Travel and Photography: A Vicious Cycle

Anyone who has met us for at least, oh, 2 minutes knows how much we love to travel and see new places all that this wonderful world has to offer.

And in the past few years, we've both developed a love of photography that usually goes very well with our love of travel. I now find myself taking pictures not just to document the trip, but also enjoying the challenge of trying to capture the beauty of a special place or cope with difficult photographic conditions.  Or, sometimes I start to prioritize destinations based on the photos we could take. There were many reasons I was excited to go to Istanbul over Easter, but the truth is that one of them was I wanted to photograph the gorgeous mosques now that I had a good camera and knew (somewhat) how to use it! 

Sometimes hard to balance the desire to see the sights with the other desire to photograph it. You would think these are always the perfect combination. And though usually they go well together, sometime I find myself concentrating more on the photography than seeing the place. Not sure if that's "right" or "wrong" and it may be quite normal, but it's a bit like the typical quandry of how much time to spend on seeing the sites and how much time to spend eating, relaxing, and soaking up the culture. 

The right balance is key for an enjoyable trip. The Europeans often marvel (and not in a positive way) at the typical American European holiday: It's usually something like 5 cities in 6 days, or sometimes even more cities than days.  I always explain that we have to make our short trips count since we Americans have much less vacation time and great difficulty getting longer than a week off work at a time. But this feeling like you have to see it all and not waste the trip leaves us exhausted by the end of the trip and suffering from what I'd call in Europe "castle fatigue" or in Egypt "tomb burnout."  Andrew from Grounded Traveler calls it the "Aquarium Effect of Sightseeing," but the result is that after too many castles/tombs/old squares they all start to look alike and it's not really that much fun anymore. Diminishing marginal utility of sightseeing...I'm having flashbacks to econ classes...

After enough years of travel (and of having the wrong balance), I've learned to be OK with taking a trip somewhere great and not seeing everything. We usually prioritize what we want to see, and then we don't worry too much if we don't see the rest. It's much more enjoyable if we take the time to sit in a cafe and have turkish coffee or watch the scenes from a lunch table on the plaza instead of rushing around to see everything. Fish and chips in London, macarons in Paris.... part of travel is soaking up the culture and getting to try new foods, right? 

But I'm still working on finding my travel/photography balance.  Sometimes we get so wrapped up in the photography that we forget about how interesting the subject is. I guess luckily there's the internet and we can always read more about it later. Though I struggle with the same question of "am I getting everything out of it that I should?" 

Our trips often look a lot like this

(I'd just gotten a macro lens, so we pulled over to a scenic spot on the way home from spring skiing)

Or this, at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna

We're learning to manage it better and build in time for photos, since that's one of the fun parts of the trip. We know that when we stop to take pictures, we're a lot slower than the average person, so we build in extra time to the schedule. And especially extra time when we're hiking!

But I've recently realized there's a bigger problem with combining travel and photography - it's a vicious (and potentially expensive!) cycle. 

The more I travel and practice, the more I enjoy photography. And the better my pictures and processing get, the more I want to take pictures and improve my photography. And the more my photography improves, the more unhappy I am with the older pictures because I remember how beautiful the place was and I know I could do it better now. So then I want to go back and "do it right." And I want more equipment...

Luckily the processing side of it only costs time and terabytes in the digital photography world. Herr J is finding that out the hard way. Every time he learns a better way to process the pictures, he wants to go back and redo the older ones. That can eat up a lot of time! As for me...I'm still trying to get through the huge backlog of almost every photo I've taken since getting a DSLR.... But we now have a digital photo frame filled with hundreds of beautiful places and happy memories.

Last week as I was dreaming of potential honeymoon destinations, I was inspired to look through my safari photos from a trip to South Africa a couple of years ago. This trip was the catalyst for upgrading to a D700. I'd been thinking about going to full frame and knew this trip was coming up later in the year, so it was a good time. The problem now is that I didn't know a quarter of what I know now (and there's so much I STILL don't know!). So I was disappointed looking back through the pictures. There were some good shots, but most of them were not what I remembered/expected and a few simple adjustments like shutter priority would have really made a huge difference. 

Looking through those photos again, I concluded that:

1) I'm so lucky to have the chance to go such an amazing trip

2) Wow, I did NOT know how to use my camera back then!!

3) I need a longer lens

4) I need to go back*

* this one probably is only 50% photography related. I just love animals. I could easily be a safari junkie!

