Earlier this week, I posted an early morning reflection that I took in Anchorage, Alaska on the first full day of our Alaska trip. I thought I would finish the week with an image I took in Vancouver, British Columbia on the last night of the same trip. After eating dinner my wife and our friends headed back to the hotel to rest up for our flight home the next day. The light was so spectacular that I just had to stay out and shoot until sunset. Again, the reflections were magnificent. I chose this image to post as I love the reflection in addition to the lines and patterns of the building.
The Castle on the Hill
High above the German town of St. Goarshausen in Rhineland-Palatinate is the privately owned Katz Castle. It is one of the 28 castles that we passed on a rainy day on our Rhine River cruise last September. The Katz Castle was built in the 1370's by Count Wilhelm II of Katzenelnbogen. It was bombarded by Napoleon in the early 1800's as it could not possibly be conquered from the valley due to its location on the mountain ridge. The castle was later rebuilt in the 1890's.
As we approached the town, the rain conveniently slowed down to a light drizzle and I was able to get a better view of how the castle dominated the town and mountain. I was able to quickly run out from under the shelter and capture this scene before the heavens opened up again.
Jetty Light
I have recently been going through some older images in an attempt to trim my photo processing backlog when I ran across this image that had already been edited but not yet posted. The image is from a couple of years ago when my son and I took a tour of New England lighthouses scouting for locations for his movie short. This light is located in Scituate, Massachusetts and is known as the Old Scituate Light (pretty original, huh?).
The light was built in 1811 and was "attacked" by the British in the War of 1812. The attack was repelled by two women who played their fife and drum very loudly. The British retreated since they thought the sound came from the Scituate Town Militia.
Anyway, after leaving Maine and fighting terrible Boston traffic (when is the traffic in Boston ever good?), we got to Scituate and headed out on the rock jetty. The wind was howling hard enough that the flag was fully on display. I had to hold my tripod to make sure camera didn't fall over.
Denali Drive-By
Trying to shoot images from a moving bus or car can be quite a challenge. This is especially true when you are on a tour and can't control when and where you stop. This was true when I shot this image from a bus tour of Denali National Park in Alaska. It was a dreary day when we ventured into the park. After spending a good part of the day there, we headed back to the hotel when the weather started to clear. I wanted to get at least a little blue sky and sunlight before we left.
The challenges of doing this from a moving vehicle are three-fold. First, the landscape is moving quickly by and I can't tell you how many shots I took that had either blurry trees or one big tree right in a particularly bad place. Second, shooting through a vehicle's window invariably adds reflections of the inside of the vehicle to the image. Lastly, when there is a good shot on the other side of the vehicle there always seems to be someone in the way.
There are some techniques that help minimize these challenges. Shoot in burst mode holding the shutter button down. Yes that will result in a ton of bad images, but there will be a small number (like this one) that come out good. Yes, you will be deleting a ton of bad images but at least you got one. Second, to reduce reflections, hold the lens so that it is flush with the window, which eliminates the reflection. This sometimes works but it may not result in a great composition. The alternative is to watch for the reflections in the viewfinder to minimize them enough that you can fix in post-production. A great solution is to use a product that I use, Lens Skirt (unfortunately I didn't have this when I shot this image) that is perfect for eliminating reflections. Finally, when the subject is on the other side of the vehicle and there is no way to shoot it, relax because getting frustrated is not going to get you the shot (easier said than done).
If you have any other advice for shooting from moving vehicles, post them in the comments.
Anchorage Reflections
Whenever I visit a new city, I make it a point to try to get out early to shoot before the city wakes up for business. This is a ritual that I try to do whenever I travel. On this morning, I was in Anchorage, Alaska for one night waiting for a bus to take us to McKinley Lodge. We had arrived the afternoon before from Connecticut and after a dinner at Humpys (featured on Man vs. Food, highly recommended and no, I didn't try the Kodiak Arrest challenge) hit the bed early. I woke up before dawn and headed out onto the streets of Anchorage.
The morning was glorious and the streets were deserted. The sun provided for some of the best reflections that I had seen in quite a while. This image is one of my favorites although I have a number that I really like.
Amsterdam Transportation
When we visit Europe, we are always careful to watch where we are walking as the traffic in European cities can be treacherous for pedestrians. This usually keeps us on the lookout for speeding cars but we were a little unprepared to watch out for Amsterdam's bike traffic. I have never been in a city so dominated by bicycles. Not only are there bike lanes on all of Amsterdam's streets, they also have their own traffic signals. For someone like me who worked in New York City and Philadelphia, when I see a light turn red, I think it is okay to cross. In Amsterdam, when the light changes red, it is for the cars only and the bikes still can proceed. I almost got run over several times (all my fault) until I got used to the ebb and flow of the bikes. This image is indicative of almost every street, lined with bikes everywhere. I wonder how they find their own bikes.
Key West Sunset
Last week we returned from our first visit to Key West. Talk about a relaxing time. We timed it perfectly as we missed the winter storm that dropped up to 3 feet of snow in Connecticut. We spent four nights there before heading back to Fort Lauderdale. The first day, we had driven to Key West from Fort Lauderdale and stopped at the Key Largo Conch House that was featured on the Food Network show, Man vs. Food. Everything was great and the featured conch fritters were awesome.
I wanted to get a few photos of the famed Key West sunset and the best place to take them is at the popular Mallory Square. When we got there, the square was packed (I can't imagine what it is like during busy season). I wasn't able to get a great spot to capture the sunset but thanks to my little Sony NEX7, I was able to shoot over the tops of people heads and the railing. This was my favorite image of the night as the sun went behind the clouds before it hit the horizon.
Sense of Scale
I love shooting landscapes and while I love the colors of the American Southwest, in my heart I am a mountain guy. My favorite mountains to visit is the Rocky Mountain range. The range is massive, stretching over 3,000 miles from British Columbia to New Mexico. The Rockies are home to 9 national parks and countless other state or provincial parks. They form the backbone of the Continental Divide in North America. The mountains are known for their ruggedness and attract tourists for outdoor activities such as hiking, skiing, fishing, snowboarding and mountain climbing (the highest peak tops 14,400 feet).
Wherever you go in the Rockies, you feel insignificant with the mountains towering all around you. I had this feeling when I captured this image. The location is the remote and gorgeous Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta. I really felt this sense of scale when composing the Prince of Wales Hotel. It looks like a small little place (it isn't) when compared to the mountain behind it.
Early Fall Drive By
Last week we returned from our too short of a stay in Key West to the Connecticut cold. In our absence, a huge winter storm dumped about 2-3 feet in New England. I guess you might say that we timed our trip perfectly. The only good thing about going back home is that winter only has a little more than a month to go. I thought I would post an image that I took this past fall of a farm that is about 15 minutes from my home. While the foliage was not at its peak, I really liked the color contrast and reflection of the barn.
Deserted Streets
I have posted numerous photos from one my favorite places in Europe -- Kotor, Montenegro. A major attraction of Montenegro is sailing the 15 miles from the Adriatic Sea through the Bay of Kotor and reaching the town of Kotor. The huge bay is surrounded on all sides by towering mountains that dwarf the towns and boats on the bay. We spent most of the day on a tour boat that took us onto the bay, visiting Our Lady of the Rocks (a church on a small island in the middle of the bay) and neighboring towns. When we returned to our cruise ship, we decided to head into Kotor. Kotor is surrounded by an impressive city wall built by the Republic of Venice. Venetian influence can be seen in the city's architecture. As there are only about 5,400 people living in Kotor, the streets were pretty deserted as we walked the town, giving me an opportunity to take photos without having to deal with crowds.
Golden
This image is another one that I decided to re-edit as part of my transition to my new site. Although I had been to San Francisco a number of times, I had never been to this side of the Golden Gate Bridge before. I took this image toward the end of our trip, which started in Yosemite followed by King's Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. After that, we headed down to Morro Bay and spent the rest of the trip driving and staying at different spots along the coast. We hit San Francisco and I had found out that the best perspective from the south side of the bridge was from Baker Beach. We headed there late in the day and arrived in the fading light. My wife, who is not a fan of sand, watched as I set up and took this shot. Her only comment to me was, "That is the most sand I ever had in my shoes."
Wall Peelings
Every winter, I try to escape the cold and head somewhere warm. We landed in Florida yesterday afternoon and plan to spend some time in Fort Lauderdale before we head to the Everglades and Key West. I will still be posting unless I have internet accessibility issues.
