January Experimenting

So I realise that in my zeal for posting about South America I have neglected to share some of my experiments for January! And since today is the 31st and also a Friday I thought I might give you a little, fresh off the lens teaser!

That's right ladies and gentlemen, I am now the proud owner of two more lenses! I live life by extremes - so the 100mm macro and the 10-22mm wide angle are two completely different but equally awesome additions to my humble collection!

So, I would like to share with you my latest experiment. Since being here I have always wanted to go down to Dampier at night and take photos of the lights. I finally managed to do this this week!

In half an hour I got one photo I was pleased with - even still it is a little soft. I need to do a bit of research on getting the most out of my lenses.  I used a tripod but found it very difficult to focus on the right place without moving the camera slightly as soon as I took my finger off the button. It's a pity I didn't have my remote with me.

Anyway, for my first attempt at industry lights, I didn't think it was too bad! With the Macro and all!

Happy Friday!

Dampier Port - never sleeping. Canon EOS 50D, f/16, 10 second shutter, 100mm on a Canon EF-S 100mm Macro lens

Flower Pots and Windows

It's not often that something random tickles my fancy. Well, it is, but not often am I able to express my fancy in a photograph. At the St Catalina Monastery in Arequipa, Peru, there were heaps of geraniums and other plants in flower pots attached to the windows. The whole place was quaint and inspiring and I guess these plants are what really set it off for me. I took a couple of photos of them, and I don't quite know what it is about them, but they just make me happy to look at them. I guess you could say they are aesthetically pleasing. 

Canon EOS 50D f/6.3, 1/250 ISO 500, 18mm

Canon EOS 50D, f/6.3, 1/500, ISO 500, 18mm

Mountains, Valleys and Llamas

Nothing says South America like mountains and llamas. While hiking the Inca Trail we were treated to both. When stopped on the second day (remembering the second day was the 1200m up in 10km day) we stopped for a break at a spectacular lookout. Exhausted and sore, we slumped on a rock, convinced we would not be able to walk another step and grateful for the break (we were about halfway up the climb). Our guide then proceeded to point out a flock of llamas 100-200m away. Fatigue was instantly gone and most of us raced over to stalk the llamas with cameras.

I managed to take a photo of one member of our hiking group walking towards a llama to take a photo of the llama spitting him. Got him too - they both did! Hubby got spat at a bit as well. Me? I kept out of the way of llama spit, and I did manage to capture some images that I feel scream 'I'm in the Peruvian Andes!'

Lazy llama - this guy watched me coming and didn't move for ages. He kept giving me the look of 'do I have to? Are you really going to make me move?' Canon EOS50D, f/9, 1/1250, ISO 320, 200mm

I'm in the Peruvian Andes! Canon EOS 50D f/9, 1/1000, ISO 320, 32mm.

Hiking and camping in the Andes along the Inca Trail was pretty spectacular. There are three snow capped mountains in the area that we saw the peaks of at various times. Also the flora and the way it was constantly changing from cloud forest, to grasses, to wild-flowers to scrub was exciting.

Mount Veronica. Our view from night one's campsite (albeit rather zoomed in!) Canon EOS 50D f/5.6, 1/400, ISO 125, 200mm

Red flower at our first campsite. Canon EOS 50D f/5.6 1/400, 110mm

And of course. Who doesn't love a baby llama? This guy was wandering around the third pass on day three. With mum of course, but she was no where near as obliging to the lens. I had to lighten his face considerably in Photoshop but his ears more than make up for it.

Baby Llama. Canon EOS 50D, f/5.6, 1/2000, 135mm. 

People of Cusco

I've never been acquainted with Peruvians before Cusco and I must admit there was an element of culture shock to our visit. Mostly, South Americans are very friendly people. Around Cusco you get a real sense of Inca pride and although this is quite interesting at first, we started to grow weary of it. It may have something to do with feeling as though people are only after the tourist dollar. Peru is not very rich and we couldn't help but feel that tourists are seen as a bit of a cash-cow.

Never the less Cusco is a great place to visit. Highly interesting and architecturally very unique. Inca ruins mixed with Spanish influence - doesn't come along every day.

One thing is the people who are willing to be photographed - for a fee of course. I don't do a lot of portraiture. Frankly, people just don't behave like rocks do. But I did manage to take a couple that I liked.

Artisan weaver. I bought a beautiful table cloth from this lady. I love how she is sitting on such colourful materials. Canon EOS 50D, 1/125, f/6.3, ISO 100, 28mm. 

