This dreamlike view looking south from the historic mountain top Pic du Midi Observatory combines moonlit domes, a winter night sky, and the snowy peaks of the French Pyrenees. Encroaching on the night, lights from the La Mongie ski resort illuminate the mountain slopes nearby while the glow along the distant horizon is from urban areas in southern France and Spain. The image was NASA’s January 25 Astronomy Picture of the Day.

For many youngsters, lessons have a tendency to feel long, interminably boring and difficult to sit still through. Not, however, if you’re a cheetah cub in Africa undergoing a masterclass in hunting from your very impressive mother.

This extraordinary photograph and the series that accompanies it were taken in Kenya’s Masai Mara Game Reserve by environmental photographer Andy Rouse. The images show a female cheetah demonstrating to her young the first rules of survival in the wild - how to hunt and kill. For the cubs, this is the most important lesson they will learn from their mother. Their survival depends on being able to hunt for food and avoid predators.

In this stunning series of images, Rouse captures the entire cycle, except whatever follows the young gazelle’s last attempt to escape. A part of us hopes for its successful getaway, yet we understand this vital part of nature and marvel at its brutal perfection.

Andy Rouse is a professional wildlife photographer based in the U.K. His professional credits include hosting the Discovery Channel’s Wildlife Photographer TV series, and the publication of six books.

“We are all of us resigned to death: it’s life we aren’t resigned to,” novelist Graham Greene once wrote. A growing number of Americans of all ages are embracing that idea by renewing a resolve to live life to its fullest. “Life Lists” - lists of things we want to do or see before we take that final step - have become increasingly popular. Dawn and I have such a list and try to check a few things or places off each year.

This month’s issue of Smithsonian magazine features an article on the subject that includes photos of 28 places its editors believe everyone should include on their own “lists.” And here’s the bottom line: Whether you visit only a couple of these destinations or all 28, your life will be enriched by the experience.

Following a major storm that packed 70 mph winds, uprooted trees and caused major flooding, we’ve settled back into light but steady rain and fog like that shown in this image taken by Lois Heine at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

Those of you that know me know I’m a spring and autumn lover. I tolerate summers, at least when the temps stay below 100, but winter is definitely “not my friend.” Still, this image may be just the kick in the pants I need to pull out the camera and go shoot some, uh, rain and fog…

Check out this amazing full-screen 360 degree interactive panoramic image of Times Square, NYC, from teltip.com. You can zoom in/out with the Shift/Ctrl keys and move up or down and left or right with the arrow keys. Great pano image. Listen for the sounds of the street, music to New Yorkers’ ears… (Requires Quicktime)

Be sure to view the other QRVR panoramics on the site. I especially liked the one of La Basilique Notre-Dame, Montréal, with Pachabel’s Canon in D.

In its 2007 Year in Pictures, MSNBC has again compiled a stellar list of photographs it believes best represent 2007. Presented as an audio slideshow, it’s the News images that to me are the most moving.

“There is nothing in the world more beautiful than the forest clothed to its very hollows in snow. It is the still ecstasy of nature, wherein every spray, every blade of grass, every spire of reed, every intricacy of twig, is clad with radiance.” - William Sharp

A tradition Dawn and I look forward to each Christmas season is “The Singing Christmas Tree” at our church. We went Saturday night a week ago and agreed it was the best performance we’ve seen. Of course, having seats in the 6th row helped, but the theme this year - Christmas celebrated around the world - was especially enjoyable. It’s the Tree’s 51st year in production and more than 25,000 people see and hear it each year. The church membership includes so many talented performers, and the production is done so professionally, we’re always amazed. We’ve already bought our tickets for next year.

Another traditional holiday event for us is attending “A Peter White Christmas” in the Gazetta Grand Ballroom. We went last Thursday night, enjoyed fifth row seats and heard some great Christmas music performed by Peter White, Rick Braun and Mindy Abair. It’s always a nice evening this time of year and helps keep us in the holiday spirit. We forgot a camera, so we grabbed a couple shots with Dawn’s iPhone. I’ll post them if they’re decent. The iPhone is great, but the camera is “iffy” when hand held in low light.

