Cliff Hunting Trip-Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Wales

You can see clearly that the name of this project is “Cliff” Hunting Trip, but until now, you have not see any Cliff photos from me.hahaha…Actually, based on my trip plan, i’ll capture some Cliff shots in Pembrokeshire Coast of Wales, about 2 hours journey from Cardiff. I arrived somewhere in Pembrokeshire about 3pm and felt so excited to play long exposure photography at a cliff. There is no exact address or postcode of the “main” cliff that i was heading to.( “main” here means like the most interesting cliff there, where tourist always visit because Pembrokeshire has a lot of cliffs along the coast). So i just follow my instinct to get to the cliff. And somehow, i arrived to a place, ‘looks’ like a tourist attraction because there were lots of vehicles and people at that place. I thought that was the correct location of the “main” cliff, unfortunately that was totally the wrong location. It’s actually just a mini jungle with a small lake in it. Then one of my friends asked a local (a granny), the direction to a cliff. She said that we need to walk 20min through the jungle, across the lake, turn right and left..bla bla…and then we will reach the cliff. We walked for God’s sake through the jungle just to find that cliff. After 20min walked, we arrived at……………………………erm…i could say the highest point of view of the lake!!! About 7 meters high from the lake. I looked out for the sea view, where is it?none!! There is no sea near me, not even close!! And this place is totally not a cliff. We were lost in the middle of a jungle!!ohhhh granny, it was all your fault……so i walked back to the parking lot and it took another 20min. Then, after the devastating incident, we asked a young man the direction to the nearest cliff and at that time i don’t even care if i reach the “main” cliff anymore. I just want to find a cliff, any cliff will be fine! After 10min drive finally, at about 5p.m we arrived here, i think only the local know this place.

All the cliff shots was captured using Cokin ND8,Circular Polarizer,Cokin P121M (NDgrad),remote release,tripod,manual mode.

More pictures in Flickr

Cliff Hunting Trip-Landscape Cardiff Wales

Continue from the last post…My 2nd destination was Manchester. I have no particular landscape shot in Manchester because i was there to rest and have fun with some new photographer friends. Then, the next destination was Cardiff, located in south of Wales. In Cardiff  i visited the Caerphilly Castle and went to the Brecon Beacons National Park. The view of the National Park was simply awesome, like you were standing in the middle of nowhere with the landscape of mountains and hills around you, but it was so cold at the time i arrived there and i could not hold any longer to shot more; i forgot to bring my glove with me and my hand was getting pale.

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Cliff Hunting Trip-Landscape England

I’m so sorry for so long not updating this blog with photos. In this post i’ll share the landscape photos during my Cliff Hunting Trip around UK and my 1st destination was London. Yeah…There is no cliff in London, but i got the chance to snap some landscape shots around London…not much….but more to come when i write in the next post.

How to get the above shot?

My equipments were Tokina 11-16mm combined with COKIN ND8,NDG (P121M) and Circular Polarizer. At lowest ISO and by using manual mode, i set the shutter ( bulb ) and aperture to get the correct exposure. For this shot, i think it’s about 40sec shutter speed. And how i got such purple sky? It’s actually not from editing process in photoshop but actually because of the long exposure with the combination of NDGrad (Grey) of P121M filter. The color is actually fresh from camera.

And for this shot, it’s actually simple, move all your filters in front of the lens, even the UV filter to avoid the dirty flair around the star effect. By using manual mode, set the aperture to the smallest opening of 22 or 16, then set the shutter speed to get the correct metering ( normally about a few sec ). Then set to the lowest ISO value possible and don’t forget a tripod. For a better result, use remote release or timer to avoid vibration of your camera.

More pictures in Flickr

March 2010 Wallpaper

Here we go….free calender wallpaper for March 2010 and this time, it’s a Silhouette shots of sunset during my visit to Spain. This picture was captured from the Garden of Generalife, viewed the landscape of Sierra Nevada mountain. but the building in this photo is not the Alhambra!!

