Here was a fun Christmas Eve event... Party on the Chiva with the Family! My video skills are pretty poor but some of these shots show a bit of Bogota along the way.
Archive for the ‘Dark’s Photography Blog’ Category
Christmas Eve Chiva Party!
Friday, January 14th, 2011Lake Guatavita and Bogotá at night
Friday, December 24th, 2010Here are a few shots taken at Lake Guatavita which is about 35 miles NE of Bogotá, about 9800 feet above sea level. Amazing place with amazing views. Thank you to my new friend Mario who offered to take me here. It was quite a climb for this Gringo who got winded a few times on the ascent to the top. Truly a great day. Later the family headed to Monserrate, the highest mountain overlooking Bogota at alt 10341 feet. The Church at the top was mostly obscured by the clouds that had decended over the mountains, but I did got one shot of Bogota at night.
Museum of Gold and Historic Bogotá
Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010The Colombian Museum of Gold is an amazing place to see some of the Pre-Colombian crafted Indian artifacts. The items are impressively displayed, and really worth the trip. After the museum, the Princess and I headed down the five blocks to the Historic District of Bogotá. The downtown city streets are crowded like New York City (I imagine… have not been there yet). After passing through a police checkpoint, we entered a secure area where not only the historic areas of Bogotá are, but also the home of the President and also the Congress building.
Gringo’s in Colombia who are not worried about security are either a bit daft or carry nothing of value. Every street corner in downtown has police or military. Every building, either commercial or residential anywhere in Colombia has either security bars on the windows, or security guards or both. Colombians may not, in general, be able to protect themselves from assault (as we do in the U.S.) but they sure know how to make a fortress a home. Colombians, as friendly as the ones I know in the family are, are also a wary and careful people. Their advise on where to go and where not to is invaluable.
For all of these shots I used my Nikon D90 with the Nikkor MM f1.8G AFS Lens, sporting the Sun-Sniper camera strap. The 35mm field of view may have been sometimes limiting, but I had less worries (security wise) having this lens mounted on the D90 than the much larger Nikkor 18-200mm. And vacations are not about stress about losing your equipment (or worse), are they?
More Images from Antioquia
Sunday, December 19th, 2010We had a great day adventure out of Medellin to Penon DE Guatape (and the accompanying Taxi drive thru the mountain passes to get there) to find ourselves at the base of a huge rock. It is only 714 steps up to the top but the views are breathtaking. I plan on making a few panoramas from the shots I took when I get back to Florida. We then drove down to Guatape to see this beautiful little town. After a bite to eat, we headed back to Medellin for a few beers in the Hard Rock Café. The next day we took the Metrocable over part of the mountainous city. Medellin like much of Colombia is a country of contrasts.
Images from the State of Antioquia
Friday, December 17th, 2010Here are some of my favorite images shot in the State of Antioquia. These images are from Santa Fe De Antioquia and Medellin, and some of the surrounding areas. (Except the Vamos Graffitti picture taken in Bogota) Note the picture of the mudslides… the rainfall here has been heavier than normal and we have driven around many mudslides/landslides in our adventures on the mountainous roads. Some of these images are taken from a moving taxi, on rough roads. Hopefully these shots give a small glimpse of what Colombia looks like!
JPEG vs RAW… the real deal
Wednesday, November 24th, 2010Probably no other topic involving photography has had so much misinformation expounded by ‘experts’ than the JPEG vs RAW controversy. The overall theme you will find on the internet if you search ‘JPEG vs RAW’ is that JPEG’s are fine for sharing pictures on the Web, Facebook or email, but are useless for much else. Also is the notion that JPEG’s cannot be manipulated well during post-production. Popular photo magazines often have the optinion that RAW makes better photographs and better photographers. The final ‘proof’ that RAW is superior because the ‘Pro’s’ use it.
Should you shoot RAW or JPEG in your DSLR? The real answer is: It depends.
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Doing the Pano
Saturday, November 20th, 2010
How to make a panorama image without a wide angle lens? Put together multiple images to create a high resolution image. The above image was taken from the top of the 17th Street Causeway Bridge looking North up the Intercoastal in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Taken with a Nikon D90 with a Nikkor 35mm f1.8 lens, and a total of 7 images were used. Below are some tips that will help create these images.
Practical Photography
Wednesday, November 17th, 2010From much of the research I have done concerning photographic techniques and photographic equipment, I have found much inaccurate information and also people expounding positions that they cannot support with fact. There are a few exceptions such as Thom Hogan, who is a true professional and he knows how to use and test his equipment.
My point is that photography really is about the creative process, not about equipment. The best example of this is Chase Jarvis’ book and website, The Best Camera is the one you have with you. This book may be the best example that great photos are not equipment dependent. This work really humbled me, and inspired me at the same time. The great Marc Silber interview with Chase Jarvis can be seen here.
Williston Airplane Meet
Sunday, November 14th, 2010Princess and I were invited to the Williston Airplane Meet at the Williston (FL) Airport on November 13, 2010. There was an incredible turnout of many aircraft including vintage World War Two era planes. The weather was perfect and the people very friendly. A great event with great people. Thanks to all who coordinated this gathering and also to the great pilots who keep history alive!
