Forest Highlights

It's a late fall in Maryland and walking through the forest; there are only smatterings of color here and there. I expected the deciduous groves to be rich in autumn hues, but it's mostly green. But here and there, one tree has broken from the crowd. To be sure, there are areas within an hour's drive of Annapolis that are more colorful. Walking through a nature trail is reward enough. And when I do see a flash of color, all the better.

Beach Bistro

Here's a random beach scene from Lloret de Mar. Everybody seemed to be having way too much fun for a weekday. However, people here are on some kind of vacation, so the day of the week is unimportant. I had just arrived on a redeye from the states; it was Thursday, I think. And, I was just getting warmed up to the whole vacation thing. What better way to do that than take photos of others who are already warmed up. Eventually, I got into the rhythm of things, maybe even a little too much. By the time we left this town, I had managed to lose my passport, but that's another story for another day.

Sitges Street

Walking along the streets of European coastal towns is an exercise in leisure. And if that's not an oxymoron, I don't know what is. Actually, that goes for a lot I do on vacation - leisure and moron. Relaxation when traveling is a state of mind, sometimes easier said than gained. I do what I can. In this case, I was in the town of Sitges, walking around on a Sunday. I was next to the main church that sits along the sea. Sunday notwithstanding, nobody was going in or out, just tourists, like me, walking around it, taking pictures, and practicing leisure.

Cunningham Falls

The colors are here in the Northeast, so a few days ago, I drove to this random park called Cunningham Falls; it turns out it's not so random. I don't know the area, so; I picked a random place to visit on Google Maps. Little did I know this is a popular spot because there were a lot of other photographers that showed up as well. I took all kinds of shots from different angles, including this, which is a twelve-shot panorama. The scene consists of twelve shots, four groups of three that I processed in AuroraHDR, and stitched in Lightroom. The result is a very high-resolution landscape of a not so random Maryland park.

Zen Pipe Smoker

This guy was sitting in a three-piece suit on a hot day, seemingly oblivious to everything around him. I don't know if he was posing or just practicing the art of Zen pipe smoking. Nevertheless, he seemed content to ignore anyone who stopped to look. It was his clothing more than the pipe that struck me. It was hot and humid, he appeared way over-dressed. There are loads of street performers up and down La Rambla, which made me think he was posing, yet he wasn't collecting money. Now that I think of it, he probably works at one of the boutique hotels and was just taking a smoke break. Mystery solved.

Fishing Village

These boats are in Collioure in Southern France. It's a Catalonian village known for sardines, among other things. After I took the photo, I saw a couple of street artists selling paintings of these same boats. They seem almost picture-perfect, almost as though they were placed here for effect. But that could just be my jaded view of things, and it's not something the French are prone to do. One of the primary industries here is sardines. The last time we came through, I ordered a plate of them at a seaside cafe. For all I know, these may be sardine boats that returned in the morning. The rest of the day, they are click-bait for photographers like me. That was a lame joke.

Rooftop with a View

When in Barcelona, the last thing on my mind is taking photos of the sunset. However, if one presents itself, I'm more than happy to oblige. This photo is another that I took from atop the Fira Renaissance. The hotel is outside the main tourist area, so most of the people here were attending conferences. They would come up to the rooftop pool to socialize during happy hour. It still amazes me how structurally sound these buildings must be to support a pool on the top floor - water is so heavy. There is also an indoor pool on the floor below. I guess there is no limit to what people can dream and build.

Taller de Tapas

Here are some people in the gothic quarter of Barcelona sitting outside at a tapas bar, talking late into the night. Scenes like this occur over and over, and I think, are typical of Catalonian culture. Not that I'm an expert, but it seems quite friendly and puts a lot of value on spending time with family and friends. It's not difficult to see the appeal, especially in places like Barcelona. Sure, every area has its problems, but it's fun to see different lifestyles and wonder what it would be like to live there, if only for a spell.

