It's been fun dusting off some old travel photos for this WC season. Here's a pic of the Alhambra for Spain today (haven't yet visited Argentina, sorry) #spain #granada #alhambra #travelphotography #islamicarchitecture

World Cup is back on, with France playing England today for third place. This is the gorgeous and imposing Chartres Cathedral #france #chartres #cathedral #blackandwhitephotography #classicmono

A pair of barn swallows posed nicely for me #bird #barnswallow #chicago #lincolnparkchicago #naturephotography

A bit later, I also caught this juvenile black-crowned night heron in flight #bird #heron #blackcrownednightheron #chicago #lincolnparkchicago #naturephotography

Eventually the heron's OS finished buffering, and it took to the air #bird #heron #greatblueheron #chicago #lincolnparkchicago

This guy stood so still for so long that I think he must have been downloading an update to Heron.exe #bird #heron #greatblueheron #chicago #lincolnparkchicago #wildlifephotography

Visited Lincoln Park's South Pond last night. This is the first great blue heron I've seen in the city for quite some time #bird #heron #greatblueheron #chicago #lincolnparkchicago #naturephotography

Happy Birthday to me! It's been fun posting daily photos -- I'm glad I started doing it. This is me from two summers ago, shooting the sunset on Antelope Island State Park, Utah. #utah #antelopeisland #sunset #landscapephotography

England-Norway and Argentina-Switzerland today. England is the only one I've visited so far. On our last trip to London, we spent an evening walking around the beautiful Temple complex. #england #london #dusk #window

Spain defeats Belgium today. This is an archway found in the Madinat al-Zahra, a ruined Umayyad city outside Cordoba #spain #cordoba #madinatalzahra #islamicarchitecture #blackandwhite

Morocco played valiantly but France is on to the semis. This is the Arch of Caracalla in Volubilis, a Roman ruin near Fes. #morocco #volubilis #romanruins

No WC today. France plays Morocco tomorrow -- I wish that could have been the final. Anyway, this is a nighttime view from the top of the Arc de Triomphe. #france #paris #arcdetriomphe #champseylsee #cityscape #nightphotography

The World Cup bids farewell to Egypt's team, and I lose another of the countries I have visited and photographed. This is Cairo's Al-Azhar Mosque #egypt #cairo #mosque #islamicarchitecture

Bummer of a game against Belgium tonight. Spain, however, moves on; this is a detail of an archway in the Alcazar Palace, Seville #spain #seville #alcazar #islamicarchitecture

I admit to harboring sports-hatred of El Tri (playing England today), but I have many fond memories of visiting Mexico. This is one of the striking beachside Mayan ruins of Tulum #mexico #tulum #mayanruins

Happy Birthday, America. For me, our national park system is an unalloyed source of pride. Here are some majestic purple-ish mountains in Grand Teton NP. #wyoming #grandteton #nationalparks #landscapephotography

I have several wonderfully weird photos of the astounding landscape of central Australia as seen out the window of a flight from Sydney to Perth #australia #landscapephotography #airplanewindow

Auf wiedersehen, Austria! Sending them off today with a photo of Vienna's opulent Kunsthistoriches Museum #austria #vienna #museum #travelphotography

I haven't yet visited Senegal, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina or the DR Congo, so here's a photo from England (Kensington Gardens) of a pair of Egyptian geese #bird #goose #egyptiangoose #england #london

Maybe I brought Morocco some luck yesterday! France doesn't need my help, but of the WC nations playing today it's the one I have the best photos of. This is the view from the upper Mont Blanc cable car station, with some hikers just visible on the right. #france #montblanc #landscapephotography

I've been watching a lot of the World Cup, and thought it would be fun to post photos from various participating countries I've visited. This is a set of bronze doors in Fez, Morocco (about to kick off against the Netherlands) #morocco #fez #architecturephotography #travelphotography

One more shot (for now) of a plover chick. They are so tiny and delicate! #bird #pipingplover #chicago #montrosepoint

Papa Imani shows how it's done #bird #birdinflight #pipingplover #chicago #montrosepoint

One of the little ones gave flight a (premature) shot #bird #pipingplover #chicago #montrosepoint #naturephotography

I got some photos of two of the four newly hatched piping plover chicks at Montrose Beach brooding with their mom (or dad? Not sure if that's Imani or Sea Rocket) #bird #pipingplover #chicago #montrosepoint

Looking east from Montrose Pier #chicago #montrosepoint #lakemichigan #landscapephotography

Moving on now from late evening to early morning at Montrose Point #chicago #montrosepoint #landscapephotography #lakemichigan

A sandpiper pair at Montrose Point #bird #sandpiper #chicago #montrosepoint #sunset #lakemichigan

Sandpiper in the waves at sunset, Montrose Point #bird #sandpiper #chicago #montrosepoint #sunset #lakemichigan

There were several other shorebirds of interest, including one of our resident piping plovers and this killdeer, all visible and active during a gorgeous sunset #bird #killdeer #chicago #montrosepoint #sunset