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So, after 21 hours of door to door travel, we found ourselves in our nice little Roman hotel, the Hotel Sonya. We were, understandably, feeling pretty burnt, hungry & tired. After a quick lunch (pizza, of course, and it was pretty good) we showered, napped for an hour and then hit the streets for fresh air and exercise in an effort to beat the jet lag.
It seems to have worked.
We wandered for hours before eating dinner in a very nice little restaurant. Wandered for almost 5 miles according to my GPS, in fact. My injured feet can attest to that. The sights we saw! Old (OLD) architecture and fashionable Italians! I did, of course, take a couple of photos. It’s hard to separate the wheat from the chafe on a mini-iPad, but here are just a couple from our day.
Patti, Nicky & Nora getting organized
9/1/13
We’re doing something a bit different for our major vacation this year, at least for us. We normally like to remain independent and keep flexible when traveling. We’re not big on the thought of taking a cruise on one of the huge ships that we see in Port Canaveral or going to an all-inclusive resort, although we have a lot of friends who swear by them. We can understand the attraction, but we generally prefer to maintain the option of detouring from our itinerary and seeing what lies up a road or around a corner. Some of our best travel memories are as a result of an unplanned activity. We’ve stumbled across ruined castles in Ireland by following a tiny sign on the road, and took a walk in a slot canyon by the side of a road to nowhere in Utah because the locals told us where to find it. I found a beautiful set of waterfalls in North Carolina just a 10 minute drive off of an interstate because I needed to take a break from driving. After reading a flyer on a lamppost in Paris, Patti saw a soprano give a recital in the church the locals used before Notre Dame was built. (I don’t have a photo of that, so here’s one from a department store lit up for Christmas. The enthusiasm for the lights was a surprise to me; all the stores did it.)
This year, a change. We decided to take a tour, of Italy, on a bus.
We are taking a Rick Steves tour: The Heart of Italy in 9 Days. If you don’t know, Rick Steves has been doing Europe-based travel shows on PBS for decades. We decided to give it a try for several reasons: small groups, small, usually family-owned lodging, local guides and plenty of solo time (at least half a day and a dinner on our own everywhere we go). We also thought that it would be nice to have the art, architecture and history interpreted for us. We’re taking a bit of extra time in Rome and Florence before and after the tour, so we’ll still have time to get lost. Stay tuned here, as we’ll attempt to post while we’re galavanting about Italy.
So, hopefully, whether while on the tour, or on our own, we’ll stumble across our next best memory.
Ciao.
Ballcarberry Castle
Ireland, 5/4/03
Slot Canyon near Boulder, UT
8/1/12
Pearson Falls near Saluda, NC
9/11/11
Paris, France, 12/6/05
Animal Kingdom, 7/21/13
A few weeks ago we went camping at Disney’s Fort Wilderness (camping being a relative term at Disney). Now, camping anywhere in Florida in July is not something we normally do, but we had family coming in from Baltimore that had rented a cabin there for the week and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to spend some time with them. On one of the days we were there we joined them for a day at Animal Kingdom. Patti and I had been there once before many years ago and I knew that this was a target rich environment for photography. So I threw the long lens onto the Canon and off we went.
Our expectations were met. It was hot, as July Florida is, it was crowded, as Disney any time is, and I got plenty of good photos of various critters. I read somewhere on the Internet of a photographer that never tires of Animal Kingdom because the animals are always different. I would certainly agree with that, but at $90 a pop I won’t be making a regular habit of shooting there. Still, we had a great time wandering the park with our family and getting the chance to experience a bit of Disney with a 12 year old boy.
(Happy now, Bill?)
Note the second cat in the background.
Animal Kingdom, 7/21/13
Yes, he’s making a rude gesture.
Animal Kingdom, 7/21/13
This guy is resting on the back of another hippo. There was a whole bunch of them piled together.
Animal Kingdom, 7/21/1
Animal Kingdom, 7/21/13
Animal Kingdom, 7/21/13
Animal Kingdom, 7/21/13
Animal Kingdom, 7/21/13
The Intrepid Pilot & his new toy.
Merritt Island, FL, 6/8/13
The other day a friend called and asked if I’d like to take a quick flight above Cocoa Beach. It seems he has a buddy that needed some photographs of his property. He knew I had expressed an interest in going up in his new (to him) plane so he gave me a call. Of course, I jumped all over that, so I found myself Saturday morning in a tiny plane taking off from the Merritt Island airport for a quick jaunt over the beach. It was a fun 45 minutes.
His new plane is a Liberty XL2, a two seater with exceptional visibility. It is a peppy little thing and fairly leaped off the runway. We were over south Cocoa Beach in just a couple of minutes. He pointed out the property of interest and circled it while I shot it from all four sides. He then asked to see one of the shots to ensure I had got the right building. I hadn’t. We made sure I had the right one and made a few more passes until I assured him that we were good. For real, that time.
