There are a two things (among many) that one remembers after visiting Amsterdam, namely canals and bikes. While the canals are not quite as numerous as Venice, Amsterdam is often referred to as the "Venice of the North". This friendly city is home to almost 62 miles of canals, with 1,500 bridges connecting the 90 islands that are part of Amsterdam. Many of the canals are lined with bars and restaurants that create unique settings. On this afternoon, we stopped at a bar and had a few drinks, taking in this view. The light and shadow on the building, the bikes along the one bridge in sight, and the swan swimming serenely made this a scene that screamed photo.
The Sentinel
Happy New Year to everyone. I thought I would start off the year with a photo from one of my favorite places to visit and photograph, Monument Valley. Located on a Navajo reservation on the Utah/Arizona border, it has been the backdrop for famous movies (The Searchers, Stagecoach, Easy Rider, to name a few), untold number of commercials and even music videos (Metallica).
Despite the commercial appeal, Monument Valley is such a spiritual place, and revered by the Navajo culture. Each formation has its own name and meaning. This formation is known as Sentinel Mesa, and I wanted to give it some scale by showing the building and homes. The formations in the park seem like they sprung up from nowhere in the otherwise flat landscape.
The Whale's Tail
This is an image of a hump-back whale taken outside of Juneau, Alaska. We signed up for a tour that took us on a boat designed for photographers. It worked out really well as the weather was quite rainy and being able to shoot while staying dry was priceless. This was a challenge to get only one tail as we were fortunate to find a group of 13 whales performing "bubble net feeding". They usually come up to the surface as a group and timing it to get the last one when they dive takes patience. Thank God for high burst mode on today's cameras. I probably shot 1,000 photos in that mode and tossed about 950 of them but the ones left were pretty decent.
The Rugged Outdoors
The diversity of Badlands National Park is simply amazing. I previously posted a number of photos that illustrate the jagged peaks and miles of rock eroded by the elements. This image shows the mounds and grasslands that are also prevalent in the park. It must be clear to you that Badlands is a must-visit park. It took me too long to get there, as it is in the middle of the country, and I have always tended to head west. I won't make that mistake again, and I will return to South Dakota again. I hope that you put up with my fascination with this place.
City Layers
San Francisco has so many attractions and places to visit that it is hard to fit everything in. One such attraction is Alamo Square, where the famous "Painted Ladies" can be seen. The painted ladies refer to a row of Victorian houses painted in colors that make the architectural details stand out. I was surprised to find out that their nickname was only established in 1978 with the publishing of a book.
Alamo Square gives visitors a unique perspective that show the Victorian houses that were built in the 1890's with the city layered behind them as a backdrop. On this day, I had a layer of clouds and sky that resulted in four layers.
Lego Ness Monster
Look what I got for Christmas! Okay maybe not, but I am sure my fellow blogger Chris Nitz is jealous. Chris sometimes inserts toys into his wonderful images and I thought I would pay homage to him by going "big" for my first "toy". This amazing lego piece can be found in the lagoon outside a large lego store in Downtown Disney. I don't know if Chris has ever visited there, but I can imagine him going in and never coming out. The store has some even more impressive lego pieces from Star Wars to just about anything else.
By the way, sorry for the corny title.
Merry Christmas 2013
Just a quick post wishing you and your families a wonderful Christmas and Holiday Season. I hope Santa was good to everyone. This is one of the Christmas trees at Epcot's Candlelight Processional taken right before the orchestra and choir began singing holiday songs.
Mickey Meets Mario
Here is a shot from our Disney World trip earlier this month. We decided to visit the Magic Kingdom during "Mickey's Very Merry Xmas Party". In essence, Disney closes the park at 7pm and sells a second admission price for those who want to attend the party (leave it to Disney to figure out how to get more money). Despite the price, the party is well worth it with an elaborate parade, fireworks and a hard to describe animation that uses Cinderella's Castle as a "movie screen".
