Albertdebruijn.com

Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category

During a quest to find fall color in the Eastern Sierras, we ended up here, at Convict Lake with Mt Morrison in the background. As you can see there was color spilling down the side of the mountain at the opposite side of the lake. Unfortunately, we could not get there without a boat which we did not have.

I wasn’t too upset however, as the scenery was just spectacular, with lots of opportunities for some great shots. It was a crystal clear day, clouds in the sky, rocks in the foreground and someone in a floaty to add some interest. I was a happy shooter.

I did a bit of research about this area and found there is some interesting history associated with this lake (I like to look these things up).

Convict Lake lies in the Sherwin Range and is only about 10 minutes south of Mammoth Lakes. I learned that this lake has been featured in several movies. The lake was in the opening scenes of “How the West was Won” and it was the filming location for several scenes in the 1998 Star Trek movie “Star Trek: Insurrection”.

The lake got its name in 1871 when a group of convicts escaped from Carson City prison. A posse chased them down and caught them at this lake and the sheriff was killed during this encounter. His name was Robert Morrison and that mountain you see is named after him. Pretty interesting huh?

Hide Sites

Spent the last weekend looking for fall color in the Eastern Sierra. We quickly discovered that the best color was to be found alongside water, be it a lake, river or even a small creek. This shot below was taken along Hwy 120 which is also known as the Tioga Pass road, one of the passes that crosses the Sierra Nevada mountains. Tioga Pass reaches 10,000 feet elevation (9,943 if you want to be very specific) and usually closes quite early due to snow.

We were lucky as the road was still open and we decided to cross the mountains from the Eastern Sierras to the Western side via this pass. Very interesting to see how there was lots of color on the Eastern side, but almost none on the Western side. Very noticeable. The moment we had reached the top, it stopped.

Linda and I had a fantastic weekend and came home with many wonderful and very colorful shots. It was one of these trips where everything worked out in our favor. It started before we had even left having found a hotel with free WiFi at a VERY reasonable rate. During the trip itself, we found abundant color, there was cloud in the sky, it wasn’t too cold and when the sun came out, it positively lit up the yellow leaves as if on fire. You can see that in this shot.

We did have a lot of wind and you could just see the leaves falling from the trees. If that keeps up. it will soon all be gone. Sigh . . .

Hide Sites

We’re on a quest this weekend to find fall color. The time is right, the Eastern Sierras are full of Aspen groves, so there should be no problem finding some, right? Well, as you can see, we did, but it was harder than we thought, but what we found was spectacular. We sought out the lakes as the Aspens seem to thrive along side the wetter areas such as creeks and lakes.

We stayed at Mammoth Lakes along Hwy 395 and used that area as a base. We visited Convict Lake, several lakes around the Mammoth Lakes district and Sabrina Lake. On the way to Sabrina Lake we passed a town called Aspendell where we stopped for lunch. After lunch we decided to look around a bit and we found this pond (full of trout) which was literally surrounded by these trees, in full color. Just spectacular and the reflections just enhanced the whole experience.

We found a lot more spectacular places and I will post some more soon.

Hide Sites

When you drive around Scotland you will find these old stone bridges everywhere, literally. You don’t even have to get off the beaten track, just drive around the Scottish highlands and you can’t miss them.

Personally, I love them, it gives the Scottish countryside a well defined “look”, something that distinguishes it from other countries and landscapes.

Here is one shot a few years ago, I’m sure I would not be able to find this particular one again, but I would be able to find many others. As you can see the weather was not very cooperative, it rained, but then again, it does that often in Scotland.

Hide Sites

This is my most favorite castle, ever. It is the Eilean Donan Castle on Scotland’s North West coast. It also happens to be the most photographed castle in Scotland, probably because it is such an iconic representation of most people imagine Scottish castles must look like.

The location is spectacular. It is built on a little island (Donan’s island, hence the name) which is connected to the mainland by that stone bridge you see. The body of water is Loch Duich, which is open to the sea. This means the water you see around the Castle rises and drops with the tide.

Just a little further on lies a town with the wonderful name of “Kyle of Lochalsh”. The name just rolls off the tongue beautifully when pronounced in a proper Scottish brogue. The Kyle of Lochalsh is of course the place you go when you want to go to the Isle of Skye.

This photo was taken a few years ago when I visited and it had just rained, as it does a lot in Scotland.

That mountain you see behind the castle is the unpronounceable Sgurr Mhic Bharraich and behind that is the Saddle, one of the more famous maintains of the Scottish Highlands and a popular hiking destination.

Hide Sites

It’s 5:30 am and Linda and I are on our way to Mono Lake. As we approach, we see the sky turn this magnificent orange and we had to make a decision. Do we stop and shoot this from the side of the road and run the risk of missing anything colorful at the tufas. Or do we continue on and hope that there will still be color in the sky when we get to the tufas? What to do!?

Well, we stopped and shot the sky. Side of the road on Hwy 395. The guys in the fishing boat just made it perfect. Fire in the sky, clouds in the sky, just perfect.

Best of all, when we got to the tufas, the clouds were just perfect and we ended up getting some of our best Mono Lake shots that morning. What a morning! All this before 8am – wow.

There is very little post processing here. Pretty much straight out of the camera, it was that gorgeous! A little vignette and tweaked up the black a bit, that’s all.

Enjoy!

Hide Sites

I don’t often do B&W. not because I don’t like it, but I just don’t “think” about it. For some reason I rarely do a B&W conversion, but this time I did and I must say, I LOVE the outcome.

There are two processing techniques here. The first is an HDR treatment, using 3 shots at 2 stops apart. I liked the result, but I then started playing with my Lightroom Presets and I really liked the result on this.

As stated in a previous post,, California will be closing Mono Lake State Park next year due to budget cuts. This is what prompted us to go see this lake again.

Hope you like the B&W

Hide Sites

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.

Hide Sites

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 . . . .

Hide Sites

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.

Hide Sites