Category Archives: Photography

December 23, 2013 · 5:35 am

Meandering Around Málaga

Málaga Beach

The MS Ryndam left Barcelona (see: Barthelona ith in Thpain) and the magnificent Sagrada Familía (see: Sagrada Familía Exterior; Sagrada Familí Interior Part 1; and Sagrada Familía Interior Part 2) behind on November 2 and set sail for the Spanish coastal city of Málaga as a prelude to our passage through the Strait of Gibraltar (from a previous cruise see: Gibraltar — What an Englishman Calls a Rock). We arrived at Málaga on the morning of November 4.

Málaga Street Scene

Málaga was founded by the Phoenicians far back around 770 B.C. But don’t worry. The buildings are a bit more modern than that. One stunning example is the Málaga Cathedral of the Inception, on which construction began in A.D. 1528, and which took some 254 years to complete.

Málaga Cathedral of the Inception

Málaga Cathedral of the Inception — Bell Tower

Across the street from the Málaga Cathedral is the old Bishop’s residence (now a museum, among other things) at the Palacio Episcopal de Málaga (Episcopal Palace of Málaga).

Palacio Episcopal de Málaga

Built into the Palacio Episcopal façade is a niche holding a statue of Our Lady of Sorrows.

Palacio Episcopal de Málaga

These are not the only sights in Málaga worth photographing, however. Here’s today’s photogallery:

Sculpture outside the Málaga Cathedral of the Inception

Málaga Cathedral of the Inception — Bell Tower

Málaga Cathedral of the Inception

Málaga Kiosk — A Fixture throughout Europe

Málaga Cathedral of the Inception

Málaga Entryway

Málaga Café Poster

Málaga Cathedral of the Inception

Málaga Balcony

Málaga Square

Málaga Café

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Tagged as cruise ship, Holland America, Malaga, MS Ryndam, photography, R. Doug Wicker, Spain, travel

December 20, 2013 · 5:35 am

Fun Photo Friday — Christmas Lights 2013

Peace on Earth

Well, it’s time for the annual Christmas Lights blog. This year El Paso’s San Jacinto Plaza is undergoing renovation, so the annual downtown light display was moved to the park just outside the main city library, and is comparatively subdued over years past.

Cleveland Square Park

Nevertheless, the display is still impressive.

El Paso Christmas 2013

Visitors came to gawk. If they took chill there was hot chocolate nearby.

Hot Chocolate Line

And if they got hungry there was the snack wagon.

Snack Wagon

But for atmosphere it’s just hard to resist converting nighttime people shots to black and white.

Hot Chocolate Line — B&W Conversion

Snack Wagon — B&W Conversion

Christmas lights however are made to display in full color.

Abstract Light

Most of the shots taken for today’s blog were at ISO 400 to keep digital noise to a minimum. Aperture Priority was used with aperture set to the widest possible opening. The camera was stabilized on a carbon fiber tripod (a real must if you’re serious about photography — light, quick to set up, easy to move). Shutter release was delayed for two seconds to avoid camera shake, and most exposures were taken at about one full second. Some shots were taken using Hand Held Night Scene mode, in which the camera takes a series of three shots in rapid succession and then internally combines the shots into one image. The snack wagon shot above was taken using this latter method.

For more tips (especially color balance) see my blog post from December 21, 2012: Photographing Outdoor (and Indoor) Christmas Lights

Being a former controller, I got to taxi Santa’s sleigh out to the runway: