It's still about the image

[aster]

I love dogs!
Paul, especially the eyes in the second are mesmerising...lovely and healthy and with warmth...

Bakubo, a good shot of a person living on the streets or perhaps the beach...rather painful to imagine the life of that man/woman, life is tougher for some and we are so lucky to be conveniently in the security of our homes...Like Dr. Harout, I also think the photo of the girl and the girl herself looks nice...but I think if the frame had more of the horizon where ocean meets the sky and the girl was either more to the left or right this photo would deliver... Ok, just a thought.

Here we are, in 2009, and hopefully a good year for everyone,
Yildiz

[aster]

Birma, thanks for all the nice wishes and the many series of enchanting landscape photography you feasted us in the 2008. Wishing you a best-of-its-kind new year in 2009 with your family and sweet Matilda.

Alfonso, that's a very authentic hidden village. Some buildings are roofless and derelict, I suppose this is an abandoned village? I looked up Aragosa on the Internet but could not find much.

Have a wonderful year
Yildiz

[bakubo]

Nice shots Henry, specially the first. The last one is gorgeous (I mean the one in the shot )
As for the fellow in the first one, he really needs a Dermatologist's consultation.

Thanks, Doc! You are always so conscientious in replying to everyone and it is appreciated. I am down at the beach everyday, sometimes for swimming and sometimes with my camera. In the last few days I have been shooting a lot because it is so crowded here at Waikiki with many Christmas and New Year holiday tourists. More than even during the summer! I have a bunch of new photos and stuff on my website and blog:

http://www.bakubo.com

http://bakubo.blogspot.com

I was walking along and saw the attractive young woman and thought her body position was so interesting. She was playing with her hair and watching the little boy. I only had time to take a fast shot before she changed position so I quickly position myself so that she was between the jellyfish sign and the little boy. I think those two elements balance things out and the sign also adds a small humorous aspect. Every month about 9 days after the full moon for 2-3 days the jellyfish invade Waikiki and these signs go up. Actually lots of people still swim, but I suspend my daily swim for those 2-3 days. Of course, the lifeguards treat many people for jellyfish stings during that period each month. I swam yesterday, but the jellyfish haven't returned yet.

[bakubo]

Bakubo, a good shot of a person living on the streets or perhaps the beach...rather painful to imagine the life of that man/woman, life is tougher for some and we are so lucky to be conveniently in the security of our homes...Like Dr. Harout, I also think the photo of the girl and the girl herself looks nice...but I think if the frame had more of the horizon where ocean meets the sky and the girl was either more to the left or right this photo would deliver... Ok, just a thought.

Thanks for the comments, Yildiz! They are much appreciated! Yes, this year I am seeing a lot more homeless people than last year. I am not one of those people who go around taking photos of the poor souls, but I occasionally do take a photo. Sometimes with their knowledge/permission, sometimes not. Waikiki is such a lively place with so many people, tourists and locals, and almost every tourist has a camera taking photos so it is somewhat easier to photograph people here.

Actually, I have 2 photos of the girl taken in quick succession. They are identical except one is a slightly wider angle that includes more of the sky. For some reason, I sort of like the one with that tiny strip of sky at the top better, but it is still a bit hard for me to decide. I realize that normally a tiny strip of sky doesn't look good and I even thought of cropping it off, but for some reason that I can't explain I decided to keep it. I guess it breaks a "rule" though. Aesthetics are just so personal and we all have different senses. They are all legitimate. I appreciate all comments, constructive criticism, etc.! I am still scratching my head a bit about this one and thinking that cropping off that bit of sky might be better or maybe the other photo with much more sky would be better.

[pakodominguez]

a couple of years ago in Costa Rica:
Beercan + Kenko 1.5

100 Macro



Happy nu year!

[Dr. Harout]

Pako, great close-ups, I like them and Happy New Year to you too.

[pakodominguez]

Alfonso, that's a very authentic hidden village. Some buildings are roofless and derelict, I suppose this is an abandoned village? I looked up Aragosa on the Internet but could not find much.

http://www.maplandia.com/spain/castilla ... a/aragosa/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
main local festivity: August 16 (San Roque/Saint Roch)

[aster]

Thanks Pako.

Yildiz

[paulmurphy]

Keep the images coming guys.

