Sep 25 - Typical Peruvian Hairless Dog, Intact with sweater

I don't know how much more I need to say about this photo.. Happy Friday!

Sep 24 - Iguazu Monkey

We watched this little monkey for quite a while. He found himself some fruit and was just happy as can be. We found him in the rainforest that surrounds Iguazu Falls. Not much else to say about him. Enjoy!

Sep 23 - Black Rhino and her Baby

No, this was not a telephoto lens. Yes, I really was that close. About 6-8 feet to be exact. No, they aren't tame Rhinos. This was a wildlife preserve. Are they used to humans? Probably. Our entire goal when walking the land was to crouch and look like deer. Rhinos are herbivores, so they aren't going to eat us, but they certainly don't like things in their territory.

Their eyes are kind of beady and can't see well, so as long as we look like deer, we must be deer. No fast movements, we don't want to look like lions or cheetahs. They were walking towards us, just looking for grass to eat. What you don't see in this photo is the male rhino that was definitely keeping track of us and our movements. Not because we were a threat to anyone's life, but because he wanted to mate with her and he wanted to make sure we weren't moving in on his woman. At least that's what the guide told us.

Sep 22 - Zebra

I've showcased a few of my animal pictures from Africa, but this is one of my favorites. They just look so happy and in love don't they? They certainly didn't even care that we were there. I don't have any other exciting information about Zebras, so enjoy.

Sep 21 - Emu

This week I decided would be animal week. I had people, then buildings, so why not animals. It makes it a lot easier for me to decide on a photo if I have a topic in my head. This guy comes to us all the way from Australia. He's an Emu. I love this photo for a few reasons. The first of which is I didn't really know how to take photos in 2004 except for to point and shoot. I didn't know anything about depth of field, aperture, etc. I just think there is a great expression on his face and he pops because the background is blurry. He looks like he's ready to have a conversation with you. So, enjoy! More animals coming this week from Africa and South America.

Sep 18 - Colonial Cathedral, Cusco

This is the Colonial Cathedral in Cusco, Peru. It is considered one of the most beautiful Cathedrals in the Western Hemisphere (ie North and South America). This is not necessarily because of what is on the outside, but more so, what is inside.

The Incas loved gold, but not as a monetary value, they just thought it was pretty and they put it on all their buildings. The top of all their walls would be covered in it. The friendly neighborhood Spaniards thought that was a waste of the gold and melted it all down and put it inside of their church. So, all the full sized wall murals and alters and pretty much everything inside this church is gold. There was one wall that was all silver and that looked pretty cool too.

The Spaniards pretty much knew nothing about earthquakes and their architecture took a hit. This church has been rebuilt 3 times since the 1600s. The Incan buildings that weren't destroyed by the Spainards to build their own buildings are still standing because they understood the science of Siesmology.

Sep 17 - Concha y Toro

This is the Concha y Toro house at the largest winery in South America. Originally built as the owners homestead, it is now used for events. Beautiful Spanish sytle building is about all I know about it.. Sorry.. It is pretty though, don't cha think?