrich just before and at sunset. Seceda is peaking out from behind the front range, surrounded by very dynamic clouds! The picture that Shawn took of Jacques, on a previous post) is from the extremity of the mountain on the front of it.

Dolomites - At the bottom of Seceda

Antoinette Addison — Tue, 15 Oct 2019 22:05:36 +0000

After hiking in the Puez-Odle Nature Park, we did a hike on another side of Seceda.

Dolomites - Puez-Odle Nature Park

Antoinette Addison — Fri, 11 Oct 2019 20:53:29 +0000

We hiked in the Puez Odle Nature Park, with beautiful views of the Seceda mountain, one of the best known views of the Dolomites. Thanks to Shawn for taking photos in spots that were too scary for me to access and for the great shot of our friend Jacques photographing the mountains around us.

Dolomites - Hiking Around Sassolungo

Antoinette Addison — Thu, 10 Oct 2019 23:26:00 +0000

We did an amazing hike around/up the Sassolungo mountain. The far away views were spectacular, and going up through the Sassolungo group of peaks was humbling. The fourth photo shows the view from the pass between Sassolungo and the other two peaks. On the way down, we could see probably 100 hand gliders. You can see a few on the fifth photo, as well as on the left side of the last photo: tiny little dots. The weather evolved throughout the day, making it even more interesting.

Dolomites - Sassolungo Three Ways

Antoinette Addison — Tue, 08 Oct 2019 23:06:00 +0000

The Sassolungo (or Saslonch or Langkofel) is the highest mountain (3,181m/10,436 feet) of the Sassolungo or Langkofel Group in the Dolomites in South Tyrol. The name translates to "long peak" / "long rock" in all three languages. It can be seen from far away in many spots in the region. Here are views from three sides, on different days and weather conditions. You will see it several more times in my next few posts, including photos from a hike we did around/through the group of peaks.

Dolomites - Early morning Photos

Antoinette Addison — Mon, 07 Oct 2019 23:38:00 +0000

On our first full day in the Val Gardena region, I took some early morning photos from the Gardena pass, and from our hotel a little below it. The first photo shows mountains right next to the pass. The next three show my first look at the Sassolungo group of mountains. You will see that we became very familiar with them in the posts to come.

Dolomites - A Little Rain and Fog

Antoinette Addison — Sun, 06 Oct 2019 00:34:25 +0000

The Dolomites are known for having a nice micro-climate, and we had excellent weather overall. But there was still rain and fog occasionally, which makes for interesting mountain photos. Here are three variations on different days.

Dolomites - On the Road to Val Gardena

Antoinette Addison — Sun, 06 Oct 2019 00:29:45 +0000

It was a rainy day of driving from Alta Baldia to Val Gardena, but the views were still nice!

Dolomites - Above La Val

Antoinette Addison — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 15:55:00 +0000

Idyllic landscape above La val.

Dolomites - Hike to the Santa Croce Church

Antoinette Addison — Wed, 02 Oct 2019 15:46:00 +0000

Views from our hike to the Santa Croce church above Alta Badia.

Dolomites - Alta Badia

Antoinette Addison — Tue, 01 Oct 2019 15:37:42 +0000

A nice hike that started in the fog before we topped off over it.

Dolomites - View from Lagazuoi

Antoinette Addison — Sun, 29 Sep 2019 00:43:00 +0000

As far as the eye can see….

Dolomites - Cinque Torri (Part 3)

Antoinette Addison — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 14:37:00 +0000

My friend Lise in Cinque Torri National Park. She is just a small dot on the trail in the first photo.

Dolomites - Cinque Torri (Part 2)

Antoinette Addison — Thu, 26 Sep 2019 14:32:00 +0000

More photos from Cinque Torri.

Dolomites - Cinque Torri (Part 1)

Antoinette Addison — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 14:17:00 +0000

Another incredible hike, this time in the Cinque Torri National Park in the Dolomites. The first photo shows the rock formation that gave the name to the park. Note the big chunks that have fallen down. I believe that the big tower is about 140 meters (460 feet) high.

Dolomites - Sunset View

Antoinette Addison — Tue, 24 Sep 2019 14:03:00 +0000

Two variations on a sunset view from our hotel in San Vito di Cadore.