Waikiki looks nice and warm - we have the beaches here in Northumberland, but not the temperatures, people pics at the moment involve lots of hats, gloves and Berghaus jackets

Like the wildlife, especially the caterpillar

I have a Spanish hill town also on file - we had a holiday in Nerja in 2006 and these are from the town in the hills above, a place called Frigiliana

We came across this football pitch (I presumed it was being covered over for a show) - wouldn't like to be the ball boy!



We also had to stay until the sun went down, this was taken from the restaurant where we had our evening meal



Both shots A100

Cheers

Murph

[Dr. Harout]

Murph, that 2nd shot is gorgeous, beautiful.

[alfake]

Yildiz, as Pako’s link suggests, Aragosa is not abandoned. Most Castilian villages (villages from a large region in the centre of Spain) suffered some years ago a massive exodus to the big cities. The ruins you see are eloquent witnesses of that urban exodus. Many of them were in fact completely abandoned, but not Aragosa. (Now it seems that the trend is changing and this small and semi-abandoned villages are enjoying the arrival of some urban immigrants.)
Good luck with your A900 decision… (wonderful camera, it seems, but probably not the best right now for the type of photography you describe).

Murph, that restaurant must have been an ideal location for a romantic dinner… (not trying to be indiscreet, of course…).

Henry, I am glad to see an expert shooter with the A590is! I got one some months ago, and enjoy it. (I chose it because of its extensive manual controls and the use of AA batteries.) As DK must be sleeping and Murph must be taking pictures at this time of the day (early morning in Scotland as in Spain) I feel brave enough to post a companion to your 590is girl (a somewhat contrasty companion, though...). (Sorry DK, Murph and… Doctor Harout –yes, it’s a Canon–: I promise I won’t do it ever again…)



Larger image: http://lh4.ggpht.com/_-v3wM0WlDDs/SV3I0 ... 01_web.jpg

Alfonso

[aster]

Thanks Alfonso,

I appreciate the detailed information and the photo. It feels good to know that the town is enjoying a revived life.


Paul, your photos of Nerja are very crisp and bright, the special tone of Spanish Sunlight doing a great job. I also enjoyed the uniform samplings of the roof tiles and the architecture as they all adhere to the same type which comprise the same warm colour palette.

Thanks
Yildiz

[bakubo]

Henry, I am glad to see an expert shooter with the A590is! I got one some months ago, and enjoy it. (I chose it because of its extensive manual controls and the use of AA batteries.) As DK must be sleeping and Murph must be taking pictures at this time of the day (early morning in Scotland as in Spain) I feel brave enough to post a companion to your 590is girl (a somewhat contrasty companion, though...). (Sorry DK, Murph and… Doctor Harout –yes, it’s a Canon–: I promise I won’t do it ever again…)

Alfonso, is that a photo of some sort of festival? Yeah, the A590IS is my current always-in-my-pocket digicam. I wrote about it in the December 21st entry in my blog:

http://bakubo.blogspot.com/

Pako, I especially like the moth and caterpillar photos!

Murph, that second photo is gorgeous! It really makes me want to be there.

[alfake]

Alfonso, is that a photo of some sort of festival?

Well, yes, sort of, but not exactly: It’s an Easter parade (or procession), more a (usually very solemn) religious ceremony or celebration than a festival (although I know the boundaries can get sometimes a little, or even quite, fuzzy). They are traditional and very common in Spain (and, I think, in all the Hispanic world: Pako, perhaps, could confirm).

A590IS is my current always-in-my-pocket digicam. I wrote about it in the December 21st entry in my blog

After reading your blog, I am glad to see that I have chosen the same digicam as you for essentially the same reasons…

Alfonso

[David Kilpatrick]

The white pointed hoods are penitents' hoods - odd too see a child wearing one, what sin had he/she committed to need to join a penitents' procession?

In the 16-17th centuries, protestant English sailors captured by the Spanish on the Main (Caribbean) and taken to Mexico as slaves for wealthy families said they were forced to convert to catholicism (many had been catholic before and could repeat all the Latin stuff - so were set free). The ones who had to be converted were made to wear what they called 'fool's caps' and carry a cross on their backs in procession. The fool's caps will have been these same pointed hoods.

They thought it was a degrading process, because they did not understand - they were just being made to do what any Spaniard would have done.

I have always found the pointed hoods rather sinister but they do make good photos. I took my first night-time flash photos of the Semaña Santa in Malaga when I was 15 in 1967, using a Pentax with 55mm f1.8 lens and High Speed Ektachrome (ISO 160! Ultra high speed!) and they came out pretty well because the white hoods reflected the flash brightly.

David