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On the Eastern end of the famous Piazza San Marco in Venice stands the Basilica di San Marco, the most famous of Venice’s churches. Thanks to its opulent design, gilded Byzantine mosaics, and its status as a symbol of Venetian wealth and power, from the 11th century on, the building has been known by the nickname Chiesa d’Oro (Church of gold).

This shot was taken from the Piazza San Marco itself.  I love the architectural detail and this is a 3 shot HCR, 2 stops apart and processes in Photomatix.

Those domes and Byzantine style is quite attractive I find and is very interesting to shoot.

It was quite a long walk through Venice’s labyrinth-like streets and we would not have found it were it not for the map we had! This place is awesome though and perhaps the most romantic place I have ever visited. Linda and I regret not having planned our trip differently as we would have loved to explore Venice for a few days longer.

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As promised, here is a photo of the famous Rialto Bridge in Venice. It is the oldest bridge over the Grand Canal and is, of course, for pedestrians only (no cars in Venice). Down the middle of the bridge are two rows of shops and the roads leading up to the bridge are equally full of shops, stalls and people selling just about everything you can imagine. From trinket-like souvenirs to expensive Italian leather shoes and handbags. During the main part of the day the bridge is positively packed with people, speaking every language imaginable.

But when evening comes around, the shops and kiosks close and the place takes on a different atmosphere. It’s a lot more relaxed and people seem to be there to enjoy that quiet time just before dusk, then move on to find a place to eat or enjoy a pre-dinner drink with friends and family.

As you see, this shot is taken at that magic moment. You can see a few people on the right sitting tables and there are relatively few people on the bridge itself.

After taking this shot, Linda and I went off in search for some pasta and Chianti . . . .

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Venice is undoubtedly one of the most romantic places I have visited and very appropriate that Linda and I visited there during our honeymoon.

This shot is of the Grand Canal and is taken from the Realto Bridge. The Realto Bridge is the oldest bridge across the canal and I have a photo of it coming in a future post.

Linda and I had dinner under one of those red canopies you can see on the right. It was a wonderful balmy night and just such a beautiful location. We will always remember that night. We did have a little surprise when a power boat came by and the wake caused water to splash up around our ankles, yes the water is that high!

If you haven’t heard, Venice is slowly sinking and with global warming raising the water levels, prospects are not good for this unique place. We saw this for ourselves when walking around, the water is VERY close to some of the pavements and in some places it sloshes up over the walkways.

As for places to visit, Venice has to rate very high on anyone’s list. The atmosphere is quite unique and the narrow streets are just wonderful. So many quaint corners and we found shopping to be considerably cheaper than in Tuscany.

Needless to say, Linda and I had a ride in one of those gondolas. It was all very beautiful and we hope to go be able to go back one day soon.

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Sadly, Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve is one of the 70 California State parks that will close due to budget cuts. This will happen next year in July. So Linda and and I decided to go and shoot at Mono Lake over the Labor Day weekend and make sure we got shots of this awesome place.

We visited several times and, while nice, there were no clouds and the light was very “blah”. We decided to have one more attempt, on the day we had to leave, and got up at 5am. To our delight the sky was filled with clouds and the whole feel of the place was just amazing. We could not stop shooting!

So here is a shot taken at the South Tufas. It’s an HDR made from 3 shots, two stops apart.

While I am unsure how one closes a lake, it will be sad to see this state park be closed. As you can see, you can walk right up to many of these tufas and I hate to think of them being damaged by vandals. The South Tufas are up to 1000 years old so not something that will “grow back” quickly.

So, if you are a photographer or just someone who wants to see this place, go before July 2012.

I can highly recommend it.

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We visited the White Mountains in California today, where you can find the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. These Bristlecones are the oldest living things in the world and there is one tree that is an alleged 4750 years old!

The tree here is not quite that old and you can see it has struggled. I found this tree up at 11,000 (!) feet elevation after a 12 mile drive on a dirt track. I needed to go into 4-wheel drive mode to navigate the steep trails, quite exhilarating and not something I had done for a long time. To my delight, Linda thought it was just fantastic, never having done this before.

Our drive was rewarded with some of the most spectacular scenic views ever. It is so beautiful up there. I was not kidding on the elevation. The visitor’s center is at 10,500 feet and is where most visitors stop. There is another grove about 12 miles further on and only accessible via that dirt road. It took about 45 minutes to get there.

