Galata Spiral

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First off, I completely forgot to give credit where it was due yesterday and thank my beautiful girlfriend Melisa for pointing out the fantastic view of the sun setting behind the Mosque.  I was busy focusing on a pretty boring building during the sunset and if it wasn’t for her, I would have completely missed it! (Like the photography tour group that arrived on the roof about 3 minutes too late :)

Today we move a little farther to the north, climbing the unique staircase up Galata Tower.  Since it was so cold and windy that first day walking the city, Melisa decided to do some shopping while I ventured up the tower to catch the view.  Because of the haze the city was not too photo-friendly, but the staircase leading up was one of a kind! 

Winding up the ancient stairs made me really stop and think, taking the whole experience in.  Sometimes when you are looking forward to something so much, something blindsides you and creates even more excitement.  That’s what happened as I was scaling the tower.  The environment was very cramped and called for an extreme wide-angle approach – something the 10-24mm excels at.  I had to take off my backpack, lean back as far as possible, and contort my body to get the proper perspective. 

Initially I processed this one in color, the warm wood tones and bottom lighting making it a feast for the eyes.  After experimenting with some Silver Efex Pro templates, I settled upon the black and white.  I hope you enjoy this shot as much as I do!!

Thanks for visiting!  Check back tomorrow for an inside look at one of Istanbul’s most beautiful Mosque’s!

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Mysterious Istanbul

After a terrific (and exhausting) weekend walking around Istanbul, I am back at work, dreaming of tasty street food, dreamy hamams and beautiful mosques.  We hit 8 of the top 10 sights in the city, but it feels like we saw tons more. 

The first shots I want to share with you all came from the final evening in the city.  We were searching for a spot to watch the sunset, preferably high up in the city.  I had an image in my head that I wanted to capture, but finding where to shoot that image was the problem.  After skipping the long line to climb the Galata Tower, we stumbled on this rooftop cafe that had looked like it had a pretty awesome view.  The view did not disappoint in the least and we had the perfect setup for the shot below.  Talk about being in the right place at the right time… I don’t think I could have picked a better spot with Google Earth to watch the warm sun set.  Switching up to the 28-300mm Zoom I was able to make the sun larger than life as it set behind this mosque.  I think this mosque is called the Sultan Selim Eczanesi. 

After snacking and shooting the sunset, we meandered across the river to the old town again, stopping to watch the cooks on this floating “kitchen” fry up fish sandwich after fish sandwich.  The cooks would wait until the boat rocked towards the pier to pass the food over.  I really dug the color of the boat, the rocking motion, and the smoky action occurring inside.   

I have about 1,000 images to get through so stay tuned for many more captures from Istanbul!

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Montalcino Grabs

A post and run for the day.  These are a couple of grabs that have been sitting on my computer for a few months – both taken in the beautiful town of Montalcino, Italy in the Tuscany Region.

Enjoy!  See you all next week when I am safely (hopefully) back from Turkey!

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USS MOUNT WHITNEY

This weekend we are heading to Istanbul, Turkey!!  And then the next we are going back up to Tuscany to be guests of the Il Palazzone Vineyard at the 2012 Brunello di Montalcino festival.  I can’t wait!!

For all you photographers out there, I stumbled across this today and thought it was pretty funny, and mostly spot on:

*1 GB of memory lasts most people a month but barely lasts you the afternoon.

*You delete more photos in a week than most people make all year.

*You need just one more lens.

*You’ve crawled on the ground to get a shot of something rusty.

*Your camera equipment is worth more than your car.

*No one else brings a camera to an event if they know you’re coming.

*Your family doesn’t recognize you without a camera covering your face.

*You have thousands of pictures and you’re not in any of them.

*You’ve been up before dawn or out in the freezing cold or even done something semi-dangerous… all for a photograph.

*When you go to movies you spend more time trying to figure out their lighting than trying to figure out the plot

*When you lose track of a dramatic conversation between two characters in a movie because you’re too busy paying attention to the nice bokeh behind them….

*When you lose track of the entire movie by thinking about which lenses were used in each shot…

* If you look at a chick with a good figure, you don’t think 36-24-36…but only 50mm, f/2.8 at 1/250 secs!

* 300mm is no longer a short length.

* 3X and 4X do not mean Algebra anymore.

* The most intense argument that you ever have is between the supremacy of Nikon over Canon or the other way round!

