October: Winery tour on the Mosel River

We took our photography club to a winery on the Mosel River. The grapes were mostly picked already but the fall colors were pretty. We learned a lot about grape growing. For instance the red leaves are for the red grapes and yellow leaves are the white grapes.

Alfred and Mary's fields are across from Briedel. They often take the ferry to get to the fields.

Mary took us up a steep hill where grapes are grown in slate.

She is a wonderful teacher. We learned a lot about growing grapes that day.

We also got lots of good exercise.

Mary happily sold quite a few bottles of wine at her place after our excursion!

At the end of our journey Mary took us up to the top of the hill, Marionberg, where we overlooked the entire valley. There's a former monastery at the top.

Spa, Belgium

Spa, Belgium takes only about an hour to drive from where we live. It is definately a chick kind of town (though there is plenty for a guy to enjoy too - a Grand Prix race track nearby...)

But Spa is ... well, named for the concept of the modern Spa. From a thousand years ago, travelling Romans used the natural springs there for beauty treatments. 300 years ago the kings and queens of Europe travelled there for healing and beauty treatments.

Wishing we had brought our swimsuits, we discovered that we could swim in the mineral waters for 3 hours for 17 Euro per person at the pools at the top of the hill. A funiculair can take you up from the Tourism Office. There is also a free factory tour of the bottling plant. The oldest casino in the world is located in Spa.

There are several natural mineral springs around town. This pump house is located in the center of town. For a few cents you can sample the mineral loaded water. Bottoms up.

http://www.trabel.com/spa/spa.htm

One in our group loved it so much, she booked a couple nights at a Bed and Breakfast to go back with her sister-in-law the next week.

Travel Photos: Monschau

Our photography club visited Monschau, the gem of the Eifel. We enjoyed wandering through the cobblestone streets, climbing to the castle at the top of the ridge.

In February it is a bit hard to find color as the grass, trees and flowers haven't come out yet.

At the castle wall we found fabulous lighting conditions. In spite of the backlighting, highlighting our hair, light softly reflected on our faces making perfect portrait conditions. We lingered there awhile.

Photography Club
Travel Photos

Frame it

A favorite travel photo is to find a natural frame.
An arch
Through a window
Down a narrow alley or road
Tree branches on top or along one side

Let it snow/fog/rain…

Don’t be disappointed in bad weather for a photo excursion. Fog, snow, stormy clouds… might make good mood photos, silhouettes, etc.

Sunrise and sunset produce that magic golden glow on the buildings.
Long shadows can also be interesting. Mid-day sun is least interesting in photos usually.

Juxtaposition

Look for the old and the new side by side, black and white, 2 strong colors, young and old.

Perspectives

Take 2 or 3 shots with various point of view – Far away – horizon, hills and valleys. A closer shot. Then a close up of something.

As always, get close. Take close ups of unique things in that place. A gargoyle face, a display of Belgium chocolate…

Special interest

Close shot of cobblestone, half timbered side of house, animal, local children playing…

Composition

Color is always nice. Use flowers when possible.
Consider patterns and shapes. Unusual lines.
An S-curve pattern in the picture ALWAYS makes it more interesting. It shows motion

Close-ups

Photography Club
Close-ups

Taking a good photo of an object is valuable. It can better illustrate a place you’ve been. You might sell an item on e-bay or a PCS sale ad more effectively. Or it just might give you pleasure as an art form.

Just get close

One of the biggest mistakes the average person makes taking photos is taking it too far away. Get close. Take a photo of something special. It doesn’t have to be an ultra close-up – just zoom in closer or stand closer to your subject.

The Macro button

Most point-and-shoot cameras today have a macro feature. It looks like a tulip. This setting sets the camera to zoom in very close. Recently I’ve heard from some that it is always blurry. If this is the case, check your manual and find out how you can focus manually. Also, some cameras have several focus features. Play with them and read about them in your manual.

This is a good time to mention that if you are serious about photography, sit down with your manual as if it were a good book. Read carefully. Highlight or take notes of what you’ve learned. Practice different features. Most of us point and shoot, when it can do so much more for us.

Jiggles and shakes

The closer you get to your subject, the more important it is that the camera is absolutely still for a crisp photo. Use a tripod or anchor it but setting it on the desk and using the timer feature. Also, generally photos will be better quality if you get closer physically than if you use a lot of zoom. But if you get too close and use a flash, your subject will be overexposed. Natural light is good, but you might need to experiment with the lighting. Try the object at different angles. Backlight silhouette. Use 2 or lamps.

Other fun artistic ideas

Compositional interest can incorporate strong lines and angles. The use of curves and swirls. Repetitive patterns. Black and white. The use of color. Photography is a valid art form. Go crazy. Experiment. You might just find an image you love.