Bastet’s Pixelventures Mature Grapes

For Bastet’s Pixelventures 27 August:  Earth Element.

Everyone’s noticed, we’re rapidly going towards autumn.  The change, that last month before officially opening a new season, in this case the 21st of September, for oriental philosophy was dedicated to the Earth.

Today I want to show you a little of our grape crop!

Now for a couple of photographs or snapshots or whatever in blazes you think they are!

Here is a raw, that is it hasn’t been processed, photo of a vine yard.  As you can see, next to it there are some apples.  Now, for this photograph, I wanted a more intensive color and I didn’t want apples.  So I shadowed and “cooled” the colors then I cropped out the apples. I also like to “frame and sign” my end product. This is the result.

harvest soon begins
new “Merlot” wine to be made
summer turns to fall.

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This was another row of grapes, I cropped out the irrigation hoses and then converted the photo to black and white.

Have a nice day folks!

Photography Reflections: Giant City, Illinois U.S.A.

When I was back in the States in September of 2010, one morning, my sister and I went for an eat and walk at Giant City State Park.  We made the mistake of having a large lunch before going on our walk.  Fried Chicken, mashed potatoes, biscuits and I don’t remember what all.  You could ask for seconds and we did…I’m afraid we were little piggies 😉

Then we went off for our walk.  Believe me, it isn’t easy to get energy in your legs when it’s all concentrated in your tummy, but we put the old discipline in gear and took off.  These are a few photos of the lodge and park.  Hope you enjoy them.

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Due to past political corruption, the State of Illinois is on the brink of economic disaster, among the many cuts contemplated are the closing of the parks.  This article doesn’t talk about that problem in particular, because as one can see, the problems that the State faces are so many, and its people are in such a bind that State Parks are probably low on the list of priorities.  It has become one of the poorest, if not the poorest State of the Union.

 

World Press Photo Challenge: Focus (3)

For this challenge, get out there and take a picture demonstrating the concept of focus. Depending on your skill level or type of camera, tinker with the manual settings, use the auto focus feature, or play around with an app. Some ideas:

• Snap a photo of something or someone in focus, against a blurred background.
• Share a panorama or landscape in sharp focus, in which you can see details far away.
• Use a camera app to force focus (or blur) in an experimental way.
• Take multiple photos of the same scene or subject using different aperture settings and publishing the results.

@)—>—>—

I liked the lamp and the idea of having it peep out of the plants, but most of all I liked how the lamp which is fairly large seems tiny among the plants that are small.  I cropped it because I didn’t want the mountains nor the dried leaves as well as to bring the lamp closer.

Ciao, until next time!

WordPress Photo Challenge: Focus (2)

For this challenge, get out there and take a picture demonstrating the concept of focus. Depending on your skill level or type of camera, tinker with the manual settings, use the auto focus feature, or play around with an app. Some ideas:

• Snap a photo of something or someone in focus, against a blurred background.
• Share a panorama or landscape in sharp focus, in which you can see details far away.
• Use a camera app to force focus (or blur) in an experimental way.
• Take multiple photos of the same scene or subject using different aperture settings and publishing the results.

@)–>–>—

Eramo di San Giacomo

Free Verse

San Giacomo’s Hermitage

On my Sunday walk,
I looked upon the mountain
contemplating
this place of meditation.
In by gone years there lived,
a group of mystic persons
looking at the world below,
in solemn observation
of their religious laws.
They thus lived secluded
and built they there
their home
and dedicated
their hermitage
to the Saint James…
now abandoned
in a world that no longer
meditates.

Ciao! And have a look at other great posts here!

Sunday Painting the Town Red: 25 August 2013

I was thinking I wouldn’t get my Sunday in red done today, but then I saw this photo as I was listening to Peter Gabriel’s “Red Rain” et voilà.

The poem is not one of my happy poems though.  I imagine that if the Earth crys red rain it would reflect a deep and desparate passion.

