Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Windshield Pictures (Tucson to Prescott)

I drove up to Prescott today and decided to try something "new to me" along the way, taking some blind windshield shots along the way. I turned off the LCD viewfinder and occasionally would just pick up the camera and kind of point it at something of interest and press the shutter (no framing, viewfinder, or anything else that would distract from driving -- I pretty much just treated the camera like it was a coffee cup with a shutter button).

Out of a bunch of pictures, here are a few possibly worth sharing...


This is a coal train parked beside the coal processing unit at the Tucson Irvington Power Plant as seen from I-10. In the background you can see the Santa Catalina mountains north of Tucson with some snow showing on top. The top of the Catalinas, at 9100 feet elevation, is an hour drive from Tucson. Looks barren from here but actually has pine trees and a ski area. Nice place to escape to in summer!



This is Picacho Peak on the way up to Phoenix from Tucson. It is now a state park. There is actually a trail to the highest peak (looks like it would be a technical climb, its not). I hiked up it years ago during a full moon and we sat on top watching the headlights and taillights of cars down on I-10 below.



At the northbound I-10 / I-17 fork in Phoenix, looking toward the taller buildings in central Phoenix.






Finally out of Phoenix, headed north on I-17, gaining a little elevation and starting to see saguaros again along the road. It is always nice to get to this stretch -- much of the drive from Tucson to Phoenix is pretty barren and boring, not much in the way of saguaros, etc.



Another nice viewscape in the general vicinity of Black Canyon city on I-17 northbound.

3 comments:

  1. Hi Warren,
    Great Pictures of Arizona. We sure do miss the beauty of it all. I am glad you took these pictures. I love the one of Picacho Peak... ahh to hike it again... Remember Picacho Peak in the spring with the beautiful wild flowers? I hope you can get pictures of that this year.

    LRK

    ReplyDelete
  2. LRK -- Thanks -- not the best of pictures since shooting through a windshield, but an interesting experiment just the same... I sure do remember all the beautiful poppies on the slopes in spring. cheers -- Warren

    ReplyDelete
  3. As a passenger, I often get great pictures from a highway-speed car. I'm impressed at how sharply digital cameras can catch scenery from the side window. By the way, I'm going to use your term, "windshield pictures" -- I really like it!

    ReplyDelete

Comments are always appreciated, they let me know if anyone is actually reading my blog too!