Stockgrove Park

During the last two days the weather has permitted me to return to Stockgrove Park. It has been very cold, but I have taken advantage of the time that I have before I depart on my next trip. My visit of the park yesterday could have turned out to be a different experience. I was in a section of the park that I did not know. Before I realized, I had started going around in circles and was not sure where I was. I had to think very carefully on how to get out of the park. I could not see the sun through the trees. I had to rely on something else to get me out of the wood. I eventually used the moss which predominantly grows on the northern side of the trees. I used this method to stop walking around in circles. I eventually arrived on the outskirts of the town. I then had a relaxing walk back to the car.












This morning I was out and about very early. I have managed to shoot some incredible shots in the wood again. Rays of morning sunlight streaming through the trees. I have captured these images in RAW using my Canon EOS1 DS Mark3 with a Canon zoom 24-70 2.8L and processed the pictures with Lightroom 2.1 http://www.adobe.com/uk/products/photoshoplightroom/, which has many facilities to process RAW images like the filters which makes it possible to lighten or darken only certain parts of the photographs.

Autumn colours

I have spent the last couple of days shooting in Stockgrove Park and Linslade Wood. The leaves of the trees are changing to their autumn colours fast now! Soon they will dry and fall to the ground. However, the vast amount of falling leaves are creating the perfect conditions for the many different types of mushrooms that are found in the woods. I have been able to find them all over. I have been scratching through the fallen leaves rather a lot in the last couple of days, getting a little dirty doing this! Some of the pictures that I have been shooting of these tiny items, have come out really splendidly. I have discovered that mushrooms, are not the easiest of species to identify. I do have to mention that some of these pictures took quite a bit of acrobatic camera work!
I had to mount my Canon EOS1 DS Mark3 with my macro Lens Canon 100 2.8 in an upside down position on my tripod Manfrotto. I even had to use the live view facility on my camera because I was so close to the ground that I could not use the optical viewfinder at all.

Returning Home

My last day in Athens! Toward the afternoon I made my way back to the airport, to proceed with my journey home. At this time I was feeling rather sad as my trip was coming to an end. I did not realize that I would still shoot some really amazing pictures! So I was on the plane, at 37 000 feet, flying over the alps in Austria. When I looked out of the window, I saw the sun disappearing on the horizon. The view below! It is difficult to describe! The incredible view of the mountains from 37 000 feet, with shadows caused by the setting sun behind the mountain peaks. This was creating streaks of light and darkness on the adjacent peaks. It was a task to shoot this from the plane. To shoot this incredible view of our planet, I first had to clean the glass of the window in the plane. The reflection of the window did not make these shots easy. I had to be careful of the angle of the camera with the glare off the glass.

A cloudy day in Athens

I woke up in the morning and discovered that it was rather overcast. This type of weather is not ideal to take landscape photographs. The sky was hazy and dull. I made use of the time to wonder around the streets of Athens and to go back to the harbour. Back at the harbour I shot more pictures of the huge sea faring vessels.
I was disappointed with the light compared to the previous days. If one has to compare the pictures that I took today, compared to those of the harbour of two days ago, it just shows how the same scenery can change with different conditions in the weather, or by going back at a different time. I took these shots using my Canon EOS1 DS Mark with my two usual zooms. During the day I also shot some pictures of the many statues that are found in Athens, I also captured a couple of shots of the National Flag, flying in the wind.

Aegina Island

On my third day in Athens, I decided to take a trip to the island of Aegina. The island is about 30 km from Athens. The boat trip took about one and a half hours to reach the island from Piraeus Harbour. Once I arrived on Aegina, I went to the museum. From there I continued to the fishing harbor on the Island, where I spent time viewing the many fishing boats there. Some of them just moored there. Others with their sails up, leaving or entering the harbour. Some new, some of them old. All the fishing gear stowed away and tied down on the decks of the boats.

I then continued with my walk down the coast line. I did some pictures of the views of the ocean from there.