– You are a Photographer :)

A few weeks ago I was onboard the USS MOUNT WHITNEY, the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet command ship, for some exercise training.  In between standing watch and sleeping I had the opportunity to get some sunset shots.  These were all taken off the southern coast of Sicily.

Below is the pilot house, where the bridge is located.  This is where the officers drive the ship and where the Admirals have their work out center.

 

Here you can see the ship’s CIWS (Close in Weapons System), an anti-missile ship protection system.  Seeing one of these fire is quite an experience.  The gun shoots 3000 rounds a minute.  It sounds like a loud hum since the depleted Uranium rounds are flying out of the gun’s six barrels so quickly.  The basic purpose of the gun is to place a wall of lead in front of an incoming missile to knock it off course or disable it.  When they are actually working they are pretty amazing machines.  They do require a significant amount of maintenance though.

Finally, when we pull in and out of ports, especially overseas, we have a full Force Protection/Anti-terrorism watch stood up, to deter any threats and protect the ship.  Here is a shot I took during our last transit in to Gaeta, Italy. 

Thanks for visiting!

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A Violet Sunset over the Sea

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend.  I was able to catch up on some lounging and local area discovery.  One spot I came across was the north beach of Monte di Procida.  I didn’t ever think to look here (about a 15 minute drive from my house), but when I was browsing on Google Earth, the seascape looked promising.  Here are a few shots from Saturday evening.  Enjoy!

Thanks for visiting!  Check back tomorrow!

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Sorrento Overlook

Trying to keep things fresh, I wanted to post a Landscape today.  I know the past few posts have been from Sorrento, Italy, but I have tried to separate them based on category.  Thanks for all the comments and visits to the Blog – I really do appreciate it and read every comment!

I posted this picture on Google+ a few days ago and got some good feedback.  During the drive back from an awesome 7 course mean high up in the Mountains overlooking the Amalfi Coast, while driving back to Sorrento to check in to our hotel, we were presented with this view from the highway.  There are about 5 pullouts where you can stop and stretch your legs and gaze at the beautiful view.

For this shot, I was in somewhat of a hurry and did not take out the tripod.  I used two RAW captures for tonemapping, then imported to Lightroom to tweak a bit more.  This was about 30 minutes before sunset but the colors were still fantastic!  I hope you enjoy!

Thanks for visiting!

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Sorrento Street Photography

Street photography is something I absolutely love.  When shooting landscapes, models, events, or animals, you usually have a good idea what you are looking for going in to the shoot.  You have done your research, scouted your locations, and know what you want to capture.  The way I approach street photography is the complete opposite.  I usually have no idea what I am going to see.  It could be a car crash, an old lady buying groceries, a little child smiling, anything.  I love how it forces me to be extra aware of my surroundings, meticulously observing all that is happening around me.  Every so often, you might get the shot of a lifetime by just being in the right spot at the right time. 

Any city is great for street photography.  You don’t need a 1300 dollar DSLR.  Your iPhone can do wonders for your images.  Most people are very friendly and delighted that you want to take their picture.  Some of the unique and beautiful faces make for awe-inspiring portraits.  Other times you might want to capture people in secret, stealing a precious, intimate moment to share with the world. 

The following shots are anything but spectacular, and really just some snapshots I collected while roaming the streets of Sorrento.  In fact, two of these shots were literally from the hip – I didn’t even look in the viewfinder (generous cropping of the D7000′s 16 or so MP helps with proper framing).  If you have never taken out your camera with the goal of capturing the vast array of life on the street, I invite you to try it.  It really is a magical thing to observe others and share a stranger’s special moment with the world.

Thanks for visiting!

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Sedil Dominova and D800 Specs

If you saw yesterday’s post, You got to see the magic of Mozzarella making and the fact that I just pre-ordered the new Nikon D800!  For those of you who haven’t seen them, here are the specs for this new monster:

  • 36.3-megapixel FX-format CMOS sensor
  • 91,000-pixel RGB Matrix Metering System
  • Advanced scene recognition system
  • 51-point AF system (15 cross-type sensors)
  • Multiple AF modes (e.g., normal, wide area, face tracking, and subject tracking)
  • Full HD 1080p video, with full manual control and uncompressed HDMI output
  • ISO 100 to 6400 (50 to 25600 expanded)
  • Shooting in different aspect ratios (e.g., 5:4)
  • In-camera High Dynamic Range (HDR) image capture
  • 3.2-inch, 921,000-dot LCD monitor with automatic brightness control
  • HDMI port (8 bit, 4:2:2)
  • Dedicated headphone jack
  • Audio output level adjustment (30 steps)
  • High-fidelity audio recording control (levels set and monitored on LCD)
  • Stereo microphone jack
  • 4 fps continuous shooting (6 fps in DX mode using the optional battery pack)
  • USB 3.0 support

That’s right, 36.3 MP!  The down side:  HUGE image files.  The up side: LARGE prints, the ability to crop down to ridiculous dimensions and still retail sharpness and pixels in your image.

