Shot with a Canon EOS 50D (w/ 17-55 f2.8 IS USM lens)
Shot on Aperture priority
Focal Length: 54mm (35mm equivalent: 86mm)
Aperture: f2.8
Exposure: 1/160s
ISO 200
When in Grenoble a week or so ago, we took a tram across the city from where we were staying and then walked back. The temperatures were well below freezing point but the weather was lovely and sunny so overall we enjoyed ourselves greatly. This notwithstanding, we were very cold by the end of it, which is when we came across this lovely pastry shop. It had counters full of sweets and chocolates in every shape and kind.
I asked the lady who was serving us to let me in behind the counter. She refused, and I begged, but she would not budge, even when I gave her my saddest puppy eyes. So I had to shoot the wide selection from behind the protective glass. I managed to get these heart-shaped chocolates unobstructed because they were on a higher level and I stuck my camera slightly over her counter and bent over to compose the shot. I didn’t have much time to compose, but I think I god a decent enough picture out of it.
The pastries and coffees, however, were divine – so by the time I left I had forgiven the place’s owner for all her past transgressions. I think she was just playing hard to get.
After the break you can find some more photos to make your mouth water:
Shot with a Canon EOS 50D (w/ 17-55 F2.8 IS USM lens)
Shot on Aperture priority
Focal Length: 17mm (35mm equivalent: 27mm)
Aperture: f2.8
Exposure: 1/5s
ISO 1600
I walked past this square in Grenoble, France, on Sunday in daylight and wasn’t too impressed but when I spotted it after dinner (through a narrow alley which leads to it) I fell in love and just had to shoot it. Thankfully I was still carrying my DSLR, however this shot turned out to be challenging in quite a few ways.
First of all it was pitch dark but the square had a couple of spotlights which kept giving me white spots in my longer exposures. This was the only way I could frame it without having too much of the photo burned out. I also wished to get the square exposed well while retaining some of the cloud detail because it adds so much to the atmosphere.
The weather was way below freezing (around 13 degrees below zero centigrade/ 8 degrees f) and my battery was really not enjoying the cold. The indicator was flashing and I knew I had to hurry because I would not get more than 10 shots off. I was shooting handheld at 1/5 of a second (which I usually carry off) and I was losing heat quickly myself too so I had to make a concerted effort not to shiver while I took the shot.
Given all this I think that the shot works out well, even though some editing would probably help it out. I will try and find the time for that eventually, but that is somewhat of a project for the future.
Enjoying an arancina (rice ball) and a beer in a square in Siracusa.
I tend to be a bit of an extremist when it comes to travelling. I avoid things I label as tourist traps like the plague, even at the expense of missing out on some obvious land marks. I’ve been to Paris three or four times, yet I’ve never gone to the Eiffel Tower. I visit London regularly, but I’ve never been to the Big Ben and in my holidays in Rome I never ventured towards the Vatican (and the Sistine Chapel), even though I would like to rectify the latter the next time I spend some time in The Eternal City
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As an independent traveller who goes abroad regularly you become somewhat cynical. This brings about a lot of advantages. When we visited New York last year we visited all the “right” places but did spend some time to see some of the more obvious landmarks. We walked across Central Park and crossed Brooklyn Bridge, we bought tickets to the Empire State Building and stared in awe at the lights in Time Square. We only did those after getting lost in Chelsea and the meatpacking district, eating ethnic food in Greenwich Village and walking across Harlem.
Our overall intention is to get to live life as a local would. Eating with the locals, seeing the places they would visit and understanding the basic differences and similarities. I cannot understand how someone could travel half way across the world to eat the same food they’d eat at home (especially if it is some mass-produced drivel).
As someone living in Malta (which is very touristic) I realise that 90% of what tourists visit are simply what we think should appeal to them. We think that they want to see all the quaint women dressed in medieval clothes, eat “traditional” food and spend time visiting the wonders we have on the island. Are they worth a visit? Yes – for sure – and I can understand how a first-time visitor might want to see some of them. Do these tourists learn anything about the Maltese people or how we live our lives? No they don’t.
The million-dollar question, however is, do they want to? Did they travel to see the people or did they come over to see our natural beauty, our pre-historic temples, our medieval churches and stunning Grand Harbour?
On a recent holiday we were travelling with people who can be classified as “gullible” travellers. I must admit that for the first time ever I felt that travelling that way has its appeals too. I never expected it, but we saw things that I would never have ventured on my own because I would have dismissed them as tourist traps. It set me thinking that with so many people doing the same thing, there must be some appeal to it after all.
On an earlier trip last year, for example, in which I was travelling with my wife, her parents and brother, we took a horse and carriage ride. It was also something we would never have dreamed of taking but once on it both my wife and I enjoyed it thoroughly.
My verdict? I’m still not certain what to think of it. First of all I am a firm believer that everyone should take holidays for whichever reason they believe works for them. If I want to spend two weeks on a beach I should be allowed to (I don’t want to!) but if my idea of a holiday leaves me more tired than before I left, I should be allowed to do so too. Everyone has their own goals and we each relax in different ways.
By simply following the obvious tourist trail you will definitely miss out on a lot. It is practically impossible to find out what the country and its people are like that way. On the other hand, if you avoid all touristic spots possible, you can miss out on major marvels which attract so many people in the first place.
Nothing like a couple of days on a sailing boat to really set your mind thinking. Thanks to a very kind boss and by putting in a lot of extra hours in advance, I managed to take a day off work (in a very busy period) and spent four days on the family sailing boat (by combining the day off with a weekend and a public holiday).
In addition to visiting a city I considered to be a second home for most of my childhood (we had a sailing boat and used to spend most Summer weekends there), I also had a lot of time to sit and think – a luxury I do not really afford in day-to-day life.
The result should translate into a flurry of blog posts (I’ve neglected my blog for months) and a couple of long term projects to work on. The major challenge will now be to find the time to work on the long-term challenges. I can’t really make them public, however it should suffice to say that they could be life changing.
One (or a series of) the blog posts will be about the trip itself. Syracuse (in Sicily, not the US) is a city which oozes character and depicts life in Sicily wonderfully. I carried my camera constantly and the resulting photos seem promising.
Now I just need to keep the commitment to writing out the blog posts I have so well laid out in my mind – so I had better get cracking before I settle back into the daily routine which leaves little room for anything else.
Nothing like a couple of days on a sailing boat to really set your mind thinking. Thanks to a very kind boss and by putting in a lot of extra hours in advance, I managed to take a day off work (in a very busy period) and spent four days on the family sailing boat (by combining the day off with a weekend and a public holiday).