Today's image is from Philadelphia's Graffiti Underground located on an abandoned loading pier jutting out into the Delaware River. The underground is a favorite spot for paintballers and graffiti artists (as well as urbex photographers). While there are so many opportunities to shoot unusual compositions, I was really taken with this "wall covering" that had peeled away from the wall. The textures and lines in the covering led my eye toward the terrific vanishing point made by the column openings.
Golden Reflections
When my website was infected with malware earlier this month, I transitioned to a new website. One of the tasks that I needed to do was to export my previously published posts and import them to Squarespace. As part of going live, I had a chance to review my images and realized that there were a few that I really wanted to re-edit as my processing skills have improved since I initially edited them. This is the first image that I have re-edited.
This image was taken on a Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk a few years ago. Photo walks are a terrific way to meet new people and spend a morning walking around a location taking photos. The year I participated, about 30 photographers were set loose in downtown Hartford and took photos of everything they could find. This reflection on Hartford's Gold Building caught my eye and it turned out to be my favorite of the day.
Ten Centuries and Going Strong
Taos Pueblo is truly a testament to the culture and history of the Pueblo people. The Pueblo is approximately 1,000 years old and is located on a reservation of 95,000 acres. The Pueblo today appears much as it did when the first Spanish explorers arrived in New Mexico in 1540. There are approximately 150 people living at the Pueblo and do so with no running water and electricity. The residents are artisans who produce and sell traditionally handcrafted wares, such as pottery and silver jewelry. They are friendly and willing to tell you about their culture, art and way of life.
This image is of the Pueblo's most prominent architectural feature - a multi-storied residential complex built with reddish-brown adobe. The buildings are amazing for their age considering that they are 1,000 years old and are still occupied.
Reservoir Beauty
Fall in New England can be a wonderful time to visit to take in the glorious colors of the foliage. The only problem with visiting during foliage season is guessing exactly when the peak of the season will occur. Some years it is early October and other years it waits to November to peak. The weather and rainfall have a lot to do with it as well as where in New England you go. Elevation also is a factor along with the type of trees in the area.
Living in Connecticut, it is easier to tell when the foliage is peaking but it still isn't an exact science. My ritual is to take multiple drives around the state (usually in the northwest corner) to check out where and when the foliage will peak. This image was taken on an early drive when the foliage was still beginning to turn. The location is the Barkhamsted Reservoir which is about 20 minutes from my home. The reservoir was created in the 1940's with the building of the Seville Dam. It took 8 years for the reservoir to fill.
The Chapel
One of my favorite photos that I took last year was featured in this blog post titled "The Miraculous Staircase." I liked it so much that I sent the image off to Image Wizards to have a metal print made of it. For those of you that have never had a metal print made, I highly recommend doing so as the metal makes prints look absolutely awesome. The print now hangs proudly in my home.
The staircase itself is the dominant feature of the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe. It stands 22 feet tall and makes two 360 degree turns from the floor to the small choir loft above. Perhaps the most amazing thing about the staircase is that it was built with no glue or nails -- only square wooden pegs with no center support. Once a Roman Catholic Church, the Chapel now serves as a museum and can be rented for weddings.
I wanted to show a different view of the staircase than in the original post to better show its relation to the rest of the small chapel. If you are ever visiting Santa Fe, make it a point to spend some time at the Loretto Chapel.
Irish Green
Yesterday's post of the North Sea was from our British Isles cruise that we took a few years ago. I thought I would post today from the same trip. One of our ports of call was the wonderful city of Dublin, Ireland. We elected to take an early morning excursion to Powerscourt Estate before we spend the rest of the day in Dublin.
Powerscourt is a large country estate which is noted for its house and landscaped gardens covering 47 acres. The gardens are arguably the most beautiful gardens in all of Ireland. The grounds are meticulously maintained and the building, as seen in the image, is in excellent shape for a 13th century castle. I chose this perspective under a huge tree as I like the play of light and shadow on the lawn as well as the color contrast with the sky.