Another Artisan weaver at the National Museum. Canon EOS 50D f/4.5 1/60 ISO 100 35mm

P.S. - Panorama Spectacular - Machu Piccu

While in South America, I took many panoramas. I reiterate, many, many panoramas. Some good, some, not so good, others a little weird, but all I had to wait until I returned to my trusty laptop before I could ascertain their status. I managed to get panoramas of all the highlights. More than one of most. So, after my mammoth post on Machu Piccu, I present a post-script - panorama spectacular! (Although I warn, not all are spectacular, I just needed a word that started with S)

Ok, so this isn't Machu Piccu, but it is on the way on the  Inca trail! Also, low resolution affects quality. Ruins to the left are pre-Inca. 

I got a number of versions of this, this one being the best, other than a slight slant to the left. Pretty awesome view though.

Ruined by Ruins

Some have asked me, why South America? Simple. For our first major holiday, my husband chose an adventure (which I very quickly agreed to because it was an awesome idea) and the result was this. It was now my turn to choose and I chose the one place I have always wanted to go - Machu Piccu. I have always been intrigued by ruins and ancient cultures...and ruins on top of a mountain sounded pretty inspiring so naturally it has always been top of my list. As it is right on the other side of the world, naturally we decided to make the most of it, max out our leave allowances and explore as much of the continent as possible. More on that later; today I'm showing you some Inca ruins.

Unfortunately, as previously mentioned this was not a photographic holiday per say, and to keep my adventurous nature and my husband happy I arranged to hike the Inca Trail during our first week. This is a four day hike over 42km along parts of the original trail to Machu Piccu. The highest point on this trail is the first pass, 4200m above sea level. Now, I'm not the world's most fit person and I've got to tell you that the second day of the Inca trail, 10km climbing 1200m, is the hardest 10km I have ever done in my life! Altitude sickness plus jet-lag. Not a great combination!

Before the photos, a brief history lesson: Machu Piccu was built by the Inca in approximately 1450, sitting at a 2,430m (8000ft) above sea level. It was abandoned before it was completed due to the Spanish conquest in 1532. Machu Piccu however, was never discovered by the Spanish due to the Quechuan people hiding its whereabouts by destroying some of the paths and allowing the jungle to take over. In theory it was built as a sanctuary for the Inca Pachacuti, although in reality no-one really knows. It sits, literally, on top of a mountain among other mountains. It is an amazing accomplishment for a civilization. The Inca truly were the world's first mountaineers.

Machu Piccu from Huayna Piccu (the great big steep mountain you see in pretty much every photo of Machu Piccu - word to the wise - don't climb it in the rain!) Canon EOS 50D f/4, 1/1250, ISO-320, 32mm. 

The above photo was taken from Huayna Piccu - the steep mountain you see behind Machu Piccu in almost every photo. There are ruins up there as well, although how the Inca's built them I will be forever wondering! At least Machu Piccu can be explained by the rock quarry in the middle of town; Huayna Piccu can only be explained by people carrying rocks up an incredibly steep, incredibly narrow and an incredibly slippery trail! It started raining when we were halfway up. It's rather daunting when you are on a narrow staircase on the side of a mountaintop of ancient ruins, looking down into the valley below knowing that each drop of rain is making you more vulnerable. No handrails and no trampolines below. I never understood why some people fear heights properly until the day we climbed Huayna Piccu. The consequence of this fear translated into a lack of photos. We were pretty keen to get down when all said and done.

Staircase leading to ruins along the trail. Original Inca. Canon EOS 50D f/8 1/500, ISO 320, 18mm.

So, Machu Piccu was never discovered by and therefore ransacked by the Spanish and it wasn't until a man named Hiram Bingham discovered the Inca site in 1911 that it became known to the world. (It was also discovered by some local Peruvians who were living at the site at the time). Hence, it was relatively in tact despite being incomplete and has been voted as one of the Seven New Wonders of the World (2007). Today, people are still discovering Inca sites all through the Andes along original Inca trails.

Machu Piccu plus fog. Canon EOS 50D f/5.6, 1/1250, ISO 320, 40mm. 

Unfortunately the day we were in Machu Piccu, so was a considerable amount of fog. It meant I could not get the one shot I went to South America to get guaranteed to impress: the classic lookout of Machu Piccu with the Huayna Piccu mountain in the background. I had to settle for shots such as the above. The place is still incredibly impressive. The people who lived here I believe were privy to the most inspiring view on earth. Imagine waking up to this every day?

