PhotoWalkPro

The weather on my last trip was pretty dicey in terms of photographic potential.  But that’s the thing about travel photography is that you just never know what Mother Nature is going to dish up for you.  Some days you can go out and be greeted with beautiful sunrises and other days, the sun just pops up into the sky without any fanfare at all.  Still other days you could be met with clouds or rain or even snow.  There’s just no way around it and unless you live in the area and can go shooting when the weather is optimum, you only have two choices, shoot what you have or don’t shoot at all.  Frankly, I would rather have something to remember my travels than nothing at all so I shoot.  That doesn’t mean I always have to settle for bad shots when the skies won’t cooperate.  One of the best ways to overcome blank, overcast skies is to just ignore them and shoot for black and white.  Either in camera or through post-processing, you can get some pretty decent black and white shots on those cloudy days.

Not the greatest of shooting days...

...but not too bad as a black and white image.

Another option is to not show the sky at all.  Cloudy conditions mean no sun but they also mean no harsh shadows and nice, saturated colors.  If the clouds move in on you, try concentrating your photography on colorful items that will come to life when the skies are gray.  Just make sure you adjust your white balance to compensate for the typically cool tones that accompany a cloudy sky.

Taken inside a Tea Room while shaking off the cold.

The sun finally came out shortly after I took this shot.

Sometimes as photographers we get lucky and all the necessary components line up just right for us and we get that shot that we envisioned.  Sometimes we need to look past those shots and deal with what we have.  These are the moments that make us better photographers.

Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny day here in Amsterdam and I got to spend a great day touring the city and shooting with my buddy Jeff Kelby.  Unfortunately his brother, Scott, was tied up all day at the Professional Imaging conference in Utrecht.  We will probably crash the conference for a little while today to check out all the action on the trade-show floor.  Scott has another full slate of classes so Jeff and I will be heading out for another day of site seeing and shooting as we set out on a quest for windmills. I have a couple of spots already scoped out just North of the city so we will see if the weather once again cooperates.  I just wish we were here in May or June.  I can only imagine how beautiful it must be when all of the flowers are blooming and the trees are green.  Nonetheless, it has been a fantastic trip, even with the cold temps and brisk winds.

Here’s a few photos from yesterday’s venture.  I’ll be sure to throw a few more up here on the blog tomorrow, that is unless we get snowed out.  Have a great Monday!

And what’s a trip to Amsterdam without some bike pictures?

After a long overnight flight I finally made it to Brussels.  After hooking up with my buddies, we headed out to Bruges Belgium for the day.  The weather wasn’t all that cooperative but we still had a great time walking the quaint streets of town, stopping to grab a few shots and eat some waffles (it’s a “when in Rome” kind of thing).  We are going to spend a little more time here tomorrow before hopping in the car for the drive to Amsterdam.  Hopefully the weather will be a little better and we will get a little sunshine and some blue skies.

I haven’t had much in the way of time to process any images, not that there are any great ones to be had from this first day of shooting.  Maybe I’ll play with some more in the tomorrow.  Have a great weekend and look for more (and hopefully better) images on Monday.

Photo by Wolfgang Staudt

Hey gang, I’m extremely excited because this afternoon I am hopping on a plane for Brussels to spend a few days shooting and hanging out with good friends.  We’ll be cruising from Brussels to Brugge in Northwestern Brussels.  From there we will hit the road again to Utrecht (just outside Amsterdam).  We will spend a few days roaming and shooting around the streets of Amsterdam before finally heading back home.  It’s been a while since I have been able to log some solid shooting time and I am really looking forward to filling some memory cards.  I am going to try and squeeze as much out of this trip as possible.

Due to my travels I will probably not be blogging on a regular schedule but I will try to keep the updates coming as often as possible. If you have any suggestions on shooting locations or must-see locations, please leave me a comment.

Hopefully as you read this I am either on my way or already back home.  The snowy mess in the DC area has wreaked a lot of havoc with travelers and I am no exception.  The one benefit to my delayed departure is that I was able to spend a little additional time in the San Diego area.  I took advantage of the time to visit Balboa Park, just East of the city.  Although the temperatures here in February are mild in comparison with the rest of the country, I am sure that this park is a site to behold in the Spring, when all of the flowers and plants are in bloom.  That being said, it was still a beautiful way to spend an afternoon and there was enough green to keep me clicking.

The park is also home to numerous museums, trails, and the San Diego Zoo.  The one thing I can say about all of the attractions is that it makes me grateful to live near DC where I have the benefit of all the free Smithsonian museums.  Most of the museums in the park charged admission and the zoo is crazy expensive, running around $37 for a day pass.  Granted, it does include a bus tour but still, that’s a pretty hefty pricetag.

Here’s a couple of shots from the afternoon and hopefully my next post will be from the comfort of my own easy chair back home.

While visiting Coronado I got a chance to watch some of the Naval Aviators in action at the North Island NAS.  The air base takes up a large portion of the north end of Coronado and it’s not uncommon to see jets, helicopters, Hawkeyes, and all manor of aircraft taking off and landing throughout the day.  This was especially cool for me to see since my Father-in-Law is a retired Naval Aviator who spent part of his career at this base.

Here’s a few images that I captured while watching from the edge of the runway.  Click on them for a larger view.

That’s it for me this weekend.  I caught a wicked cold, which pretty much kept me in bed last evening.  I don’t know if I am going to be able to go shoot today because I will probably be on the phone trying to change my flight reservations.  I was supposed to get back Saturday but due to the 24″ of snow expected between now and then, that just isn’t going to happen.  Of course there are worse places to be stuck but the weather isn’t supposed to be all that great here as well.

Have a great weekend!