Month: September 2018

19
Sep
2018
The A-E of Windows and Doors

The A-E of Windows and Doors

I can be walking down any street, in any city, and be captivated by an odd shaped window or an ornate door. Luckily my iPhone is always in my pocket, so the camera is always ready to capture the moment. The downside is, I now have thousands of photos of windows and doors! When I look back on the photos, I often wish I could open some of those doors, or peer in the window to see what is on the other side.

Should we go there?

A journey through the photos of windows and doors that clog up my digital albums would not only fill these pages, but probably bore you in the process. So I’ll break the journey by sorting the photos into alphabetical order. The hardest part will be deciding which photos make it into the blog – and which ones will be left behind.

The A-E of Windows and Doors

A This beautiful building, with lots of windows and doorways, is in Amritsar, India. I’m sad that I didn’t have time to stop and get a photo from the best angle, but at least I got this much. India has some of the most amazing buildings. Obviously there is more than a touch of British heritage in the architecture of some of them, but the beautiful materials used, brings the focus back to India.

And, on to B…

B  This is window-and-door Heaven! The old Bank of New South Wales building (the one on the left) is on the corner of Queen Street Mall and George Street in Brisbane (Australia). The building on the right is the Treasury Casino. If old buildings are your thing, come to Brisbane and take a walk around the Central Business District. You’ll be amazed at the number of beautiful old buildings.

Crazy, I know, but…

…this is one of my favourite photos from the Queen Street Mall. I’m sure real photographers would quickly point out the photographic errors, but I love the lines and angles I captured in this photo. Oh, and of course, the windows!


Another B Building…

B is for Boston, USA, and the windows in this fabulous building reflect the amazing colours of the sky and the autumn (Fall) foliage. It also takes me back to my childhood. I used to have blocks that looked a lot like the colours and shapes in this building.

C Christchurch, New Zealand – the city that rebuilt itself after a devastating earthquake. I love the rustic look of these doors, as well as the shape of the glass panels. One of the advantages of photographing windows, or glass doors, is the bonus image in the reflection. 

D Devonport, New Zealand. On a very cold day in September, these windows offered some hope that there might be a warm fire glowing on the inside. If you find yourself in Auckland, take the ferry across to Devonport and investigate some of the beautiful buildings. 

Ellis Island Immigration Museum

E Ellis Island, NY USA. When I visited the home of immigration almost two years ago, I wondered if any of my relatives had walked through the door, or looked through the windows of this building. My grandfather left Sweden when he was young and sailed around the world many times before settling in Australia. Having taken the DNA test offered by Ancestry, I know I have a link to the USA, and I’m guessing it might be through some of the Swedish family that we have no knowledge of. Who knows, maybe their new life started right here in the Immigration building on Ellis Island.

What is your favourite thing to photograph?

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Posted by Maureen in Blogging, Travel, 2 comments
05
Sep
2018

Just An iPhone Click Away

It doesn’t matter where I go, there are so many things to take photos of.   And thanks to modern technology, most of us carry a camera in our pockets, courtesy of our mobile phone. Unlike the chunky cameras of the past, today’s cameras are smaller, but incredibly sophisticated. That little window in the corner of our Smart Phone is capable of taking fantastic photos. Nowadays, great photography is as close as an iPhone click away.

In the Old Days……

I’m not going to say how old I am, but my first camera was a Kodak Box Brownie, back when they were the latest innovation in everyday photography.

StockSnap / Pixabay

Before the world of digital cameras, you had to

  • buy a roll of film
  • insert the film into the camera
  • take photos
  • remove the roll of film
  • have the film developed
  • cry over blurred photos

Too bad if you missed that once-in-a-lifetime photo, because the opportunity to take another one had probably long since disappeared. Imagine how it felt when you arrived home from your first trip to Europe – collected your six rolls worth of photos, only to find the special photo you took in Zurich – was blurred. Ughhh!!!! It’s not like you could jump in the car, drive a few miles, and take the photo again. It just didn’t work like that.

And then someone came up with the idea of the Digital Camera. No more rolls of film to be developed, and instant feedback on whether you had captured the image – or not. The digital camera revolutionised photography.

Could it get any better than this?

Oh yes!, and it did. The DSLR and Smart Phone Cameras, took photography to a new level. The Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera had been around for a very long time, but adding the Digital component brought them into the modern world. A zoom lens, added to a DSLR camera, brought the world up close, and very personal.