We took a short hop up the beach…I shot our favorite watering hole, The Beach Shack, and got a few of Port Canaveral before we had to head back for other commitments. I had a great time and hope to head up again when he has more time. I also learned a few things about shooting from a small plane to apply next time. While I feel that there’s room for improvement in most of the shots I got, the ones we were after are “good enough” to answer the mail. Here’s a few that are OK.
(PS: If you are in the need for an air charter in or around the Florida region, drop me a line in the comments and I’ll hook you up with these fine folks.)
Beach Shack on the right, Coconuts On The Beach on the left
6/8/13
Cocoa Beach Golf Course
6/8/13
South Cocoa Beach, Patrick Air Force Base in the distance
6/8/13
Submarine pen at Port Canaveral, launch complexes in the distance
6/8/13
Cruise ships in Port Canaveral
6/8/13
The Intrepid Pilot, his S.O. & their roomier plane
Merritt Island, FL, 6/8/13
Edinburgh, Scotland, 6/7/10
Back in the summer of 2010 we went to Scotland. That trip was actually the catalyst for this blog; we posted from most of our stops throughout the trip. We had a blast and learned a lot about the country. We also learned a lot about Scotch, whisky without an “e” (whiskey everywhere else has an “e”). While we were in Edinburgh, our first stop, we went into the Royal Mile Whiskies shop in order to get advice and to procure some libations to both enjoy during the balance of our trip and to bring home. The very nice gentleman in the shop suggested we go to a bar down the street where we could enjoy a flight of Scotch (4 different kinds) then return and make an informed purchase. Which is what we did. We came back and told him the one we liked the best and he burst out laughing. We have expensive taste — it was $150. We didn’t buy it. We suggested our second choice, it may have been Glenmorangie, and he refused to sell it to us. He said we could buy it in the states and that it didn’t make sense to lug back a bottle we could buy at home. He was a sensible man. He sold us a bottle of Balblair 97 and we went away happy.
The first (but not the last) distillery we toured was Glenmorangie. It was interesting, we saw cool stuff and learned how Scotch is made, but the highlight was in the tasting room. We had taken the tour with four English gentlemen and while in the tasting room we got to talking. I taught them how American Bourbon is made and they, in return, taught us how to properly drink Scotch, specifically Single Malt Scotch. The secret is to drink it neat (which we knew) and add just a touch of water (which we didn’t). Not a lot is needed, just a few drops, but it’s amazing what a change it makes to the flavor of the dram.
Whisky Cheat Sheet, Edinburgh, Scotland, 6/7/10
Since then I have been enjoying the pleasures of Single Malt Whisky. Not all the time, and not a lot, but regularly. And I’ve started branching out. Up until recently I’ve been enjoying various types of Glenmorangie (which happens to be the best selling single malt in Scotland). If you’ll refer to the photo to the right, taken in the bar I mentioned in Edinburgh where we enjoyed that first flight, you’ll see that Glenmorangie generally falls into the lower right quadrant, Rich & Delicate. While in Scotland I recall enjoying the Talisker (another distillery we toured) and Oban, both of which fall in the opposite quadrant: Light & Smoky. And by Smoky they mean “Peaty” which needs to be experienced rather than described. With that in mind, recently I’ve been (really) enjoying the Laphroaig. Today I bought a bottle of the Ardbeg and thought I’d have a bit of a tasting (see the photo below). I’m not one to go all high-brow with the tastes (no “flavor of nuts with a hint of orange” for me)…it’s either I like it, it’s OK, or I don’t.
So, what’s the verdict? The Balblair was my least favorite, kind of bland to my taste. The Glenmorangie (a 12-year-old aged in part in Sherry casks) is good: light and not liable to overpower. The real winners in my eyes are the over-the-top smoky ones: the Laphroaig and Ardbeg. I’m not yet sure which I like best … I need to go try them again. Right now.
And I’ll be continuing my research in the years to come.
Note from the other drinker: John’s favorites are not mine. I do not like the smoky, peaty ones. At all. They taste, well, like liquid peat. If I have to drink Whisky, I prefer the Rich & Delicate flavors (or flavours, if you will). But really, just give me some rum.
The inspiration for this post, 5/11/13
Our English Tutors, Tain, Scotland, 6/10/10
Where the Magic Happens @ the Talisker Distillery, Skye, Scotland, 6/11/10
A pub in the middle of nowhere, Skye, Scotland, 6/13/10
The Oban Distillery, Oban, Scotland, 6/14/10
Everywhere we walked today, and we walked many miles, we saw flowers. Most of them were tulips, which came as a surprise to us. Our New York friends tell us that they are a common sight here since 9/11 when Denmark gifted them to the city. They certainly provide color to this city and a ready target for my camera.