I say every year that you won’t catch me near a shopping mall during the holidays, and most years I’ve managed to steer clear of mall crowds. But despite my resolve, Dawn and I found ourselves in the “crunch” of it this season. I’d thought we were pretty much finished with Christmas shopping - we started well before Black Friday - but there were still a few straggler items we needed to procure so, much to my chagrin, we were out “in it” last night.

The worst part for me is always the standing in line; I’m a particularly poor “line stander,” especially if I’m alone. But Dawn was with me last night and it wasn’t bad at all. We got in, grabbed what we needed, and got out. And now we’re finished!

After wrapping up the shopping, we drove through some of the neighborhoods known for elaborate Christmas lights and decorations. We haven’t done that the last couple years and we’ve missed it. The homes in the “Fab 40’s” were especially well done. It was a wonderful way to tie off holiday shopping. After a relaxing dinner at Tahoe Joe’s, we drove home to watch “White Christmas” but fell asleep before it even started.

With money tight this year, we made a lot of gifts and, quite surprisingly, found that despite the work involved, we really enjoyed it. It helped us regain some of the true spirit of Christmas that we sometimes misplace when it’s all about shopping. Sure, most of what we’ll be giving the grandkids is “retail”, but much of what we’re giving the adults in our family are things we made ourselves. Dawn especially outdid herself this year, making several gifts that reminded me how truly amazing and talented she really is. She worked hard on them but was proud of what she’d accomplished when she finally finished.

We’ll be having our Christmas Eve dinner and family tree at Steve and Lori’s home again this year and we’re really looking forward to spending the evening surrounded by the kids and grandkids. Our family gets together with some regularity and it’s always fun, but Christmas is our favorite time to be with those we love.

It’s like Linus says: “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”

Maria, a friend and neighbor of daughter Shannon, does an amazing job every year decorating her yard for Christmas. I photographed it last year because my youngest grandson, Connor, was one of her featured “angels.” You see, the central theme of Maria’s decorating, and the thing that makes it unlike any Christmas decorating you’ve ever seen, is angels and other holiday figures she’s constructed and to which she’s affixed photographic faces of neighborhood children . It’s amazing, beautiful and quite unique!

Shannon and I contacted KOVR’s Dave Bender last year to get Maria’s yard featured on his annual “Twelve days of Christmas” feature where he broadcasts the weather from beautifully decorated houses and neighborhoods over a twelve night period leading up to Christmas. Dave’s schedule last year was full, but he promised to include her this year and Wednesday was the night. I wasn’t able to be there, but I hope to photograph the display sometime during the next week and will post new photos then.

Meanwhile, to get an idea of what Maria does, flip through the 2006 album. She’s truly an amazing artist!

This post is the second of a two part series. Part 1 was posted October 13.

To refresh your memories, Dawn and I, along with friends Michael & Sisko and Doug & Candy, had jetted off to Las Vegas over the Columbus Day weekend to help Sisko live her long-time dream of racing an Indy-style race car. To bring her fantasy to life, Michael had given her just such a gift for last year’s birthday - the chance to attend the Mario Andretti Racing School program and race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway!

I photographed the event and had intended to post the images along with those in Part 1. But I wanted to give Sisko a photographic memory, an album, of her big day and didn’t want her to see the images online before she’d received it. I gave her the album as a birthday gift Saturday night and have posted a few of the images in an online album.

For those of you unfamiliar with Indy-style racing, these are 600+ horsepower, open-wheel, open cockpit race cars. In this abbreviated Andretti Racing School program, drivers are allowed to drive up to 145 mph - Sisko clocked 143 mph and, as you’ll see in the photos, waved for the camera!

It was a once in a lifetime experience for Sisko and we all enjoyed sharing in it.

Along with Saturday’s Japanese tea ceremony for Dawn’s birthday, we visited San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum and checked another item off our lengthy list of things to do or see. But it was so much larger than we’d anticipated that we failed to allow enough time to see it all. No worries, though, we’ll return another day. If you appreciate art and antiquities, the museum is definitely worth a visit. Just be sure to allow ample time to see all three floors! And be aware that, while photography is permitted on the 2nd and 3rd floors, flash is not!

