Category Archives: photography

Plasencia, Spain

131208plasencia3_sotc

The Cathedral of Plasencia has to be one of the most interesting cathedrals I’ve encountered in my travels – and I’ve seen a fair number of them. What makes this one unique, is that it was originally constructed in the Romanesque style in the 13th century. Then,  in  the 15th century, a new construction was begun over the top of the old, replacing the original structure as the new one marched across it. Work halted in the 18th century with work only partially complete leaving two distinct interiors in one building.

131208plasencia1_sotc

Think of it as a 15th century whale slowly swallowing a 13th century fish, and time freezing mid-way through the process. In the photo above, the old structure is the lower portion on the right and the “new” section towers behind it with its unfinished back wall showing there the large arches are bricked in. Think of that as the mouth of the whale.

131208plasencia2_sotc

Inside you end up with two half-sanctuaries. The one on the left is the older of the two that would have been demolished had the construction continued. If you could see through the wall where the blue altar piece is, you’d see the new sanctuary that is pictured on the right.

131208plasencia4_sotc

This is the back wall of the new sanctuary, and you can see the ghost of the old sanctuary fading through with its narrower colonnade and lower arch. This really shows the scale of the new cathedral compared to the old. Had the work on the new cathedral been completed, I think the building would tell much less of a story but, as it is, it’s a treasure for people interested in architectural history (as I am) because you can see two time periods and styles simultaneously. More than that, you can see the actual construction techniques where the the new construction stopped and pieces of the old cathedral can be seen being used as fill within the unfinished walls of the expansion. Definitely worth seeing.

Also worth seeing – and experiencing – was our Parador for the night which was located just a short walk from the cathedral in former convent of Sto. Domingo, built in the 15th – 17th centuries. Here are a few photos of it, starting with the entrance:

131207plasencia1_sotc

131207plasencia4_sotc

131207plasencia6_sotc

131207plasencia7_sotc

My only regret is that I was unaware of this bar in the cellars until the morning we were checking out. What a great spot to spend an evening:

131207plasencia8_sotc

If you’d like more information about Spain’s Paradores, visit their website here: http://www.parador.es

Caparra in the dying light

131206caparra1_sotc

As I was researching the Extremadura region before leaving for Spain, I was surprised to keep running across mentions of Roman ruins. Obviously, the Empire was huge at one time and there are ruins scattered all over Europe and points beyond but we tend to only hear about a handful. The first we visited on this trip was the site of the Roman city of Caparra. Most notable of what remains is this 1st-century, 4-way arch, built at the intersection of two prominent Roman roads on the Via de la Plata (Silver Way).

131206caparra2_sotc

We arrived at the Caparra ruins just as the sun was setting and for the next 30 minutes, I scrambled to make the most of the fading light and ever-changing sky.

131206caparra3_sotc

131206caparra4_sotc

The surrounding countryside was equally stunning as the sun slipped below the low hanging clouds, painting the distant hills in gold.

131206caparra5_sotc

131206caparra6_sotc

Migrating cranes, right on cue.

131206caparra7_sotc

131206caparra8_sotc

One of my final shots after the sun had set but while there was still some purple twilight remaining. Next, we were off to Plasencia with another stunning Parador and an interesting 2-in-1 cathedral. More on that in my next post.

Jarandilla de la Vera, Spain

131124jarandilla5_sotc

With a free afternoon on my first day in Jarandilla de la Vera, Spain, I grabbed a couple of cameras and headed out to explore the town. I had done a little research before I’d left home and had run across some images an old stone bridge. It was the one thing that I filed away in my mind to be sure and look for during my few hours in this town so I asked directions from the hotel desk before setting out. It wasn’t far, but the winding streets made finding it a bit more challenging than a similar trip might have been back home where most towns are laid out on a nice, orderly grid. I found the bridge – as seen above – but as is usually the case, the journey revealed much more along the way. Here are a few shots from Jarandilla de la Vera from that afternoon’s walk:

131124jarandilla4_sotc

131124jarandilla3_sotc

131124jarandilla7_sotc

131124jarandilla2_sotc

131124jarandilla6_sotc

The good life, in Spain

131121jarandilla7_sotc

I often ask myself, “what did I do to deserve this?” Not because I think I’m being punished for something undeservedly. Quite the opposite. More like – what have I done to deserve these amazing opportunities that come my way? I think this most often when traveling. Say what you will about the discomfort of today’s air travel – it’s still amazing that you can be anywhere in the world in just a few hours. We’re spoiled by an abundance of opportunity and I’m especially spoiled.

