Travel
By Scott Shephard
The student tour group I was with had almost a whole afternoon free in Florence and this is one of the unexpected photo opportunities we encountered. I think that doing chalk reproductions of Italian masterpieces on sidewalks would be a tough way to make a living. But you do get plenty of attention from people like me.
I can't help noticing her foot in this photo. Aren't these shoes for tight rope walkers?
By Scott Shephard
Dugi Otok means "Long Island" and I guess that's a pretty good description. It is 5km at its widest and about 50 km long. Deb and I spent 3 days at Sali, which is the largest village on the island. This shot is on the west side of the island, where we happened to be when the sun was setting. And, as I think you can see from the photo, it is a pretty spectacular spot.
By Scott Shephard
I was with a student group cruising the Greek islands when I took this picture and it is another good example of serendipity. I don't know why I was standing on the deck of the cruise boat when I spotted this lone man walking his dog along the quay on the island of Rhodes. Both of us were in the right place and the right time.
Canon 1DII 1/800s f/10.0 ISO320 300mm
By Scott Shephard
I was in Florence, Italy, the night the Italians beat the French in the World Cup Football Championship. Needless to say, as I tried to sleep, the Italians partied all night long. The next morning I was wandering around looking for photos, as I often do.
Around the corner from our hotel entrance, I found a newsstand loaded with papers proudly proclaiming the Italian victory. I don't speak Italian but I signalled that I wanted a photo and this was the pose that the news vendor struck. "Tutto Vero!" means "all true!" "Campioni del mondo" means "Champions of the World." Italians are passionate people but they are especially passionate when it comes to World Cup Soccer.
By Scott Shephard
The Paris Metro and a chance encounter between three of the world's 6.5 billion denizens. They will never meet again and the two disengaged women in this photo don't seem to really care. Guess which one of this trinity is a tourist?
If you look closely, you will see a ghostly figure in the subway window. He looks remarkably similar to this person (click).
Canon 20D 1/40s f/4.5 ISO1600 17mm
By Scott Shephard
I was waiting for the next metro at the Cavour metro stop in Rome. Having some time to kill, I took a few photos, including this one. The Roman metro stations are fairly dark so I used a slow shutter speed and in this shot I panned as the train came into the station. The graffiti ends up being blurred but the rather bored looking woman visible through the window isn't.
Canon 5D 1/8s f/4.0 ISO1000 24mm
Scott Shephard
Humans don't flock, of course. They march or gather or group. And "drafting," as mentioned in yesterday's post, only occurs at relatively high speeds. Thus, the guys playing the flutes are only able to get by with less effort than those in front of them because they were smart enough to pick little instruments. Notice the white leg guards on the drummers, by the way. I wonder how long that piece of equipment has been part of the uniform?
I should mention that this is the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace in London. Tourists flock there on a regular basis to witness the spectacle. Did I say "flock?" I meant "gather."
It would appear that I'm trying to score points with my in-laws in this blog over the last few days. But of all the photos I took in Alaska, this is one of my favorites. When we walked by the cut-out on the streets of Sitka, Alaska, my mother-in-law agreed to pose. But she didn't agree to be the "Picture of the Day." I guessing I'm out of the will. Again.
Canon 5DII 1/60s f/5.6 ISO100 28mm
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.