Intensity
Sometimes you get lucky and get a great shot when you least expect it. On this occasion, we were on a cruise around the British Isles and we had left the Orkney Islands around 6pm. Being summer and being so far north, it stays light very late into the evening. We ate dinner and retired to our room about 10pm. I laid down and began to doze off when the phone rang. Our friend Nancy was on the phone and said "Look at the guy, quick!" I jumped off of the bed, ran to the door, looked out the keyhole and saw...nothing. The hallway was empty. I called her back and told her there was no one there. Her comment was, "What is wrong with you? I said look at the sky! Bring your camera with you." I grabbed my camera, slid open the drapes and captured this image. Nice to be lucky and have a friend to help when you are not thinking or hearing straight. Thanks Nancy.
Welcome to My Revamped Website
As I outlined in yesterday's post, I have made the move from my self-hosted (Go Daddy) Wordpress website to a Squarespace hosted website. For those of you who receive my posts via RSS, subscribe to www.lensaltiel/blog to receive new posts from the new site.
So why did I pick Squarespace as the the new home for my site? First a little history. When I first launched my site, I picked Wordpress because it was a free platform and was very customizable. After loading Wordpress and buying a theme, I found that customization was not as easy as it sounded. It took me a long time to get the site the way I wanted it to look and function because I had no idea how to code. I struggled to figure out how to do so and literally searched the theme's forums looking for other people's requests who were trying to do what I wanted. I literally copied code out of the forum messages, tried it on my site to see if it did what I wanted it to do. If it did, great. If it didn't, back to searching. After finally getting the site looking like I wanted, it was off to find Wordpress widgets to try and see if I could get some functionality that I wanted. The whole process was daunting and I swore that I didn't want to go through it again and so when I launched the site two years ago, I avoided making any additional changes to it.
When the old site contracted malware a couple of weeks ago, it was the impetus to make a site change that I had been avoiding to do. In picking a new platform, I wanted one that did not require me to use code and was tighter from a security standpoint (while I don't know how my old site contracted the malware, I am convinced that the use of a customizable platform like Wordpress was a factor). I had heard of Squarespace through their sponsorship of several podcasts that I listen to. It sounded like a platform that met my needs so I signed up for a trial and gave it a go. Obviously, I liked what I saw and migrated my Wordpress site there.
For those of you who are thinking of trying it out, here is what I really like about Squarespace. Most important to me, you really don't need to to know how to code. The new site has been built by using their Layout Engine, which is really powerful. Changes can be made by dragging blocks of information around a webpage. The Layout Engine also allows for just about anything to be placed on a webpage from images to galleries to video to audio. You can even use code if you are so inclined. How it all works together does take a little time to learn but once you grasp the concepts, it gets pretty easy. Because it is more of a self-contained solution, there are not as many "widgets" available as the Wordpress platform. In my case, it helped to have the site be less cluttered and have a cleaner look. The other cool feature is Squarespace's new mobile application that keeps my galleries and images in synch with my iPhone and iPad. Pretty slick app although they need to build in slideshows.
There is one puzzling aspect to the site which I hope they fix in an upcoming release. Being a photographer, I want to use my photos in blog posts, galleries and other site pages. Rather than upload the image once, you must upload it every place you want to use it. Seems like a storage hog for Squarespace and an inefficient process for users.
Anyway, that's a quick look at my revamped site. Having only used it for about three weeks, I am sure that I will learn other ways and functionality that will help me to enhance the site. If anyone has any questions, I'd be happy to answer them.
Website Woes
I am sure some of you may have noticed my absence over the past couple of weeks. I wish that I had been traveling to some exciting locations shooting new images but that was not the case. My self-hosted Wordpress website was the victim of some vicious malware and was blocked by Google. Fortunately, I was able to get the aid of a friend to get the site to what we thought was malware free. That only lasted a couple of days, whereby the site came crashing down with a Wordpress programming error. Again, my friend came to the rescue and the Wordpress problem was taken care of. Mere minutes after the Wordpress problem was fixed, the malware reappeared and the site was again attacked. After about a week, the site has been now functional again.
Right around the time that the malware first appeared, I was considering changing the site design to something more clean looking. I took this opportunity to take a look around and see what I could find that would be a viable alternative to my Wordpress site. If you are reading this, the new site, hosted on Squarespace, is alive and well with my URL pointing to the new website. My next post will address why I chose Squarespace and how the transition went, both positive and negative.