This hit me hard earlier this month as I joined a small group of journalists invited to explore the Extremadura region of Spain. I lived darned well there for eight days. Among the highlights were our nightly lodgings in six of Spain’s paradores. Started in 1928, paradors are a chain of state-run hotels that are located in historic buildings: castles, palaces, convents, etc. I found them amazing. I want to visit all 94 of them. Check them out for yourself here: http://www.parador.es

That photo above is the view that greeted me after landing in Madrid and making the 3-hour drive to Jarandilla de la Vera. First days on international trips are tough. I fight the temptation to take an afternoon nap as I find that the sooner I get back on a “daylight clock” (stay awake when it’s light, sleep only when it’s dark), the better off I am and the more quickly I adjust to the time difference.  On this day, we arrived a little after 1:00 pm and I immediately set out to explore and shoot photos. I’ll share more of those images in a later post but, for now, I’ll focus on the parador itself.

131121jarandilla1_sotc

131121jarandilla2_sotc

Set in a 15th century palace-castle, the Parador de Jarandilla de la Vera is an imposing structure. The courtyard was what especially caught my eye, though, and I decided to make it my primary subject during those magical moments that occur right around sunset. The day was a bit blustery and it was threatening rain by the time the sun was setting. This is the courtyard as I saw it upon arrival just before 2:00 pm:

131121jarandilla3_sotc

I wanted to take advantage of that brief time in the evening when the sky goes cobalt blue and contrasts so well with incandescent lighting. There were lights tucked all around the courtyard so I was hopeful that the lighting would enhance the scene come twilight.

131121jarandilla5_sotc

Just after 6:00 pm, things started to happen. Even a cloudy sky will give you a blue effect just after sunset and that’s what I was counting on here. I also made a point of using my tripod and a neutral density filter to extend the exposures and give some softness to the moving clouds and central fountain. By 6:30, things were just as I’d hoped:

131121jarandilla4_sotc

As it began to mist more heavily, I moved around to points of shelter to keep the rain off my lens and kept shooting:

131121jarandilla6_sotc

For a first day of a trip, after an overnight flight, I’d had a pretty good day. I often feel like day one is a practice day – good only for getting ones bearings and getting in the groove of shooting in a new place. This trip seemed to come together more quickly for me and I’m happy with what I managed to make of my half-day in Jarandilla de la Vera. Which is good, because we’d be off after breakfast the next morning for more adventures in other parts of Extremadura.

Sports shooter for a day

130907rugby08_stoc

I’ve never been into sports. Probably because I can’t play any. But for some reason, I’ve really started to enjoy rugby. Today we attended our first local match and I decided to play sports photographer for a day — something else I have never done, but it seemed like a good opportunity to play with some of my Nikon’s focus-tracking features that I’ve seldom used but probably should more.

The Jayhawks were playing the KC Islanders. For the sake of the Jayhawks, I’ll just say that the score wasn’t important. It was a hard-fought game and I thoroughly enjoyed myself! The Nikon performed beautifully. I tend to not trust automation enough sometimes and I always think I can focus more accurately myself but, in a case such as this, the 3D auto-tracking, continuous servo focusing of my D7000 was a huge help. Every now and then it would pop to a player that I didn’t intend but that was rare and my keeper ration was much higher than it would have been if I had relied on my own focusing skills.

All-in-all, a great – if not brutally hot – day!

130907rugby06_sotc

130907rugby07_sotc

130907rugby02_sotc

130907rugby04_sotc

130907rugby01_sotc

130907rugby03_sotc

130907rugby05_sotc

Flint Hills cattle drive

130822flinthills_sotc

It was a near-perfect weekend for shooting a Kansas cattle drive and sampling the cooking of Josh Hoy. Josh and Gwen Hoy operate the Flying W Ranch near Clements in the Kansas Flint Hills and have opened some of the working cattle drives to guests. Josh’s cooking may be more of the draw than the cattle, in my opinion, but the whole package was amazing. For a real Kansas experience, this is tough to beat. I’ll just let the photos do the talking:

130822breakfast_sotc

130822details_sotc

130822cowboy_sotc

130822cattle_sotc

130822dogboots_sotc

130822pair_sotc

130822steak_sotc

130821josh_sotc

More shallow depth of field

130810printer_sotc

Here are a few more shots taken in Arkansas with my 85mm 1.4. Having a manual focus lens again has been interesting. I used to love manual focus and only grudgingly adopted autofocus when I upgraded film bodies years ago to get other features. I’m enjoying a return to that slower, more thoughtful way of shooting but I am finding that changes in my own eyesight and in camera viewfinders have added some additional challenge. Not to mention that at f/1.4 you get very little wiggle room. That plane of focus can be wafer thin.

