Last night in Chengdu, went to the opera! Not much like a western opera, more of a variety show. It was colourful and entertaining, but chinese operatic music, particularly the singing is not really my thing. The last act was very cool, with masked actors changing masks in the blink of an eye. And the fire breather of course…. Then a nightmare journey to Guilin, and a scary drive to Ping’an….. More after the jump….. We made Ping’an late at night, then got started next morning. The weather wasn’t kind, but...
read moreSo I travel to Chengdu for some business meetings and have the opportunity in the late afternoon to take a stroll. We toddled down to the Peoples Park, a lovely inner city park that is an oasis of calm. This is an idyllic place, with fish ponds, boating lakes and tea houses. More after the Jump……. Around corners there are bridges and small buildings nestling in the greenery. An orchid garden (not flowering) and little pagodas…..a delightful place amid the hustle and bustle of a city with a bigger population than...
read moreThis is my second trip to China this year. The first was a total wash as far as photography was concerned, but I’m making up for it this trip. The start of the trip was not spectacular, as I was attending a conference. This was stuck in hotel time, mostly, but I did try….. An uninspiring trip to the Hutongs yielded little, but after the conference I got a chance to visit the Great Wall of China…… More after the jump…. We headed out to the Jiankou section of the wall. Miscommunication with our driver got us...
read moreI’ve been neglecting the blog for the last couple of weeks (OK, 4 weeks, but who’s counting), but it’s been because of new equipment and travel commitments for the day job. I’m currently on a trip to Europe. Starting in Prague, then to Cesky Krumlov via the Sedlec Ossuary. Then onto Vienna for a few days. I’ll post as I can, but I’m giving a new lens a thorough workout. The Nikon 14-24mm f2.8ED AFS G has joined it’s stablemate in my bag and I have to say, I’m really enjoying it. One review is...
read moreMy last post covered tripod legs, so now I’m going to rant on about tripod heads and the means of attaching the camera to them. For still camera work, except for really long lens stuff (>300mm), the tool of choice is the ball head. A good ball head will allow a great freedom of movement and control, so that when you have the camera on target, you should be able to release it and it won’t move. Not even a little bit. I once tried a trigger grip type ballhead and couldn’t get it to stay on point. As I released the trigger to...
read moreToday I had the privilege of spending the day in the company of two of my favourite photographers, David Hobby and Joe McNally. They are currently touring the country together on a hectic schedule and hitting 29 cities in just under 50 days, a daunting schedule, but getting to strut their stuff in front of a lot of audiences. More after the jump……. They hit Houston today, at someplace called the Ayver center on Richmond. My wife and I got there nice and early, but that didn’t help. It turns out the Ayver center is more of a...
read moreIt’s finally arrived! I got my hands on a couple of FlexTT5 units and have been itching to play with them. I sold my RadioPopper remotes in preparation and have been keen to try the new units out. More after the jump…. I got two of the FlexTT5 units rather than one FlexTT5 and one MiniTT1 units as I will eventually want to expand the capability to a second flash unit. To do so I just have to add the MiniTT1, and in the meantime I can learn about the capabilities using a matched pair of units. The FlexTT5 is a bit bigger than the...
read moreThe interesting thing about tripods is that while we know we need ’em, we really don’t want them. They aren’t sexy like a big lens, don’t make macho noises like a camera on full drive, they are a pain to carry and set up, plus there are often restrictions on their use. The really bad news is that for a tremendous amount of photography, you simple can’t live without a tripod. Over the years, I’ve bought numerous tripods. I think all photographers go through this process, even when we’re advised not to...
read moreOn to Budapest, Hungary. We drove in from Vienna and it wasn’t terribly impressive, but once there it does have it’s charms. I knew there were some nice bridges across the Danube and with the help of google maps and a friend who ran the route the previous day, made a plan. More after the Jump….. After dragging my sorry carcass up a mountain, there is a lovely view across the city and river. To the north, the Danube curves under some bridges and to the south is Liberty bridge. I decided I preferred the view to the North....
read moreOn to Hildesheim in Germany. I got to spend the weekend there with my brother and his family….good times and they took me to see the sights…of course I’m scouting, but still quality time. Interesting town, Hildesheim. Got extensively damaged during the second world war and they’ve made a fair attempt at replaceing some of the original buildings. Head into the square and you can see some of the attempts at reproduction. Not bad…quite pretty actually…. More to...
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