Realistically, I can't justify one of those awesome, superfast 400mm+ lenses. Even if money were no object, would I really carry around a 10-15 pound lens??? 

No, but looking through these photos - remembering how amazing it is to see the animals and knowing how much better the pictures could be - I find myself wanting to take more pictures and travel more. (And really wanting some extra reach) In the short run, a trip to the zoo or to one of Germany's safari parks would be a great idea. All the fun of seeing/photographing animals for a fraction of the price and travel time! And a good opportunity to practice before the the next time. Maybe next time we rent a lens? I'm currently still failing, but I keep trying to rationalize Nikon's 70-200mm 2.8 and a 2x teleconverter. Herr J's micro four-thirds with it's tiny, light effectively 600mm lens beats me every time!

But, back to South Africa...while there were disappointingly few good ones among the couple thousand photos I took, there still were a few good ones. And I guess even the not so good ones are worth keeping, since they provide me with memories of good experiences and time with friends. And, of course, inspiration for the future! 

Here were some of the better ones:

The vultures waiting for the lions to leave the dinner table

 

 In the middle of a huge herd of Cape Buffalo and their birdie friends

This one of the European Roller came out very well!

We unintentionally drove right into the middle of an elephant herd. None of the photos of the babies came out well, but one or two out of a hundred worked. Frustrating about the photos, but I do have the memories.

 

More birds, either waiting for a free meal or hiding out up high as the predators come out for dinner time

In this case, the 70-300mm was plenty to get a nice close shot of a Cape Buffalo. I like how their horns grow to look like they're wearing an old-fashioned wig. 

Not very nice skies, but a decent shot of the Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill

 

Procrastination actually paid off for me here. Upon returning 2 years ago, I did nothing other than convert the RAW files to jpg. But in the last month, we've found out how to rescue those grainy night shots using Topaz DeNoise. It's a bit of a miracle-worker!

No animals, but this one pretty much sums up the safari experience....hats, cocktail hour, photography, and some wildlife magazines. And a big bowl of brightly colored monkey balls.  

Capturing the moon is one of the big photo challenges I haven't yet worked out, but I do like the dreaminess of this shot of it coming up above the trees and grass.

And it's shots like these that make me want the big boy lenses.....This was at 300mm and cropped as much as I could. Though the picture is nothing special, it reminds me how helpful the monkeys were. Thanks to their incessant screeching, we realized there was a young leopard nearby!

Sure, I'm biased because I love cats, especially big, boldly patterned ones. But the leopards were by far my favorite animal out there. We saw 3 or 4 of them. They are breathtakingly beautiful and one can easily lose an hour just watching the leopard stroll around, roll in the grass, and primp. And my lack of good photos of the cats (and anything that moved, really) makes me want to go back and try again. Too many were blurry (use a faster shutter speed), not proper exposure, or obscured by grass (more careful composition). I want to go take a beautiful portrait of the cat's face, but I just never got in close enough.  Isn't he gorgeous? 

(Something tells me that getting a leopard to stay still and to look in my direction is going to be equally frustrating as trying to get my housecat to pose!)

And finally, we found the giraffes, about 5 minutes before it was time to turn around and head back to the airport.

 

It wasn't all big creatures. The smaller ones were everywhere too. Luckily this little guy was slow enough for me to catch him in focus. Unfortunately most of the smaller, faster creatures were too far or too fast to really be in detail. Especially the wildebeasts and the cute little warthogs that ran through the grass with their anntenna-like tails sticking up - just like Pumba!

 

Though I was able to get a few impala not running.  

Expat Bloggers meetup - Aachen Cathedral

When our group of English-speaking bloggers in Germany met last year (in Cologne), some of us took an afternoon side trip to the city of Aachen.   In the prior post we shared photos of a unique children's fountain, a fantastic torte-like treat from one of the best cafes in town, and a glimpse of the Rathaus (town hall). 

The walk through town was nice, but the headline attraction that day was the Aachen Cathedral.

In the photo above, there is a store on the right side called Nobis Printen - I remember them from my semester studying at the university here... in 1992!  Printen are Aachen's version of lebkuchen (like gingerbread but denser).

Of course we took a minute (or 10) for some photos outside...

...and bracketed & tonemapped as well (HDR) to see how it looks with exaggerated details:

Wikipedia says that it is the oldest cathedral in Northern Europe.

