As I write, millions upon millions of Americans are munching on epic amounts of nachos, chips, buffalo wings, pizza, and assorted other snacks, and washing them down with a variety of mostly "adult" beverages.  It is, after all, Superbowl Sunday.  There are quite a few Americans who are doing other things, including working to provide the pizzas and wings, not to mention security for the big game.  For us, it is pretty much like any other day - doing some preemptive laundry before the snowy week ahead (when there will be less solar gain) and working with photographs and wool.   The extent of our participation will be to check out the game commercials on YouTube tomorrow.

February is that limbo time of year when the ground is still frozen and the only evidence of spring waiting in the wings is wind.  Thus, many people choose to explore warmer climates.  Here are some shots from the island of Santorini, Greece, scanned from slides, full of warmth, color, and complexity, in the event you are in need.

This shot reminds me of an architectural model.

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image

openings

All creatures need to see.  They like to see.  Birds perch on the highest limbs of trees and electrical wires to view their surroundings.  Marmots climb over shale above the tree line, surveying their world.  The earliest humans may have lived in the safety of caves, but they had to leave to hunt and to see the condition of their surroundings.

Human-constructed habitats and buildings almost always have had openings - doors and smoke outlets at the very least - and when it became possible, windows and skylights.  I like to think these were not only developed for practical purposes but to enable our predecessors to gaze at the landscape, the sky, and the stars.  In a world where artisans now produce the most intricate and breathtaking windows and doors, here are some beautiful and pragmatic openings.

Minoan palace at Knossos, Crete

A vaulted ceiling opens to the city of Oia on the Greek island of Santorini

T-shaped doorway, Chaco Cultural National Historical Park, New Mexico

Appreciate the openings.

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image