Chanting and Drumming in Slot Canyon

This is Pete, who played the drum and chanted in the slot canyon while I practiced taking photos on my new Nikon D90.

I went on a photography tour with Wilson Wyatt, a professional photographer, and learned a great deal. The photography tour was sponsored by the Desert Botanical Garden.

It was magical taking photos with the beat of the drum reverberating in the slot canyon. In the near future, I will post a series of some of the photos from the photography trip, as the slot canyons and Vermillion Cliffs near Page, Arizona were spectacular.

I plan to start a solar eclipse series tomorrow to show photos I took of the total eclipse of the sun in the South Pacific. I returned from that trip today.

The total eclipse was the longest of the century, and the experience that I plan to share on this site was stunning. I will also share some tips on photographing this rare event. After the eclipse series, I will return to posting photos from the slot canyon trip.

Camelback Mountain

This photo shows the large portion of Camelback Mountain facing south from Mummy Mountain. You can see some of the houses in Paradise Valley.

There is more greenery in the desert than some people might realize. The Sonoran Desert has its own unique beauty.

Papago Park at Night

We hiked up Camelback Mountain and took a photo of Papago Park at night.

I like the way the lights at night look with the mountains protruding into the sky.

You can see how Papago Park looks in the daytime by clicking the label Papago Park.

Chihuly Red Glass Meets Desert Sand

The red glass in the desert sand was interesting to me.

I like how Chihuly created the delicate red glass and then placed it in the sand. It is hard to believe the glass does not blow over.

It also could look like a Raiders of the Lost Ark obstacle course if it was super enlarged.

Swirling Clouds at Sunset

I took this sunset photo from the West side of Camelback Mountain.

I like the swirling clouds in the blue sky amidst the palm trees.

Chihuly Sun Meets Darkness

The glistening, colorful Chihuly sun against the dark of night makes a visually interesting photo.

I miss the Chihuly art exhibition that was at the Desert Botanical Gardens. I continue to enjoy sharing the Chihuly photos and hope you like them as well.

Desert Botanical Garden Entrance

Here is part of the entrance to the Desert Botanical Garden at night.

I like the color of the sky and the details in the entry way.

The trees without leaves look like they belong someplace else, not in Arizona.

Red-Headed Cactus

This is a red-headed cactus. I like the close-up of this cactus. Such detail and red and blonde cactus spines.

I do not know the name of this particular cactus, but I will try to learn it, and perhaps a reader will know.

Happy Cactus Day!

Soleri's Path and Entrance to Gift Shop

Now we leave the gift shop in yesterday's photo and walk towards the car to leave Paolo Soleri's art studios.

I hope you have enjoyed your tour of Paolo Soleri's residence and art studios, which is called "Cosanti."

It is always amazing to find these gems in the communities in which we live.

Paolo Soleri's Gift Shop

What a cool gift shop. You can see Paolo Soleri's architectural style in this wonderful innovative design at "Cosanti."

Note the use of concrete and the interesting shape of the room. I was glad I could capture this photo with my new wide angle lens.

It is fun to walk the grounds of Cosanti. And to wander through this very large gift shop to enjoy so many unique creations of art. It is like walking through a museum.

The textures and colors are amazing and each bell is so different. I enjoy the two Soleri bells I have hanging on my tree in the backyard. They have a distinct sound. I can hear them in the house and know when the wind is blowing.

Paolo Soleri's Art

Here are photos to show some of Paolo Soleri's art work.

Soleri works in ceramic and bronze. He also does a lot of work with concrete.

The first photo shows different ceramic pieces with unique styles created on each one.

Soleri means "you were the sun" in Italian.

You do see some sun designs and sun variations in his work.

Soleri has a wide diversity of styles as you can see from the photos below.

Paolo Soleri's Studio Ceiling

Look at this colorful and unique Paolo Soleri ceiling.

You can see the forms and art studio under the ceiling. What a creative place to work.

It is quite enjoyable to walk the grounds at Soleri's residence and art studio. He has may areas where artisans work.

As you walk the grounds of "Cosanti," you turn the corner and see interesting angles, creations, and functionality. It is definitely worth a visit and this special place is tucked away in a residential neighborhood.

Paolo Soleri's Tools

Here are some of Paolo Soleri's tools.

Soleri and his art studio use lots of tools to create the ceramic and bronze bells and a variety of innovative concrete structures.

Yesterday you saw a photo of one of the concrete architectural buildings Soleri created. Note in yesterday's photo the interesting texture in the walls and ceiling of the concrete band shell, created by tools and specially created forms.