The big viewfinder on my D700 is pretty manual-focus friendly but I do miss my old split-view finders. I’ve looked at options online for getting a replacement focusing screen, but I’ve seen enough comments from people who have experienced exposure issues that I’m not sure it’s worth it to me. Instead, I think I’ll just continue to practice, practice, practice. I also think I’ll try and rely more on my eye and less on the focus-confirmation dot in the viewfinder that tells you when you’re sharp. I’m not so sure that it isn’t “drifting” a bit depending on my subject distance. It must be the camera – it couldn’t be me, right?

130810wedding_sotc

Above: I happened on this beautiful lakeside wedding location, just after the ceremony had finished. Below: a few shots of people hunting for diamonds at Crater of Diamonds State Park.

130810diamond2_sotc 130810diamond1_sotc

Simplifying the frame: Clinton birthplace home NHS

130804clinton3_sotc

On a recent visit to the President William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home National Historic Site in Hope, Arkansas, I decided to take a different approach to my photography. It’s easy to develop habits and a common one is to see “interior” and immediately think “wide angle.” After all, I carry that wide angle for just that reason — if I’m in a tight space, I can still get it all in the frame — right?

Here’s a typical shot from starting with that mindset:

130804clinton1_sotc

But the more I thought about it in this case, the more I realized that the architecture isn’t the point. The real spirit of the place was in the details: the childhood photos, the everyday items, the memories. After I had all of the wide shots I needed, I popped on my new Rokinon 85mm 1.4 and took a fresh look at things. The image at the top of the post and the three that follow were all made with the 85mm.

That short telephoto view changed how I saw things. It forced me to simplify. What was a chaotic mixture of patterns through the 17mm was now reduced and dreamy — thanks to the shallow depth of field. The images felt more like I felt, when touring the house. I’ve toured a lot of presidential museums and boyhood homes but this one was more personal for me, probably due to the fact that it resembled my own boyhood home so much. It was very nostalgic for me and I think that came through in the images. I’ll definitely not disregard a short telephoto when shooting interiors from now on.

130804clinton4_sotc

130804clinton2_sotc

Catching up, gearing up

130802hotsprings2_snell

Well, the month of July seems to have slipped past me without my having ever made a single post on this blog. So sorry. Bad blogger! I’ll try now to summarize what has been a busy month, even if it involved very little travel. And interspersed are a few images from June’s trip to Hot Springs, Arkansas. I have a couple of other posts from Arkansas in the works, so stay tuned.

So what happened to July?

Good question. It was there and then gone. For me it’s been a month of getting caught up in the office — prepping files and sending them off to stock agencies, doing a few design projects, prepping a couple more books in my “Journals of a Travel Photographer” series — and, perhaps most importantly, getting prepared for what appears to be one of my busiest Autumns ever. I’ll post more about that as things become more finalized but, suffice it to say, I’ve been buying travel guides for multiple countries. I’m super excited about the months ahead.

130802hotsprings1_sotc

But I also didn’t want to push forward with future work at the expense of past work. I’d been getting behind in stock submissions and images don’t sell themselves when they’re just sitting on a hard drive on your desk. And, if I needed more encouragement, my stock sales are actually up this year. Alamy is the agency that I can most easily track because I can log on for immediate reports and they have been doing very well for me this year. At the midpoint of 2013, I’m about where I was for all of 2012 and my average price per sale has increased for the first time since 2009. I’m not back up to those 2009 prices, but it’s comforting and hopeful to not see image prices continuing to drop. We’ll see if the trend continues and if it’s reflected at my other agencies but, in the meantime, it felt like time to “feed the beast” and get more images out there. My backlog isn’t entirely caught up, but I’ve made progress.

130802hotsprings3_sotc

August looks to be the turning point for me and my assignment and travel schedule is quickly heating back up. I’ll try and get my blog posts caught up before I get too swamped. I have a couple of things from Arkansas in particular that I want to share before new destinations distract me. And I hope to be announcing more books in the very near future. Two are in proofreading and two more are nearly to that stage.

Then, come September, things will get really exciting around here.