Dolomites - Tre Cime

Antoinette Addison — Mon, 23 Sep 2019 14:03:31 +0000

Our first hike in the Dolomites, in the Tre Cime National Park was spectacular. Note the building on the right hand side of the first photo. It is a rather large building, not a hut, giving you a sense of scale. One amazing thing is that the mountains surround you, 360 degrees of incredible scenery.

No Self-Respect!

Antoinette Addison — Thu, 15 Aug 2019 20:47:25 +0000

My cat Teddy. He has no self-respect!

Ominous

Antoinette Addison — Wed, 17 Jul 2019 00:02:00 +0000

After the rain in Oz-en-Oisans. The mountains looked quite ominous!

Alpine Scale

Antoinette Addison — Sun, 14 Jul 2019 21:54:10 +0000

Shawn looks very small in front of La Meije mountain last month in the Alps. I took quite a few photos and I just started sorting through them. I will post them little by little over the next few weeks.

Furry

Antoinette Addison — Tue, 07 May 2019 17:49:14 +0000

Scottish cows in Baie-St-Paul, Quebec. Adorable!

Santa Ynez Valley, Same but Different

Antoinette Addison — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 17:16:50 +0000

A slight variation on yesterday’s photo.

Santa Ynez Valley: from Foxen Canyon Road

Antoinette Addison — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 00:06:36 +0000

Yellow Carpet

Antoinette Addison — Sun, 14 Apr 2019 16:03:47 +0000

Nice fields of flowers everywhere near new Cuyama in California.

From my Window: Great Light

Antoinette Addison — Sat, 13 Apr 2019 23:06:00 +0000

My favorite view, with particularly nice lighting on the mountains the other evening: a greta excuse for another photo.

Pinnacles National Monument: On the Way Back

Antoinette Addison — Sat, 13 Apr 2019 00:51:00 +0000

A few more photos at the end of our hike.

Pinnacles National Park: a Flower

Antoinette Addison — Fri, 12 Apr 2019 00:44:00 +0000

Dichelostemma capitatum, a.k.a blue dick.

Pinnacles National Park: Up and Down the Trails

Antoinette Addison — Thu, 11 Apr 2019 00:17:00 +0000

Pinnacle Ornament

Antoinette Addison — Wed, 10 Apr 2019 00:42:51 +0000

Pinnacles National Park: Start of our Hike

Antoinette Addison — Tue, 09 Apr 2019 00:09:31 +0000

The view at the very start of our hike. Click on the panoramic photo for a better view in lightbox.

Photo Shoot

Antoinette Addison — Sun, 07 Apr 2019 18:32:12 +0000

I don’t take people photos very often, but I had fun taking these of my friend Athena and her Shelby Cobra GT 500. We did variations of tough chick, movie star, and a softer look in a beautiful long white dress.

Santa Ynez Valley: Grass Mountain Trail

Antoinette Addison — Sat, 06 Apr 2019 15:21:00 +0000

This is yet another view, coming down the trail on Grass Mountain in the Santa Ynez Valley. This is a deceptive photo as the trail is much steeper than it appears.

Santa Ynez Valley: Another Grass Mountain Shot

Antoinette Addison — Fri, 05 Apr 2019 15:19:00 +0000

Santa Ynez Valley: on Grass Mountain

Antoinette Addison — Fri, 05 Apr 2019 00:18:02 +0000

Santa Ynez Valley: Looking Down from Grass Mountain

Antoinette Addison — Thu, 04 Apr 2019 00:15:41 +0000

Santa Ynez Valley and Lake Cachuma

Antoinette Addison — Wed, 03 Apr 2019 02:40:15 +0000

I took this photo last week. It was not the best conditions for taking a photo, but it is so exciting to see Lake Cachuma filling up that I decided to post it anyway.

Santa Ynez Valley View

Antoinette Addison — Mon, 01 Apr 2019 21:59:21 +0000

A nice Spring view from Happy Canyon road.

Santa Ynez Valley Sunset

Antoinette Addison — Sun, 31 Mar 2019 15:29:34 +0000

We had an amazing sunset a couple of nights ago.

Spring!

Antoinette Addison — Sat, 30 Mar 2019 23:17:00 +0000

A Stormy Evening and...