Charlemagne apparently liked the mineral baths in Aachen, and spent a lot of time here.  He began construction of the Palatine Chapel on this site in 792 AD - it was expanded in the 10th century.  He was laid to rest here in 814. (Two later kings had his vault re-opened.  In 1000, Otto III took one of Charlie's teeth!)

Then, for about 600 years between 936 to 1531, 30 German Kings and 12 Queens were coronated here.

In 1978, it was one of the first 12 items to be named a UNESCO world heritage site.

Here is the entrance, on the other side of the cathedral.

There is an interesting feature on the cathedral entrance -- a decoration on the door of a lion's head, whose "nose" is open from one side to the other.  This is the earliest known bronze casting north of the Alps, and also has a traditional tale about it, relating to the construction of the cathedral.

As the legend goes, at some point in the construction, the people ran out of money.  The devil himself offered to fund the rest, but his price was this:  he would get the soul of the first mortal to enter after its consecration.  So the Aacheners caught a wolf, and chased it into the cathedral first.  The devil blindly grabbed the living soul of the first thing that crossed the threshold.  As soon as he realized he was tricked, he became enraged and slammed the door... but with such force that his thumb was ripped off in this decoration.

If you reach a finger into the lion's nose, you feel something shaped like a thumb.  Here is Frau A checking it out:

Stepping inside (souls intact, I think), you are hit by a wave of lovely detail and lots of GOLD:

Coming completely inside, it feels smaller than many newer, larger churches... but that makes the decorations more visible, more 'accessible'.  The dome, for example, is something we stared at for minutes at a time.

Here's a wider view, without the chandelier but showing more of the upper levels, columns, and arches:

Moving all the way forward to the apse, you now see the large stained glass windows that we glimpsed from the outside.  And if you didn't notice in the foreground in GOLD, the altar (which dates from the 11th century).

Here's the same view, but again bracketed, merged, and tonemapped for HDR output in Photomatix...

...and another HDR composition of the apse:

The cathedral was also known as the Royal Church of St. Mary at Aachen, so she has a strong presence as well:

It was really a traveler's and photographer's delight.  We spent a relaxed while soaking it in (and me, remembering bits and pieces of my time here 20 years ago) before finally returning to the train station.

Interestingly, this was the perfect "warm up" because the next day (and next blog post) is at the Cologne Dom!

Expat Bloggers Meetup - side trip to Aachen

Last October, Frau A and I attended a get-together of English-speaking bloggers in Germany.  The core group have held this gathering annually in various cities for years, but it was our first time to join them.  (At the time, Schnitzelbahn was only a little more than a year old - we were the newcomers.)  We were looking forward to meeting the people that, to date, we had only communicated with via email and web comments.

They decided to have the 2011 get-together in Cologne, with a side-trip to Aachen.  It was especially interesting for me, becuase I spent a semester in college studying at the Technical University in Aachen (one of the "German Ivy League" universities, with focus on science and engineering topics).

Frau A and I flew to Cologne, and then headed to the main train station to meet the other bloggers that were also making the side trip to Aachen.  It would be a short (~40 minute), easy train ride away.

When we arrived, we walked from the station into the town center.  On the way, we passed the Aachen Theater, which opened in 1825.  I remembered this right away from my summer there (in 1992)!

   

The idea behind holding the bloggers' get-together in different cities each year is that one of the bloggers "in the know" (who lives there) will organize things to do -- less touristy places for dinner, intereting sights (some typical, some less well known, etc.).  The one blogger who lives in Aachen met us in town and took us to its most famous cafe, Van den Daele, for some coffee and cake!

Just looking in the window gets the mouth watering...

I finally decided on a chocolate mousse-type treat (and had a cappuccino to go with it).

After fueling up, we walked around town a bit together. Our hostess and fellow blogger would explain the history or special attributes of different buildings and places - she really put a lot of effort in for us.

We passed the Puppet Fountain, unique because the figures have hinged (movable) arms, heads, or legs.  The different figures represent different roles and aspects of society:  horseman (representing Roman historical influence), professor (representing education), jester (representing amusement), and a fashionable lady (representing the cloth trade).

Kids like this fountain - the daughter of our blogger friend/guide was having fun moving the figures around.

We then walked past the back side of the Rathaus (town hall).  Again, memories for me came rushing back!

We circled around to the front of the Rathaus, where another fountain and figures waited.

