Greg B - Spain Portugal Morocco Update 6/7

[Greg B]

Hi folks.

Back from the holiday, it was fantastic.

Just a quick note about equipment.

I purchased a Canon S3 IS for the trip, the D200 etc was going to be too
much to cart around.

The S3 was magnificent. Great zoom range (although would have liked
it a bit wider at the short end. Really good video capability (640 x 480 at
30 fps). And just excellent quality all round. The flip and twist LCD is very
useful, the controls are well thought out and easily accessible, battery life
was very good.

I shot a bit at ISO 800, and they have cleaned up pretty well. I had 2 x 4
Varta AAs - the 15 minute charge time was very handy and the first thing
I did when we got to a hotel was to charge up. Two 2 gig SD cards, and
an 80 gig PSD.

Ended up with around 3,500 shots and 80 videos.

Lots of work to do, but here are a few shots to kick off....

A barbary ape with baby on Gibraltar. Beautiful animals running free.




A woman in the souk at Fes.




Rooftops in Fes. The number of satellite dishes in Morocco was astonishing.






More to come. Good to be home.

[gstark]

Greg,

Welcome back; it seems like it was just yesterday that you left.

Glad you had a good, and safe, trip, and I'm looking forward to seeing more images of the quality of these three outstanding ones that you've posted.

[Oneputt]

That rooftop in Fes image is startling. I guess it is a fair indication of how technology has spread

[Glen]

Greg, looks like a great trip. I too really like the rooftop pic in Morocco, highlighting the tower, tremendous.

[dviv]

Fantasic photos!

I really like the contrast between the old looking rooftops and the modern equipment, highlighted even more by the tower -

Great spot to shoot from - how did you find it?

[sirhc55]

Sounds like a great trip Greg and now back in cold Melb. . . with lots of PP’ing ahead.

The pic of the rooftops in Fez will be removed by the CIA from this thread as it depicts a nodal of their communications network.

[macka]

Greg, Great shots. I really like #3.

Where abouts did you go in Spain? Pat and I are headed there in Jan and would love to hear where you favorite places were.

[Greg B]

Thank you all for your comments.

The satellite dishes were everywhere, sometimes on the most dilapidated
of buildings, but just everywhere.

The shot of the rooftops was taken from a fortress type place on top of a
hill overlooking Fes. And we now know that a Casbah is a fortress!

Kris, we absolutely loved Spain and I am sure you will too. We went to
Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Salamanca, Marbella and Granada.

Marbella is on the Costa del Sol, and was Ok but mostly a beach resort.
Madrid and Barcelona are fantastic cities with a huge amount to see, and
great to just spend time getting to know. Salamanca is a large university
town with a great vibe - try and be there over the weekend. Seville is
beautiful and you can visit Cordoba - a must see. Granada has the
Alhambra palace and surrounding gardens.

We didn't go to Valencia, but by all reports, it is fantastic too.

Try and stay close in to the action where possible, particularly in
Barcelona.

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me

[Cre8tivepixels]

Two and three what awesome images......def contenders for POTW as far as i am concerned!!

[Laurie]

#2 for some reason just reminds me of Monty Python!
i like the clutter in #3, it just works for the image.
nice

[wendellt]

excellent depth compression in the last one
intruiging image

you must of had a fantastic time, show us more

[PiroStitch]

welcome back and look forward to more of your photos. That last one reminded me about Mongolia from a colleague. They pretty much skipped a generation and went straight to satellite connectivity as well for just about everything.

[Greg B]

There are many amazing statues and figures on the tops of buildings
everywhere you go in Spain.

This building is in Madrid, both shots taken from roughly the same spot
demonstrating how handy the 12x zoom is on the little S3.

[macka]

Pretty impressed with your shots from the S3, Greg. And thanks for the info re:Spain. Will PM you if I think of any specific questions.

Cheers

[Matt. K]

OLE! Nice work Greg! Did you pick up a bottle of fine sherry whilst there?

[Greg B]

Some more shots from the trip....

Cordoba in Spain, a beautifully preserved Moorish city, in which there
is a magnificent 8th century Mosque which, curiously, has a Christian
church built within it. Even a couple of atheists like us couldn't help but
be impressed with the religious "art direction" for want of a better term.
This is obviously from the church part of the building.




Along the beachfront just out of Casablanca in Morocco. I just liked
the look of this building.




Also in Casablanca, two photos taken from exactly the same spot. One
way, the third largest Mosque in the world, the Hassan II Mosque, with a
capacity of 25,000 inside and another 80,000 in the surrounding area.
The minaret (the tower) is 210 metres high, the highest minaret in the
world. (Interestingly, minarets in Morocco are square, in Spain they are
round). This amazing building cost half a billion dollars to build.

The second photo is what was directly behind me as I took the shot
of the Mosque.

[Glen]

Greg, great images, like the contrasts between mosque and surrounds. Nice image of the building by the sea, looks like a nice building to live in

[Matt. K]

Great work Greg! Nice to see you posting some images for a change. You need to get away more often.

[ozimax]

Great photos, conveys some real atmosphere, enjoy the trip!

[NeoN]

Nice images Greg,and a big contrast between them , and a good travelogue too.For a Atheist you sure visit a few churches /Mosque's!!!You are not thinking of starting your own religion by any chance!!! .Nice HAT by the way or is it a FEZ!
Cheers NeoN

[gstark]

Greg,

Those shots are just fan-bloody-mazing.

That mosque ...to put some perspective on its size, its capacity is two and a half times that of the Sydney Entertainment Centre in Chinatown, and about one third that of the MCG, I expect.

[stubbsy]

Greg

That image from the inside of the church is sensational. Great composition and post processing.

I have a problem with the one of the mosque for two reasons - firstly I just don't get a sense of it's true size even though you have a person in shot and secondly I just can't see where all the money went (guess it must be on the inside). Thanks for sharing.

[BlahBlah]

that image is just stunning

[Greg B]

One great thing about being on a trip is that you have
your camera with you at all times and can take advantage
of opportunities. I haven't done enough photography in
recent months, but this trip has re-ignited my enthusiasm.

A few shots on the streets all in Barcelona...

Unfortunately I only saw this bloke as he zoomed past, hence the
shot of him from the rear. Love the fact that he has taken his
dog (which is obviously quite at home) with him on the Segway.



A girl in her window having a smoke.



A couple enjoying a drink at a cafe in the Plaza Catalonya.




In relation to the Hassan II mosque, it was very difficult to convey the
size of it. Those small grey rectangles at the base are large doors, that's
about the best I can do. According to the Morocco Lonely Planet, the
minaret has laser beams which shine towards Mecca.

Thanks for all your kind comments.

[sirhc55]

The pastel tones in #1 are just beautiful