Free Verse

Red Rain

Earth on fire
lost in her desire
to free herself
from pain,
the eternal nights
of fraternal fights,
her tears of despair
cannot cleanse herself
of the blood
that has been shed
in the name
of
God
Country
and
Honor.

This is the original photograph:

rain storm

Sunday Walk: August 25 2013

The other day, I went to the library in Riva del Garda.  I’ve decided to take you there today.  I love libraries, and if anyone has ever lived in Italy, they can tell you, that in most regions, libraries are a poor thing.  Where there are Universities there are some great book collections, but usually only open to students or staff members, though because I’m a member of my regional library circuit, I was permitted to “study”, I actually wrote a short story there, at the library of the history faculty.

The train station that you see at the end of the slide show, no longer has that function.  Many years ago, some brilliant politicians with lovely foresight had the railway lines removed, so our little valley can only be reached by boat or roads, no train.  Recently there has been talk about rebuilding the system.  In the meantime the station now houses a restaurant and a bar.

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Have a great Sunday!

Pixelventures and Free Verse: Shooting through glass

Free Verse

Flash Through Glass

Wind, hail, rain!
How I love a gale
I pulled my camera out
and started shooting photos!
First from my covered loggia…
“Ah!”
then I said
“There’s the back!”
And ran to shoot
from
my terrace
but through the glass
or I might have
gotten sodden!
I chose my setting carefully
but not carefully enough
I forgot to turn off
the flash
and this is what I got!
The more I looked
at the result
the more I loved
this photo…
for it has a wonderful
quality:
the oneiric look
at a storm through
my imagination.

A contribution for Pixelventures!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Focus (1)

For this challenge, get out there and take a picture demonstrating the concept of focus. Depending on your skill level or type of camera, tinker with the manual settings, use the auto focus feature, or play around with an app. Some ideas:

• Snap a photo of something or someone in focus, against a blurred background.
• Share a panorama or landscape in sharp focus, in which you can see details far away.
• Use a camera app to force focus (or blur) in an experimental way.
• Take multiple photos of the same scene or subject using different aperture settings and publishing the results.

@)–>–>—-

Last night a heavy rain storm beat down on Bolognano.  Storms have a special fascination for me, and my problem, is: how do I convey that wonderful sensation of wind and rain.  I decided (serendipitously I might add) that the trick might be in the focusing.  Here are some of the photos I took yesterday evening.

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Rain Storm

focusing on rain
summer storm fascinating
unplug the modem!

Have a nice day, and before you go, have a look at some of the other contributions!

 

Which Way To The Castle?

Cee’s Weekly Photo Challenge is pretty open, the challenge is a “Which Way”…signs, roads, bridges, run ways…anything that leads to a direction!

I live in Arco, Trentino – Italy and we have a Castle, pretty much destroyed by Napoleon’s mercenaries in the 1800’s, but though it wouldn’t protect more than some small animals it’s still a castle.

We also have tourists, and many of those tourist’s wish to go and visit the castle.  Which way to the castle?  Actually there are really quite a few, including the one’s our free-climber choose, right up the cliff.  But for the less adventurous, here are two routes, leaving from the same spot, just off the town’s main square:

If you look carefully you can see that the two photos are actually near the same door, but taken from different angles.  The first one has the sign that indicates that going up the stairs you’ll get to the castle. The second photo is a more round about way, that takes you through the back streets of Arco, until you reach either the road that goes up to Arco, or two or three other flights of stairs which will take you to the path that leads you to the Castle.

Have a nice climb.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Carefree 2

The Weekly Photo Challenge this week is Carefree…so let’s see my second trial!

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This morning as the sun was coming up the sparrow community started their early morning chit chatting ouside my loggia.  It’s an every day occurance, but I never thought to take a picture of them!

I think there isn’t any other creature that gives me the impression of carefree more than the little sparrows…so here they are: the sparrows of Bolognano!

Other great photographer can be found here!