Machu Piccu and the Mountain. Canon EOS 50D f/3.5, 1/2500, ISO 320, 18mm.

Of course, as you can see above, these days the place is swarming with people - tourists, students, guides, archaeologists and of course, camera nerds. Photographers everywhere! Makes it hard to think you can get any shots that are unique and worth a damn. In the end I had to settle for just opening my eyes, enjoying the moment, recognizing Machu Piccu for the great human accomplishment it was; ultimately built to celebrate this creation.  In the end, my favourite photos from Machu Piccu ended up being these two, of a small flower growing out the side of one of the ruins. It reminded me that despite our best efforts, nature finds a way to persevere. God brings beauty to all things in their time.

Inca Flower, on the trail. Canon EOS 50D, f/8, 1/800, ISO 320, 200mm

Nature conquers Inca steps. Canon EOS 50D, f/8, 1/800, ISO 320, 100mm. 

Hola 2014!

And a very happy new year to you! Did you miss me? 2014 is going to be a sensational year. Not just because it's a new year, or because I am starting a new job, or because I will be sharing some photos taken on the other side of the world, or even because as we speak I am awaiting two new lenses to arrive (you beauty!). No, it's going to be a fantastic year for those reasons and the fact that we arrived safe and sound from South America, learnt many lessons and have been welcomed back home. There are many more reasons as well that I can't think of right now but am sure will be coming! (like Peter Capaldi as Dr. Who...)

So, I bet you are all wondering, how was South America? Well, it was fantastic. Do I have some great photos from the continent on the other side of the world? Well, no, not really. Yes I bravely carried my Canon EOS 50D through rain, wind, mud, on 15 flights, numerous taxis and buses, cities, hiking trails, waterfalls and into jaguar territory. But the outcome of taking photos while hiking/on tours/when stressed out is not always great. Truth be told, I was too rushed to set up great photos, I only used my tripod once and the ND graduated filters I bought specifically barely got touched. Clearly I have a lot to learn about travelling and photographing.

I did however spend a number of days going through my...2000 odd photos and have a few that I would like to share with you.

Let's start with the process I used which if I were to do it again, would change. I went with my EOS 50D and 18-200mm lens, along with my Samsung Galaxy for shapshots (food, peace signs, pulling faces next to statues, that kind of thing). The phone was always in my pocket (except when it was raining) and the 50D in my backpack because most of the time it was simply too heavy to have around my neck (we weighed it - nearly 2kg!) and I didn't want to attract any thieves by having a big shiny object on display. There in lay the problem. When faced with a Kodak moment, I would whip out the Samsung. Invariably I would decide the photo would be better quality coming from the SLR but I simply did not have time (or be bothered by the effort) to take it out of the backpack. Especially when we were in groups being hurried along to the next site. So, the photos from the SLR were rather lacking in diversity. Also, it was very difficult to set settings on the run - so many of the photos didn't turn out on the first go and had to be edited. Hence, the days going through the photos.

Below is an example of what typically happened: First on our agenda was Cusco, ancient capital of the Inca Empire, demolished by the Spanish invasion of 1532 and rebuilt. Remarkable city - certain parts still contain in tact Inca ruins with Spanish buildings right over the top - temples replaced by Churches. Below is an image of the town square:

Samsung Galaxy Smartphone, f/2.6 1/501 sec, ISO 40, 4mm. Plaza de Armas

Same view on a Canon EOS 50D, f/7.1, 1/400 sec, ISO 125, 18mm, unedited. A little dark and soft.

As above only edited in Adobe RAW. Warmed the white balance, sharpened, adjusted vibrance, clarity and saturation.

Three versions of one photo, none of them brilliant. And this is just one example - some of the shots have more than three versions.

Never the less, we went to South America to enjoy South America. We were tourists, not photographers and I did manage to shoot a number of exciting subjects and have a heck of a lot of fun even  if it did mean lugging a 2kg camera across the globe! The most fulfilling enjoyment is when you use the best camera most of us will ever have - our own eyes - to witness and experience a new culture, a new side to the world, without fussing over the perfect picture.

Come with me and I will share a few of the highlights I did manage to capture and discuss the strengths and flaws. I will also be engaging in new adventures (as mentioned above, I have some new toys arriving this month. Very exciting) and new experiments. Hola 2014!