Shots For Passion - Photography

A cup of white wine - Sparkling gold

2012-02-11T09:00:00.000+01:00

A cup of sparkling white wine

I took this shot during a friend's wedding.

Sometimes I like to take macro shots of bubbles: they are all similar, but you can't find two that are the same :-)

Eureka, I'm on Street View! And Google Street View Car is on my blog! :-) - Google took a shot of me on Elba Island beach!

2012-02-10T12:23:00.000+01:00

I was waiting for it, I knew it was going to happen...
I kept checking for update on street view on Elba Island's roads: finally Google updated its databases.

And now I can say it: I'm on Street View!
And Google Street View Car is on my blog!
This is so meta... :-)

That morning we had just arrived at the Enfola beach, on the Island of Elba, Italy.
I was walking to my car to get something that I had forgotten ... and then I saw a Google Street View Car maneuvering to turn back.
Of course I always have my compact camera with me, especially during the holidays (my DSLR camera was a bit 'too far... it was on the beach in the bag :-)), so I pulled out my compact with a feline gesture and I managed to snap some photos at the Google car before seeing it vanish away between the curves of the Elba Island :-)

Here is me on Google Street View, taking some photos of the Google Stret View Car, on the Enfola Beach, Elba Island, Italy.

Here is the Google Street View Car

the Google Street View Car maneuvering

Me on the beach, walking back to my car to take something...

Here is a live version of Google StreetView :-)

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Chemistry Carnival #12: The chemistry in the cold of winter and the warmth of Christmas - Ice crystal on frozen spider web

2011-12-13T23:48:00.003+01:00

Ice crystal on frozen spider web

I know, that's a strange title for a photography blog... but my girlfriend is hosting the 12th edition of the Italian Chemistry Carnival on his blog www.ScienceForPassion.com (call for paper link), so I won't miss the opportunity to link her blog back :-)

I will proudly supply the photos that she will use in his Chemistry Carnival post :-)

If some Italian chemist is reading, the call-for-paper deadline is 21 December 2011. But you can already see some of my photos in the following posts:

Chemistry Carnival #12 Call for paper on www.ScienceForPassion.com (english translated by the courtesy of Google)

Chemistry Carnival #12 Call for paper reminder on www.ScienceForPassion.com

My girlfriend, during a cold winter many years ago :-)

Island of Elba by photos: Boat in the bay - Cape Enfola, reflections at sunset

2011-10-04T08:00:00.000+02:00

Cape Enfola, mid zoom...

...Cape Enfola, zommed in...

...Cape Enfola, zoomed out.

I think I shoudn't post 3 similar photos in a row of the same place at the same time... but I cant really decide which one I like the most.

This is Capo Enfola, it mark the north boundary of Viticcio Bay, on Elba Island, Italy.

Images captured just after the sunset with my Manfrotto tripod :-)

Click here to see my other photos of Elba Island

Island of Elba by photos: Nightfall - The bay and the sunset haze

2011-10-02T08:00:00.000+02:00

A view of the Viticcio Bay, at sunset.

There was a nice haze on the distant seashore :-)

Click here to see my other photos of Elba Island

Island of Elba by photos: The Sun like a star - Burning sunset

2011-09-30T08:00:00.000+02:00

The Sun, like a star.

Yes, I know, the Sun is a star :-) It's just one of the 2–4×10¹¹ stars existing in our galaxy, which is only one of the 1.7 × 10¹¹ estimated existing galaxies... wow, these figures always amaze me :-)

Anyway, in the post title I'm referring to the shape you can attain when shotting the sun at 70mm and f 36, like in the shot above. It may be a bit exaggerated, but sometime I love to close the iris down to f 36 to shape the points of light like a star :-)

The Sun, blowing your monitor :-)

Of course, you can also shot the sun at 70mm and f 8, to attain a globular burning ball of fire that seem to blow your monitor :-) (no, it won't blow your monitor for real... :-))

Click here to see my other photos of Elba Island

Island of Elba by photos: Waves and billows - Deep blue water

2011-09-28T08:00:00.000+02:00

The wake of the ferry: waves, white billows, and deep blue water.

Photo made from the ferry that take you from Piombino to Portoferrario

Click here to see my other photos of Elba Island

Island of Elba by photos: Viticcio bay, one sunset for each day

2011-09-19T08:00:00.000+02:00

Portrait...

...and landscape.

Which one do you prefer? Landscape or portrait?

Did I already mention that I took a ridiculous amount of photos at sunset time? :-)

As always, photos took from the Viticcio Hotel terrace, on Elba Island, Italy.

Click here to see my other photos of Elba Island

Island of Elba by photos: Viticcio Bay, night and day - Photography times

2011-09-16T08:00:00.000+02:00

Viticcio bay at golden hours time... (early morning)

Viticcio bay at sharp shadows time... (lunch time)

Viticcio bay at appetizer time... (dinner time)

Viticcio bay at sunset time...

Viticcio bay at night shot time!

All these photos have one things in common: I took them with a compact camera (Canon Ixus 870).