You can pre-order yours here through B&H Photo, but don’t wait too long, the lists are filling up quick!

And now, on to today’s image.  I captured the ceiling of the historic and beautiful Sedil Dominova this past weekend in the heart of Sorrento.  Since it was night, I had to crank up the ISO and shoot handheld (we were pressed for time, important Italian sales were occurring in the shopping quarter!).  After some tweaking with lighting, sharpness, and de-saturation, I was finally happy with the image.  Once an old church, this spot has now turned in to a cafe, a gathering place for old retired Italian men to sit and chat about the weather, or whatever old Italian men talk about…  Anyways, enjoy!

Thanks for visiting!!  Check back tomorrow for some beautiful street photography!

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Mozzarella!

First off, I pre-ordered the Nikon D800 this morning.  I am so excited.  The only downside is that I will have to wait at least another month and a half until I will get to hold my new baby.  This thing will be a beast.

You can pre-order your’s here!!  If you order, the camera will ship in mid-late August.

 

If you ever find yourself in the Campania Region of Italy, consider spending some time on the Amalfi Coast.  Specifically, Sorrento is an absolutely wonderful place to visit.  If you want a truly unique and awesome experience, make a reservation with Caseificio Michelangelo for a private tasting.  You can visit the website (linked just above) or call them at +39 338 21 42 766. Depending on your price range, this can be an inexpensive afternoon of education, fun, and most importantly, eating Mozzarella!! Ask for a group rate and call a few days in advance to ensure there is room.

We started in adjacent room, getting dressed out and hearing a little about the history of the factory.  After we were suited up, we headed to the factory floor.

A quick introduction and summary of the floor followed.  Quick tip for photographers: It is a bit humid in there so if you plan to bring a camera, make sure you let it equalize before you begin wiping off the lens.

Factories in Italy are permitted to use unpasteurized milk in their cheese making.  First, they fill up the very large vats with whole milk and add a small amount of whey to make the milk harden.  When it is done, the curdled milk is scooped out and drained over a cheese cloth.

Legend has it that Mozzarella was first made when cheese curds accidentally fell into a pail of hot water in a cheese factory near Naples…and soon thereafter the first pizza was made! Actually, new cheeses are often formulated when mistakes happen, so there well may be truth in the tale!

After more sitting and monitoring, adding salt, the curd is finally ready for combining and forming.  The cheese maker will stir and pulverize the curd until it sticks together.  Above you can see the “cheese” before it has come together into the beautiful mozzarella texture you see below.  When is it ready? “When it is as smooth as a baby’s butt” – and then he spanked it.

Melisa went first, making a perfect braided mozzarella formation!

I went next, and as you can see, my braid was sub par… In fact, the mozzarella man only gave me a 7.5 out of 10.  Both the girls got 10′s.  Go figure…

Finally, Rachel’s creation, another perfect formation.

Maybe the freshest mozzarella you will ever see…

This type of cheese is wrapped and left to sit for about a week, hardening and drying out.  The dried mozzarella is sold at all stores and markets in the Campania Region.  If you have never tasted it, imagine string cheese, but 100 times better.

All finished and ready to dry out.

A moment stolen from our guide Sara

The mozzarella man himself.

Group shot after the tour.

And finally the tasting.  These are all the different cheeses we were able to taste.  I love fresh ricotta, and this might have been the best ricotta I have ever eaten.

And finally, a parting shot with our guide.

Thanks for reading!!  I hope you enjoyed!

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Arcidocesi Di Sorrento

What a fantastic weekend we had on the Sorrento Peninsula;  mozzarella making and tasting, 7 course meals, stunning overlooks, and wonderful company.  I have not had a chance to get through many of the photos but wanted to share a handful from one of the churches in the Amalfi Coast city of Sorrento.  The Arcidocesi di Sorrento was amazing indeed.  No one stopped me from whipping out my tripod and going to town.  Here are some of the different angles I captured in this historical, beautiful church.  Which do you like the best??  I can’t decide!

Thanks for visiting! Check back tomorrow for more photos!

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