I had to pull off the road to get thissunset photos. The clouds added to the dramatic effect. To add to the scene, there were some wildflowers on the shoulder of the highway.
The instant feedback of digital photography helps to make photos such as this possible. When I first took this photo, the flowers were too dark to be seen in this shot into a dark sky. When I used a fill-in flash to illuminate the flowers, they were washed out because the flash put too much light on them.
So, what technique did I use to cut down on the amount of light? I did not have my DSLR on this trip. I was using a smaller camera, with manual settings, but with limited capabilities and no ability to change the direction or intensity of the flash. I therefore used an instrument that every photographer has. A thumb. I experimented with putting my thumb over part of the flash surface until the digital screen showed that I added enough flash to illuminate the flowers, but not too much over-expose their color.
I hope you have a chance to use this little photo-tip some day, and I hope that the results will be pleasing to you, and others.
Check out fabulous travel photos of our recent trip to Isla Borremeo, Italy at
Viva la Voyage!
For those of you in the City Daily Photo Blogger world, I thought today I would share a photo of my Mom with her white boxer that you sometimes here her talk about.
Here is a photo of the photogenic Arizona Inn.
Here is a photo of a beautiful Southwestern door.
Here is a Cactus Wedding Bouquet from an Argentine Giant cactus in my backyard. 
Here is a photo of a unique dish prepared at a restaurant.
Here is a photo of our Sonoran Desert in bloom.
Check out this unusual sign.
It is bloom time for Saguaros.
Happy Yellow Day!
Here is a photo of a Native American statue in the cactus garden of the Phoenician Resort.
Happy Monday!
This photo shows houses in Paradise Valley, some of them creeping up the side of Mummy Mountain. I took this photo from Camelback Mountain. Camelback and Mummy Mountains form the heart of Paradise Valley, which is a small suburb of 14,000 residents tucked between Scottsdale and Phoenix.
It is a full moon. Check out this full moon photo and the branch from the tree makes it look like the moon split in two.
Here is a photo of a very unusual sky. 
Ahhhh, and now that the monsoon storm has passed, here is a normal sunset. 
Now the monsoon sky has turned more orange and there is a glow all around.
Here is a photo of the next phase of the monsoon storm.
Here is a photo of the start of a monsoon that occurred last summer.
And, the new Hoover Dam and roads cause disruption to wildlife so actual animal bridges were built.
Here is another photo taken at Hoover Dam of pedestrians on the bridge. 
Here is a photo of a sky that has unique slivers of color especially on the horizon.
I had to pull off the road to get thissunset photos. The clouds added to the dramatic effect. To add to the scene, there were some wildflowers on the shoulder of the highway.
Here is a photo of the sun shining through the cactus spines.
And here is the outside of the Los Olivos Mexican restaurant.
Many homes and Mexican restaurants have art of the Virgin Guadalupe.
Here is a photo of the inside of Los Olivos in the daytime. 
Tomas and Cecelia Corral left Mexico in 1919 and built this restaurant in Old Town Scottsdale.
Here is a photo inside the Los Olivos Mexican restaurant.
Here is a photo of Los Olivos, where we regularly get take-out Mexican Food. 
It was a nice sky and this is one of my favorite take out Mexican Food Restaurants. 