Soleri continues to build his eco-friendly city called Arcosanti, which is in Cordes Junction. It is being built for 5,ooo people and is an experimental project. It is only 3% complete.

Soleri is a visionary and has added to the interesting tapestry of people who call Arizona and Scottsdale home.

Soleri's Working Art Studio

Here is a photo of Paolo Soleri's working at studio. You can see the innovative use of concrete to create a structure that provides shade and natural light.

Not the hole in the top of the concrete shell, which provides some additional light.

You can see the forms and other tools that are used to create the famous Soleri bells.

Soleri's Artistic Concrete Work

This photo shows some of the creative uses Paolo Soleri has melded together.

Soleri used concrete with artistic flair to create this novel fence, which creates space in his desert compound called "Cosanti."

Soleri's art studio shows that concrete does not have to be boring. The art studio is a working studio with many items being created.

Water, Water Everywhere

Today's theme for Arizona bloggers is water.  

This photo is from the South Pacific, which is a good place for the solar eclipse. I will post a solar eclipse photo for the August 1 City Daily Photo Theme Day.  I will share the details involved in how to photograph the sun and moon at the same time during the eclipse.

For now, I thought you would like to see the beautiful water scene that I took off of the patio of the overwater bungalow I stayed in when visiting Tahiti.  Gorgeous water and warm too.

In contrast to the South Pacific where water is everywhere, Arizona is a desert and we conserve water and transport water hundreds of miles to sustain our people and economy.  The Valley of the Sun still uses the ancient Hohokam (Native American) irrigation canals to transport water. These canals have been expanded and continue to be used  by Salt River Project.

Please check out the water theme photos of the other Arizona daily bloggers.  Go to Phoenix Daily Photo for the links.

Soleri Bell Tree

At Paolo Soleri's residence and art studio, he has this wonderful bell tree.

Soleri's architectural style and use of concrete is innovative. The creation of this concrete tree to serve as a large bell stand is visually interesting and functional.

Soleri is known for the ceramic and bronze bells he and his studio create and sell. Monies earned are used to continue research and construction of Arcosanti and other Soleri projects.

Scottsdale has planned a Soleri designed pedestrian bridge that will be built near the Scottsdale Waterfront. We can't wait to see how the new bridge looks.

Soleri's Bells

This photo provides you a glimpse of some of Paolo Soleri's ceramic bells.

You also can see part of his working studio. Look at the architectural style of putting glass in concrete walls to bring in light.

Paolo Soleri is considered the father of arcology, which is the relationship between architecture and ecology. Soleri has an experimental alternative to urban sprawl under construction near Cordes Junction, Arizona.

Soleri's Architectural Style

This photo shows Paolo Soleri's architectural style. You can see how he uses concrete to create a structure.

The concrete shell provides shade, is open to allow the cool air to circulate, and is decorated with Soleri's own unique artistic style.

You can also see some of the bells that Soleri and his studio make and sell.

Cosanti

I thought you might enjoy a tour of Paolo Soleri's art studio and residence. Soleri's residence on five acres is called "Cosanti."

This first photo shows the walkway to the art store. Soleri is a working artist and architect. He has lived in Paradise Valley for more than 50 years.

Soleri is known for his ceramic and bronze wind bells, and the sound is very nice to hear. I have two Soleri bells hanging in the trees in my backyard. Soleri is also known for his concrete-cast architectural structures.

Soleri is almost 90 years of age. Soleri came to the United States in 1947 and spent 1.5 years in fellowship with Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin West in Scottsdale and Taliesin East in Wisconsin.

Soleri was born in Turin, Italy and his name means "the Sun."

The second photo shows the front entry sign with some of his bells.

Look for more photos of this special artistic place over the next few days.

Soleri's studio is located in a residential neighborhood in Paradise Valley, 6433 E. Doubletree Road.

Birds Perched on Saguaro Fruit

Two thrasher birds check out the view while standing on the tip of fruit on a Saguaro cactus.

Maybe they are looking for a cloud in the sky, but this is Arizona, so most days they would not be able to find one. We have lots of blue sky and sunshine each day, but not many clouds to watch.

Orange Storm and Palm Trees

Monsoon season is starting in our desert. 

Here is a photo of palm trees in my backyard and my neighbor's backyard amid the orange storm descending upon us from the sky.

The color was truly surprising and changed quickly. On the lower right of the photo you can see some open sky with no orange clouds. 

I love the colors and atmosphere during these unique storm moments. In the Valley, we generally just have blue sky and hardly a cloud so it is quite fun when we get some drama in our skies.

