Wow it’s been some time since my last post – they will likely be spread out like this for the next few months unfortuantely – more pressing life matters have taken over 
I go on an unplanned trip to Barcelona for two days and all I find is wind, rain, and overcast skies! Meanwhile I was dutifully informed that Ireland was in the middle of a heatwave! Sometimes you’re the dog, other times you’re the tree.
Technorati Tags: bench barcelona lonely solitary single wet gloomy
There’s a great public garden somewhere in Florence that we took advantage of since our original plan to visit some museums was ruined by the fact that they were all closed for a national bank holiday! Although I didn’t actually walk up here it looked like it went on forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever…………………
Technorati Tags: florence, firenze, projectvisual, nikon, d300, garden, sheltered, green
Not even halfways up the Campanile and one is treate to a fantastic view of the main Dome section. You can just make out crowds of people at the top around the spire section – from there almost the entirety of Florence can be seen.
Technorati Tags: florence italy tuscany nikon d300 projectvisual clouds skyline duomo
Viewing the city of Florence from the tower of the Duomo was probably one of the hightlights of my four day trip there. Getting to the top however, 414 steps of stone, winding narrowing stairs only served to work off the load of crap I ate while over there – the 463 steps of the Dome also helped!
Technorati Tags: florence italy tuscany nikon d300 projectvisual clouds skyline red buildings
I really have no idea what the purpose of this building is but it makes a good foreground subject. This is my last post for a few days as I’m heading to Pisa and Florence today until Sunday, with any luck I’ll have a new batch of photos to sift through.
Technorati Tags: gozo, house, shack, sky, clouds, summer, yellow, hdr, nikon, d300, projectvisual
I took this while sitting bored out in the sun beside my flat. I was simply pointing my camera at random stuff – clouds, grass, fences, runners; most turned out crap but this turned out OK. I hadn’t realised I’d used such a short focal length until now but at least one flower is on focus!
Technorati Tags: dublin, flowers, dendelion, macro, nikon, d300, projectvisual
College has been getting busier and busier now so I’ll probably only be posting now when I find the extra time – maybe every two or three days. I have already posting this photo on my Flickr page so if you’ve already seen it well here it is again!
Technorati Tags: mdina, malta, medeterranean, nikon, d300, projectvisual
I had been waiting for the sun to rise in Malta on my last morning there and all of a sudden I glimpse a plane streaking throught the sky! This was really the only reason this picture even exists – in fairness I do like the boat bobbing about in the foreground but without the plane the scene wouldn’t have captured my eye.
Technorati Tags: sky, water, plane, sunrise, bay, boat, dock, haze, nikon, streak, jet, malta, hdr, d300, projectvisual, photography, photos, photo
Following a treacherous trek up a winding road with no footpath, I finally made it to a high point near Valetta. I set my D300 on a ledge to steady it giving a blurring foreground effect.
I’m suddenly heading away again, this time to Pisa and then Florence in about 2 weeks. So far it’s been a good year for travelling – January was Paris, March was Malta, April = Barcelona, and now Pisa / Florence in May – I had aimed to go somewhere for every month of the year but February slipped by; that’s a short month anyway!
Technorati Tags: projectvisual, Nikon, D300, Malta, Valetta, Shore
Napoleon’s Tomb in Paris is filled with all sorts of shiny thingys – this window caught my eye pretty sharpish while I was meandering through glass cabinets and narrow corridors. No tripod was used here of course – Parisians seems to have some sort of aversion towards them, indoors at least 
Technorati Tags: projectvisual, Nikon, D300, Paris, Napoleon Tomb, Window, Yellow, Glass
I knew as I walked alongside these palm trees, with the sun on my back, that this shot was about to materialise – one of the few time I actually predicted a scene before it happened! I don’t recall whether I had a tripod for this shot or not – I definitely was lying on the ground or in some otherwise awkard position. I can still imagine the breeze blowing through the palm trees!
Technorati Tags: projectvisual, Nikon, D300, Gozo, Malta, Palm Trees, Sunlight, Sun
Here’s a rather nice scenic view of Rabat, a town in Gozo that I did not manage to visit. We were on a rather tight schedule with out bus driver – “OK so you have one hour here. Get out, look around but be back in one hour. Then we’ll go to the cliffs, you’ll have 30 minutes there, no more, then we’ll go somewhere else and I’ll rush you about some more!”
