Dressing Up for the Holidays in Madrid

Madrid Madness

“Mad” not a word I use much anymore. “Annoyed,” “irritated” and “pissed” just somehow describe the mental state of anguish so much better. After all, only dogs get mad. That’s what I remember being told after I said “mad” when I was a kid.

After today, though, I’m intent on using that three letter word because it describes my reaction to a series of events that that has taken place over the last two days.

Before I go into it I need to come up with the lyrics of a song from the play Oliver!

Dear old gent passing by
Something nice takes his eye
Everything’s clear, attack the rear
Get in and pick-a-pocket or two.

I can say that being a photographer keeps my mind occupied, most of the time–so occupied that I’m not paying attention to what’s around me. At times, I’m even catatonic. With creative thoughts dancing in my head, I pay attention to nothing.

Before I know it, I’m surrounded by young lads. One lets me know to hold on to the bar above. I decline his request and a few moments later I’m bumped without realizing it. About an hour later when I’m shopping at El Corte Ingles I realize my wallet is missing. I become a dog with a rough growl, barking to my pals that I’ve been pickpocketed.

So what was I shopping for in El Corte Ingles? Why clothes to replace those that were in my missing baggage, which left my watch only yesterday.

You see,  fabulous British Air misplaced my baggage–a double whammy of misfortunes.

On the bright side, my iPhone remained in my other pocket, my guess is because it was unreachable to the thief.

Believe it or not this is the subway train I was robbed on. I took the picture moments before it happened–with my iPhone.

Stick ‘Em Up at Tamale Fest

Every year Indio, CA celebrates it’s tamales. Yes, that’s right a celebration of those pipin’ hot, savory corn wraps with delectable fillings, ranging from pumpkin and raisins to chicken and peas.

This gun totin’ guy, a mascot-of-sorts, walked around on stilts with a female friend. I asked him to point the gun at me to get this piece of serious art.

The Tamale Fest is one of the top ten food fests in the U.S. of A.  Over a hundred thousand people come to taste the Mexican treats, which are served from booths that line the streets.  If the tamales don’t satisfy you, the Mexican Folkloric dancing and  live entertainment will.

Just in case if you wanted to know the camera settings for this shot were f/4.5, 1/2500 sec, ISO 400 at 200 mm.

Who Is This Woman Artist?

She was married to Alfred Stieglitz. He photographed her in every way imaginable. She painted images of flowers. Some of her most notable work were paintings of the flower pictured on the left. Who was she?

Acapulco Dream

There’s nothing better than the color of a tropical sky minutes after the sun has gone down.

The lights are turned on, the sea reflects, the palms are silhouetted against the sky.

This is Acapulco in all of its heavenly glory, looking like a paradise that’s merely an illusion.

To be sure, most of Acapulco is a drabby conglomerate of nondescript buildings among a  hum-drum chaos of humanity.

But…ahhh…the views of the coastline are thrilling. Setting your camera to a long shutter speed from the top of a building or a cruise ship in port gives you a stunning view of one of the most secluded coastlines in the world.

Scrapbooking 101

Scrapbooking and photography go hand-in-hand. Usually a scrapbooking page is made with a couple of photos. The photos used can be anything from a snapshot of the family to a compelling landscape photograph. It just depends on the photography experience of the scrapbooker. Many learn the two hobbies simultaneously. Some get so good at both that they are making money through online platforms, giving tips and advice about how to get better at both hobbies. A great example of this can be found at the pioneerwoman.com. She’s got an incredible grip on both hobbies (not to mention being a savvy writer), so much so her website is hit on by millions. In this chapter, I’ll integrate the two hobbies so you can delve into both.

Here’s a scrapbooking page I made from old family photos taken in Miami where I grew up.

Here are some pointers about the page that you can use if you’re a beginning scrapbooker:

*            Tilt the pictures. Notice how corresponding pictures in the bottom and top rows are tilted opposite from one another. I did that so there would be better balance on the page.

*            Build paper frames for your pictures. However, this was not necessary on the old pictures I used because they were printed with frames.

*            Have at least a little bit of text on the page. In the case of “Florida,” one word is worth a thousand pictures. The word reminds people that the pictures were taken in Florida.