Snazzy Looking Young Native American Girl

This young Native American girl is decked out. Look at her unique hair style. Wow, that had to take a long time to create.

Her sunglasses are way cool and match her bright fuscia satin shirt. Check out the finely detailed Indian bead wraps around her long hair, as well as her beaded jewelry.

She was competing at a recent Native American pow wow.

Native American Pride

This photo is a close-up of one of the Native American drummers at an Indian pow wow. 

I liked the hat with the "Native Pride" words and the long braid. I can hear the drums at the dance pow wow when I see this photo.

You can just barely see the big drum in front of this drummer and the blur of the stick with a soft head on it hitting the drum. 

Bronze Native American Statue

This image cried out to be photographed. I like the minimalist look of the Agave and gorgeous bronze Native American statue in front of the museum wall. She looks alive, as though she is actively communicating with someone.

This statue is in front of the Berlin Gallery at the Heard Museum.  It is one of my favorite statues at the Heard Museum. The statue looks like a Navajo or Dine woman to me. 

Growing up, I used to love the colorful, velvety full skirts the Navajo women wore, along with their beautiful turquoise squash blossom necklaces and silver and turquoise conch belts, bracelets, and other jewelry.

Chihuly's Glowing Tiger Lillies

I waited until the sun was going down and positioned myself so the sunlight would pierce Chihuly's Tiger Lillies glass art from behind to create this unique yellow glow.

The glass is flat red when you look at them without the backlighting, but at this right time of the day at the right angle and taking a manual photo, I could capture the true sunlight glow illuminating these gorgeous tiger lillies.

Can you see the yellow sunlight arcing in the middle glass red Tiger Lilly? It looks like a laser light show. It was fascinating to capture. These were truly genius by Chihuly. 

Bischoffs Colorful Downtown Store

Bischoffs has a very inviting entry into their store, which is located at Scottsdale Mall, in Old Town Scottsdale. 

Bischoffs has beautiful artistic and historical elements outside the store. They have integrated tile, plants, cactus, and trees as part of the experience.

Anselm Bischoff founded the store in 1971 and it is located on the site of Scottsdale's first general store.

One of the stores is called Shades of the West and is located at 7247 E. Main Street in Old Town Scottsdale. It is on the southwest corner of Brown and Main. For Southwestern memorabilia, click Bischoffs.  Happy Fourth of July! Now, go shopping!

Live Andean Music and Chili Ristras

As I was walking the quaint streets of Old Town Scottsdale, I heard this wonderful live Andean Music below these chili ristras.

The musicians were playing in front of Bischoff's, a long established family who have retail stores in Old Town Scottsdale. Tomorrow I will show you the front of one of their stores.

I love Andean music and really enjoyed hearing live music. I have lots of Andean music CDs. 

The chili ristras add a nice visual effect to the downtown scene.  

Paradise Valley at Dusk

I took this photo while standing on Camelback Mountain looking towards Mummy Mountain and Paradise Valley at sunset.

The colors of the sunset that night were gorgeous.

We technically live in Paradise Valley, which is adjacent to both Phoenix and Scottsdale. It is a very small community with only about 14,500 residents and about 5,000 households. 

Generally, Paradise Valley allows on average only one house per acre so it is very low density, which provides habitat for wildlife.

When we step out our front door, however, and cross the street we are in Scottsdale so we live, work, and play in both communities.

Paradise Valley has twelve major resorts, which makes it a prime tourist destination in Arizona. Paradise Valley is only 15.5 square miles in size. It is a quiet enclave of the large metropolitan Valley of the Sun.

For those interested, notable residents of Paradise Valley include Alice Cooper, Muhammed Ali, Stevie Nicks, Mark Grace, Jeff Hornacek, Hugh Downs, Sandra Day O'Connor,  Randy Johnson, Paolo Soleri, and Bill Keane to name a few. Past residents also include Barry Goldwater, Erma Bombeck, and William Rehnquist.

Ghost Bird

This is a ghost bird photo. A very unusual photo indeed. This looks like a bird but the image is empty of an actual physical form.

What you are looking at is a dove who flew into my sliding glass door. The dove lived, but left this highly unusual dust print of its body, head, wings, and feet. 

I call this dust imprint on my glass door, the "Ghost Bird." This is my unusual take on the worldwide City Daily Photo monthly theme day. Click below to see other "Empty" theme day photos.

Sorry for the sun spots and streaks but I wanted to capture the fine details at sunset with the light streaming through the bird dust on the window. This was not easy to photograph.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants