Koper, Bled, Slovenia

[sury]

Few photos from the day trip to Koper and Bled, Slovenia. It rained while we were in Koper and Bled was absolutely beautiful with low clouds playing peekaboo with tall structures.

[aster]

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I love the first one looking over at the bridge, Sury.

The rain enhanced some colours and the ripples on the river's surface make for an interesting texture. The street and the buildings in the 2nd photo indeed promise a playful peekaboo. Nice plaza.

Thanks for sharing,
Yildiz

[sury]

Yildiz,
Thank you. I loved the town of Koper and fell in love with all those countries visited though regrettably only for a day.

Here are some from the visit to Bled.
The place was so magical with rain, clouds and the greenery, I was concerned the light and shadows may be beyond the DR of the sensor, so took a 3 image bracket of each panorama slice. Took me some extra time to create an HDR of each slice and then stitch into a pano. Total of 27 images, stitched into a 9 image pano. But it was a labor of love.



Another HDR image. Hopefully, this image gives you a glimpse of how the landscape was at the time of my visit.



On a rare occasion, I am in the photos too. This was a candid. My wife, Jaya took the photo.

[jbtaylor]

The 1st HDR image is magic. Bravo.
I cannot conceive of capturing that kind of image while on vacation. You are always on the job.
Secondly, a genuinely happy face never disappoints. So glad you had such a good time.
JT

[sury]

JT,
Thank you for your kind words. Much appreciated.

One more from the shores of Lake Bled.



We take this boat called Pletna and go to Bled Island on the Lake Bled.



The church on Bled Island which houses a wishing bell.


The 99 steps to climb up to the top to visit the church. The boss lady in one of her rare "absence of reluctance to be photographed" mood.

[aster]

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Always, where there's naturally formed water reservoirs of any type, the scenery becomes magical. I also agree that the HDR pano is excellent as well as the other photos in the latest post: there's something about the colour vividness, depth and the ripples caused by the rain drops. All photos are just great. The personal candid shot of you by Jaya maybe is a messenger? She preferred to cut off the top of your head while you gave her a full coverage for a delightful pose on the 99 steps…

Nice and joyful all along. Thanks for sharing, Jaya and Sury.
Yildiz

[sury]

Yildiz,
Thank you. I will convey your appreciation to her. Given I was wearing my hat backwards, the top of the hat has nothing to display anyway. The sunshade on the baseball cap was coming in the way of shooting so I was wearing it backwards. I was having a conversation with friends (for 43 years) and she caught me at the right time.

Sury

The church on Bled Island. Right next to me there is a bell rope. One can make a wish and pull the rope for the bell to chime 3 times and the story has it that your wish will come true.



This is the first time I tried HDR with people in it. I told her to hold the pose while the camera takes 3 shots. She did it. Normally she is not that patient with me when it comes to photographing her. I am still striving to strike a balance between the vivid nature and the natural skin tones/texture of Jaya.



The camera/lens combo did admirably. This is from inside the bus.

[aster]

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I believe the HDR worked just fine with Jaya in the frame. The scenery is exceptional and the lake has an exceptional dark tealish water colour actually. Can easily tell the different tones of greens from the rose leaves and shrubs right behind Jaya against the lake's water.

The interior of the church is very ornate. Interesting wishing bell anecdote.

Very nice road trip, Sury. Thanks for sharing.

Yildiz