Tuesday, April 28, 2015

To Blur or Not To Blur? Newport Mansions upstaged by Millions of Daffodils



Newport, Rhode Island's Cliff Walk popped with color last weekend as the millions (or trillions) of daffodilians burst into bloom. The brilliant yellow blossoms look like carpets running along the pathways and into the woods. After such a long, dreary winter, the flowers were a very welcome sight.


I just wanted to focus on the flowers....Everything else was a blur.


The Mansions look dreamier when they are just a smudge in the background
Actually, the mansions look awfully nice when they are in focus, too


Flowers front and center; Mansion a gray blob.
This mansion is Ochre Court of Salve Regina University

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Male Frigates Not Subtle: "Look at Me!"


Male Frigatebird with Inflated Gular Pouch

It was mating season for the Frigatebirds during my visit to the Galapagos islands in March. Male Frigatebirds are almost entirely black, except for a bright red pouch at their throats. Most of the time, it droops like a saggy sac. But when the males want to attract females, the males inflate their pouches to the point where it looks like they are big red balloons, ready to burst.

Deflated Guy


There was a huge concentration of Frigatebirds on Genovese Island -- known as Bird Island.

A Crowd of Male Frigatebirds Competing for Attention of the Female Flying Above in the Top of the Picture.
Note the Deflated Guy in the Foreground





Monday, April 20, 2015

Disposable Cameras Work Like a Charm for a Galapagos Trip








When planning my trip to the Galapagos Islands, I knew that there would be at least four times that we would be snorkeling. AND that the snorkel trips would involve swimming with schools of tropical fish, rays and sharks. Loving to take photos, but not loving the idea of buying a digital underwater camera, I decided to use disposable underwater cameras.

I found a Fuji camera on Amazon for about $14 for 27 exposures. It is listed on Amazon as a discontinued product; but the cameras are still for sale and ship right away.  Yes it uses film. Yes you need to figure out how to get the film developed. I researched that before I bought the camera. Both CVS and Walgreens' photo departments still will develop film, but neither develops the film in the store. They both send the film out to be processed. The waiting time is less than one week. I chose Walgreen for its more liberal policy of allowing you to buy only the prints you want.  Knowing that, I decided that it made sense to invest in a bunch of disposable cameras.  If all the photos were awful, I didn't have to pay for developing.  We were only in it for the price of the cameras. We outfitted our group of four people with eight cameras. Since my friends lost interest pretty quickly, I ended up with five of the cameras. I snapped photos like crazy. I did not want to be stuck with unused cameras at the end of the trip.

THIS is what I wanted to capture in a photo. Swimming with a school of gorgeous tropical fish. These are Surgeonfish.
Razorfish in my Face

Shark, Supposedly Friendly, Swam Right Underneath Me


The camera has instructions printed on the back, pointing out that the best pictures are in sunny conditions, and that you can take photos underwater and out of the water.  Good option to use the throwaway camera above the water surface! No worry about splashes ruining your good camera.
Chasing dolphins while riding in a Zodiac. Not a prayer of catching up with them. No worry about splasing


Making sure to use up all the film, I took pictures underwater following my friends while snorkeling. (Note that people snorkel with SPF clothes on because the sun is so strong that my husband's back got burnt even though he was wearing a cotton tee shirt).



This particular camera style took some getting used to because the dial to advance the film goes the opposite way of what you would think, so I kept unwinding, instead of winding the film. That got frustrating when I was in a school of fish or something really interesting, and bungled up my film in the wrong direction for the next shot.

Also unfortunately, one of the cameras, which I thought had a great roll of photos, got a badly scratched lens and something greasy smeared on it, so and all the pictures had a milky overlay on top of what would have been some really great shots. Oh well. I'm happy with the shots I got. Of the 135 exposures in my 5 rolls of 27, about 10 were passable. But getting that shot of the school of Surgeonfish made the whole investment in disposable cameras worthwhile.








Sunday, April 19, 2015

Galapagos Cruise - No Locks on the Doors

Cabin on board the Santa Cruz, cruising in the Galapagos Islands
Traveling in the Galápagos Islands is supremely casual.  To prepare for my cruise of the Galapagos, the cruise company provided a packing list with the message to dress casual. So casual in fact that you should not bring anything that you care about enough that you would be upset to lose it. I mean care so little about your stuff that there are no locks on the cabin doors.  
Motor Vessel Santa Cruz, operated by Metropolitan Touring
Really. Whether you leave the cabin for a meal or to go snorkeling, you can't lock your cabin. There is a standard hotel safe with a combination lock. The safe is big enough to store a couple of wallets and cell phones, an iPad (but not a laptop) and a small camera. That's all.
However, for some peace of mind like when you are changing clothes or sleeping, once you are inside the cabin, you can push a button in the center of the doorknob for privacy.

Oh, and PS. It is really liberating to not think about your stuff when you are traveling.

Taken from a Zodiac, alongside the Santa Cruz (to the right), about to board the ship (to return to the unlocked cabin)