The Palacio de Generalife was the summer palace and country estate of the Nasrid sultans of Granada. The palace and gardens were built during the reign of Muhammad III (1302-1309) and redecorated shortly after by Abu I-Walid Isma’il (1313-1324). The complex consists of the Patio de la Acequia (Court of the Water Channel or Water-Garden Courtyard), which has a long pool framed by flowerbeds, fountains, colonnades and pavilions, and the Jardín de la Sultana (Sultana’s Garden or Courtyard of the Cypress). The former is thought to best preserve the style of the medieval garden in Al-Andalus.

Originally the palace was linked to the Alhambra by a covered walkway across the ravine that now divides them. The Generalife is one of the oldest surviving Moorish gardens. The present-day gardens were started in 1931 and completed by Francisco Prieto Moreno in 1951.

So here is the wallpaper according to the resolution of monitor.

1280×800 and 1920×1200

I hope you enjoy the wallpaper and wish you have a great month ahead.

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Barcelona-Boqueria Market

Boqueria Market is not a normal market as in your town, it’s a historical market in Barcelona. Like i mention before, the market located in La Rambla street which internationally known due to its fruits, vegetables, fish and seafood, tapas bars ( famous dish in Spain), and others. The foundation began in 1217, when tables were installed near the old city gate just to sell meat and from December 1470 onwards, a pig market was held at this place which at this time it was known as Mercat Bornet. Then later in 1794 it’s simply known as Mercat de la Palla or Straw Market. At the beginning, the market was not enclosed and did not have an official statute, until later, the authorities decided to construct a separate market on La Rambla, housing mainly fishmongers and butchers. It is not until 1826 that the market is legally recognized and a convention held in 1835 decides construction of an official place, which began on March 19, 1840 under the direction of architect Mas Vilà. The market officially opened the same year, but the plans for the building were modified many times. In 1911, the new fish market was opened and, in 1914, the metal roof that still exists today was constructed.

As my personal experience, this was the first time i saw people selling pig legs and they are really expensive! about 100 Euros per legs. About the fruits and vegetables, you see the pictures above and judge it yourself how fresh they are.

Barcelona

Barcelona, a well known City in Europe and really famous as one of the most attractive tourist attraction in Europe, famous because of their legendary architect Antoni Gaudi who design Park Guell, Sagrada Familia and some other odd, creative i admit and cool architecture buildings around here. And of course not forgotten, Barcelona is also famous with the Football Club of Barcelona. Actually, there are so many place you can go here, like Olympic Stadium, Poble Espanyol, Torre Agbar, The Montserrat and others.

I was there in Barcelona on a 2weeks trip around Spain and Portugal last December 09 with a group of 5 people including me. Our destinations were Barcelona-Madrid-Granada-Cordoba-Sevilla-Lisbon-Porto. In the next post, i would like to share my stories and experiences during the whole trip, starting from Barcelona.

For some general informations, you really need to be careful when you travel in Barcelona or Spain, i mean..REALLY REALLY careful because there are many, i would say, professional pickpockets around here, it’s like a JOB for the people here. When we were just arrived to our  hotel in Barcelona, the owner (boss) himself warn us to be careful here, don’t put your wallet in the back pocket but put it in front or in your jacket’s pocket, don’t try to show off your stuffs like cameras, video-cameras and mobile phone because those are the things that catch their attention, most importantly,don’t even dare to walk alone!!!walk in group instead. Luckily for us, nothing bad happen to us for the whole trip. For a tourist, you don’t need to worry about language barrier here because they can speak and understand English well. That’s about the people in Barcelona and about the foods, for Muslims, i think there is no problem to find halal food here (there are a lot of  Halal Shop along the La Ramla Street). About the public transport, the Metro System is enough to get you around the city, the metro trains are really punctual, fast, effective and cheap.

About the picture above, it’s just a picture of a streets in Barcelona, near the area of  Palaca Catalunya, La Ramla Street ( i’ll explain about this awesome street later ), and to be exact in front of FC Barcelona Fans Shop. Here was where the beginning of our tour around Barcelona City Centre on the 2nd day of the trip. I personally on purpose, did not want to freeze the movement of the vehicles by increasing the shutter speed, or panning the shot because i think the blur or motion of the cars can give better impact on the picture. About the tone, i use a nostalgic tone to bring up the memories back once i see this picture.

More story come in the next post, have a nice day.