*            Use textured background paper of uniform color (which is usually less than $1 a sheet). You don’t want to have a cluttered background. Many papers have very busy backgrounds. To be sure, some like this and can get away with it if the foreground and background colors complement each other match, but personally I don’t care for it.

*            Don’t overdo the stickers. A couple on a page is enough.

*            Overlap images artfully. Notice how the top and bottom rows of images overlap differently for additional balance in the page.

The content of this page is copyrighted and comes from the book 101 Quick and Easy Secrets for Using Your Digital Photographs.

Blog Review Monday

Haven’t done a blog review in awhile. The last one was of the blog, AmericansuburbXCALIFORNIA.

Today, I move on to the cool and funky Dudecraft. I had this site bookmarked several times because of its offbeat content.

The blogger, Peter Overton, blogs daily and introduces himself with a note that he has not made his octogenarian neighbors happy because he has a lawn that makes them want to call the authorities.

His blog is set up with the traditional blogger format, a post a day listed chronologically on the page. I’m amicable to that format because I’m so used to it and my previous blog, Digital Traveler,  used not only the same format, but also the same template.

Peter’s  post today involves art made with dust bunnies, a very creative find of awesome (a word Peter is partial to) works of found art (art that’s made from found objects).

I can relate to his writing because it’s similar to mine. He interjects his own opinion and past experiences into almost all matters– subjects relating to technology and art. He has a knack for finding content that ranges from nerdy to odd. One post that caught my attention is his link to the  Pancake Project blog, which eventually brings you to a breakfast called “Leggo Eggo” that looks as if it contains a waffle head connected to a body that spills out cherry guts.

Occasionally the blog delves into photography concepts. His post about shadows leads you to a striking combination of street art integrated into shadows. That post makes me want to carry a piece of chalk around with my camera.

This is the blog for right-brain thinkers and their pals. I’d give it a 7/10.

Panamanian Gold

It’s amazing how traditional Mexico can be. This woman is from Chiapas in Southern Mexico. She wears traditional garb.

Mexico certainly has style, but some people consider it overdone. Take the butterfly earrings in this photo. Most American woman wouldn’t wear something like this. Big hoops, maybe, but not gaudy butterflies.

If you click on the photo to see it enlarged, you’ll find that not all of it is sharp. The butterfly earrings are a bit soft. This isn’t a bad thing because the woman’s eyes are sharp, and when you’ve got the eyes sharp, you’ve got a good start to a compelling portrait.

When taking a portrait, you should always set the auto focus point on the eyes. The eyes tell a story of the inner self.  You look into them and go on a trip into the person’s soul.

Railroad Tracks and Telephone Wires

Man-made elements such as telephone wires and railroad tracks are plentiful around the world. Shooting them so that they are the sole subjects in the frame creates an interesting picture of how we humans live. Railroads carry goods; wires carry power. That’s the story of our lives–goods and power, the essence of the human spirit if you chose to look at it that way.

Power lines and railroad tracks provide photographers with the opportunity to sketch with lines. In this photo, the railroad track meets the horizon, encountering a set of  horizontal power lines that cross the sky.

In the early 20th century Tina Modotti was the creator of a frame of power lines that stretch tightly through the sky–thin vertical lines, graceful and bare. When Modotti shot the power lines, they were new and fresh.

To many power lines and railroad tracks seem  antiquated and stale, nevertheless,  their beauty doesn’t go unnoticed.  Photographers all over the world still shoot these relics as if they were just built yesterday.

Communism for Christmas

After viewing the much-talked-about-on-Twitter toy photos, I remembered that I had one of my own.

I’ve decided I want to add a little communism to the holidays, so I included these colorful icons of Chinese culture (to some at least).

First the outfits: There was a time in China where everyone had to wear the same thing, much like the blue clothing you see in the image.

These Mao soldiers are for sale everywhere in the Dongtai Lu Antiques Market in Shanghai. They photograph rather well.

Just in case if you wondered who Mao is–he’s the dictator who, in 1949, decalared the birth of the People’s Republic of China.

China has been communist ever since.