And Then We Got Really Smart

The mobile phone became smaller and smaller. The smaller it got, the smarter it got. And eventually it evolved with a built-in lens. As phones became more sophisticated, so did the camera. The quality of the Smart Phone camera today is outstanding. You simply aim the phone, take the photo, and check the image. Of course, there’s always the option to switch the camera around, aim the phone at yourself, and take a selfie. What could be easier than that? And photos taken with most Smart Phones are nothing short of spectacular.

And Now?

Now there’s a small camera with wide and zoom lens capability that you can attach to your phone. The Olympus Air 01 is, without a doubt, my favourite camera. It clips onto my iPhone 6S Plus easily, even when the phone is in a solid case. Photos are easy to take, and even in Auto mode, they are amazing.

I’m glad I gave in to that temptation!

When I retired from a long career in teaching, I took a cruise to Singapore to celebrate. And on that cruise, I was introduced to the Olympus Air A01 camera. Because I have always loved gadgets, and technology, I couldn’t resist the temptation, and bought the camera. I have to admit though, I deliberated on the decision for a few days before deciding it would be an investment in my future. At that point I had no idea what my future would look like, but I figured it would have to involve technology at some level. 

This photo was taken at ground level in front of the Statue of Liberty, with my Olympus Air A01 attached to my iPhone.

That tiny camera has delivered some amazing photos as I’ve tried out my travel-legs, in the first phase of retirement. There’s not much point in travelling if you can’t bring back lots of photos, and thanks to my Olympus Air A01, I’ve managed to take some amazing photos from my trips.

Small in size – big in content

The Olympus Air is so portable! The monitor is your phone. It doesn’t have to be an iPhone like mine – it works just as well with Android versions. And because it works through WiFi and Bluetooth, you simply select the Olympus Air WiFi setting, open the specific App (once you’ve paired the camera with the App), and start taking amazing photos. The zoom and wide lens are simply a setting away. No need to change lenses, it’s all there. The selling feature for me was the ability to enlarge a photo taken with the Olympus Air, without losing detail.

When you are not paying for rolls of film, and having them developed, you can take a few extra shots of that sunset, or the parrot in the tree. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t turn out the way you hoped, you simply take another photo – and delete the not so good ones. You can even use software to touch up any not-so-perfect shots.

There’s no such thing as a bad photo now that photos are just an iPhone click away.

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Posted by Maureen in Blogging, 2 comments
03
Sep
2018

On That Dark, Dreary Day

The air was frosty cold on that dark, dreary day in Seattle. Like most days, the first decision centred on coffee – the where, not the when. From that decision, all other decisions would follow. 

It was Monday. Had it been any other day, the decision would have centred on the when, not the where. On Mondays, the RedWing cafe was closed. On this Monday, the where led to another place – another suburb. 

Walk to the end of the block on 63rd Avenue – turn right – walk another block – turn left – cross the street. Wait at the Bus Stop. Watch cars passing, thankful for the warmth of a coat that is redundant back home in northern New South Wales. Wait for the bus.

The bus stops – you board the bus and feel the instant warmth from the heated interior. You wish for a traffic jam – anything to delay the inevitable moment of reaching your destination and facing the cold.

Change buses at the Interchange. The cold bites at your heels as you walk to the bus that will take you the rest of the way. Again, the warmth of the bus, albeit short-lived. Only a few stops this time. 

Then, the coffee. Starbucks. Because you know what to order at Starbucks. You know how it will taste. You slowly drink your coffee. But you are not ready to face the cold, so you order another coffee.

You watch the people. The young couple with the four-year-old – Grandparents arrive – they go through the motions. Grandpa wants to be somewhere else. The College student staring at the screen of his laptop, looking for inspiration. People come and go. You stay, until you can’t justify staying any longer. The morning coffee has dragged on. It is almost lunch time.

Put on your coat – leave the warmth – brave the cold. 

Take the bus back to the Interchange; find the bus to Rainier Beach. Feel the warmth of the heated interior.

Leave the bus, turn right and walk to the corner where the solar-powered flamingos stand – waiting to illuminate the path at night. You wonder how solar power works in that climate.

Turn left and walk along 63rd Avenue. Feel the cold, but embrace the experience.

Home – where all other decisions can now be made, on that dark, dreary day in Seattle.

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Posted by Maureen in Blogging, Travel, 0 comments