Tag Archives: photography

July 15, 2013 · 5:35 am

Rio de Janeiro — Part 1

Carnival

I know, I’ve done Rio de Janeiro before, but that series of blogs concentrated more on Carnival and less on the city and its people. With both the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics coming to Rio, I thought perhaps it was time to take another look at this vibrant, dynamic, pulsating gem. Both today’s blog and Wednesday’s will hopefully give you a taste for Rio’s unique place in South America, with Brazil being the Portuguese outpost amongst a sea of Spanish-speaking nations. On Fun Photo Friday I’ll select some of my favorite more artistic photographs of Rio.

The Rio Skyline

If you’re on the beach in Rio, you’re never far from a drink. That means you’re never far from a caipirinha — the national cocktail of Brazil. This concoction is quite tasty and reminiscent of a mojito.

Caipirinha Bar — Brazil’s National Cocktail

If you’re not in the mood for a cocktail, then there’s always a guaraná — the national drink of Ursula. She can drink this stuff by the case. Not so much me — half a can at lunch and I’m still bouncing off the walls at night instead of going to sleep.

Guaraná — The National Drink of Ursula

I guess it’s time for me to shut up and get on with the slideshow, so here it is (just click on any image to bring up enlarged versions in slideshow format):

Cafë

Looks Like New York

Saying “Goodbye”

Balconies

One Happy Guy

Not Your Father’s Thermometer

Along the Beach

Mountains and Trees

Building into the Valley

A Piece of the Rock

Sand Dragons and Castles

Some Beach!

Street Vendor

Copper Dome

Palms and Umbrellas

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July 12, 2013 · 5:35 am

Fun Photo Friday

White Sands Panorama

Today we’re going to take a look at the more serious side of White Sands National Monument. Unfortunately, I was not there during optimum lighting. That occurs not in the bright overhead sun, but rather closer to either sunrise or sunset. Proper exposure is tricky with a landscape this white, as we’ve discussed before, so most images were taken with a +⅔ exposure compensation. Even so, some post processing was required, and thankfully I had shot images in Raw + JPEG.

Wisps of Dust

Organ Mountains in the Distance

White Sands Vegetation

White Sands Closeup

Reclaiming the Land

White Sands

Ripples and Dunes

The Sentry

Dust in the Sky

White Sands Dune

Eerie Landscape

The Hikers

Oceans of White beneath a Sea of Blue

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Filed under Photography, travel

Tagged as exposure compensation, photo tips, photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, White Sands National Monument

July 3, 2013 · 5:35 am

Return to Carlsbad Caverns — Part 2

Rock of Ages

As you’ll recall from Monday, we are this week taking a second look at Carlsbad Caverns. This time, however, we’re relying upon advances in digital photography to produce handheld images that were all but impossible just two years ago. Whereas my July 2011 photoblog on Carlsbad relied upon techniques for taking long exposures without a tripod, on this trip I instead relied upon the Handheld Night Scene mode built into the Canon G1 X.

Top of the Big Room — 255 feet (78 meters)

Most of today’s pictures are of the Big Room — the largest portion of the caverns. The hallmarks of the Big Room are the immense columns reaching high above the cavern trails and the “Top of the Cross,” the point on the ceiling of the cavern that is the highest above the Big Room floor. “Top of the Cross” is an intimidating 255 feet (78 meters) above, and one shudders when looking at photographs of the spelunkers who hung suspended beneath it during an expedition back in the 1970s.