travel Archives - Page 13 of 35

October 27, 2017

Another Vision of Venice

Here is another vision of Venice that I took from a boat. A vision is what best describes this place; it seems not entirely real. When you’re in Venice the real world seems to fade away and become distant. Venice holds its own kind of reality, like the fabled Brigadoon. And then the opposite happens, you leave and the magic dissipates and you feel that Venice was like a vision.

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Anyway, like some other photos I’ve produced, this was taken hand held at night from a boat. I’d normally use a tripod to get a better exposure with a lower ISO, but using a high ISO my camera’s sensor is able to recover most of the details of the night scene.

Do you ever notice that when you go to an amazing place you feel like you want to live there? Or maybe you feel like you’ve been there before. The excitement of seeing new places and the feelings it produces are why we travel in the first place.

more night photography

This is travel photography with a twist. It’s from a place that doesn’t seem real until you go there. It seems to have a reality slightly removed from the real world. Maybe I should call it vision photography, …or maybe not.

October 26, 2017

Corniglia

I took this photo of Corniglia from a small boat travelling along the Cinque Terre coast. It was a very hot day so sitting in a boat was a good option. We passed several little villages just like this and I was thinking it would be hard to imagine a more picturesque setting. The villages look remote and isolated but in fact are connected by trains, roads and a hiking path.

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In one sense it was a shame I only had a day here, but now I know where to come back for a proper visit.

more landscape images

When you look closely at these towns on the rugged slopes you realize they’ve taken centuries to build; the locations are most improbable. I believe they were originally properties of barons and such and the inaccessibility was a deterrent to pirates. Now they are communities with traditions, culture and hundreds of years of history. And based on the way they are built, I think they’ll be around for many more centuries.

October 25, 2017

Streets of Calata Doria

I snapped this while walking through the streets of Calata Doria in Liguria Italy. Try as he could, this gentleman couldn’t remember what he had for dinner last night. I offered a suggestion but he said they didn’t have a Taco Bell nearby. This is my version fake news.

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For some reason this man looks distressed but in reality I don’t recall that being the case, he was just taking a load off his feet and I happen to catch him with his hands just so. We all make expressions throughout the day that if taken out of context can send the wrong impression.

I feel a little like paparazzi when I take street photos of people. I prefer to have people look natural, but if they see me aiming they’ll react. The idea is to capture people unaware; it’s a more interesting study of human behavior.

The trick is to be as unobtrusive as possible. One technique is to line up a scene and wait for someone to walk through it. But if I’m too obvious folks stop and wait for me to finish, it gets a little awkward.

That Evening in Venice

Because I did not set the shutter speed correctly this image came out looking double exposed and blurry, like an impressionistic painting. This is not something I intended but looking at it now it feels a little like my memory of that evening in Venice.

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That Evening in Venice — My impression of that evening in Venice

In my short visit I experienced sights, sounds and feelings. The more I go back to look at the photos the more my memories are formed. But it’s totally subjective and what I remember is unique to me alone.

There is much in life I don’t remember because I never took the time to. If we don’t think about something it may not make an impression and is soon forgotten. However when we do, we build memories from our impressions.

Memories are like paintings, they are renderings, not true recordings. In the case of art, impressions are more important than fact.

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The sounds of the oars in the water, the chatter of the gondoliers, the lights of the overhead windows and the evening shadows across the buildings; all of these combine into an impression that is so perfectly preserved with a simple camera mistake.

October 19, 2017

Architecture and Frescos

I’m embarrassed to say I have no idea where in Rome this is, nor the name of it. I ran in here to escape the rain and was astonished by the architecture and frescos, not to mention the silence as compared to the busy street just outside.

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Architecture and Frescos from a church in Rome

A vertorama is like a panorama, only vertical. I took three images, the first at eye level and the third straight up. When they are stitched together they create a perspective that shows more than you normally see at a glance. It’s a little disorienting but fun to look at just the same.

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There were no signs warning against photography so I felt free to take my time and compose the image. Some churches will charge a small photo fee that I’m more than happy to pay. These churches are studies in architecture and art, it seems to me the more they are shared the better. I’d like to think I’m doing my small part to share this amazing cathedral with the rest of the world, completely free of charge.

October 16, 2017

Hotel W Barcelona

One evening in Barcelona we walked along the beach from one end to the other. At the far end is the Hotel W Barcelona, where we stopped for a drink before heading back. I took this as we walked away just after sunset.

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The architecture is unique but also bears a vague resemblance to Dubai’s Burj Al Arab, I think that’s why it caught my attention.

For miles along the beach are juice bars, ice cream shops, bistros and restaurants. Just a few minutes after taking this we stopped at an open-air bistro on the beach. Sitting next to us was our United Airlines flight crew from the day before. What was surprising was that they even recognized us; nevertheless we struck up a conversation and had a bunch of laughs as we enjoyed a fun evening with our friends.

more architecture photography

Europeans eat late and so as we walked back the hotel, the restaurants were still packed. It was fun to see and experience all of this and it’s something I could go back and do again in a heartbeat.

October 13, 2017

Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey

This is a panorama I took of Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey. The abbey is high up on a mountain known as Montserrat, which is the highest point in this section of Catalonia. Here I took five photos side-by-side that are stitched together, this is just the central section.

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The first thing you notice when you approach the area is the unusual shape of these rock columns on the mountain. Some people in Barcelona told us that there are faces in the rocks and I’ll admit I started to see them also when I stared for a while.

It is a working monastery with over a hundred monks in residence. We saw several in full robes as we walked around and explored. The abbey has been in operating for over a thousand years so the monks are maintaining a long tradition.

One of the most spectacular things to see is the inside of the basilica, however they don’t allow photography; notwithstanding that it’s still a must see with it’s ornate adornments and frescos.

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We drove a car up here but only later did I realize there is also a train and gondola from the bottom. In my opinion those are better options than the narrow hairpin road. There are also hiking trails up so if you prefer to walk up you’ll have no guilt consuming extra calories in the restaurants and cafeterias. No matter how you get here, you’ll not be disappointed.

October 12, 2017

Near the Old Cathedral

On my last night in Barcelona I walked around the gothic quarter until quite late. For some reason I always find cool things to see near the old cathedral.

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In this case it was some guy with a guitar singing classic ballads from Bob Marley, Tracy Chapman and others. He had a full voice and his melodies echoed against the walls of the ancient cathedral. When I first came upon him there were only a three people listening, but within fifteen minutes he had gathered a crowd of thirty.

He was so good that it left an impression on me and I can still hear him in my head. But I think it’s not unusual for a summer nights in Barcelona. That’s why it is one of my favorite places to hang out.

more night photos

Scenes like this are very much why I like street photography at night. There is a completely different atmosphere and mood, and when that is combined with amazing architecture and music it’s irresistible.

October 10, 2017

Hilton Molino Stucky

This is the Hilton Molino Stucky in Venice. I took this in the evening from a water taxi as we passed by. The moon was full and I managed to snap this just as it appeared over the spire. The clouds created a dramatic effect and I was actually surprised this turned out at all.

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I used an aperture of f1.8 and an ISO of 10000 and a shutter speed of 125th of a second. All that translates into an ability to take hand-held photos at night from a moving boat. I’m still amazed that this is possible even though I’ve had my Sony camera for a couple of years now; compared to what was possible just a few years ago it’s phenomenal.

the european gallery

The hotel is on the island of Giudecca and there is a lot to see here including art galleries, ancient churches and, of course, the city of Venice right across the water. I can imagine that the night view of Venice from the roof top bar is well worth whatever they charge for a gin and tonic. I think the hotel also has its own water taxi for guests.

As for me, it’s all on my list for the next time I return.

October 5, 2017October 5, 2017

Stray Away from the Main Square

I wasn’t in Venice long but managed to walk along the city edges one afternoon where I saw things resembling normal life. If you stray away from the main square you eventually end up in areas were things are a little quieter. I have no idea who this man is, but looking at this several weeks later reminded me of what I was thinking about at the time.

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Stray Away from the Main Square in Venice Italy

Amongst the canals and stone houses are things like a grocery store, a florist and a hospital. I saw city workers picking up the trash. It was those kinds of domestic norms that I found oddly comforting. Walking through an unfamiliar environment can be a disorienting until you recognize things that we have in common, then it starts to feel a little less foreign.

other images with a bridge in it

It’s nice to see the historic squares and cathedrals, but seeing how people live day to day is just as interesting. W all go through the similar routines of life, yet we are also products of our environment, language and culture. So casually observing the interplay of these in a quiet section of town can be just as fulfilling as standing in the middle of St Marks Square.