Shetland Islands

It's been awhile since I have had a chance to write a blog. I was hoping to blog more from the National Geographic Explorer while sailing around the western Mediterranean and then up the west coast Great Britain. However, the internet connection on the ship was quite slow; therefore, rather expensive to upload pictures. Now that I am back in Flagstaff, I'll try to post more often.

Above are a few images from the Shetland Islands. The archaeological site is a broch called Mousa and dates from the Iron Age, about 2,000 years ago. The exact function of these mysterious structures is not known; although, they do appear defensive in nature. This 13 meter high broch is the best preserved of the 570 or so found around Scotland, mostly in the Hebrides, Orkneys, and Shetlands.

Brochs remind me of the Anasazi towers found in southeast Utah, which archaeologists first presumed were for defense, but now believe them to be celestial observatories. Something to ponder.

Corsica, France

The west side of Corsica is a wild, rugged granitic landscape perfect for exploring by kayak, bicycle, or on foot. You can also drive, of course, but the narrow roads with terrifying drop-offs make for white-knuckle adventures.

Bonifacio is a walled city perched precariously on the edge of a high limestone cliff, where you can buy local sheep cheese, delicious olives, and a variety of wines. Corsica is also the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte. It's definitely an island to return to for a more leisurely visit.

Menorca, Spain

Today was a visit to Menorca, a tiny (minor) island owned by Spain. We got dropped off by Zodiac in the western coast town of Ciutadella. Skies were cloudy, the wind howling, and the temperature about 50 degrees, although clearing and warming were predicted. Unfortunately the weatherman blew it. The storm intensified as the day continued.

We managed a short photographic tour of the city before loading up on buses to head east, making stops at El Toro, highest (and no doubt windiest) on the island and at Poblat de Torralba, a prehistoric village and religious site several thousand years old. Then we continued to the east coast to Mahon, where an indigenous sauce has become spread (pun intended) worldwide as mayonnaise.

National Geographic photographer Massimo Bassano and I attempted another photo walk in the late afternoon; but after 45 minutes, we were all soaked to the bone so retreated to our ship. At Recap, we enjoyed white sangria, local gin, and tapas while learning that the tradition of serving alcohol and ham to visitors was to ferret out Moslems and Jews.

This soggy day was perfect for my little waterproof Olympus point & shoot.

Alhambra, Spain

After docking at Motril, Spain, we boarded buses for the scenic drive up to Granada (which means pomegranate, and our guide insisted each fruit always has 613 seeds) to the famous Moorish Alhambra palace and gardens. Although, the site was taken over by Catholic Spain in 1492, it still retains much of the original Islamic splendor.

It's a very popular tourist destination plus we had to stay in groups, which made photography challenging. Plus the mid-day sun was not very exciting. It was scan a scene and shoot from the hip. Yet, it is still lovely place to visit.

Proud Parent Report

While in Colorado Springs at Colorado College, we also attended a senior student art show consisting of nine monotypes. These remarkable, colorful creations from paper, fabric, string, and ink stirred our imaginations. One looked liked seahorses, another like Christmas wrapping paper, while others inspired visions of the creation of the universe. All of them brought joy and wonder to the viewers.

Oh, and did I mention, the artist was Kate Aitchison, our daughter?

Baby, It's Dark in Here

We attended a dance performance at Colorado College, where photography was allowed but not flash. Most of the dancing was done under fairly dim, colored lights, which were constantly changing hue and intensity. I needed a long lens to fill my frame, but I only had a slow 18-200mm zoom with a maximum aperature of 5.6 when zoomed all the out to 200mm. So I cranked up my ISO to 6400, hoped for the best, and shot away.

I was pleasantly surprised. Try getting shots like this with a film camera and no flash.

More P&S Versus DSLR Comparisons

Here are a couple more image pairs. In each case "A" was taken with a point & shoot camera and "B" with a Nikon DSLR. The "A" shots are JPEGs straight out of the camera. The "B" shots were shot in RAW and then worked slightly in Adobe Lightroom (my favorite software for cataloging and doing minor work on images).

So what is the advantage of having a DSLR? One is if you plan to make large prints (over 8" X 10"), the greater resolution of the DSLR becomes apparent. Another advantage is that the DSLR has essentially no shutter lag between the pushing of the shutter release and the capture of the image. The long lag in most point & shoots can be frustrating when trying to capture fast action like sports, flying birds, and small children. Also, DSLRs can make remarkably good images in dim light without flash, an aspect we will explore in the next blog.