Cruising

[Grumpy John]

My wife and I did our first cruise in 2010 from San Diego through the Inside Passage back to Vancouver, and we have become addicted to cruising. We love doing the shore excursions but I find them rather restrictive for photography as you are constantly being hurried along to the next attraction.

The following images are from our 2011 Mediterranean cruise Barcelone - Venice, then a week in London.

Santorini, a photographers paradise.


Lovely Venice.


Street performer at Trafalgar Square, very lucky to get this shot.


A fully functioning phone box in London.


Casa Batllo, Barcelona,

[Isac]

They are all very special photos GJ. #1 for me. The selective colour for the red phone box is a close runner-up but needs a bit of straightening. That's the only CC for all of them. How did you do the selective colouring?

[Grumpy John]

They are all very special photos GJ. #1 for me. The selective colour for the red phone box is a close runner-up but needs a bit of straightening. That's the only CC for all of them. How did you do the selective colouring?

Thanks for the CC Isac, always appreciated.

Straightened,



Done in ACR, very quick and basic.

[Isac]

Good stuff GJ. Lots of ways to do it but ACR is one of the easiest. It can even be done with JPG in ACR as well. I've often used the Color Range selection method in a mask to really get good edges. Thanks for sharing.

[seaslug]

I like them all.. but you could have put some-one in the phone box Isac.

[Grumpy John]

Maybe Superman?

[Isac]

Get Smart's Max came to mind.

[Alan]

All well executed John. What a wonderful trip. The Telephone Booth is a stand out with the selective colour (and straighten )

Maybe the street performer could benefit from a crop from the top?

So where is the next cruise?

[seaslug]

Doesn't look like Superman to me!

[Grumpy John]

But he's in colour.

[Grumpy John]

Well executed.

[Grumpy John]

All well executed John. What a wonderful trip. The Telephone Booth is a stand out with the selective colour (and straighten )

Maybe the street performer could benefit from a crop from the top?

So where is the next cruise?

Last question first. May next year, 2 cruises back to back, first cruise is a relocation cruise 13 days from Rome to Southampton. Second cruise is 14 days Southampton - Southampton including Iceland and Norway.

Thank you for the CC re street performer, much appreciated. I was very lucky to get this shot. There was quite a large crowd watching and I was toward the back when all of a sudden he just ran up the wall behind and did a flip. I just pointed the camera and hoped for the best.

The street performer.
#1. As shot, no cropping, no straightening.



#2. Straightened, no additional cropping.



#3. Cropped to remove bags and distracting items at the top of picture.


To me #3 looks to sterile, no sense of drama.

[Alan]

Thanks for giving it a try John. I see what you are saying. Maybe a crop somewhere in between and leave the bags down the bottom to show it is a pavement.



and for extra drama

[Grumpy John]

Or this.

[Isac]

THAT'S GONNA HURT!!!

CRASH and BURN!!

[Isac]

Cheers John, it was an action I came across ages ago and I have fun with it. A bit involved using special brushes and painting on layers where you want the effect but really good fun. I'll give you a link if I can find it. Let me know.

[Grumpy John]

Interested, but a lot going on at the moment (refer going on leave post in Admin sect)

[Grumpy John]

Sorry Isac, just after I posted the above message I saw your reply, much appreciated.

[Grumpy John]

Some images from our first cruise through the Inside Passage. Taken with a Konica Minolta dImage Z20, not a bad little camera but only shot JPEG. Very restrictive when trying to colour correct for snow and ice.

#1 Midway Park in San Diego, I'm not one for getting myself into a photo, but I couldn't resist this one.



#2 Sunny Sitka.


#3 Hubbard Glacier area.



#4 White Pass railway.



#5 The road out of Skagway,



#6 Juneau.



#7 Tracy Arm, not the ship We were on.



#8 Ketchikan, this sign appealed to my warped sense of humour.



#9 Last stop Vancouver. They love their glass.



#10

[Isac]

Well they are all great photos John. Great memories for you. Lucky you to be able to travel like that.

[Grumpy John]

Thanks Isac. I can certainly see the difference in quality between the dImage and the 7D.

[seaslug]

Great records of the trips. I can’t afford those types of holiday trips. Have to stick with local or family overseas!

[Grumpy John]

Thanks Greg. I was 58 when we went on the Alaska cruise. I was always too tight to spend money on holidays, my wife booked this trip without me knowing and I'm glad she did. Life's too short to worry about dying rich, we pick repositioning cruises as they are generally better value, we also visit Vacations To Go, they have some great last minute bargains.

[seaslug]

I certainly don't need to worry about dying rich that's for sure, but with Family in Denmark and 4 daughters on the Gold Coast that's where we tend to spend most of our time off. That may well change when my wife retires now that her Mother in Denmark has passed away.