Orange is the new Yellow....
We are coming into the vacation and travel season. Try not to have your vacant home become a "target of opportunity" to a burglar.
My newspaper here in Charleston not only will "hold" my papers while I am on vacation, it offers to provide them to schools as part of the national
"Newspapers in Education," program, NIE.
(Locally, it appears to be called MIE, Media in Education. Seems more in tune with the times.)
But, I want to get a stack of bundled papers delivered after my return. Old news, for sure, but this is a way I keep up with my favorite comics.
Same with the rubber band-bound pile of junk mail my postman brings the afternoon after I am back home.
Well aware of not signaling my departure for vacation, I do not blog about such trips until I am safely home and reading my mail and going through a high stack of newspapers.
Of main concern, of course, is NOT to have papers strewn in the yard, on the steps and piled on my porch while I am away.
My travel checklist includes arranging that such telltale signs of an empty house are not present.
I returned from 18 days overseas last year - at night - and two thick bags o' papers were indeed on my front porch the next morning. As I hefted them up, I saw there was a bright orange plastic bag hanging on my front gate, next to the empty mailbox.
I shuffled down the steps and saw hanging there was a thick copy of the new Yellow Pages phone directory.
I can assume only the worst, that it was hung there the very day I was flying to Europe and acted as a homing beacon to every potential home burglar in the tri-county area.
Good news: there were no signs of attempted break-ins.
Frankly, I didn't know YP books were still being printed now that the internet, "Angie's List" and other info sources are right at hand and more up-to-date than any printed item.
Even if you've done all the obvious safeguards, be prepared for the unexpected.
Labels: burglar targets of opportunity., hold my mail, MIE, Newspapers In Education, NIE, Prague, vacation newspaper delivery suspension, Yellow Pages
Hmmmm, think maybe this was PhotoShopped?
PhotoShop is a software program that let's you manipulate a photo.
It has come to be a derisive term that implies "cheating" on the image.
But other "tweaks" can be done without using PS:
Increase/decrease contrast.
Make a photo lighter or darker or crop it for dramatic effect.
But, yeah, this shot has been doctored like crazy.
PS has a clone tool that let's you copy a portion of the image and place it somewhere else. Like left and right hands on the guitar player seen here.
It was an interesting picture because of the 3-neck guitar played by Eddie Vaan Shaw.
The top is a 12-string guitar and the other two are more traditional 6-string.
I felt the two on the bottom felt left out so I corrected it.
The
"swaying" building in Prague, Czech Republic, was actually designed and built that way by American architect Frank Owen Gehry.
He initially named it the
Fred & Ginger building, after the famed dancing duo.
I did not have to alter anything about the
"Gum Trees" that drew the attention of tourists and locals and, finally, the City.
A man with a steam machine was hired by the city to clean poles on four corners by the Custom House and the Market.
Who knows how and why the stick fad started but it wasn't the kind of image Charleston strives for.
After getting them clean, a sign warned Gummers that they would be fined a thousand dollars if they stuck with doing this.
I DID add the caption over the head of a tourist.
The picture of a "relaxed" Mickey Mouse was not retouched at all.
This was a lazy street entertainer on a main street in Las Vegas that I happened to spot as a passerby dropped a tip.
While others had to prance and dance and pose to gather tips, this person (male or female?) found a position that Disney never would approve. The blue beer bottle was a perfect touch.
This dramatic photo was not Photo Shopped.
However, the contrast was boosted and saturation was increased.
It's pretty close to what I saw when I captured a pretty awesome scene on the Charles Bridge in Prague.
Because that area was filled with tourists milling around at all hours, I simply tilted my camera up a bit and shot over their heads.
Guess that was fooling around with the image.
But simply a planned approach to crowd control.
Another thing to do when the shot you want is too crowded, just wait a few moments.
Crowds ebb and flow and there will be a time when you can have fewer people in the picture.
The long scenic street shot in Lisbon, Portugal, could have used some cleaning up with software.
If you zoom in, you'll see the front of that beautiful iconic yellow electric trolley is totally covered with graffiti that was scribbled, scratched and painted on.
On other shots, where I am much closer, I did use a "paint brush" tool from PS.
With it, I was able to restore the original, pristine look that you saw on Lisbon t-shirts.
(Click on the photos and links for more details.)
PhotoShop is simply a tool and certainly can be overdone, creating a false look.
On occasion, I am guilty of that.
Thanks for stopping by.
Labels: Charles Bridge, graffiti, iconic yellow trolleys, Lisbon Portugal, paint brush tool, PhotoShop. clone tool, Prague
"Blowing bubbles, pretty bubbles...."
Being retired with plenty of time to travel is good.
I recommend it for everyone.
Not being smug, but in the past I have been to London and Glasgow.
Dublin, "Northern Ireland," and a weekend of Oktoberfest in Munich.
Amsterdam and a picturesque train ride down to Bruges. All fine destinations.
But I wanted to revisit Berlin. Last time I was there in 1981,
The Wall was up. November 9 will be the 25th anniversary of it coming down. It was a divider between Communism and Democracy for 28 years.
On this visit, my hotel was located in what used to be East Berlin and I was able to go up to the rooftop terrace and inside the glass dome atop the
Reichstag Building, home of the German Parliament.
Ramps let you walk higher and higher for a spectacular view over the entire city.
It was a clear day and the photos were rewarding.
It's also open for evening/night photography. All require advance planning and registration.
The 8-hour flight from Newark was tracked on individual screens at each seat.
We reached an altitude of 40,000 feet and - with a tail wind - hit 600 mph. The images even showed us where daylight would appear again.
This part of the journey was aboard a United Boeing 757 and the return would be on a 2-aisle widebody Airbus flown by Lufthansa.
The foreign carrier differences included sandwich snacks, a hot meal served along with metal silverware and free wine, beer and Cokes.
Our domestic airlines have gone in the opposite direction, charging for basic amenities I used to take for granted.
Unless you fly first class, meals, free alcoholic beverages and being handed hot towels for your hands, are in the distant past.
On the way to Germany, the sun rose just as the small screen said it would and a sense of excitement and anticipation could be felt.
The short nighttime period had ended and this was a new day.
Literally.
The soap bubbles were in our future like these I saw in Prague in the Czech Republic on Old Town Square.
I visited many of the well-known popular places in five countries and joined the merry throngs.
But also sought and found
off-the-beaten-path sights and experiences.
Yes, travel is fulfilling and educational.
(Click on the photos for more details.)
My successful diet was put on hold for this trip. The different beers, new ways to have coffee prepared (with a slice of cake) and spectacular meals were offset by 4-mile fast-paced walking tours, hikes up stairs in castles and palaces and wandering through churches and opera houses.
I regained only 3 pounds!
Labels: Berlin Wall, Czech Republic, German Parliament, giant soap bubbles, Lufthansa German Airlines, Old Town Square, Prague, Reichstag Building, United Airlines