Not knowing what to expect and not wanting to lug the heavy gear unnecessarily, I’d left my Nikon at home. So we relied on our little pocket Canon and Dawn’s iPhone, both handheld and without flash (not allowed!.) Still, we got some decent images which I’ve posted in an album. Feel free to browse. And let me know what you think of the new viewing module.

We’ve been enjoying beautiful autumn weather and I’m certainly not complaining. But winter is right around the corner and there are already signs here and there.

I grabbed this image the other day on Sutter Street in Folsom with our pocket camera. As we left the parking lot, we noticed that the clouds had turned ominous and several gulls had landed on the old train turntable, seemingly as surprised by the sudden change as we were…

Today is my wonderful wife’s birthday and I want it to be as special for her as she is to me. So we’ll be spending her day in San Francisco doing things that she wants to do. We’ll visit the Asian Art Museum, spend time in Golden Gate Park, and experience an authentic, private Japanese tea ceremony conducted by a teacher of the ancient art of tea. And we’ll have lunch in the City and dinner somewhere special when we return. Happy birthday, Sweetheart!

Many of you may not know Dawn, so here are a few photos (click to enlarge). World, meet Dawn. Dawn, world.

One of the best and most enjoyable storage sites for photographers is Flickr, and one of its best features is image pools. For example, there are more than 1400 images submitted by some 500 photographers pooled into a collection called Faces in Places. I’ve thumbnailed a few below just to give you a taste, but the point is, if we choose to look for them, there are “faces” all around us - in nature, in public and in places only you can imagine. Take some time and browse a little. You may get some ideas for “faces” you can photograph yourself!

My brother, Ken, emailed me an image entitled “Human Statue of Liberty” the other day that fascinated me enough to do some research into the photographer who created it. Here’s what I learned:

Arthur S. Mole (1889-1983) was a British-born commercial photographer who worked in Zion, Illinois, just north of Chicago. During and shortly after World War I, he traveled with his choreographic collaborator and partner, John D. Thomas, from one military camp to another posing thousands of soldiers to form gigantic patriotic symbols that they photographed from above. Mole called them “living photographs.” From the photographer’s perspective, the emblems were brought to life by means of the living soldiers who embodied them.

The formations depicted such images as the Statue of Liberty (click to enlarge), the Liberty Bell, the Marine Corps emblem and a portrait of President Woodrow Wilson. The Statue of Liberty portrait, for example, was formed using 18,000 officers and men at Camp Dodge, Iowa, and stretched over 750 feet. The photo was apparently intended to help promote the sale of war bonds but  never used. Note the way spatial depth and perspective are defied - there are twice as many men in the flame of the torch as in the entire rest of the design!

Mole and Thomas spent a week or more preparing for these immense works which were taken from a 70-80 foot tower with an 11X14 inch view camera. They began by tracing the desired image on a ground-glass plate mounted on Mole’s camera. Using a megaphone, body language and a long pole with a white flag tied to the end to point to the more remote areas where the bulk of the troops would be stationed, Mole would then position his helpers on the field as they nailed the pattern to the ground with miles of lace edging. In this way, Mole also figured out the exact number of troops required. These steps were preliminary to the many hours required to assemble and position the troops on the day of shooting.

According to a July 3, 1986, story in the Fort Dodge Messenger, “On a stifling July day in 1918, 18,000 officers and soldiers posed as Lady Liberty on the parade grounds at Camp Dodge. … Many men fainted - they were dressed in woolen uniforms - as the temperature neared 105 degrees Fahrenheit.”

The monumentality of this project somewhat overshadows the philanthropic magnanimity of the artists themselves. Instead of prospering from the sale of the images produced, the artists donated the entire income derived to the families of the returning soldiers and to this country’s efforts to rebuild their lives as a part of the re-entry process.

When the demand for these photographs dropped in the 1920s, Mole returned to his photography business in Zion. But many examples of his patriotic photographs in true perspective still exist. Mole and Thomas images are in the collections of the Chicago Historical Society, the Museum of Modern Art and the Library of Congress.