Wrong Concept

For all this time,i was wrong about photography. This is my confession! Now i feel ashame to all my works for almost 2 years in this field. I was blind and lost in the world that all people followed it, without asking myself is it the way it suppose to be, is it the real way, is it the way that i want it to be. But now, i can see it clearly.Yes i was totally wrong.

The question i should ask myself back then should be why i become a photographer? Is it to shot a great photo? or because i want to be like the people that already good on photography? or i felt jealous of others works?

For all this time i, i went out, holding my camera, thinking about the technical and setting,how to get the correct exposure that i should use to get a great photo, how to get a nice bokeh or blur, angle and everything that others people do. When i went out for a photowalk with some friend, i normally ask myself what setting should i use, which aperture is the best, which shutter speed suit my shots. Sometimes people asked me “Hey, which setting do you use for that shot??it looks great”. I read a lot of articles, books, blogs, magazine about getting the correct setting for a picture. No wonder i was lost in the ‘setting world’ of photography.I know i need to know that stuff because it’s important for a beginner. But, i’m sure i was master at the basic setting after a year in this field, still i was lost for another year. More badly, i always kept thinking to get a new gears without appreciate the capability those lens that i already have, kept searching in ebay, hopping that the price of lens will drop so i can buy it. The truth is actually any gears that already in my camera bag is the best for me!!Sorry guys!!

For the past 2 year i joined flickr hopping to see others great photos, and back then i found a lots of great pictures there, everyone was great and i set my mind to shot something like that and search for the perfect setting and try it myself and i done it!!I feel like i success and proud of myself!! But then, I was wrong. Then, something change since the past 4 month. I felt something wrong and different,there was not many great pictures on flickr compare to the past 2 year (at the time when i begin in photography),i don’t know why i felt like that, everything looks the same, maybe i already looked at the same style of picture for almost 2 years and i’m not impress anymore. MAYBE. I’m not saying that i got a nice photo compare to others on flickr because it’s not!!! Clearly, i’m still learning.

I stopped subscribing Digital Camera magazine because it always explains about the correct setting on getting a nice photo over and over again and it makes me feel like i was wasting my money on the thing that i already know. I need to find something else, something new. A question came into my mind last few months….’Now..i already know about the basic photography, what do i need after this?Is this all about photography??’. I kept looking for the answer until last month…everything changes, something had opened my eyes to see the real world of photography.

Photography is not about taking a great picture, not about technical point of view of a camera, not about how to get the correct setting for an amazing shot, not about how great and how many your gears you have with you. It’s more than that!!!I know most people always think about the setting of camera when shotting something because i have been there for 2 years..yes!i’m one of the example. Setting is not everything. A photo can be a trash although it’s at a correct exposure or at a perfect setting. Photography is an art, not a lesson of technical or practical ability. If it’s all about technical setting, i bet everyone can be a great photographer.

I realized that each photo has its own story, its own mood, and as a photographer we have to bring that up, so that people will feel it. Photography is not about taking a picture, it’s about telling your story, your feel, the moment of the shot and that why to be a great photographer you need to take a photo with a great feel and mood in it! That’s my next mission. For those outside there who wants to be a great photographer, better stop thinking about the camera setting and start shotting photos with stories in it. Personally, i think moment and mood of a shot is not something that you can ask people or pro to teach you, it’s something that you need to learn yourself because after all it’s your own shot that you want to let others people feel it.

I know, a lot of my friends shot all the time using manual mode. Maybe it’s sound cool when someone knows you handling your camera with manual mode, it seems like you are like a pro photographer and you can control your camera 100%. Yeah i know, manual mode is important for some circumstances, but you don’t need to use it all the time. You will not focusing on the feel and mood of the moment if you use manual mode,but you will always search for the camera setting on the view finder to get the correct exposure and i’m sure about that because i always did that before. Why don’t you shot with aperture or shutter mode, and let the camera find the correct exposure because that’s the purpose of the setting in the first place, and you can focus on finding a great moment for your shot.

I don’t know if you really understand what i was trying to tell you in this post. To make it simple, i just want to tell you guys and myself, to start taking pictures with emotions, feels, moments, moods and stories in it because that’s the different between a normal photographer and a great photographer.