Category Archives: germany

Portrait from a moving bus

portrait of Egyptian man

A press trip can be a whirlwind. On my recent trip to China my host describe it as “admiring the blossom from a galloping horse”. No truer words have been spoken. Yesterday I was on a bus with several other photographers and riders for over seven hours. Sometime in the mid-morning, a friendly competition began to see who could grab the best shot from the window of the moving bus. The above is one of my entries. I have others I’ll share later but want to process on my better computer screen once I’m home.

For those interested in the technical details: Nikon D300 & 80-200 zoom at 200mm, ISO 400, f/6.7 at 1/1000 of a second. The bus was probably doing about 30 mph.

The Great Sphinx

the sphinx

It’s been a busy week and I’ve had no internet access for days but the touring of Egypt has been great. I’ll have to catch up with more images after I get home, but here are a couple from the icons of Egypt: the pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx.

Having seen so many great images of these structures in my life, it was a little hard not to be disappointed in seeing them in person. While not as commercialized as many tourist sites in the US, there is a lot to distract a person from the grandeur of these monuments. Aggressive vendors actually shoving things into your arms as you walk past and then demanding payment, riders on camels following you for great distances all the while offering to pose for photos for a few dollars, etc., etc. No one takes no for an answer. Sites I would see later in the week would make up for any disappointment, however. And it’s undeniable that the pyramids are a wonder of the world. I might get another opportunity to visit them tomorrow. We’ll see if the experience is any different.

pyramid and sphinx

The camel riders descend on the tour buses:

tour buses and camels

Arriving in Cairo

tut mask

Landed in Cairo, Egypt yesterday afternoon and have been busy exploring since. Not much time to write now but here are a few photos from today — the Cairo Museum, an early morning felucca ride on the Nile and a couple of market shots.

felucca on the nile

cairo market

market blur