Antoinette Addison — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 15:20:00 +0000

A stormy evening and the power of Photoshop. I liked this mountain ridge with the tree silhouettes near Figueroa Mountain the other evening, as a storm was making its way towards our area. In addition, this is a good photo to illustrate the power of Photoshop as I did in the second photo. Did anybody say wildfire? Never believe a photograph…

Valley of Fire: The Wave

Antoinette Addison — Thu, 28 Mar 2019 21:42:00 +0000

The Wave, or at least part of the Wave. There were several people camping on top of it taking selfies, so I had to settle for a partial shot.

Valley of Fire: Cool Erosion

Antoinette Addison — Thu, 28 Mar 2019 01:18:12 +0000

When a surface of the sandstone hardens from groundwater minerals, erosion can work beneath this crust to create arches of all sizes, small niches, cool spaces.

Valley of Fire: Spikes

Antoinette Addison — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 16:37:17 +0000

Valley of Fire: Moon Rising

Antoinette Addison — Mon, 25 Mar 2019 21:18:36 +0000

Valley of Fire: Looking Dangerous

Antoinette Addison — Mon, 25 Mar 2019 01:41:48 +0000

Valley of Fire: Slot Canyon

Antoinette Addison — Sat, 23 Mar 2019 12:44:00 +0000

We went through this really cool narrow passage, the Slot Canyon.

Valley of Fire: A Few Cool Spots

Antoinette Addison — Sat, 23 Mar 2019 00:22:00 +0000

A few cool spots we found while hiking around the Valley of Fire in Nevada. More to come!

Valley of Fire: Bighorn Sheep

Antoinette Addison — Thu, 21 Mar 2019 17:29:54 +0000

Minutes after we arrived in the Valley of Fire, we found a group of Bighorn Sheep on the rocks, just by the visitor center. I think they feel safe there because mountain lions would be shy about getting so close to people. They were high on the rocks, and the lighting was terrible, but still, it was very cool! You definitely need to click on each photo to view it in Lightbox to see cute details. You’ll notice the tongue sticking out of the baby’s mouth - first photo, and the tip of a nose or a horn peeking out from behind a rock - second and third photos; hint: there are seven of them in the second photo and five in the third one. The one scratching his ear in the fourth photo cracks me up!

Valley of Fire: Intro

Antoinette Addison — Wed, 20 Mar 2019 22:44:02 +0000

We spent a day in the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. I will be posting photos of it over the next few days. Here are some general views of one area to give you a sense of what the park is like. I recommend looking at the panoramic photo on a large screen and clicking on it to see it in Lightbox. You can see the road and a couple of road signs on the panorama which give a good idea of the scale involved. The other photos show a little more detail. More to come!

Third Variation from my Window

Antoinette Addison — Tue, 19 Mar 2019 23:32:29 +0000

I keep trying for the perfect shot! They look similar, but not quite.

From my Other Window

Antoinette Addison — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 23:18:30 +0000

Sunsets in the Santa Ynez Valley can be magical, and I never tire of them. I took three photos back to back that evening (starting with the one I posted yesterday), and I can’t decide which one I like the best. So I will post all three!

From my Window

Antoinette Addison — Sun, 17 Mar 2019 15:53:46 +0000

Just a Tree

Antoinette Addison — Sat, 16 Mar 2019 16:24:00 +0000

Flower Explosion

Antoinette Addison — Fri, 15 Mar 2019 16:12:00 +0000

A closeup view of yesterday’s photo.

California Super Bloom: A Little Advance Taste

Antoinette Addison — Thu, 14 Mar 2019 16:05:00 +0000

Everybody is predicting a super bloom in California, as we have finally had a lot of rain. I stopped by the side of the road in the Santa Ynez Valley to take a photo of the very bright embankment. Hopefully, it is a sign of many flower photos to come.

So Delicate

Antoinette Addison — Wed, 13 Mar 2019 15:19:00 +0000

This is a repost from quite a while back, but still one of my favorites.

Life of an Olive: Waiting for Next Year

Antoinette Addison — Tue, 12 Mar 2019 22:19:47 +0000

We have gone through all the stages of an olive. Now we wait for the next crop.

Life of an Olive: After the Harvest

Antoinette Addison — Tue, 12 Mar 2019 00:12:35 +0000

Barrels of olive oil visible in the background behind this olive tree. They will make many olive oil lovers happy.