I however did return to the harbour to continue taking pictures there, because the position of the sun was different. Sometimes with photography it is good to go back to a place later, as lighting always changes. I did several shots of the harbour using my Canon EOS1 DS Mark3 with several zooms. I continued my walk and came across a small church. The small building was painted white, which looked stunning in the light. I took several pictures of this very pretty building, some of them, close up’s http://www.flickr.com/photos/sylberlol/2944267774/, picturing the finer details of the building, others capturing the whole church http://www.flickr.com/photos/sylberlol/2944267328/.

Evening Views from Philopapou Hill

Toward dusk, on the second day of my visit in Athens I made my way to Philopapou Hill. This is a good place to get a view of Athens. From the top of the hill, you have a full view of Athens, in every direction you look, you are looking down on the magnificent city. In one direction, the view of the harbour, the other, a view of the Acropolis.












The history of the Acropolis can be traced back to the 7th and 6th centuries BC. The final shape of the Acropolis, as we know it today, was gained in the 5th century BC. I think of the time these ancient structures have been standing, for 1000’s of years, they have survived the elements of rain and wind. I can surely say, that I am honored to be able to shoot the Acropolis with my Canon EOS1 DS Mak3 and my tripod Manfrotto. While on Philopapou Hill, I also shot the city of Athens, which surrounded me on all sides. With the city lights starting to emerge in the darkening sky, with the sun disappearing into the night, behind the distant hills.

Athens and the Acropolis

Taking the metro from Piraeus, I arrived at Acropolis Station at 9 o’ clock. I was extremely excited to photograph the ancient monuments that have been standing for thousands of years. Upon seeing the monuments for the first time, I was disappointed! My first views of the Parthenon, the Propylaea and the Erechtheum were surrounded by cranes and building equipment. I found it almost impossible to take any shots of the ancient buildings without getting the cranes into the shots. I did however take some shots of the Agora and details of the temples.
The vast number of people that were viewing the ancient sites also make photography difficult. I would either have to race in front of the tourist groups or wait until they have passed to get any decent shots. From the top I was able to take aerial pictures of the busy city of Athens. I then proceeded to take shots of the Temple of Olympian Zeus http://www.flickr.com/photos/sylberlol/2938482614/, the Zappeion Hall http://www.flickr.com/photos/sylberlol/2938473094/ and the National Garden http://www.flickr.com/photos/sylberlol/2937627287/.

Arriving in Athens

Today, I have travelled by airplane to Athens, using Aegean Airlines.
Despite having arrived in Athens late in the evening I was still able to stop at the port of Piraeus. Piraeus is one of the largest ports in Europe, and the 19 million passengers that travel through the port annually, make it the 3rd largest port worldwide.

I have captured the romantic images of the cruise ships, with their lights reflecting on the peaceful waters of the harbour, just after sunset using my Canon EOS 1 DS Mark3 with Canon lenses 24-70 2.8L, 70-2002.8LIS and extender 1.4 mounted on a Manfrotto tripod.

Shooting in the rain

Today I shot a horse ride in Hatley, Cambridgeshire. The weather was really terrible, with very heavy rains which continued throughout the event.
In spite of my camera, the Canon EOS 1 D Mark3 and my zoom 70-200 2.8 LIS, being waterproof, I still had to use a rain cover. The humidity, with the extremely heavy rain is not a good friend for any expensive electronic equipment. It is a good thing that some of the manufacturers, such as Tenba http://www.tenba.com/Categories/Tools-Accessories.aspx, Kata http://www.kata-bags.com/product.asp?p_Id=230&Version=Photo, Thinktank Photo http://www.thinktankphoto.com/ttp_products.html and Aquatech http://www.aquatech.com.au/c--47--sportshieldprofessionalseries.aspx make rain covers. Currently I am using the Tenba which is not expensive at all. It is very easy to mount, but not the best protection to use while shooting portrait, due to water getting under the lens. Aquatech on the other hand is very good protection for the camera, but is much more expensive, and much harder to mount on the camera. So thanking modern technology, that we have today, not even the rainy weather, can stop me from covering the events that I need to shoot!