Silhouettes.....
My Photography Group meets monthly and we have a SHOW & TELL session to present our work to the other members.
We vote on an optional theme for the next month and
"Silhouette" was picked for March.
Members can choose to shoot pictures that support that idea.
Or, ignore it and bring a few favorite shots they'd like to share.
15 is the maximum for each member ...or we'd be there all night.
The last option is to look through your files and seek out pictures that match the theme
Each month I usually try all three options. My
"biergarten" shot in Munich came from the files.
I was in Germany a few years ago and enjoyed an evening of Oktoberfest. This was in September.
Details are a little vague.
This was followed by a late breakfast the next morning in an outdoor setting.
Yes, those are BIG glasses.
My boutique hotel in Germany was very close to the
Munich U-Bahn subway station - on purpose - so no driving was involved.
No matter what hotel you choose, the party continues there night after night and mine followed that rule.
This shot is not really a silhouette but has a nice combo of light and dark.
The train stations in Europe are HUGE and very busy. Few in the United States reach that level of activity.
Each rail hub is a small city with food, drink, benches, shops, stores, cabs, buses and parking.
Also a police force, municipal workers, and sanitation facilities.
A weary traveler is well served.
The Oktoberfest survivor needs all the help he can get.
In England's capital, it is hard to ignore
"The London Eye."
I'm sure the name has changed since it opened in 2000 and was known as the British Airways London Eye.
It stands 443 feet high on the south bank of the River Thames and now is known by the newest sponsor name, EDF Energy.
We do that - selling a sponsorship when naming a football stadium or other big buildings or structures.
But, it makes a good silhouette picture.
I recall that I had that in mind when I snapped it.
The
Cliffs of Moher is where Ireland meets the Atlantic Ocean.
Hmm, is THIS a true silhouette?
Our tour guide/bus driver warned us that it was a foggy day so the odds were against us.
It depended on the wind whether or not we would see the view on the western seaboard of Clare County.
Sadly, it was socked in when he was parking the bus but we trudged to the viewing areas anyway.
The wind picked up, the fog was blown back to sea and there they were, all in a row. "Wow," I recall saying.
This view from the plane coming back to Philadelphia certainly qualifies as a silhouette.
I've noticed that more and more of the
Photo Group members are dipping into their saved world-wide photos to meet the challenge of a monthly theme.
Doesn't bother me.
The photo is a souvenir, a keepsake, a memory-flogger.
One of the many beauties of photography is the chance to revisit an experience.
(Click on the photos for more details.)
Back-lit is pretty close to a silhouette. We'll see if others feel that way at the meeting on Wednesday.
Thanks for stopping by. Bring your camera and come to a meeting.
* I have 99,618 hits on my blog right now.
Should hit 6 figures any day now.
Labels: beer garden, biergarten, British Airways, Cliffs of Moher, EDF Energy, Ireland's County Clare, Leonardo boutique hotel, Munich, Oktoberfest, The London Eye, U-Bahn, Western seaboard of Ireland
A Few Big Wheels...
The new
Sky Wheel in Myrtle Beach is the tallest in the United States.
It's listed as soaring 200 feet above the beach community.
I'm not really taller, that's just a sneaky camera angle.
The camera doesn't lie but the image CAN be manipulated.
For contrast, the long-time
Navy Pier Ferris Wheel in Chicago is a mere 150 feet high. Way to go South Carolina!
The
London Eye tops us both at 443 feet tall.
Each of its
"cabins" holds about 15-20 people and you can walk around to take pictures and marvel as it slowly rotates continuously.
In Myrtle Beach, the air conditioned capsule seats up to 4 riders/gawkers on each side.
Signs are posted to warn you not to move suddenly or do anything like rocking or swaying during its 5 revolutions.
I did shift around a bit - carefully - to look east and west.
This is the best view I've ever had of the beach, the Atlantic and downtown's new
Boardwalk.The afternoon for my rotations was timed perfectly.
The shadow of the wheel could be seen on nearby buildings to the east and along the beach toward the pier.
Your view changed as you rose, went over the top and started down again.
Looking west, the gentle arc of beachfront properties were back-lighted and impressive.
Checking online, I see that currently the tallest of all the Wheels is in
Singapore.
It towers 541 feet up in the clouds!
Wonder if it's equipped with oxygen masks that drop down from the overhead? Yikes.
(Clicking on the pictures makes the image larger for your viewing enjoyment.) From the top of the beach wheel you look down on
Ripley's Believe It Or Not.
Labels: Boardwalk, Ripley's Believe It Or Not, Sky Wheel, The London Eye, World's highest Ferris Wheel
Bicycles Rule ..... Over In Europe
I have read the
bike blog by E. David Moulton for several years.(Enjoy the fine novel he wrote
"Prodigal Child.")
Dave's from England so, a few weeks ago, when I saw this giant bicycle wheel monument on the banks of the Thames in London , I thought
"Wow. They REALLY like bikes here!"
No. Turns out that is
The London Eye, a Ferris wheel-type ride built by British Airways to offer tourists a soaring high up view from individual "flight" modules that hold 20-25 people each.
It costs 15 pounds sterling a head - about $30 US - and, of course, I rode it. I'm a tourist.
Another fellow blogger Geoff Marshall - also from Britain - will not be surprised to know I sampled many, many tasty pints of cask ales. Extensive research followed by
"Mind The Gap."
But, the sad fact is, both the bike and beer seems to be treasured more on "the continent."
Closest I got to being astride a bike was on an Amsterdam Museum exhibit where I pedaled and learned that more than half the population uses bikes for transportation.
It didn't take me long to find that more than 700 different beers are made in The Netherlands and Belgium and each requires its own special glass. Holy dishwasher.
We are starting to catch up with the rest of the beer-drinking world now that we have high gravity beers available here in Charleston, but a glass or two of 10% alcohol content beer - made by Trappist monks - gets your attention as you sit quietly in a 14th century courtyard.
Oh, and the food overseas is great too.
Labels: A'Dam Museum, Belgium, British Airways, high gravity beer, Holland, Prodigal Child, The London Eye
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