Lighthouse of the Mediterranean

I'm aiming straight up at Phare de la méditerranée, which translates "Lighthouse of the Mediterranean." Despite the name, it's not a lighthouse. The top of the tower is a revolving restaurant with views of, you guessed it, the Mediterranean. There are a few touristy places like this because Palavas-les-Flots is a French vacation town. But it's not over-the-top commercialized as you might find in other areas. There is a casino, but it's low-key, not overly flashy. One thing you will find a lot of though is ice cream. For whatever reason, they are crazy about ice cream, and in tourist towns, you'll find it on every corner.

Platja de Lloret De Mar

This scene is a nine frame high-resolution panorama of the beach at Lloret Del Mar. If you wanted, you could zoom in to see the menu at KFC. Not that you would or that I would go to Spain for KFC, I'm just saying. Printed at full resolution, this is over eight feet across - a lot of detail. For panoramas to work, they need the right subject and, the Mediterranean is full of these kinds of scenes. I was here twice in September, once for an over-night and, a week later, to retrieve my lost passport. It was on the second trip that I made this. After I did, I went to an outdoor cafe facing the beach, not too far from KFC.

Carnon Plage Sunrise

Depending on the time of day, the scene at this beach is entirely different. I'm not sure which one I prefer better. Having spent almost a week here, I had plenty of opportunities to take in the view. I think perhaps that I like the early morning view for the stillness of the water. If I think about it much longer, I'll probably change my mind. The defining characteristic of Carnon Plage is the circularity of the shore. (BTW: Plage is the French word for beach.) Breakwaters were constructed to prevent erosion such that waves passing through form rings. The beach is therefore circular and, there is more of it than if it were merely straight. In the end, it makes for good picture taking, which for me, is all that seems to matter.

Carnon Plage Midday

Depending on the time of day, the scene at this beach is entirely different. I'm not sure which one I prefer better. Having spent almost a week here, I had plenty of opportunities to take in the view. I think perhaps that I like the early morning view for the stillness of the water. If I think about it much longer, I'll probably change my mind. The defining characteristic of Carnon Plage is the circularity of the shore. (BTW: Plage is the French word for beach.) Breakwaters were constructed to prevent erosion such that waves passing through form rings. The beach is therefore circular and, there is more of it than if it were merely straight. In the end, it makes for good picture taking, which for me, is all that seems to matter.

Melanie De Biasio

Probably the biggest festival of the year in Barcelona is La Mercè. Of course, we knew nothing about it until we were right in the middle of it. We were walking around and stopped to listen to Melanie De Biasio perform a midnight concert in front of the main cathedral. Her music is a hypnotic jazz fusion that's right down my alley. Like everything else, I'd never heard of her, but now she's at the top of my playlist. During the La Mercè, many of the major plazas host outdoor free concerts, plus there are fireworks and parades each night. It's called the festival of festivals for a good reason. In my case, sometimes it's better to be lucky than smart.

School Night in Montpellier

In my next life, I'll be born in France and, when I go to school, it will be in Montpellier. They have by far the best nightlife. Not that I am suggesting one should go to school because of the nightlife, but if one did, this might rank high on the shortlist. But to be fair, I'm rating it more on aesthetics than academic qualities. In fact, the medical school is quite good; it's the oldest in Europe. Anyway, I wandered around the narrow streets shooting scenes on a school night. There were a lot of people out, and I'm sure some of them had to be up for class the next day. But, I suppose that's just training for the sleep deprivation they'll experience the first years of residency.

Night Enchantment

You haven't seen Barcelona until you've seen and heard it at night. The combination of light, shadows, and music create an exotic enchantment that keeps me coming back for more. The harpist played behind the main Cathedral, and it is here that, over the years, I have heard some of the most talented musicians. The night before, I listened to a couple of tenors belting out arias reverberating as in the best opera venues. Here is where the greatest from all over Europe and America come to perform in front of passing nighttime crowds. The echoing acoustics of the gothic cathedral walls remind me of the New York subway; only here they don't get drowned out by passing trains.