Life of an Olive: Mixed with Fruits or Herbs

Antoinette Addison — Sun, 10 Mar 2019 21:18:37 +0000

The olives can be mixed with fruits, peppers, or herbs to make flavored olive oil.

Life of an Olive: Liquid Gold

Antoinette Addison — Sat, 09 Mar 2019 13:01:00 +0000

Extra virgin olive oil pouring out of the centrifuge during one step of the milling process.

Life of an Olive: At the Mill

Antoinette Addison — Fri, 08 Mar 2019 12:57:00 +0000

Olives going up the conveyor belt and then down into the crusher hopper, soon to be extra virgin olive oil.

Life of an Olive: Harvest Bins in the Orchard

Antoinette Addison — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 11:37:00 +0000

A couple of photos in our orchard during harvest.

Life of an Olive: Harvest

Antoinette Addison — Wed, 06 Mar 2019 17:33:00 +0000

Here is a bin of olives with fruit at different levels of ripening, ready to be milled into extra virgin olive oil.

Life of an Olive: Almost Ready to Pick

Antoinette Addison — Tue, 05 Mar 2019 17:31:25 +0000

The olives gradually turn black on the outside, then on the inside, and some time in the Fall, are ready to pick. The more black they are, the higher the oil content is (but the oil is not quite as healthy, and has a shorter shelf life due to a smaller amount of antioxidants). The oil from greener olives is has a more bitter taste, due to the antioxidants, yet can be quite delicious.

Some olives mature faster than others, as you can see in the two photos below.

Life of an Olive: Turning Black

Antoinette Addison — Mon, 04 Mar 2019 17:12:00 +0000

The green olives slowly mature and start turning black. As they do so, their olive oil content increases.

Life of an Olive: Green Olives

Antoinette Addison — Sun, 03 Mar 2019 21:36:00 +0000

A lot of people don’t know that green olives are just young olives. They will turn dark with maturity as we will see in upcoming posts.

Life of an Olive: a While Later

Antoinette Addison — Sat, 02 Mar 2019 20:36:00 +0000

The young olives grow into fully formed fruit.

Life of an Olive: Loaded

Antoinette Addison — Fri, 01 Mar 2019 20:26:00 +0000

Life of an Olive: Growing Fast

Antoinette Addison — Thu, 28 Feb 2019 20:20:00 +0000

A camera is a great tool to follow the growth of the tiny olives as you can see in these two photos.

Life of an Olive: New Baby!

Antoinette Addison — Wed, 27 Feb 2019 20:08:00 +0000

Finally, there is a hint of a new olive. It can’t be seen with the naked eye, but it is there for the camera to capture. I took this photo in the month of April a couple of years ago.

Life of an Olive: a Little Rain Helps a Lot

Antoinette Addison — Tue, 26 Feb 2019 16:12:00 +0000

Life of an Olive: Full Bloom

Antoinette Addison — Mon, 25 Feb 2019 19:55:00 +0000

Life of an Olive: Almost Flowers

Antoinette Addison — Sun, 24 Feb 2019 19:51:00 +0000

Slowly, the tiny flower buds start opening up. I love watching it!

Life of an Olive: Tiny Flower Buds

Antoinette Addison — Sat, 23 Feb 2019 14:22:00 +0000

It’s hard to see the details in each individual tiny bud with the naked eye, but they are quite visible in these two photos

Life of an Olive: Signs of a New Crop

Antoinette Addison — Fri, 22 Feb 2019 16:22:00 +0000

Sometimes in early spring, the very first signs of a new crop show up. Depending on the year, it could be late March or early April where we are, although it has varied quite a bit over the years. It’s always a really exciting time.

Life of an Olive: Soon to Be Buds

Antoinette Addison — Thu, 21 Feb 2019 19:45:00 +0000

Life of an Olive: Bright New Green

Antoinette Addison — Wed, 20 Feb 2019 16:45:00 +0000

The tiny new leaves showed in my previous post develop into vibrant green.

Life of an Olive: Pruning Time

Antoinette Addison — Tue, 19 Feb 2019 17:36:50 +0000

Life of an Olive: in the Orchard

Antoinette Addison — Tue, 19 Feb 2019 01:01:52 +0000

Life of an Olive: the Olive Branch

Antoinette Addison — Mon, 18 Feb 2019 00:12:15 +0000