I still hate myself for not taking with me my DSLR during our first dinner on Elba Island :-|

These photos are nice, but the quality of image produced by my compact camera can't compete with a DSLR camera. The clouds doesn't looks naturals, and the colors are oversaturated and "grainy".

Anyway, each photo not taken is a memory that can go lost. I will not forget all these moments. :-)

Click here to see my other photos of Elba Island

Island of Elba by photos: Isola di Cerboli - Alone, like an island

2011-09-15T08:00:00.000+02:00

Alone, like an island, in the middle of the sea.

This is the Island of Cerboli (link to google maps) near the Elba Island, Italy.

I took this photo from the ferry.

This photo is very homogeneous: only sky, sea, some haze, and a tiny island.

I like it's symmetry, and the fact that it exasperate the concept of "isolation" of the island :-)

Click here to see my other photos of Elba Island

Island of Elba by photos: Half sun sunset and Seanna motor yacht

2011-09-08T08:00:00.000+02:00

The sun, fading at dusk, seen from the Viticcio Bay, Island of Elba, Italy.

The motor yacht in the middle of the frame is the Seanna by Benetti Yachts.

Click here to see my other photos of Elba Island

Island of Elba by photos: Golden sunset reflection

2011-09-07T08:00:00.000+02:00

Golden sunset took from the Viticcio Bay, Island of Elba, Italy.

Click here to see my other photos of Elba Island

Island of Elba by photos: Sunset on the Viticcio bay - Red reflection

2011-08-31T23:00:00.000+02:00

View of the Viticcio bay a few minutes after the sunset.

I took this photo after the dinner, just a few minutes after the sunset.

The photo is took directly from the hotel Viticcio terrace (Island of Elba, Italy) with my tripod: 0.5sec exposure, no filter, photo shot raw, practically untouched :-)

I love this sunset, it seem a postcard :-)

Click here to see my other photos of Elba Island

Island of Elba by photos: Shadows on the hills

2011-08-30T23:00:00.000+02:00

Island of Elba (Italy) seen from the ferry.

It's been a long time since last update to this blog, these are busy times...
I'm moving in a new home, and when you go trough 15 trading centers and furniture factories only for finding a new bed, things doesn't looks so easy... :-)

Anyway, back to the business. It can seem incredible, but after finishing a complete repainting of the new home, we've been able to book one week in the Island of Elba a with an advance of only 2 days.This is what I call luck... :-)

Island of Elba is a very nice place to spend some time, you can see a fantastic sea, beachs, sunsets, hills...
So in following posts I'm going to show you some photos I took during my holidays, I hope you like them :-)

Venice: Palazzo Cavalli-Franchetti seen from Ponte dell'Accademia - The boat sailing the Grand Canal

2011-05-31T09:00:00.035+02:00

A boat sailing the Grand Canal in front of Palazzo Cavalli-Franchetti, seen from Accademia Bridge, Venice.

I've shot this photo during my last trip in Venice for the 2011 Carnival.

I like the shape of the canal seen from the bridge :-)
Sometime I like to sepia-tone an image, it give character to the photo. It simplify the image cutting out the colors. And then you can play with the colors weight to add/remove contrast in specific parts of the image.

Garden insects: Coccinellidae, Ladybug that bite a leaf of sage - Gnam gnam!

2011-05-10T10:00:00.021+02:00

Here you can see a Ladybug that is biting a leaf of sage.

I was haunting for interesting subject with my new inverted Canon 18-55mm in super-macro mode, and stumbled across this nice ladybug :-)

I've been able to take just a couple of shots before she flew away.

Garden insects: Macrosiphum rosae, aphid - Roses sap sucker

2011-04-28T15:00:00.004+02:00

Here you can see the inhabitants of the roses in the garden :-)

They are "Macrosiphum rosae", aphids: they suck the sap of roses leaves.

To take this photo I've used an inverted Canon 18-55mm.
My old 18-55mm is having a second life as a super-macro lens :-)
I've bought the cheapest reverse macro ring adapter on ebay.
At maximum zoom the captured image have a real life size of about 5x3.5mm (0.20x0.14 inch)
Maybe it's not handy as the Canon MPE-65, but for 3€ (price of the reverse ring adapter), it's a great value :-)

Venice, Carnival 2011: It's Fantastic! - Best masks photo selection

2011-04-10T08:00:00.121+02:00

We are at it, guys. Carnival it's over, and my "best Venice Carnival 2011" photos selection is running out...

This year I've been in Venice for 2 days. I've walked over an uncounted number of venetian bridges, I've seen hundreds of masks, I've seen many amazing foreshotening view of Venice, I've shooted 1088 photos, and it's been fantastic.

I would like to thank Venice, and all the masks that make an event like the Venice Carnival possible.
I praise you all.
I would especially like to thank my girlfriend: your presence, my darling, makes these trips memorable... and my life special :-)

That's all, folks!

Thanks for reading :-)

Venice, Carnival 2011: The golden ivory mask - She's an angel...

2011-04-09T08:00:00.006+02:00

Here is another picture of a mask from the 2011 Venice Carnival.

This is one of the most beautiful mask I've seen during the Venice Carnival.
I really love the delicate ivory color of her dress.
Her mask, her wings, her pose... she's fantastic!