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My First Macro

Animals, Bermuda, Macros, Travel 1 Response »

Oct 192012

I mentioned a while back that I managed to stretch my insurance money for the stolen equipment pretty far by purchasing second hand items as much as I could. This meant that I added a macro lens to my arsenal. I’ve always been interested in macro photography but never really given it a try. It’s definitely not easy and I’m already learning that shooting macro in natural light is incredibly difficult. I’ll be purchasing some sort of flash as soon as possible.

One bonus I’ve got is that one of my windows functions like an ever changing terrarium. It’s got a load of leaves and vines over it and all sorts of little creatures turn up, including today’s photo of a lizard. This guy was about 4 inches long.

Sailing Lake Como

Europe, Italy, Travel 1 Response »

Oct 172012

Today’s photo is another shot from Lake Como with a sailboat dwarfed by the surrounding mountains that rise, almost vertically, from the water’s surface. Can’t write much tonight as I need to get packing. I’m off to the Bahamas tomorrow for a meeting then taking a few days off in Florida. Don’t have a big enough bag to take all my camera gear at the moment so have some tricky decisions to make.

Photo Opportunity near Keflavik Airport, Reykjavik

Europe, Iceland, Travel 1 Response »

Oct 162012

Straight out of Keflavik, Camera Blazing

It seems like a lot of flights to Iceland arrive in the middle of the night. During the long days of summer this means arriving under the midnight sun. As I landed I was desperate to get out of the airport and break out my camera as the sunset lit the sky. Luckily, I was booked into a guesthouse in a picturesque little place called Gardur. There’s two lighthouses there so you can happily fill your first night in Iceland shooting.

Today’s Photo: Approaching the old Lighthouse, Gardur

As I approached this lighthouse I didn’t expect that we’d actually be able to go up to the top of it. Then, my travel buddy disappeared through the open door. Climbing to the top was pretty tricky with my camera, backpack and tripod. It’s a series of ladders with little openings in each floor to climb through. There’s some strange art installations inside as well. All in all, it was pretty creepy.

The last of the boathouse, Ontario

Canada, Ontario, Travel 1,467 Responses »

Oct 152012

Travel Planning: Namibia

I’ve started putting some thought into my next adventure and Namibia will definitely play a part. A desert full of dead trees that can’t decay due to the total lack of moisture, sand-dune boarding, a hot air balloon ride across the shifting sands, the morning mist rolling onto the shore where the desert meets the Atlantic and desert wildlife including elephants, lions, and ostriches.

Yup, I’ll have some of that, please.

How can we afford this, you may ask? I’m still working on that. One thing’s for sure, I can’t pay for one of the packaged multi-day tours that cost a fortune. Instead, we’ll be hopping on buses to find our way around the country. I think our two bases will be the capital Windhoek (a hub for buses into and out of Namibia as well as around the country) and Swakopmund (the Namibian holiday town and activity center on the coast).

Whatever happens, it’ll be an adventure.

Today’s Photo: The last of the boathouse

This is the last of my shots of the peaceful marina on Lake Ontario in Niagara-on-the-Lake. The sunset lingered for a long time and after rushing around trying to find a nice view that didn’t involve scaling a fence I decided on this one. Unfortunately, there was still a fence in the way. I tried every single gate to see if one was unlocked but didn’t have any luck. Eventually, I hoisted my camera, tripod and all, above my head and wedged it into the chain links of the fence. I let it stop shaking about and used my cable release to fire off 3 bracketed images.

Cernobbio, Lake Como

Europe, Italy, Travel 1 Response »

Oct 142012

Cernobbio is one of the many beautiful towns lining the shores of Lake Como. We didn’t stop here, but I grabbed this shot as we passed by on the ferry.

A Strange Mushroom

Europe, Iceland, Travel 3 Responses »

Oct 132012

Here’s another shot of the iceberg washed ashore at Jökulsárlón and the strange shapes they take as they melt.

Barge Music Beneath the Brooklyn Bridge

New York, Travel 3 Responses »

Oct 112012

About Traverse Earth

I’ve added an about page. You can click the link above (just below the header) if you want to know a little bit more about me, about this site and what I’d like it to become or for info on how to license or purchase prints of my photos. I’ll also be adding some photos of me in action over the weekend.

Today’s Photo: Barge Music Beneath the Brooklyn Bridge

This is one of my older shots from New York. I was going through some old files and found this tone-mapped image that I hadn’t tweaked in Photoshop yet. I’d been having some trouble with it over a year ago and it got cast aside. I decided to give it another go and now I’m happy with the final result.

Odd One Out

Europe, Iceland, Travel 8 Responses »

Oct 102012

This was shot at Jokulsarlon, Iceland, where icebergs come crashing down from the Vatnajokull glacier and begin their journey out to sea. Some of those icebergs, after melting down enough to escape the narrow exit to the lagoon, become trapped against the shore by the crashing waves. These three were amongst many scattered here, slowly melting away.

The icebergs take on various different colors based on the atmospheric conditions. The black one in the background is the result of volcanic ash frozen into the ice.

The Gates, Piedmont, Italy

Europe, Italy, Travel 2 Responses »

Oct 092012

On our way to our hotel in Piedmont, Italy, we drive past these columns and knew that we’d be returning to photograph them at some point. As we rushed home from Lake Como, running late due to a lack of understanding how the ferries worked. My family was waiting for us to join them to go to dinner. Taking photos really wasn’t an option. Then, this sunset began to light the sky. Shortly after we realized we were coming up to these columns and decided we couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Our tardiness was punished, however, those vines are covered in thorns and once they wrapped around your leg or arm they didn’t want to let go!

Route 1, Iceland

Europe, Iceland, Travel No Responses »

Oct 082012

Taking this photo was a bit tricky. I was struck by the gentle curve and calm lake beneath the overcast sky. Initially, I set my tripod up on the road, but I wasn’t happy with it. I needed to be higher. So, I hopped up onto the Jeep’s hood. My thinking was, it’s a jeep, it should be sturdy. It wasn’t. That hood buckled easier than your average car would! I decided I could get up on the roof, if I stayed over the jeep’s roll cage. This worked at first, but after taking a few shots I realized that my presence on the roof was causing the jeep to move pretty much constantly. I tried jumping off after setting the timer and hoping the jeep would calm down. It didn’t. So, I climbed back up again and stuck in my remote shutter switch. I jumped off and waited for a while before pressing the button. Then, I got the below image.

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