Monday, March 28, 2011

On the Sea of Cortez

Baja California, Mexico, somewhere between Loreto and Puerto Aqua Verde, Mexico.

There is no easy way to get to a place like this, especially overland. If there is a road anywhere nearby, it is likely unpaved. Worse, it may be a one lane road without guardrails, winding through steep hills. On the rare likelihood you encounter someone else on the road going in the opposite direction, one of you had better be pretty good at driving backwards until you reach an area wide enough for two vehicles.

The group I was with took an easier way. We arrived at this point after about four hours of paddling a kayak. A power boat would have been easier, but that was not the purpose of this trip.

This photo was processed with a painted effect.


Saturday, March 26, 2011

Spring Rain on Evergreen

Saturday Archive Photo Day.

Beginning today, I will reach back into the Roads Less Traveled archives and repost a photo previously posted at least six months ago or more, as a service (I hope) to those who have just recently discovered my website.

Spring Rain on Evergreen.

This photo was taken quite a few years ago, when I was still living in NJ, USA. Although it was taken in the USA, this is the sort of photo that could have been taken in many places. This photo has a painted effect applied.


Friday, March 25, 2011

It's Another Simena Sunrise (HDR)

There's a saying among photographers regarding a sunrise or sunset. "If you don't like the sunrise/sunset, turn around." On this day, I got several good sunrise shots by shooting in the direction of the sun. But I got this one by putting the sun behind me.


Wednesday, March 23, 2011

The Garden of the Gods

The Garden of the Gods is a public park located outside of Colorado Springs, Colorado.


Monday, March 21, 2011

St. Volodymyr, through the trees.

Website Update:

Did a small update on the website over the weekend, changing some fonts a bit. I hope you like it!

Changing fonts in the past was generally a hassle, because you were limited to using fonts that people were likely to have on their computer. Some people had one set of fonts, other people had others, and in the end, there were about five fonts everyone was likely to have. Now you no longer have to depend on what people may or may not have on their computer. Google has collected numerous fonts, available for free, and have made them available to everybody.

St. Volodymyr, through the trees.


Friday, March 18, 2011

Big Doors, Uzhgorod

Seen on a school in Uzhgorod, Ukraine. Yes, it's the doors that are big. It's not small people.


Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Windmill at Mamaeva Sloboda

• HDR Photo

Although this appears to be way out in the country, this is well within the city limits of Kiev. This is part of a cultural history park, similar to Pirogovo, which I had posted a few photos of last summer. It is in this same park that I photographed the photographers and the swimmers.


Monday, March 14, 2011

The National Philharmonic, Kiev

The National Philharmonic Society of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Національна Філармонія України), often referred to as Kiev Philharmonic and National Philharmonic, is a concert hall in Kiev, Ukraine.

The historic building founded in the end of the 19th century, standing at the end of Khreschatyk street in the European Square, has been a pride of the city ever since its creation. Throughout the centuries it has hosted numerous Russian composers such as Sergei Rachmaninoff, Alexander Scriabin, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and famous opera singers like Leonid Sobinov and Feodor Chaliapin.

The National Philharmonic, Kiev.


Friday, March 11, 2011

The Pool at Simena (HDR)

The Pool at Simena Sun Club, Kemer Turkey.

This is six different photos stitched together.  From the single new photo, I created three versions with differing exposures, then blended them together using the HDR process.


Wednesday, March 9, 2011

The House on the Hill (HDR)

Although there is still snow on the ground here, it looks like there will be a nice temperature jump later this week to help move this winter to history. And none too soon!

Well, back to the photo.

Pretty simple picture, yes? Really, almost plain. Yet, there's something about this picture that made it stand out for me before I applied any processing at all. When this occurs, I generally jump into the Develop module in Lightroom and apply the crop overlays and see if one of the standard layouts apply.

So maybe it's the "Rule of thirds?" Nope not that. Or the Golden Ratio, Diagonal Lines, or Triangles? No again. But ah, there it is. The placement of the house fits the Golden Spiral well. So, what is this Golden Spiral?

Well, I won't go into that too deeply, since there's a lot of mathematics behind, math that I couldn't begin to understand. But apparently this math is seen in nature in things like the arrangement of leaves on a stem, and an uncurling fern. In man-made objects, it's seen in things such as the Parthenon and the Mona Lisa.

Fascinating stuff, even if you don't understand the math!

The Golden Ratio

The Fibonacci Number



Monday, March 7, 2011

Starry Starry Night

In this case, this photo isn't really what it seems. Click on the following link and read the first comment in the "Comments and faves" section!

Starry Starry Night on Flickr


Friday, March 4, 2011

St. Andrew's, Kiev

The Saint Andrew's Church (Ukrainian: Андрiївська церква; Russian: Андреевская церковь) is a major Baroque church located in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. The church was constructed in 1747–1754, to a design by the Imperial Russian architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli. It is sometimes incorrectly referred to as a cathedral.

The Saint Andrew's Church overlooks the historic Podil neighborhood, situated on a steep hill to which the church gave its current name Andriyivska Hill. It is currently one of four architectural landmarks of Ukraine, which were put down on the List of Mankind Treasures of Five Continents by the world society.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Andrew's_Church,_Kiev


Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Old and New Kiev (HDR)

The three main buildings in this picture are a business center, a hospital, and a residential building. Guess which one is which?

In a city that certainly could use some new hospitals, you won't see a new hospital in this picture. The new building is a business center. Guess I didn't have to tell you that. The economy in Kiev is still holding up somewhat, mostly because it's a low cost city compared to most of Western Europe and the USA. Meaning, labor costs are low, meaning outsourced work from the previously mentioned places. If they manage to get this building half occupied in the next five years, outsourcing would be why. The residential building is the one in the middle of the other two, on the right, and the one in the foreground is the hospital.

The hospital is an honest to goodness, Soviet era hospital. Drab, showing it's age, and maintained and supplied with the few kopecks thrown it's way. Inside, 75% of the lights are turned off to economize. But I guess Kiev needed this business center (and 100 other new ones like this) more than it needs a few new or rebuilt hospitals.