Thanks for the camera advice, guys. There's a great little independent camera shop in town and I'll see what's available there.
Wow ... so many fantastic photos over the past month! I'm rather envious of so many of them! I managed to make my way to the Washington, DC area for about a week. Here are just a few from the day on the National Mall: Washington Monument: Smithsonian Metro Station: The Lincoln Memorial: The brand new Spring Hill Station (on the newly operational Silver Line): From the Air & Space Museum: And, of course, the obligatory USS Enterprise shot:
I'm not sure there would have been time in the schedule, but it wasn't a consideration because the Nats were in Cincinnati at the time.
Point of Order: You might mean "Spring Hill" Station. Silver Spring is about 30 years old and on the red line. Awesome pics.
^ Indeed. Thanks for the clarification (and the compliment on the pics). For some reason, I had "silver" on the brain. Correction has been made.
Thanks, SD! One of my friends has been using a lot of processing on her photos and that inspired me to do something a bit more stylized (including the angled orientation). It's good to step out of my usual "photo realistic" comfort zone once in a while. But back into that zone, here's a shot from Colonial Williamsburg:
Thanks, Kes! Colonial Williamsburg is fantastic. It's by no means unique in terms of historic villages (Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts, where I went on a field trip with my 7th graders one year, comes to mind). But Williamburg has several things going for it. First is its size. It's really expansive. It's also incredibly beautiful. The buildings are all exceptionally maintained and the grounds are gorgeously landscaped. Very picturesque. There's also the historical connection to the nation's history. Virginia being such an important colony and state, there's a strong connection to Thomas Jefferson and his role in shaping the nation. And, of course, since it's been there so long, and has such a good reputation, the area around it has plenty of shops and things to do. Bottom line: You can get your historical village fix elsewhere, but it's still worth the time to visit. (If you want, you can see the rest of my Williamsburg photos here).
Ancient Mariner, had I mentioned before that I love you? Your pictures are awesome. Now that I think of it, actually I think I hate you. You are brilliant.
Instead of doing the usual tourist-y stuff (but I will do that occasionally, too), I tought it would be nice to take some pics of every-day Italy. These are a few photos taken around my town. (I live in a small town within commuting distance to Bologna). A lonely chapel along the road in the countryside. Not a pretty building by any stretch, but I liked how the blue rolling shutters just jumped out in the picture. Example of 60's cheap housing project. The school building in my town. A pretty typical example of civil architecture from the fascist period. Whoever chose the color scheme was either blind or drunk. The main church and parish house in my town. Well, it's Italy, what do you expect? Lots of churches around here.
Lovely! They're all striking but I think my favorite is one of the first ones in that set, the bed inside that bedroom. Beautiful. I really hope I can go there someday.
You know, I've really begun to appreciate the "everyday" kinds of locations and shots. Landmarks are fun and certainly iconic. But there's a subtle beauty to capturing the essence of a place - and you can only do that by taking shots of the lesser-know, less "glamorous" places. I really like your set for that very reason. Plus: This is a beautiful shot. Love the composition and the colors (same goes for your church and parish shot). And the rest of them are really great, especially the commentary that goes with them. Makes me feel like I'm really there. And thanks for the love and hate ... I know exactly how you feel! I go through that when I see other peoples' photos (kind of like your first one there). There's a rather intense combination of admiration and envy. Thanks, Kes! I really admire your interior, B&W shots and I was hoping some of mine would be of similar quality.
Haha you are so far out of my league! I don't have my camera at the moment actually, I lent it to my brother and his wife. They are travelling in Europe for a few weeks and my sister-in-law has expressed interest in photography so I was encouraging her to try it out. She seemed very excited and I'm looking forward to seeing some of their pics when they get back. It's part of the reason I got the camera anyway, so that other people could try it out and enjoy it.
Thanks guys! I am playing a bit with saturation and colour curves: I found processing can really improve a shot, even at my very basic level. Same here. I really appreciate the "everyday" pictures in this thread, because they let me see a different reality than my own. I've never been in the busy streets of New York, or the beautiful woods of Virginia, or the thriving fields of Iowa. So I really love seeing all that kind of stuff. At the same time, I realized that what seems boring or mundane to me because I see it everyday, doesn't necessarily translate in the same way for other viewers. So I hope people will appreciate them in the same way I do with theirs. Today I am leaving for holidays in Sicily, I look forward to take some pictures and share them here soon.
Iguana, beautiful shots, especially the the little chapel. Ancient Mariner, I agree that photographing what some call the mundane can be interesting. If nothing else, it makes you stop and look at your everyday surroundings with more appreciation. Having said that, here's an iconic photo. My husband, our sons and I went for a meal at the Fingle Bridge Inn (just visible in the photo) this afternoon. The Fingle Bridge may date back to the 14th century though written records of it don't go back until about the 17th century. It spans the River Teign in Dartmoor, and the entire area is surrounded by beautiful woodland, much of it owned by the National Trust. The Inn itself, however, dates from the 20th century as there was never an ancient inn here, though there was a mill close by. I think it goes without saying we didn't walk up that hill! I'm pleased with how this photo turned out considering I took it with my phone. This was about a half-hour drive from home, including 15 minutes along a slightly scary twisting, turning, hilly, mostly single-track road where you had to remember where the last passing place was that you drove by in case you met traffic coming in the opposite direction. The joys of rural driving. On a more mundane level, however, either Hagrid, Hodor or Worf installed the mirrors in the ladies' room at the Fingle Bridge Inn. Okay, I'm only 156cm tall, but come on.
That's a beautiful picture. You can almsot hear some Georges Delerue or Rachel Portman music playign to it.