Standing Into Danger

Friday, October 14, 2022

Cloud Land

Do you like to fly?

I love to fly!

I love Cloud Land, and I break through the cloud deck

with soaring anticipation on every flight I take.

Cloud Deck

Over Lake George, Eastern Rockies Corridor

Colorado, USA

October 5, 2022

Some flights may begin with clear skies or fly through clear skies,

as our flight home from Las Vegas did on October 5, 2022,

but chances are you will fly in Cloud Land at some point.

Heading Home on Southwest

Harry Reid International Airport (formerly McCarran)

Las Vegas, USA

October 5, 2022

I didn't always love to fly.

I used to get sick and throw up a lot.

Then I became increasingly afraid as I experienced multiple episodes of violent turbulence.

My fears began to dissipate after a chance encounter with a U.S. Navy structural engineer

whose specialty was the structural design of navy planes.

I was flying alone to Calgary, and our plane was jitterbugging

up and down and sideways all over the sky.

Everyone, including the crew, was strapped in tightly,

and I was gripping my armrests for dear life.

"Are you scared?" the man sitting next to me asked.

"This is nothing! It would take a lot more than this to knock us out of the sky."

What are the chances I would be sitting next to a U.S. Navy structural engineer?

He calmed me down with lots of information about planes and the physics of flight,

and he showed me a channel from the channel selections available

where I could listen to our pilots talking in the cockpit.

I listened to that channel on every flight for years until the airlines eliminated it.

A U.S. Navy Plane Landing on an Aircraft Carrier

The U.S. Navy is the second largest Air Force in the world,

second only to the U.S. Air Force.

Wikimedia

Now I'm fearless whenever I enter Cloud Land.

I have my eyes glued to the window throughout any flight

not wanting to miss the ephemeral show.

Each cloudscape is unique.

It never existed before, and it will never exist again.

Once gone, it is lost forever.

Terry knows that my shooting photographs out the window

keeps me happily occupied throughout a flight

instead of staring anxiously at the wing and willing the air to flow faster over its top

than underneath it so the plane will stay in the sky.

No Longer Willing the Physics of Flight to Work

Over the Moab Area

Utah, USA

October 5, 2022

Terry does everything he can to secure a window seat for me,

and generously takes the middle seat every time.

He entertains himself playing Spades on his phone.

Terry Playing Spades as We Fly Home

Over Jumbo Springs Wilderness

(which connects to both the southern and eastern sides of Lake Mead)

October 5, 2022

I can't remember a flight in at least 15 years

when I haven't taken a photograph connected with a flight.

I have hundreds and hundreds of photos of airports, planes, employees, and passengers.

Waiting to Board Our Plane (on the right)

Harry Reid International Airport (formerly McCarran)

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

October 5, 2022

The pilot does his walkabout to check our plane before it flies.

Harry Reid International Airport (formerly McCarran)

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

October 5, 2022

Backing Away from the Gate

Harry Reid International Airport (formerly McCarran)

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

October 5, 2022

Up, Up, and Away!

Harry Reid International Airport (formerly McCarran)

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

October 5, 2022

I love the cloudscapes, but I also love the landscapes

on flights between Vegas and Denver.

Because so much of the area is desert or glacier-shaped mountains,

airplanes fly over a geological wonderland.

I watch for all my favorite geological features and snap away.

This time I was rewarded with the sight of Monument Valley.

I have tramped and climbed all over this incredible place.

Iconic Monument Valley

(center of the photograph)

Navajo Tribal Park, Arizona and Utah, USA

October 5, 2022

Here are a few more shots of Cloud Land on our flight:

Below is a cloudscape with towering cumulonimbus clouds,

and a landscape dominated by Navajo Mountain.

Navajo Mountain or Naatsis’áán, Head of the Earth,

straddles the Arizona-Utah border and reaches a height of 10,348 feet/3154 meters.

Navajo Mountain (bottom center of the photograph)

Navajo Tribal Park, Arizona and Utah, USA

October 5, 2022

Cloud Land

Over ‎⁨Kaibab National Forest⁩, ⁨Marble Canyon⁩

Arizona, USA

October 5, 2022

Many of the clouds we encountered on our flight were over Colorado.