Monday Morning

This picture feels a little like a gloomy Monday morning, even though I took it on a Friday. I took this near our friend's house at the beach in Carnon. I never tire of these minimalistic scenes because they leave much room for interpretation and reflection — however, calm thoughts were the last thing on my mind when I took this. I was about to go for a swim and, the water was chilly. Getting in took two types of effort, one of the mind and one of the body. Neither my mind nor body was overly enthusiastic at the prospect. In the end, I completed the swim, which left the rest of the day to contemplate sweet nothing.

The Pool on Top

The pool on top of the Renaissance Fira in Barcelona has a fantastic view of the city. As a shutterbug, that ranks pretty high on my list of amenities. I left the big boy camera in the room; all I had was my iPhone 7 Plus. I plan to upgrade, but this is not bad for an outdated iPhone if I do say so myself. I did indeed process it, as I do all my photos, but to get this kind of quality from a four-year-old phone is terrific. When I get the iPhone 11 with its new camera features, maybe I'll take a trip with just the phone. We are getting to the point where big cameras are becoming more of a niche item. Perhaps they'll always be around, but if you can get high-quality photos from a phone, why bother?

Platja de Sant Sebastià

In case you were wondering, Platja is the Catalan word for Beach. This particular platja is in Barcelona. I took this panorama on a previous trip to Barcelona in 2017. On my most recent trip, I spent time at other beaches, North and South of here. I created this by stitching together four photos in Lightroom and then worked on it with various other tools such as Luminar and Photoshop. I intended to post this last month but ran out of time before my vacation. Some of the photos I publish represent many hours of work, spread out over time. I thought this was ready last month and then, after getting back, worked on it more before posting it this week. If there is a point in any of this, I suppose its that the end can be a moving target.

Spanish Nights

This scene is typical among the towns of Spain. In particular, this is in Lloret de Mar along the Catalonian coast. These types of street scenes are a favorite of mine because they convey a nightlife ambiance. I take photos like this by using a high ISO, (in this case, 2000), and a low f-stop, (in this case, 2.8). That combination allows picture taking as though it was daylight. Granted, I do post-processing to get the look I'm after - painterly is a word that describes this type of treatment. We stayed in Lloret de Mar on our first day of vacation. It's a little over an hour from Barcelona airport and is an excellent way to decompress from an all-night flight. And, because the body clock was on North American time, it was easy to stay up late and get these scenes, despite the lack of sleep.

La Grande-Motte

What do you get when an architect designs a city? A collection of eccentric-looking buildings along the Mediterranean. La Grande-Motte is a French beachside resort town. Spain has dozens of these that attract their French neighbors. However, someone got smart and built this town in France about fifty years ago. Now there are many beach towns along the French Mediterranean, and no need to cross into Spain for a holiday. Not that there is anything wrong with Spanish beach towns. Before I took this, I was in Lloret de Mar, which is just outside of Barcelona, and it was just as fun, and just as full of French tourists.

Torre de Collserola

Here is a close up view that T took with the telephoto lens fully extended. The tenth level is the observatijon deck according to Wikipedia. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torre_de_Collserola)

Torre de Collserola

This tower is one of the first things you see in Barcelona. However, in my case, it took me by surprise. It was raining, so I had it in my mind to drive up the mountain and visit the Sagrat Cor church. However, the clouds created a thick blanket of fog, and it was difficult to see more than a hundred feet. As I stood outside the church, the clouds began to thin, and the tower appeared rather dramatically. The tower sits atop the Tibidabo mountain and overlooks Barcelona. If I had Googled it, I would have known that it's open to the public on weekends — something to add to my next visit.

Fleeting Moments

Lately, we have been getting a lot of rain. When that happens, it usually means you can count one thing, a sky full of colors in the evening. When I took this image, I didn't realize children were in the picture until later. I was too busy making sure I didn't drop the camera in the water. In any case, it was a lucky happenstance caused by the wide-angle of the lens. All good things are fleeting and come to an end. But taking photos is a passion for me, partly because it saves a moment to re-experience later. Pictures like this are memory pills that cause neurons to fire, bringing back moments, and sometimes surprises.