This is the Karlsbrunnen (Karl's fountain), the oldest in Aachen (first in 1334, then rebuilt in 1620).

The daughter of our blogger and "tourguide" was incredibly charming -- I think she's going to be an actress!

We also made a stop at the Aachen Cathedral, but that has so many cool photos that it will be the next post...

Pyrenees vacation - Banyuls sur Mer (culture)

We had one last day on our hiking/relaxing vacation in the Pyrenees and Banyuls sur Mer.  The weather got a little colder and windier, so we simply decided to explore the town a bit.

A French navy/coast guard ship was anchored just offshore, and a surfer was taking advantage of the wind/waves:

We walked to the Church La Rectorie, built in the 12 century (Romanesque).
From what we read, the bell tower with three bells is somewhat unique. 

Right next to the church is the oldest cemetery in town, with family crypts (some old, some newer):

As it turned out, a small festival was starting in town.  This band started entertaining in the afternoon.  Notice how Spanish the traditional costumes appear -- we are very close to the border after all!

The music played was also quite "Spanish".  (The stage in the background was being set up for later concerts).

The performers were compete hams - and of course the crowd loved it.  Notice the jackets and scarves and body language... the weather had definitely turned and was no longer Summer.  We had our fleeces on.

After a brief listen, we headed back to the waterfront one last time for a glass of Banyuls.  All of the beach cafes brought the plastic sheets down to keep out the wind and light rain, but the view was still nice.

After dark, we found a pizza restaurant that looked promising:

The "cave" was small and comfy, and the pizza quite good.  (With another glass of Banyuls, too.)

As we walked back to the hotel for the last time, the small festival was still going stong.

It was a great way to end the vacation, and we can clearly recommend Banyuls for a Mediterranean getaway.

Pyrenees vacation - Banyuls sur Mer (aquarium)

After four days of hiking through the Pyrenees, Frau A and I got to relax in Banyuls sur Mer, France.  Since it lies right on the Mediterranean coast, we spent a lot of time near the water.  We lucked out with great weather:

At one end of the marina is the Banyuls aquarium.  Frau A really loves animals, so we had to see it. 

The aquarium is run by the biology and land ecology department of Paris IV University.  They also maintain an "underwater trail" in the sea that you can snorkel through, but it was already closed for the year (October).

The aquarium houses "local" (Mediterranean) water life:  fish, octopi, coral, sea horses... here are anenome:

The aquarium put special lights on this guy and he seemed to glow:

He had a friend nearby too:

Other anenome also had cool colors:

It was challenging snapping photos of fish:  moving fast, through glass, little light.  But we got a few:

This octopus was pretty social.  He was quite active when we hung around his enclosure a while:

The Mediterranean lobster is very different from the Atlantic kind I'm used to -- no claws!

These were probably the most interesting fish - sorry, forgot to write down the species (darn).

This tank was cloudy, but we caught a small ray and two moray eels in the same frame:

In that same tank were some larger fish.  This one poked his nose right at us.  You can see the moray, ray, and another fish in the background.  There was a lot of action, in what was probably the largest tank there.

The spotted ray reminded us of the ones we saw in the Maldives a year before.

Here is our in-your-face friend again!

In another tank, this angler fish was perfectly still, but did twitch his "fishing pole" every once in a while.

The rock fish also has an interesting bodym and stays very still the entire time.

In a small tank near the exit were a bunch of sea horses, swimming through a seaweed forest.  Really nice.

This was probably the most popular tank, with people just mesmerized by these little guys.

The aquarium was a nice, short diversion in town.  We headed back outside into the sun after maybe 1.5 hours (it's not very large) but hope to go diving/snorkeling around here on a future vacation.

Pyrenees vacation - Banyuls sur Mer (winery)

After Frau A and I finished the Pyrenean hiking part of our vacation (See here for days 1, 2, 3, and 4), we had a couple of days to explore the cultural side of Banyuls sur Mer, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

Being in France, the first thing we looked for was a winery tour.  Naturally, there were plenty of options.  One was particularly interesting:  Cellier des Templiers.  We booked a tour (rarely conducted in English).

The organization consists of 750 winegrowers who formed a coperative in 1950, and then a formal sales and marketing entity in the 1980s.  But what is most interesting is that they cultivate grapes in almost the same manner as the original winegrowers from the 6th century: on terraced land, worked exclusively by hand.