Coming over the Colorado mountains and landing on the high plains

is always a bumpity-bumpity ride.

"Time to rock and roll!" I often say to Terry.

Cloud Land and Aspen Gold

‎⁨Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests⁩

⁨Montrose⁩, ⁨Colorado⁩, ⁨USA

October 5, 2022

Cloud Land and Aspen Gold

‎⁨Crawford⁩, ⁨Eastern Rockies Corridor⁩, Colorado, ⁨United States⁩

October 5, 2022

Cloud Land and Aspen Gold

Crested Butte, Colorado, ⁨USA

October 5, 2022

Cloud Land and Glacier-Shaped Mountains

Buena Vista, Colorado, ⁨USA

October 5, 2022

Cloud Land

Lake George, Colorado, ⁨USA

October 5, 2022

Cloud Land

Lake George, Colorado, ⁨USA

October 5, 2022

Dropping Out of Cloud Land

Denver International Airport

Denver Colorado, ⁨USA

October 5, 2022

My Cloud Land photos are for Rain's Thursday Art Date theme Lost

and for Nicole's Friday Face Off this week, I have some faces below.

A Vendor's Wares

Fremont Street, Downtown LasVegas

Nevada, ⁨USA

October 5, 2022

Vibrant Faces

Fremont Street Canopy, Downtown LasVegas

Nevada, ⁨USA

October 5, 2022

Lead Vocalist Rich Embry and Drummer Daniel Conway of Alter Ego

Fremont Street, Downtown LasVegas

Nevada, ⁨USA

October 4, 2022

Lead Vocalist Rich Embry, Drummer Daniel Conway,

and Guitarist Johnny Douglas of Alter Ego

Fremont Street, Downtown LasVegas

Nevada, ⁨USA

October 4, 2022

Lead Vocalist Rich Embry of Alter Ego

Fremont Street, Downtown LasVegas

Nevada, ⁨USA

October 4, 2022

Bass Guitarist Kevin Vecchione of Alter Ego

Fremont Street, Downtown LasVegas

Nevada, ⁨USA

October 4, 2022

Guitarist Johnny Douglas of Alter Ego

Fremont Street, Downtown LasVegas

Nevada, ⁨USA

October 4, 2022

Watching Alter Ego

Fremont Street, Downtown LasVegas

Nevada, ⁨USA

October 4, 2022

Terry and Others Waiting for Our Flight Home

Harry Reid International Airport (formerly McCarran)

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

October 5, 2022

I'm looking forward to visiting around!

Have a great weekend!

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

My next post will be on

Fridayday, October 21, 2022. 🤞

On the Bay of Fundy
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved

Friday, October 7, 2022

On a Vegas Street

You never know what you'll run across in Las Vegas.

This time our friend Dave tipped me off that crew was filming a car commercial,

so I ran out to see what was happening.

I didn't find cars, but something unusual was definitely going on.

What's going on?

Outside the California

Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

October 4, 2022

Dave Always Keeps Things Interesting!

Outside the California

Shooting an Ad Outside the California

Waiting for "And... ACTION!"

I had never seen a film crew working up close before, so I watched for several hours.

I was there so long, a crew member offered me food and water during a break

when she was passing them out to the extras and the filming crew in the shoot.

I passed, because I didn't want to push my luck.

Everyone was so good about letting me shoot photos,

as long as I didn't get too close or in the way.

A Snack for the Extras

A Snack for the Crew

It didn't take long to realize that filming includes

a whole lot of standing around for most people involved.

Much of the waiting was caused by moving equipment

and managing traffic around the closed off streets and in and out of the California.

"Cut!" yells the director as some people wander out of the Cal and into the scene.

Moving Equipment

Traffic Control

Moving Equipment

Setting Up the Shot

The concept behind the ad was perplexing to me.

There were highly colorful characters, some of whom were jugglers,

and there were beautiful showgirls and giant flowers on stilts.

They all paraded up and down the sidewalk with deadpan expressions on their faces.

