Heads Up (BW)

@Rahul: Thanks for the compliment. But even more, thanks for your thoughts on the image.

@Michael Rawluk: Thank you for checking them both out. I appreciate your opinion.

@ColNed Pictures: Your comments are appeciated as always. Thanks, ColNed.

@tyan: Poet? I wish I had written those lines. I simply "borrowed" them from Procol Harum, the band, and applied them to my image. But you do me great honor to even suggest this. I appreciate your compliment very much, tyan.

@dee: Am happy you like this one. Thank you for looking.

@Craiger: Coming from you, the King of Death Valley awesomely awesome images, is a very high compliment Craiger. Thanks.

@bronzebilly u.k.: Old enough? I remember Procol Harum like it was yesterday. And this song is one of their best. Remember "Whiter Shade of Pale" as the other great one? But I digress. You are paying this image high compliments here, my friend. What I especially like about this one is the little-noticed detail that I took it with my pocket point and shoot Pentax one day, as a mostly "grab" shot. Which goes to show that anyone can (yes even I can) do all the framing inside the camera and come out with a pleasing image. Plus, the amusing irony that it isn't from my far more pricey and vaunted Nikon D50, makes it particularly special to me.

@Lorraine: Thanks Lorraine. Glad you like this one.

@Carson: Thanks for coming by.

@Rebecca: You are very kind Rebecca. Your comment here is one from the heart. Thank you.

@Brian: Thank you Brian.

@Balpa: Thank you for commenting today Balpa. Went to your site and very much like the image there. The strange plant in bloom you pictured is what we used to call the "century" plant in New Orleans. It was so named because it did not bloom frequently, but anecdotally seemed to bloom only once in 100 years.

@Josh: LOL. The question is: which century? The 20th c. of Procol Harum? Or that of Desoto and the conquistadors? Thanks and glad this one works for you.

@Olaide: Thank you, friend. A disturbing fact: you can't download the original "Conquistador" song from itunes or any other legal site. So now that I have re-connected to that song, am I going to have to go and buy a greatest hits cd? I hope there is one other than the live version, which I don't especially like nearly as well as the studio version.

@alla: Glad you do like it; they do seem to fit. But the "poem" is also a song from the 1970s by a group called Procol Harum.

@Dawn Sutherland: Many thanks for this, Dawn. :-)

@See The Light: Your observations on this one are much appreciated.

@MaryB: Yes, I do agree now. While I like the color version for what it is, I am very pleased with the visual impact of the contrasty BW version here today.

Ah, "Conquistador." It is a great song. And it brings me back to another time too, with good memories flooding back. Today Procol Harum music is not easy to come by; I ordered a greatest hits CD this afternoon from Amazon so I could get "Conquistador." It's not available as a single on itunes or any other MP3 download site. That was a surprise.

Plus it does connect well with this pic. There's this national monument/park here in Bradenton that is somewhere around the site Hernando DeSoto made a landing for an exploratory junket.

This area was not colonized by the English. It was strictly Spanish and French turf in the way back times. As a kid growing up in Louisiana, the history of the French explorers like LaSalle and Bienville, and Spanish conquistadors like DeSoto was always a fascination. Florida and Louisiana share many of the same Spanish historical figures from that period.

Anyway, thanks again for commenting and following up. Blessings to you MaryB.

@Stunner: Thank you Stunner.