Another former communist-occupied country visited, another monument to the fallen photographed. How did communism's lofty ideal of equality become so twisted and evil, delivering oppression and brutality wherever it was (or is) practised? Having seen the poignant sculpture in Moscow commemorating Stalin's victims, and the collected skulls from the Killing Fields of Pol Pot's Cambodia, I wasn't expecting to find a similar memorial in the Czech Republic so moving. But death is only one way you can hurt people: how do you physically capture the dissolution of a man's spirit?
Continue reading 'The incredible dissolution of being'
Archive for the 'Photography' category
Yesterday's treacherous weather foiled our walking plans. We set out under blue and sunny skies, arriving at our departure point some 25 minutes later under a blanket of grey and chilling precipitation. We didn't go far, returning to the car as the rain got heavier and then turned to sleet. We were safely home when it turned to hail, and then snow. Not to be thwarted this morning we were out the door before 0700h, but this time the skies co-operated and we enjoyed clear but crisp conditions as we took the opportunity to try out my recently-acquired Holux M-241 GPS data logger.
Continue reading 'A break in the weather'
This article considers geotagging photos from a Mac perspective, looking at automatic and manual methods, and explaining terms such as data loggers, track points, waypoints, and routes. It lists OS X software options for connecting to data loggers, converting track log formats, geo-locating photos, and writing that data to EXIF for both raw and JPEG images. It also covers the importance of time synchronization, what you can do with geotagged photos, workflow, choosing a data logger and controlling it from your Mac.
Continue reading 'An ABC of geotagging photos on the Mac'
As January draws to a close I wanted to share the photo that has graced my desktop over the course of this month. I usually like a solid grey on my desktop to avoid distractions, but had to make an exception for this one of Simone's. The Times liked it too; it was selected for online publication in their travel photo competition (week 3). Simone took the photo on Christmas Eve 2007 while walking with family in the Taunus hills near Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The bleakness of the fog-enshrouded scene is offset by a few penetrating rays of sunlight, hardly enough to counter the bone-numbing cold and icy cheeks I can almost feel. On another level the group of walkers seem insignificant and vulnerable in this forest of tall and strong trees.
Continue reading 'A winter walk in the Taunus'
Photos are sometimes turn out beautiful if you have the necessary skills and/or the luck. Sometimes they turn out rather ordinary, yet you still keep them because they tell a story about the life or habitat of the subject. Sometimes they raise more questions than they answer. Here are two images that raise questions about why people put things where they do. I'll let them speak for themselves.
Continue reading 'Aussie location humour'
We end this month in New Zealand with a sense of achievement: we walked the Tongariro Crossing without significant pain nor injury. We had good weather and got some great photos of the beautiful volcanic landscape. Our 18.6 km walk began early morning in the shadow of Mt. Doom, as Ngauruhoe is now popularly known following its role in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings. In the bright sunlight at altitude, capturing well-exposed images of the dark landscape required extra care to avoid blown highlights.
Continue reading 'In the shadow of Mt. Doom'