This tree was still alive even if part of it had died. It clearly struggles to survive in this challenging environment, but very beautiful.

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Tuscany was beautiful. No surprises really as this Italian region is well known for its photographic opportunities. It was still a delightful surprise to actually be there and drive through the countryside with no real plan or pre-defined destination.

Linda and I stayed at Cortona, a small town nestled on a hill. All the buildings have the typical red roofs you see all over the region. If the name Cortona sounds familiar, it is. It was featured in the film “Under the Tuscan Sun” and is what caused us look it up and stay there. I’ll post some pictures of that place in a future port.

This shot was taken nearby though and was just a typical scene from the road as we drove around in what was probably the smallest car we’d ever been in.

No HDR here, just a single shot processed in Lightroom.

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This is a well known picture that has been done to death. I am sorry, but it is such a great shot so please allow me the indulgence. There is only one place to stand to get this so everyone’s shot looks the same. The only difference being the characteristics of the lens that is used.

This shot was made with my 17-40mm lens at 17mm. On my 5D Mark 2, that is a “real” 17mm so pretty much as wide as you can get without going to a fisheye.

This stair case is kinda mesmerizing. When you gaze down into it you don’t realize it is a double spiral! You have this nagging sense there is something wrong, but cannot place it. Then all of sudden, you see it! There are two “loops” that spiral down – follow them with your eye. When you go down here, it is deceptively steep! I guess because of the double helix-like-thing, it needs to allow enough room for the other loop.

This stair case is in the Vatican, in the museum. At the top (where this picture is taken) is a “good old souvenir shop”. Yes even in the Vatican has commercialism found a way in.

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This was just awesome. Looking up into the dome of the massive St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. I felt you could get lost in the detail of this ceiling and the picture belies the sheer size of it.

You can go up into the dome (550 steps) and walk around the circumference. Huge number of people there too and no tripods allowed so this was shot hand held (hard to do when pointing straight up).

The second picture below provides some context. At the top of the picture you can just see the writing that runs around the bottom of the dome. The picture itself gives you some idea of how large this church really is. If you look closely, you can see Linda standing right in the middle, waiving at me.

We came here on our first day in Rome. Our hotel was just a short bus-ride from the Vatican. Figuring out how the bus system worked took longer than the ride itself. Turns our the buses are a really good way to get around – and inexpensive too. We heard that a subway never really took off in Rome as every time they started digging, they struck some ancient ruin and all work had to stop until it was properly excavated and assessed for its historic value. I can imagine them never getting anywhere that way. So. . . . riding a bus works great!

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Who can visit Rome and not visit the Colosseum? It is such an iconic monument! It represents everything the old Roman empire represented. The grandeur, the architecture, the awesomeness and of course the gladiators.

Linda and I decided to make our first visit at night and organized our day accordingly. We were not disappointed! This place is just awesome and BIG. We knew it was large of course, but seeing it for the first time, up front gave me a new respect for those Roman builders of the time. The Colosseum was built in 72AD so we’re talking almost 2000 years ago.

We walked all around and got various shots from different angles. I found this one to be the best even though it is a common point of view.

We went back the next day and took a tour inside which was equally awesome, but I’ll show a shot of than in a future post.

About this shot:

Taken with a tripod, three exposures, 2 stops apart. Blended into an HDR using Nik HDR Pro and finished with some toning and contrast settings in Lightroom.

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This was a weekend of reflection and I went through some photos taken during various trips. This was taken at dusk, from the second tier of the Eiffel Tower, taken last year in spring when Linda and I visited Holland and Paris. I like this picture as it is not a shot I would have taken had I been alone. I admit I do not do heights very well at all, but Linda convinced me to go up. While I was petrified, the views are magnificent in the end, I was pleased I went.

This is a view looking towards the North West. That cluster of tall buildings is the main business sector of Paris, called La Defense and is the largest purpose-built business district in Europe. Those gardens are the Jardins du Trocadero and that big structure that curves around the gardens is the Palais de Chaillot. It stands on a hill that used to be the site of a small village. The East and West wings of the structure now house several museums: The Naval Museum, The Museum of Man, the Museum of Architecture and the Museum of French Monuments, none of which we got to see.

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