Wine growing history here can be traced through Roman rule and the Middle Ages -- when the Knights Templar improved the organization and processes of agriculture.  The terraces are a legacy of this approach to viticulture. 

The Banyuls region is especially known for fortified, sweet wines (mainly red).  The primnary grape varieties are Grenache Gris (Grenache Noir), Grenache Blanc, and Carignan, with other varieties allowed but seldom used.  

As in making port, alcohol is added to halt the fermentation process while the natural sugar levels are high.
Our tour guide spent quite a bit of time walking us through the process, complete with a wall diagram.

The wine is aged in oak barrels.  It takes a minimum of 10 months for Banyuls AOC (appellation d'origine controlee, French protected designation), and 30 months for Banyuls Grand Cru (a superior designation).

In the photo below, you can see the walkways snaking around the cellar and providing access to the barrel tops.
On top of each is a stopper - testers drop a glass down for a sample, and taste/test the wine periodically.

Different cellars were set aside for different grapes or designations.  This one had the largest (!) barrels:

A unique part of the process for some of the varieties is that they are also aged outside.  (The process is called maderise, after Madiera wine which also involves outside heating and oxidation of the wine.)

We went from the top of the cellar, to the outside aging area, and back inside on the lower level of a cellar:

The tour guide paused a bit... she obviously loved being there.  It was cool, quiet, and smelled great!

This was the single largest barrel in the cellar (below):  over 1000 hl.

We ended the tour with some tasting, and of course purchased some that we liked best.  Oddly, I preferred the "regular" Banyuls to the Grand Cru.  The Banyuls' fortified/sweet wines are a great change of pace to the Italian reds that we typically have with dinner.  Definitely recommended.

Ther are other wineries, of course, but this had the best combination of size, history, and "brand name".  As you'll see in forthcoming posts, we moved on to the Mediterranean acquarium and a walk around town...

Easter in Istanbul

While I was expecting a lovely Easter brunch with friends, sun, flowers, and chocolate bunnies, I had no idea what was in store for us. 

First, the hotel was decorated for the season, with giant chocolate egg sculptures throughout the lobbies. I guess they knew the subtle scent of chocolate would be a temptation to eat the art, so they kindly left jars of chocolate eggs on all of the tables. 

 

And made frequent refills...because these eggs were GOOD! They had a thick candy shell and wonderful chocolate inside, with just a hint of hazelnut. Our group ate a lot of these, but I was thankful the hotel had them out the night our dinner cruise was 2 hours late for pickup-

 

In between days of siteseeing, we took Easter off and celebrated with a lovely brunch on the terrace - good friends, good conversation, and great food! 

 

They did a wonderful job decorating the terrace with flowers and eggs, as well as had clowns and a play area for the kids. But most importantly, the food...Instead of a traditional buffet, it was a bit of a mix between buffet and made to order. There were chefs at each stand cooking the foods, so that the food on the buffet was always fresh and frequently replaced. From breakfast (waffles, eggs) to sushi and tempura to grilled meats-seafood and freshly made caprese salads (choose your type of mozzarella!), it was all excellent. And of course to supplement the mains were a huge variety of sides, tapas, salads, and of course a döner stand. And wonderful turkish breads!

 

Here at the stand where they made artichoke and prosecco risotto and lobster ravioli (yum!) the chefs had all the ingredients ready. I had never seen what an artichoke looks like on its plant! 

 

And dessert...Instead of a dessert bar, they brought a selection of desserts and sorbets to each table. Wow...words fail me here, but let's just say macarons, peanut butter chocolate cake, lemon tart, and caramel cream puffs...just to start. 

 

And these lovely centerpieces. I think they're real flowers, but I'd never seen anything like them. Sort of like peonies, with lettuce in the middle. But in a good way!

 

But what really made the day for me was the little petting zoo. I thought I might have chocolate bunnies and chicks, but never dreamed I'd have the real thing!

 

Yes, the littlest bunny is cuddling with 3 ducklings. I thought I might die from cuteness!

 

How perfect are these guys?

 

Hi!

 

Adorable.

 

After a wondeful afternoon (yes, we spent 3 hours at brunch) we returned to the room to find a chocolate creation. A white chocolate egg with marshmallow fondant flowers and a few more of the tasty chocolate eggs. 

More to come on our long weekend in Istanbul. It was a really wonderful trip. A chance to see good friends and to relax a little and enjoy the sun and the beauty of Turkey. But so many photos to sort through first!