Taking a bus around Gozo though was well worth the expense – we had planned to hire out a couple of bicycles and go where we pleased, but from the bus window we soon found out after zooming around un-signed roads and windy cobbled streets that we would have been utterly lost on a pair of bikes!
Technorati Tags: projectvisual, Nikon, D300, Gozo, Malta, Rabat
Upon finishing up our day long bus tour around the dusty roads of Gozo we headed back to the docks to find that our ferry had already left! What followed was over an hour of staring blankedly into the sea, watching a fisherman with the longest rod I’d ever seen until the next ferry finally arrived.
It was a pretty nice view though, the sea sounds being all swishy and calming.
Technorati Tags: projectvisual, Nikon, D300, Gozo, Malta, Ferry, Water, Dock
Guess where you would find a cafe with the words ‘Brasserie’ and ‘Notre Dame’ in the name? Paris of course! I never stopped at this cafe though, I was just strolling by it one evening. This shot was handheld also, so all thing considering it turned out much to my liking!
Also I’ve started uploading images to a printing site finally so I’ll post the relevant link once all that is ready, probably Wednesday or Thursday
Technorati Tags: projectvisual, Nikon, D300, Paris, France, Brasserie, HDR, High Dynamic Range
One of the great things about using a proper tripod and head is that you can quickyly position your camera at almost any angle quickly and easily for those out of the ordinary shots. I use a Manfrotto joystick head with my tripod now and it’s truly the best – a quick squeeze of the handle and my camera swings around any which way I want it. Also, with the joystick head I’ve been taking a lot more portrait like shots.
Camera Settings (1 NEF file – Nikon D300 Body, Nikkor 18-200mm VR Lens, Tripod.)
Technorati Tags: projectvisual, Nikon, D300, Tone Mapped, HDR, Malta, Mdina, calm, Gozo, Mediterranean
Usually using multiple exposures when creating HDR photos can give rise to ghosting in the picture – whereby moving objects are in different positions in each exposure. It’s usually really annoying but for once it’s actually work to this pictures advantage – the small flock of five birds all flying neatly one behind the other is actually just the same bird five times!
Technorati Tags: Nikon, D300, Tone Mapped, Photography, Stephens Green, Dublin, Lake, Water, Bridge, Birds, Calm, Peaceful
I’m not going to list of some words of wisdom – a picture is worth a thousand words and I’ve got three here! On the 12th November 2008 the moon was especially close to the Earth – closer than it had been in 15 years, and purely by chance I looked out one of my many windows to see it gleaming in the clear night sky. Immediately I grabbed my Nikon (sans tripod as it was in college at the time) and tried my luck leaning against objects, tightening the strap around my elbows, holding my breath etc. Naturally I had no such luck. The exposure times I needed were just too long, making it impossible to get a sharp image. Also zooming didn’t help! What could have been some really great shots were completely wasted, just look below to convince yourself – I’ve not included larger version since these are merely illustrative. The moral of this lecture is use your tripod whenever possible.
Even though my VR 18-200mm Nikkor lens’ aperture only goes to F5.6 and so doesn’t focus over very long distances, I like the contrast between the sharp blades of grass and fuzzy treeline background.
Click for larger resolution image.
All that you see here has been deemed junk. I don’t know exactly how old those computers or monitors are but surely they would find use somewhere? Actually I might just run back and grab a couple now – ciao!
Click for larger resolution image.
My Very First Impressions of the Nikon D300
First Nikon D300 Image
UCD Library In The Morning
Blue Sky Swirls
Now this is the natural stance of this tree; there was no wind blowing when I took this shot. It’s a paradox in my opinion – on one hand the trunk is leaning to the right, indicating that the wind blows from the left, but looking at the leaves and branches the situation is reversed! In any case I love the overall shape the tree has – beat that anyone!
Click for larger resolution image.
My Very First Impressions of the Nikon D300
First Nikon D300 Image
UCD Library In The Morning
Blue Sky Swirls
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