So here we are in Manhattan enjoying the sights and showing the city to our friends who are here for the first time. The weather is beautiful and the people on the streets are, as always, interesting. I’ll be keeping this short because I’d rather be out and about than typing on an iPad, but here are some shots from yesterday that start to capture this place and the time we’re having.
Last time I talked about what I have. This time it’s how I use this stuff while we’re on the road. The type of trip we’re going to take obviously effects what I take and how I use it. A long weekend visiting family when I know it’s all about being social will usually involve the Point & Shoot and that’s it. If we decide to take a laptop along for other reasons then perhaps I’ll back the photos up to it, but I don’t consider that a requirement. Laptop means weight, as well as cables and chargers to hump around, so for a quick visit I just drop the P&S into the bag with (maybe) a spare battery. Easy-peasy.
For true vacations I bring more gear, both camera stuff and backup equipment. These usually fall into two categories. If we’re taking a car-based trip (like the trip last year to the Southwest or to Scotland a few years back), I’ll bring the 7D, most, if not all, of my lenses, miscellaneous crap and an appropriate bag to shlup it all around in. Sometimes I’ll bring the tripod or monopod if I can find the space in the luggage. I also bring the Garmin GPS. Every morning I start a new track on the Garmin and it’s off we go. I’ll shoot all day and, because we tend to go to “target rich environments,” I may take several hundred shots. When we finally end the day wherever we plan to lay our heads, I back this data up … and I’m a bit anal about this. My view is that we may only pass this way once so I want to ensure that I don’t lose anything. Historically we’ve taken a laptop, currently a Mac Air, along. This allows us the luxury of having a reliable storage location as well as serving as access to the web to update this blog. (Side note: this blog was started when we went to Scotland. Updating was easy pretty much everywhere we went.) I also back up the GPS track to the laptop, but this is a bit over the top, even for me. Once the data is on the laptop, I copy it to an external drive. I now have three copies of everything (originals, laptop, external drive) and I can sleep well that night.
We are currently experimenting with traveling MUCH lighter, particularly when heading to urban locations where we won’t have a car. In this case I take a much smaller bag with only the 10-22mm and 24-105mm lenses (and maybe the 50mm since it weighs next to nothing). Instead of the laptop, we take a mini-iPad which is nice for books and web access but, in my opinion, is woefully lacking for photo storage. I’ve solved this with the Sanho Colorspace Photo Storage Device (PSD). This little gadget rocks. It has card slots for both CF and SD cards. I just slide the cards in, hit a couple of buttons and the shots are sucked up and stored on the internal hard drive. It will even do incremental backups, so no duplicates are created. I can then attach my external drive and create a second copy (backup the backup). If I want to post some shots, I use the wireless dongle to transfer the selected shots to the iPad and use the mobile WordPress app to create a post. Light and compact. Sweet.
That’s the theory anyway. We’ll be testing this whole “travel light” scheme when we head to the island of Manhattan in the near future. Stay tuned for that.
Here are a couple of gratuitous shots, since this IS a photo blog. Concert shots.
RIP Richie Hayward, Little Feat
Orlando, FL, 3/5/06
Cesar Rosas & David Hidalgo, Los Lobos
Denver, CO, 11/2/06
The Nighthawks
Cocoa Beach, FL, 3/10/13
Coco Montoya
Indian Harbor Beach, FL, 2/25/07
My basic kit
Taken with my phone. When you’re taking pictures of your camera gear, you use what’s left over!
OK, so here’s the first in a series of posts that I’ve been meaning to do for awhile. To my wife’s relief, it will be a short series. I thought I’d post on a) what photo gear I travel with, b) how I deal with the photos I take while on the road and c) my process once I get home. See? Short series.
My main camera is the Canon 7D. If we’re going on what is potentially a “once-in-a-lifetime” trip this body is with me. Heavy? Yup. Worth it? Totally. It takes great pictures at a good pixel count and has all of the features that I could reasonably need, including a menu feature that allows me to change settings via the rear display. This feature is nice for this middle-aged photographer because the settings are displayed in a nice large font that does not require me to put on my glasses. It’s the little things in life.
I have finally arrived at what is, for me, a perfect set of lenses. I’m a firm believer in getting a good body and then investing in great glass. My basic walk-about lens is the Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS. On the 7d the focal range translates to about 38-170mm, which is more than adequate for most situations. My long lens is the Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS (effective focal length 112-320mm) and this thing takes gorgeous pictures. I love love love using it for portraits. It’s much lighter and smaller than its close relation, the 70-200f2.8L, but the image stabilization makes it a wash for me. I just wish it wasn’t white; it really stands out. For wide work, mostly landscapes, I use the Canon 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 (effective focal range 16-35mm). Again, beautiful shots. I once rented this lens for an urban photo tour I was taking. When I received it, I took some test shots with it. As I brought them up on the computer Patti walked by, saw them and said “you need that lens.” She bought it for me for Christmas that year. Does she rock, or what? The last lens I own is known as the “nifty 50”: the Canon 50mm f/1.8. Best bang for the buck out there … it’s now about $125, I paid about $70. It’s fast, extremely light and takes nice shots, particularly in low light.
