This photo was taken at the house of Ion Creanga, near Iasi, Romania. He was a famous and dear writer of folklore and fairy tales, among other things (see Wikipedia for more details). This was his country cottage. It’s called “Bojdeuca lu’ Creanga” in Romanian. I took it last summer during a whirlwind tour of Iasi and its surroundings.
Chances are, if you like photography, you’ve heard of Dan Heller, even if only in passing. Many people have found his photography inspiring, and his insight into the photography business razor sharp. Many more have found the resources available on his website very helpful as they got started in photography. I know I did.
When he recently put out a new book, I purchased it. It’s called “Digital Travel Photography“, and it comes with a handy-dandy companion guide that summarizes the book’s points very nicely. I took my time to read the book, getting through a few chapters per weekend. I’m glad to say I found it useful, and I think you will, too.
It turns out that travel photography isn’t much different than photography you can do right in your own home town, and that’s good. The same principles are involved. The book starts out with basic information such as composition, cameras, batteries, resolution, lenses, flash, ISO, etc, but if you’re a more advanced photographer, don’t get discouraged. It soon gets interesting. Even when he talks about basic principles, Dan finds ways to make the information captivating, and his photos illustrate the points very well. Besides, he goes into more fun stuff like white balance, night shooting, filters, bags, tripods and accessories as well. There’s also a wonderful section on extended exposure photography at the end of the book, and I found this truly useful. Sandwiched in the middle, we get advice on photographing people and places, as well as children, and dealing with various kinds of light and locations.
The book combines information from his extensive online resource library with new material. The content is beautifully laid out and explained in easy to understand language. This isn’t heady reading. Dan makes it as easy as possible to understand the information. If you want to improve the way you take photos when you travel, this book will do it for you. In a few afternoons, you’ll be able to get through the book, and when you go on vacation, packing along the companion guide will ensure that you can quickly review and apply the principles you’ve learned.
And oh yes, let’s not forget that Dan’s photography inspires. He may downplay that aspect and call his photos “average” in interviews, as I’ve heard him do, but the truth is that he is a very accomplished photographer who knows how to nail a scene. You can buy this book only for the photographs, and you won’t be disappointed. Add in the great advice he gives, and you’ve got a bargain.
The Maryland countryside is just beautiful, and we love to drive around whenever we can. Mostly, we go out in the evenings, looking for great spots where I can get photos of the sunsets. Here are a few I got recently in the rural areas around Poolesville:
Incidentally, we get around with our little sidekick, which we both love:
Last Saturday morning, Ligia and I met up with Keith McCammon and held our first DC area photowalk, as announced last week. Even though rain was predicted for that day, the weather was fantastic. We got there around 7:30 am and had a wonderful time walking on the docks and through the streets, photographing all things of interest to us.
Ligia carried my tripod for me. What a trooper! 😀
We received an amazing gift during our photowalk. We stumbled onto a really old home on Prince Street, built in the 1700s, called the John Douglass Brown House. As we were taking photos outside, the neighbors happened by, and we started talking. They were really nice and offered to introduce us to the owner of the house, Mr. Charles J. Reeder. He not only came out and started talking with us, but allowed us to come into the gated courtyard. We learned how he purchased the home, restored it, and made some additions to it.
While we snapped away at the amazing collection of fascinating things he had around the home and talked, I guess he saw something in us that engendered some trust, because he invited us inside and gave us a tour of his home. He does not normally do this, and he told us that as he let us in. I cannot even begin to tell you how many amazing old antiques he has in there, and how much he knows about each of them. My mind reels when I try to remember the experience. Thankfully I took plenty of photos. I’m not sure how many of them I’ll make public, because I do not want to invade Mr. Reeder’s privacy. Just because he allowed us into his home doesn’t mean he wants it shown on the internet. I’ll have to choose carefully what I publish online.
In the end, it worked out better than we could have imagined. If a larger group got together for the photowalk, I doubt we would have been able to visit inside Mr. Reeder’s home. This way, we formed a nice photowalking nucleus, and we’ll try to expand the group with future photowalks in the DC area. What a great start we had!
I took this photo during our recent camping trip to the Blue Ridge mountains, somewhere near Natural Bridge, VA. Although the sky was overcast during our first night, it cleared up afterwards, and we couldn’t believe how many stars were visible during our second night. It was so beautiful and peaceful, that I couldn’t help but feel God’s presence there.
Raoul Pop 