Beautiful Blue Croatia – Part 3

Looks like we’re on a boat, doesn’t it? lol

Our campsite in Pula was special, since we could
park our caravan on the cliffs.

We saw some spectacular sunsets from our deck chairs, and every evening at sunset, dozens of  Dolphins swam by.

To round off the evening, we sat with new-found  camper friends, and exchanged travel experiences over a bottle of Croatian  wine, (which is delicious by the way.)

If you would like to see  more of our camping
impressions in Pula  Just click on  the above photo. ⇑

The following beaches were all within a few minutes walking distance from us. What a Rhapsody in blues and greens. The water  was  so crystal clear, but unfortunately still too cold for us in April.

We changed our original plans to visit the Plitvice Lakes and decided to drive to Pula, to see ‘The Night of the Lights Festivities’.  Well, they should have named it, the night of the THREE lights festivities. Lol…as usual, the advertisements were more impressive than the show.

It was more a conglomerate of family gatherings than a city of lights. Little  girls dressed in petticoats and oversized bows kicked soccer balls through narrow alleyways with their brothers, while mothers’ ran after the short-stops, snatching one or the other to wipe dripping chocolate ice-cream from their chins.

Our walk through the rather ‘dark’ city of lights, turned out to be a — dodge the flying soccer balls —  hike. But  we took it all in stride, and to Herbert’s delight,  he kicked the soccer ball a few times himself.

If you would like to see  more of our impressions in Pula, just click on  the photo above. ⇑

Of course we visited the Roman Amphibium theater in Pula, which has hosted some of the greatest bands in the world, and still does on a regular basis. As you see, one of the knights from bygone days is still chained to one of the columns. Tsk tsk… I wasn’t sure if I should free him, but being a generous kind maiden of the court, I took heart and released the poor soul of his misery.

WATER ! WATER!

FREE! FREE !

 I’m happy to say there are no further images of this brave knight in gray.

Moving  right along….

Pula has a large harbor, and has one of the most impressive ship restorers and ship
building manufacturers.  It was a treat to stroll through the ship yards, and admire the highly polished mahogany decks,
adorned with brass framed pothole windows and shining bells.

The highlight of our stay, though,  was an excursion to Motovun…………,

an ancient village built on the top of a mountain. The landscape was breathtaking. Rolling green hills, miles of wild forests, and serpentine rivers

If you would like to see  more

 photos of Motovan
Just

click

on  the photo

below. ⇓

 

Thank you for visiting, and I would love to read your thoughts. Please do leave a comment. ♥

Photography and Travel -Part 2 – How to Take your BEST Travel Shots.

Yesterday I was leafing through some beautiful travel catalogues that Herbert and I picked up at a travel-caravanning show.  Wow, I thought, there isn’t really any need to take any scenic photos. It’s all been done, and in a quality that I could never compete with.

Nevertheless, I still take pictures. But I’ve been trying to take photos that are − different.  Pictures that don’t resemble the typical catalogue landscape but instead the little scenes that only my eyes have viewed in that  very moment and only my camera could capture it. I believe that’s how we amateur photographers can set us apart from mainstream photography, and maybe even stand out more, and possibly become quite interesting photographers.

So, you may ask… how and what kind of unique situations are there to photograph?

First of all, always have that camera handy and ready to shoot; the smaller the camera the more convenient. If you shoot in RAW, it will enable you to do some photo shopping on the image later – which may be needed, if it’s a spontaneous snapshot.  Also set your photos to at least 3000 pixels.

Who was it that said, we don’t make mistakes — we have happy accidents? After all, it’s our world when we look through our camera. Ah yes… the late painter, Bob Ross, said that; bless his heart.  It’s so liberating to be able to click away; creating crooked and cut off images…whatever.  It just might be that one of the pictures will catch that  particular fleeting moment in just the right way.

I love strolling away from the big tourist attractions to discover scenes in back roads and alleys. Go ahead, climb up a fire-escape to get another view.  And don’t forget to look up, I’ve often been surprised.

Lighting is what makes or breaks a photo. The most interesting photos I’ve taken were under stormy skies, or when the early morning mist rises, or a sunbeam shines through a sheer curtain.  If you can, try getting out of bed early, and catch the morning mood before the beaches get crowded. Oh, and the best lighting for photographs is late afternoon.

Okay, here are just a few things that I have figured out. I’ve never taken any photography courses, so these tips are all my own thoughts through my own trials and errors. I believe photography is simply about; what you see through your viewer is what you get – no more – no less.

I posted a few examples of photos I’ve taken − photos that I’ve never seen in a travel catalogues. Hmm… maybe one or the other does have that touristy look. Oh well, I’m working on it.

• My favorite photos of people are

• when they don’t know they are being photographed.

 Something small that might catch your eye – not just once, but twice;  something that makes you observe it, study it closer, maybe a doorknob,
or part of a statue, or an insect. That means it’s probably worth pulling out the camera and taking a close-up −click–.

 Panorama photos, if you have this option, I believe it make photos most interesting. Before starting,

I first check out the view, and decide where I want the photo to start and where it should end.  It’s like a little story.

 Too many colors can overload a photo. But then again you could always change your shot to a black and white photo.

What about you? 

I would love to read your suggestions.  

What was one of your most unique photos?

If you like, share your special photo here.

Photography and Travel – Part 1- Life… it’s not just a snapshot.

Can you imagine traveling without a camera? I know some  people who do. They say they upload the scenes into their brains, and that’s enough for them.  Well, maybe  my brain is too overloaded, and doesn’t have much room for  the  thousands of pictures that I would like to take. If you’re like me, then photography  is just as an important part of traveling as the suitcase or passport. If I would lose my camera, I’d buy a new one as soon as you could say – ‘take a picture’! Who needs National Geographic, when you can surf on-line through the most amazing photos your eye balls have ever seen?  When you skip over the millions of sunsets and sunrises, ( some of, which I admit, I just can’t skip over), photos of ducks, swans and reflections upon streams, lakes and polished cars, and continue on to click your way through  hundreds of streaming sunrays fighting their way  through densely grown trees ( I’m guilty of taking those too.), you will find some amazingly unique and captivating  subjects. Go ahead – be picky. There are two modern-day handicaps, though.  Those wonderful black and white snapshots of by-gone days aren’t as easy to take anymore. Those were the days when you didn’t need a signed permission allowing you to publicize a person’s face, a building or even a boat house. For that very reason, I always bring a few documents, packed in my camera bag,  for  willing subjects like: parents, street people, tall people, short people, laughing and grumpy people, and even owners of buildings, boats or cars, to sign and give me the freedom of openly displaying my work.   Life… it’s not just a snapshot. If you belong to an on-line  photography club share your link in a comment here, and you can be sure – I’l visit you there. Meanwhile, if you’re interested, you can take a look at  my most recent on-line portal at 500px.  Here’s my link:

My photography on-line

and or

Shutter-Nut

Make sure you double-click to see the larger size. Have fun and I’ll be “clicking” you!