We have a couple of point-and-shoot cameras. We have an Olympus 720SW “waterproof,” which I’m shocked to discover you can still get from Amazon. It takes great photos, even under water. We’ve had it for years, treated it pretty roughly and it keeps on taking nice shots. I can strongly recommend this line of cameras. Last summer we bought the Canon S100 for our trip to the American Southwest. I wanted a P&S that I could have more control over and, after researching the issue, decided on this. Patti ended up taking 900+ shots (and several videos), many of which you simply can’t tell weren’t taken with the DSLR. While limited in many respects, it completely fills the niche I wanted it to.
Two more significant items to mention: the Garmin Dakota 10 GPS & the Sanho Colorspace UDMA 2 Photo Storage Device. I use the Garmin to record my daily movement while on the road and utilize the tracks to tag my photos when I get home. More on this in a later post. The Sanho is my latest addition, allowing me to back up my photos to its drive, to an external hard disk, or even to an iDevice. Again, more on this later.
The rest of the gear in the photo is basic miscellaneous stuff: the Canon 580EX flash, Manfrotto mono-pod, CF cards, spare batteries, filters, cleaning equipment, etc…. I should point out that I do NOT carry all of this crap on every trip. If we’re on a car-based trip, I may bring most, if not all (plus laptops). When we go lighter, to an urban area for example, I carry a subset of what you see.
That’s my stuff. Except for my camera bags. Don’t even get me started on bags.
Outside Bozeman, MT, 6/30/07
Canon 70-200@135mm, f/4@1/125
Bryce Canyon, UT, 7/30/12
Canon 10-22@19mm, f/16@1/320
Catacombs, Paris, Fr, 12/8/05
Canon 50mm, f/2.8@1/30
Adult Cooper’s Hawk, Rockledge, FL 2/24/13
The Gray Cat and I were standing on the screen porch checking out the back yard the other day when a big brown hawk swooped by. He (she?) was about 10′ out and no more than 2′ off the ground and moving at a pretty good clip. He ended up sitting on a pole in my neighbor’s yard so I ran inside, grabbed the camera and went back out. I thought the shots came out OK, but he split to the power line after only a few. The image to the right is heavily cropped; megapixels to the rescue, but click on it to see it full-size. Nice. I liked it enough to want to post it, but I wanted to know what I was showing, so I emailed a copy to my buddy, George, and asked him a simple question: what is it?
George, as well as his partner Maureen, is an avid bird watcher. He lives in urban Baltimore and rural Virginia, regularly alternating between the two places. Many times I’ve been with him as he’s driving and he’ll gyrate in his seat pointing out some avian as we slow and weave. He and Maureen even went to Cuba with the Audubon Society for a bird census. If anyone could answer me, he could do so pretty simply and straightforwardly: “Why that’s a <insert bird here>”. A few words and done.
Nope.
I received 2 emails back-to-back asking questions: “was it in FL?”, “how big’s the pole?”. Then I got my answer. And a few words:
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Well, it is a Cooper’s Hawk, Accipiter cooperii. That was my first guess since it is the most common accipiter on the East coast from Florida to New England. Adults measure 16-17 inches and that jives with the scale (I actually scaled your full photo with my architect’s scale 🙂
It could have been a Sharp-Shinned Hawk if it were 3/4 of that size but they are less frequent. Likewise it could have been a Northern Goshawk if larger (X 1 1/4) and you took the photo in GSMNP. Goshawks don’t go down to Florida though. They are a sensible bird.
Accipiters are “bird hawks”…as their main diet is birds (but they will also take lizards and the like, so that Cooper’s is probably loving it in your backyard) I occasionally see them on our property in Rappahannock County. They dash in from the woods in a burst of speed and snatch a bird from our bird feeders then fly off. Even had a Cooper’s frequenting my back yard when I lived on Pilgrim Rd. in Baltimore. They are everywhere. Awesome predator. They can dart through woods with amazing speed and maneuverability due to their feather design…something to watch! I’ve had the good fortune to witness it several times. Mother Nature’s original stealth fighter.
I know, I know…This is probably more information than you need or want to know…and don’t get me started talking about Buteo hawks. Caption the photo as an adult Cooper’s Hawk.
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He can talk like that about trees, too.
George, 1/14/12
The World as We See It 