The castle show is hard to describe and there are a large number of scenes, pictures and animations that flash quickly before your eyes over a 15-minute interval. It is very difficult to describe, but it is quite amazing. People line up to get a good view about 90 minutes before the festivities start. It is extremely difficult to photograph given the lighting, speed of the animation and the crowds. I shot with my Sony NEX-7 at 6400 ISO and just kept shooting.
This is one of my favorite scenes. A 1980's depiction of an old-time video game (I think it may be Mario Brothers but could be wrong). If you ever have the chance to visit Disney World at Christmas time, don't miss Mickey's party.
Deep Blue
Back from a two week hiatus from the blog in time for Christmas week. Our trip to Disney World was terrific and while I didn't shoot that much, I will be posting a few shots this week. Before I do, today we revisit a really cool location in southern Oregon, Crater Lake National Park.
There are two things that I remember vividly from the park and that is Wizard Island and some of the bluest water found in the world. The water is some of the purest that you will find anywhere, and the blue color is simply amazing. When researching the reason for why the color was so blue, I found the answer on the National Park Service's website (paraphrased in the next paragraph).
The water is so blue because there is hardly anything else in it. The water molecules found in Crater Lake contain no sediments, algae, pesticides or pollution, making it very pure. The water molecules absorb all of the color spectrum of sunlight except for the blues. The key to creating the deep blue color is having enough water to absorb the other colors. Since there are 4.6 trillion gallons of water in the lake, there is no problem.
Headed to Disney
As you are reading this, we are in transit to Disney World as part of what seems to be an annual visit to see the park all dressed up for Christmas. I won't be posting next week and I will try to catch up when I get back. This photo is actually from Disney's resort in Hilton Head. There was a chair that was missing and I chuckled as even the rust left by it was in the shape of Mickey's head.
The Lone Buffalo
There are many diverse attractions that make South Dakota a vacation destination. It wasn't until I started planning a stop there as part of our cross-country trip that I realized how diverse it was. Within a days drive apart, there are two National Parks. One, Badlands NP, has some of the most rugged landscapes that I have visited, while the other, Wind Caves NP, is contained below the ground. From a historic perspective, the gamut runs from granite memorials (Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse) to the rolling hills of Custer State Park (shown in this photo). This area is definitely a hidden gem that I plan to revisit soon.
When I composed the scene above, I wanted to capture the beauty of this park nestled in the Black Hills of southwestern South Dakota. It wasn't until I began editing the photo that I noticed the lone buffalo in the upper right portion of the frame. I wanted to leave him in (lone buffalo are almost always males) to give some scale to the scene.
Humbled
Mountains are my destination whenever I feel the calling of the road. There is something about them that are spiritual and give me a sense of serenity. Maybe it is also a need to get away from the masses that is life in the northeast. It is hard to know exactly why. Others on the east coast flock to the miles and miles of beaches for their relief, but, for me, it offers little attraction unless I am there at sunrise or sunset shooting images.
It is interesting to me that mountains were created through very violent collisions of the Earth’s tectonic plates, yet they provide such peace and solace. Many Native American tribes have cultures that believe in and pay respect to the spiritual nature of mountains. I mention Native Americans as, that if family history is to believed, I may have some Indian blood in me. So maybe I am channeling those inherited beliefs.
Sorry to get all philosophical today. When I sat down to write this post, I was going to talk about the mountain range along this portion of the Alaskan coastline, and talk about how insignificant and humbling it feels when being in such a wonderful place.
Savannah Charm
One of the places that I have always wanted to visit was Savannah, Georgia. Savannah came onto my must visit list after I read the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil in 1994. I was not only captivated by the story, but also the history and architecture of Savannah that has earned it's reputation as the center of southern charm.
It took me almost 20 years to get there and I am very glad I did. The architecture in the city is very diverse and includes Federal, Georgian and Gothic Revival to name a few. I am known as a quick walker, but I stopped on almost every street to shoot another beautiful home. I don't know where this was taken, but I remember thinking to myself that I could see me living there, although I probably couldn't afford it.