Some had painted faces as masks, some had noses and makeup as masks,

and some had blank expressions as masks.

A Blank Mask

As soon as the actors finished their walks,

their deadpan expressions would falter,

and they would give photographers like me some great expressive shots.

The mask begins to slip away.

A blank face begins to crack a smile.

A Mischievous Smile

Full On Razzle Dazzle

Eventually, the cars showed up, and the actors took a break,

heading for the parking lot across the street.

Time for a Break

It turned out to be a car commercial after all.

They didn't have to do as many do-overs as the human actors.

The cars finally get to strut their stuff!

Round and round they went!

Back to work! My heart went out to the flowers on stilts.

They had been walking on them for hours

and would continue their balancing a while longer.

A Last Look at the Cell

A Long Day and Still Shooting

Back at It

A Little Juggling for the People Like Me Watching the Action

I squeezed in a few more shots as Terry came to drag me off to Pizza Rock for dinner.

Curious Onlookers Like Me

I realized as I headed off with Terry that the photos I took of filming the commercial

would work as a post for Rain's Thursday Art Date theme Mask

and for Nicole's Friday Face Off this week.

I'm so glad that my friend Dave alerted me to the action.

Sometimes you just get lucky, and people often call me Lucky Louise!

Definitely Great Masks and Faces!

I'm looking forward to visiting around!

Have a great weekend!

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

My next post will be on

Fridayday, October 14, 2022. 🤞

Wednesday, October 5, 2022

IWSG Day: Wednesday, October 5, 2022 ~ Best Characteristics of a Favorite Genre

It's the first Wednesday of the month,
the day that members of the
Insecure Writer's Support Group
share their writing struggles
and writing successes
and offer their encouragement
and support to fellow writers.

To visit the IWSG website, click here.

To become a member of the IWSG, click here.

Our wonderful co-hosts who are volunteering today,
along with IWSG Founder Alex J. Cavanaugh are Tonja Drecker, Cathrina Constantine, Mary Aalgaard, and, Sandra Cox!

I hope you have a chance to visit today's hosts and thank them for co-hosting.

I'm sure they would appreciate a visit and an encouraging comment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Every month the IWSG announces a question that members can answer
with advice, insight, a personal experience, or a story in their IWSG posts.

Or, the question can inspire members
if they aren't sure what to write about on IWSG Day.

Remember the question is optional.
This month's featured question is:

What do you consider the best characteristics of your favorite genre?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy October, Everyone!

I hope that you have all had a good August and are enjoying the change of seasons.

I can't believe I'm flying again on IWSG Day!

I'll be visiting around as quickly as I can, once I'm home.

I hope you have a great day visiting your IWSG friends.

My favorite genre for reading? Or for writing?

My favorite reading genre is science fiction.

Its best characteristics are its ability to transport me to different places and times

and its ability to speculate and predict the science of the future

and to stretch my mind and imagination.

The best science fiction has characters that touch my heart.

These characteristics are true of most genres,

and I read and enjoy reading many genres.

The Hyperion Cantos

One of My Favorite Science Fiction Series

Google

My favorite writing genre, and a close second reading genre, is memoir.

I am curious about what makes people tick, how their circumstances shape their lives,

how they deal with challenges that impact them,

and their characters, conflicts, and hearts.

For me, writing memoir is confronting difficult things in my past

and making peace with them and myself.

I read my first memoir when I was ten: Anne Frank's unforgettable diary.

A Powerful Introduction to This Genre

Google

I'm sharing some writing funnies today.

Laughter and humor keeps me moving forward these days.

This has nothing to do with writing, but it resonates with me.

I don't think I could resist.

For those of you observing Yom Kippur today,

may it be a meaningful and rewarding holy day.

Happy writing in October!

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com

My next post will be on Friday, October 7, 2022. 🤞

Pages

Friday, October 14, 2022

Cloud Land

Friday, October 7, 2022

On a Vegas Street

Wednesday, October 5, 2022

IWSG Day: Wednesday, October 5, 2022 ~ Best Characteristics of a Favorite Genre