Travel
By Scott Shephard
We stopped at a road side look-out on the west coast of Maui. And as my three traveling companions leaned against the rail in the hopes of seeing whales, I couldn't resist snapping this photo. They weren't impressed when I showed them the photo. But they did see whales.
Our son Jon has a way of getting work that allows him to get paid to do things that others might do just for the fun of it. This summer he is in Sitka, Alaska, taking tourists on thrilling (and occasionally bone-jarring) rides in the waters around Sitka. The boat is a high-performance Zodiac-like vessel that Jon says will do 60 mph on smooth water.
In this photo Jon is giving us our instructions before we board the boat. Reassuringly, he tells his passengers that the orange suits they are wearing will keep them afloat if they should fall overboard. No one fell off - not even my 70+ mother-in-law. (And NO, I wasn't wishing she would. I love my mother-in-law. :-) )
Yesterday's Alaskan adventure was to motor to Kruzof island and ride Yama Rhinos (a heavy duty ATV) through the woods. This is one of many spots where hardwood trees have grown along the narrow, rough and pond-rich roads.
When we got back home around 8 pm, we were tired, dirty and more than a little sore. When our son, Jon, is leading us, quiet museums and art galleries aren't usually part of the itinerary. And that's OK with us!
Here's another one from the Raptor Center we visited in Sitka, Alaska. I don't know the story on this beautiful bird aside from the fact that he/she is a survivor who now has a permanent home showing off to photographers and other visitors.
For the tech geeks, I should mention that this photo is about a 3/4 crop, meaning that I threw about 3/4 of the photo away. I was wondering why I needed a camera with 23 million pixels and this photo is the answer. Of course, it helps to shoot with a lens like the 70-200 2.8L.
I'd like to say I'd captured this photo as I walked through the Alaskan woods. But actually, this is a photo of one of the many survivors being cared for at a raptor rehabilitation center just outside of Sitka, Alaska. Somebody had shot at this owl but fortunately it was only wounded. Hunters and power lines seem to be the biggest cause of birds needing rehab - not drugs and alcohol.
Scott P and I were waiting to catch the morning train to Paris. As busy as this train station is, I was struck by the peacefulness at the moment I took this photo. As I look at the picture, I am also drawn to the fact that the golden morning sunlight streaming in the windows echoes the golden color of the trains. I didn't see this when I took the picture. What I saw were all of the lines and curves and if you go back and look at my architectural photos, it's clear that I have a penchant for lines and curves.
This is my third cemetery post in less than a month. I hadn't planned on posting this particular photo because it really has no meaning outside of the context it was taken in. But people looking at my Croatia pictures have commented on it so I've decided to post it.
To help provide you with the context for this photo, you need to click here and then click here.
Now imagine strolling down the long arcade lined with family crypts (as seen in the first link) and coming to a crypt decorated with a skeleton with strange hands reaching out from the wall. Creepy. The cemetery is Mirogoj Cemetery in Zagreb, Croatia.
What are the hands for? Votive candles? Flowers? Who knows.
1/50s f/4.0 ISO400 105mm
I was in Denver a few years ago and as I wandered around looking for photos, I encountered a beautiful baby blue Vespa motor scooter. There was something about the two-layered mirror and the reflection of the building that struck me. I didn't take any photos of the whole motorcycle and I wish I had.
1/250s f/8.0 ISO400 135mm
Talk of Michael Jackson's final resting place inspired this post. This is one of many notable musicians buried in Vienna's Central Cemetery. To name a few: Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Strauss and (who could forget) Falco, the Vienna-born musician whose biggest hit was "Rock Me Amadeus," are buried in this cemetery. Mozart, unfortunately, is buried elsewhere in Vienna.
There are too many tourists in Venice, which is an irony I think I've expressed before - since I'm a tourist, too, when I visit the amazing city. The crowds and summer heat will wear you out but one of the particular charms of this place is that if you wander aimlessly away from the crowds, you can encounter streets like the one pictured here. And often at the end of the street, you will find one of the many canals that aren't subject to heavy boat or gondola traffic.
1/15s f/4.5 ISO400 30mm
Back in the days of film (the 20th century for those who wonder), I had been to Assisi with a student group and found this spot during the half hour or so I had to wander around on my own. I took a photo using black and white film and liked it except that the exposure wasn't quite right and the print I made from a film scan was a little too grainy.
So, a few years later, I was in Assisi again and I went looking for the spot. Given that Assisi is a maze of streets, I was a little surprised that I actually found it. And this is the photo I took.
Deb and I were out for a drive and found many mountain villages that were quiet and picturesque. In this case, I was able to use the trees to help frame the photograph. The orange things visible on the the left side of the photo are nets that are laid out under the olive trees they are attached. They catch the olives during harvest season.
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