Portland Head Light
This lighthouse is probably the most photographed in New England. One of the reasons is it's proximity to Maine's most populated city, Portland. Another reason is that it is adjacent to the 90-acre Fort Williams Park, with access to hiking, sporting fields, recreation areas and, of course, Fort Williams. I think the real reason is that it is quite the beautiful structure, and sits on a lovely stretch of the Maine coast on Cape Elizabeth.
The lighthouse was commissioned by George Washington in 1787. It is the oldest lighthouse in the State of Maine, although, when it was built, Maine was not yet a state (it was part of Massachusetts). The light measures 80 feet in height (about 100 feet above the water) and can be seen for 24 nautical miles.
This sunrise photo was taken on a beautiful August morning and I had the whole park to myself, except for a local cameraman that was there to show the sunrise as a lead-in for the local news.
Catching Some Rays
I hope all those who celebrate Thanksgiving had a great holiday. Many of us have eaten too much and just want to lay around the house (at least I do). So here is to relaxing for the day as this alligator was doing in the swamps of South Carolina.
Happy Thanksgiving
It has been a great year for me from a photography perspective. I have visited more places this year than I ever have in one year before. It all started with Key West in February, and was followed by an unscheduled drive cross-country with my son in early April. Home for a week, and then off to South Carolina for two weeks. A couple of months later, I was in the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone, home for two weeks, and then off to Maryland and Oregon for almost all of August. Back home for a week, followed by another cross-country trip back home. So I am very thankful that I have been able to enjoy the travel and photography.
I am also thankful for those of you who stop in to view my photos, leave comments, or simply "+1" on Google Plus or "like" them on Facebook. They make all of the efforts in editing my photos and writing a post all worth it. So thank all of you.
In closing, I found this image of a barn that I shot in Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts. For those of you who are not familiar with Sturbridge Village, it is a living museum of life in the late 1790's. I am sure that Thanksgiving back then had a different meaning than today.
Rural New England
There are many hidden gems in New England, and one of my favorite ones is the The Inn at Mountain View Farms in East Burke, Vermont. The farm was built in 1883 as a "gentleman's working farm". The owner built it to provide meat and dairy to his New York City hotel. The cow barn, pictured on the right, is one of the largest farm structures in existence in Vermont, and once was home to 100 cows.
Today, the farm is an active bed and breakfast from May to October ,and is also home to a non-profit organization that provides sanctuary to needy farm animals. It is a great place to explore, and, in addition to the farm structures, the inn has a spectacular view from the hilltop that is second to none, especially during foliage season.
Mural
The two things that you can be assured of when visiting the Vatican are that you will see (1) some of the most amazing art and architecture and (2) lots and lots of domes. I am not sure which dome this is (if anyone recognizes this, let me know its name) but I just fell in love with the mural in it. Even though the colors are fading a bit around the edges, it still is beautiful. Shooting at the Vatican can be challenging with all of the crowds and not being able to shoot with a tripod.
Overcast, Rainy and Foggy
Don't worry. There is nothing wrong with your computer's monitor. This photo is actually black and white on purpose. I know that the majority of my photos are color, as I love nicely saturated colors. I don't want anyone to think that I don't like B&W ((I do), but I believe that some photographers can see a scene and immediately see the B&W possibilities. Unfortunately for me, I am not one of those photographers.
On this wet, dreary, day on the Oregon coast, I was determined to shoot despite the weather. To add some interest to the image, I took a number of shots with a long exposure. When I went to edit this, the color version wasn't good, even though I really liked the scene. I decided to try a number of treatments to bring out the felling that I had when I shot it. The B&W version really worked and conveyed the mood I wanted.
Reflections of Fall
"All the leaves are brown and the sky is gray." Those lyrics from the Mamas and Papas song California Dreaming come to mind as I am writing this blog post. Fall in Connecticut is well past its prime, and, not being a winter person, I am already dreaming about California or anywhere else where it is warm.
Fall is my favorite season, but it doesn't last long enough. This photo was taken not far from my house in the American Legion State Forest, Barkhamsted, Connecticut. While not taken at the peak of the colors, it still was a beautiful scene to behold.