Category: Weekly Blog

  • The Alhambra

    The Alhambra

    Our second full day of photography was spent at the Alhambra palaces. We started by spending about an hour at the palace of Carlos V with its beautiful two-level 360° arcade with colonnades. Fortunately it was partly cloudy, so there were some periods of harsh, direct sunlight and others of softer light—it is always nice

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  • Blossom One

    Blossom One

    My trip to Santorini last April was my first trip with Light & Land; last month I went on my second, this time to Andalucía in southern Spain. Both trips were led by Astrid McGechan, but this second trip was also co-led by none other than Charlie Waite. The trip was extra fun because, in

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  • Fishy Windmills

    Fishy Windmills

    After last week’s post, I decided that I would do one last Santorini post to highlight the AF-S Fisheye Nikkor 8-15mm f/3.5-4.5E ED. The picture above was admittedly the only one in my Santorini gallery images that featured the fisheye. However, there was no other way I could have made this image successful. The fisheye

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  • Santorini Lens Usage

    Santorini Lens Usage

    I wanted to conclude my Santorini blog series on a more analytical note in an effort to understand how I used the lenses that I brought with me. I brought nine lenses on the trip, although if you discount the pinhole lens (which is essentially a no-space-required body cap) I really brought eight. By any

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  • Santorini Padlocks

    Santorini Padlocks

    As I explored Santorini’s towns and villages, many little details caught my eye. I am sure that many tourists just walk on by without paying them any attention, but they help give the island some of its character and charm. I would like to think the small details make at least a subconscious on even

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  • Mixed Curses

    Mixed Curses

    One of the big draws of Santorini is the amazing sunsets. Every evening, throngs of tourists crowd every vantage point around Oía to watch the sunset from high above the water, and catamarans head out on to the water for unobstructed views. While I like the image above—it is very calm and peaceful—it is a

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  • Beauty and the Bees

    Beauty and the Bees

    I have never been to Santorini during the summer, but by all accounts it is mobbed. And hot. Early April was pleasant and, while not deserted, was not crowded, either. One nice benefit of a springtime visit was the lush fields of wildflowers all over the island. These fields gave opportunities for some more traditional

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  • The Textures of Santorini

    The Textures of Santorini

    As a photographer, much of the fun of visiting Santorini is wandering the narrow alleys and stumbling upon wonderful little architectural features like this door. I suppose that it would look nice freshly painted, but it has so much character as it is. While the bleached colors are beautiful in this image and add to

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  • Cable Cutter

    Cable Cutter

    I loved these badly weathered window shutters and the crumbling concrete around them, but short of trespassing or serious vandalism there was absolutely no way to get this white cable out of the picture. I took the photo anyway in the hopes that I could ”redeem it in post” (i.e., post-processing). Unfortunately, I gave little

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  • The Shapes of Santorini

    The Shapes of Santorini

    Countless domed and arched roofs grace Santorini. As there is little wood on the island, traditionally many of the buildings are constructed out of the abundant volcanic stone, which makes arched and domed roofs very practical. While the examples above are quite spare from the side shown, typically churches are adorned with crosses and bells

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