Most of you may have noticed that I have created subsite Theme of the month where you can find the collection from all themes and each month’s theme is featured there with my own personal favorite photo from that theme. As a summary I was thinking that maybe I should give you some insight about those photos and why I have chosen those ones as my favorite ones. I extend this first summary a bit and I’ll go through also the first three months of the blog in this one.
October 2014: Travel photography in Andalucia
In first theme ever in this blog I was writing you about the 2,5 week road trip made to Andalucia back in July 2012. Selecting the favorite photo from this month was easy – there are many photos from this trip which are technically much better than selected one, but from some reason this just is special photo for me from this trip. Although sunrises and sunsets are beautiful, blue moment is maybe my personal favorite time to take landscape photos. And in this one I especially like the mist which started to spread over the sea after sunset. The photo was taken in Malaga Province in town of Ronda. I was walking in this place during day time and then I decided that I need to come here in the evening with my camera. The photo is taken to the east, so sunset has happened behind the camera. Technically the photo is having quite bad quality – it’s taken hand hold with my crop censor DSLR Canon EOS 450D and its kit lense (Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS). Cause I was taking a photo without tripod with the gear which is not best possible for taking photos in dusk, settings in this photo were ISO400, 1/80 s, F/3,5, focal length being 18mm – not ideal at all and I needed to add the exposure of the photo in Lightroom quite lot and the end result is having quite some noise, but I still like it. I think it’s able to convey quite nicely what were the feelings behind the camera: I was feeling happy, satisfied and most of all peaceful.
November 2014: Travel photography in Bangkok
November’s theme was about my 3-day stay in Bangkok in March 2013. As Bangkok was bit too overwhelming for me at first, I unfortunately didn’t do street photography here. I was mainly taking my camera out of the bag, when I was in places which were not having that hectic feeling. Selecting the favorite photo from this month was difficult – there are many photos from the local temples and sights which I like a lot, but when looking them more critically they are all too typical shots and they don’t have enough personal character. Due that my selection from this theme was the below one. The selected photo is taken without pre-planning and it’s presenting more or less my first impression about Bangkok’s main railway station. I like the composition of it, although many people probably think it’s maybe too tight. I also like the contrast of light and shadows. I have excluded the ground level from the shot so it’s not including any people from the station itself – the man in the screen is playing the leading role in this one and building is acting in supporting role. Also this one is taken hand hold with my crop censor DSLR Canon EOS 450D and its kit lense (Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS). As the photo is ‘instinct shot’ taken without pre-planning the settings in this photo are far from ideal (my camera was in manual mode) ISO100, 1/30 s, F/4,5, focal length being 29mm. I should have raised the ISO and shorten the shutter speed instead to get photo sharper. I have made really little changes to this one in Lightroom: I have just added a bit more contrast and have tried to sharpen it a bit and that’s it.
December 2014: Travel photography in Thailand’s Andaman Sea Islands
December’s theme was about my 1 week travel to southern Thailand and its islands after my short stay in Bangkok in March 2013. Selecting the favorite photo from this month was difficult – there are couple of colorful landscape photos which I like a lot and the selection was made mainly because this photo is taken from my favorite moment of this whole trip. Normally the blue moments are my favorite time to take landscape photos, but in Thailand the sunsets are beating the blue moments. In this photo I have chosen to include myself in it. So I have stepped behind the camera to front of it, moment before taking this shot. So in leading role in this one is my own footprint in spectacular landscapes of Koh Rok during the sunset. Also this one is taken with my crop censor DSLR Canon EOS 450D and its kit lense (Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS), but this time I have had my tripod with me. The settings in this photo are ISO100, 1/80 s, F/5,6, focal length being 18mm. I have added more contrast, changed the white balance and added also the color saturation in this one. I have also cropped the photo a bit as there was strong vignetting in the upper part of the photo.
January 2015: Travel photography in Florida, Sunshine State
So then to this year: January’s theme was about my 1 week visit to Florida in November 2013. Selecting the favorite photo from this month was really difficult – I have few clear favorite photos in this theme which I like a lot and they are all really different ones. In the end I selected the one which was more natural than other my favorite ones which I have been post processing more. Selected photo is first one in this collection that is taken during the daylight. It’s a real postcard shot from Key West and maybe the most beautiful landscape we saw during our time in Florida. We found this place by accident when we were ready to leave from Key West and we were wandering back to our car. In the last corner, I said to my friend that let’s turn to right so that we will see the sea one last time and I can take few more photographs. And immediately when we arrived to the end of this street I realized that I had just won the jackpot in lottery. The most difficult part in taking this shot was when making the simple selection: do I prefer this scene in vertical or horizontal composition? I took view similar shots when waves were hitting the wall and got my toes wet meanwhile. This one is taken hand hold with my crop censor DSLR Canon EOS 450D and lense is Sigma 20mm f/1.8 EX DG. The settings in this photo are ISO100, 1/400 s, F/10. I have added more contrast, changed the white balance and added also the blue saturation in this one. I have also cropped the photo a bit as the horizon needed some straightening. All in all I’m pretty satisfied with this one!
February 2015 - Travel photography in Dubrovnik – Neretva County
February’s theme was about my 1,5 week visit to Croatia in June 2014. Selecting the favorite photo from this theme isn’t easy neither, as I was seeing a lot of beautiful places and taking lot of photos during my stay. When I travel solo I have more time for photography and you can see it in end result. I notice small details better and my photos are quite different than they are when I am travelling with someone. You just don’t look the world around you that thoroughly then as you are focusing to person next to you. My pick from this theme is from old city of Dubrovnik and it’s taken from the walls of Dubrovnik. I took a lot of shots when walking in the walls, but this is by far a favourite one of those. Details are the thing in this photo - first you notice the tower. Then you notice the green hill behind, blue skies, white clouds and bird flying. After that you notice orange roofs of Dubrovnik old town, the tower in end of the pedestrian street, people and car in the street. And as a last thing you notice the two windows in front of the photo. Also this one is taken hand hold with my crop censor DSLR Canon EOS 450D and lense is Sigma 20mm f/1.8 EX DG. The settings in this photo are ISO100, 1/500 s, F/4.5. I have tried to reach the old time feeling in this one and I have used Lightroom preset Color Creative - Old Polar as a base, but I have amended colours, tones and contrast afterwards.
March 2015 - Travel photography in Free State of Bavaria, Germany
March’s theme was telling about how I have been exploring Bavaria during some weekends while extending my business trips in the area. Selecting the favorite photo from this theme was easy and it's again taken during blue moment although while post processing this one I preferred the sepia version. It's taken while wandering in the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and again this shot tells quite nicely what was the feeling also behind the camera during that moment - after a hectic work week it was so relaxing to enjoy peaceful atmosphere of the Bavarian Alps. Also this one is taken hand hold with my crop censor DSLR Canon EOS 450D and lense is Sigma 20mm f/1.8 EX DG. The settings in this photo are ISO400, 1/160 s, F/2.2. I have used Lightroom preset Color Creative - Yesteryear 1 in this one as a base, but I have amended tones and contrast still a bit and I have also sharpened a photo.
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