Nigel's Jeep

I got a call from an old friend the other day. Nigel worked in the UAE for a few years. He liked to play in the sand. Nigel drove faster in the sand than he did on the road. Nigel was the only one in our little group to flatten two tires at once on a sand dune; the right rear is also flat.

Walking around in Rome

Walking around in Rome is one of life’s pleasures that I wish everyone could enjoy. Anyone with an opportunity should take advantage of it. You won’t be disappointed.

Meanwhile, until I can find my way back to Rome, I found this really cool website where I can take a virtual walk in Rome. They have beautiful panoramic tours of many of my favorite spots in Rome. There is one taken from Ponte Vittorio Emanuele that is very nice. It has a beautiful view of Ponte San Angelo.

Another, taken from directly in front of Fontana di Trevi, is interesting for having not a single person in sight. You can see that it was done in the early AM before dawn but still no people at all at Trevi Fountain. That’s amazing.

There is a second panorama from the fountain with the tripod moved to the left. You can see that it is an hour or so later and a few people have entered the scene, two men who look like grocers or butchers have stopped on the way to work. They sit on the hand rail seemingly unaware of the fountain behind them.

This photo looking down on Piazza del Popolo is a good example of why it's time for a digital SLR. My Olympus suffers from parallax between the view finder and the main lens. The Obelisk was perfectly aligned down the center of the street in the view finder.

Check out roma.arounder.com, it may not be the second best thing to a walk in Rome but it’s pretty good.

The panoramas are full spherical pans, you can watch as a movie or use your mouse to pan anywhere. There are also panoramic tours of the Colosseum, Piazza del Popolo, The Forum, Piazza di Spagna, the Pantheon and Saint Peter’s Square. There are also beautiful views inside and outside of the churches of San Giovanni, Santa Maria Maggorie and San Paolo.

The Churches of Rome

The dome of the Sistine Chapel in Rome's Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

Follow this link for a panoramic tour inside this beautiful church. This is a really cool site, check it out.

Recently I installed Photoshop Elements on my PC. I have a plan to get my digital photos organized. No small task, I have six years and a dozen countries worth of photos scattered over my hard drive. Photoshop Elements should help. Should help, if I use it. You see, I recently installed Photoshop, more than a year after I bought it.

The problem is my habit of continuing to do a task in the familiar way, no matter how inefficient, rather than setting the task aside for a short while to find a more efficient process. I do it even knowing that a better way is available and that it is within my abilities. The task must be done. I don’t have time to learn a better way now. I’ll do it when the task is done. But then, the task is done. It can wait.

I have Limited Edition Photo Shop. It came with my Olympus camera. I’m familiar with it and it does what I need. For moving pictures around I use windows explorer and put stuff where I want. So I was reluctant to get started with Elements. I have to unlearn old habits. I can’t move, copy and rename photos with explorer. Elements loses track of them. I have to learn to work within the application.

In any case, my first effort with Elements is organizing a years worth of pictures taken in Rome. Rome is best seen on foot. It is a beautiful city for walking around and taking pictures. My habit while walking, with or without camera, was to enter any church with open door that I passed. There are so many beautiful churches, large or small, ancient or merely old. Each is a living work of art. One need not be religious to enter or to be awed. You do need to be respectful of those who are, to be welcome.

Tourists are welcome in Rome’s churches and not just the ones in the tourist books. Some do not welcome tourists during mass and post a sign saying so near the door. Be respectful and never take flash pictures. It is not permitted, it’s harmful to the art and it doesn’t usually work well anyway.

You can’t use flash and tripods are not permitted in the major churches. (The no tripod rule is to prevent unauthorized commercial photography. Kind of like selective availability on GPS except that they didn’t turn it off.) You can still get nice photos. Find a place and a way to set your camera down to hold it still for the needed longer exposures; use timer release if you have it. I frequently used my ball cap and the camera strap to hold and point the camera. A small beanbag would be perfect. Take advantage of whatever you can find to set the camera on (respect do not touch signs please). Sometimes just set it on the floor and point it up. You will get surprisingly good pictures (with some surprising angles too).

I have posted some pictures of the churches of Rome on my Flickr photo site. These are the first of my photos that have been readied for posting with Photoshop Elements. Stop by and check them out. Leave a comment, make suggestions let me know what you think.

Site Seeing in Italy

For far too many hours of nearly a year, this was my view of Italy. The corner of my desk at Telespazio (check out the quickBird satellite phots on the link )
i.e. Centro Spazio del Fucino Piero Fanti, in Italy’s Fucino Valley.

The Fucino valley is near Avezzano in Abruuzzo, in mountainous central Italy. The valley, once a lake, has no natural outlet, The lake was first drained by the Romans nearly 2000 years ago. . The site is major telecommunications portal and home to more than 100 satellite dishes, some more than 30 meters in diameter. The site is also home to the remains of the ship Marconi used to send his first wireless message. Click on the picture to see the view outside the office.

My three sons are seen in the picture in the center. It was taken far too long ago on the Shore of Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. The aspirin bottle on the desk is nearly empty; that says a lot in it’s self. I miss my bright ceramic coffee mugs. I bought four different ones in a shop in Avezanno. I left them behind when I moved to my next assignment.

The book is Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. I liked the movie, I’m a big Nicholas Cage fan, and Penelope Cruz doesn’t hurt either. Buy it paperback and tear out the last chapter before reading it. The ending is just not believable. Watch the movie, the director does it better than the author.

An Evening Stroll in Dubai

A couple of days ago when I was playing with pictures, I talked about taking the abra across Dubai creek for dinner at Pancho Villa's. When temperature and humidity permit. A pleasant stroll back to the car after dinner can show a side of Dubai much different than the glitter of Burj- Al Arab and the shopping malls. This photo is the textile souk shortly after closing time. One shop still appears open at the end of the street. I like the wooden sidewalk covers. You can see the ever present sand and dust on the wood and on my lenses. It enhances the memory if not the photo. (Click on the picture for woodwork detail).

Golden Arrows Novelties and Gifts was the last shop to close on that evening.






Don't go back on the same abra I told you to use on the way to dinner. Instead, take the one closer to Pancho Villa's and closer to the mouth of the creek.


Linger by the dhow docks as working class Dubai ends its day.



Detour through the spice souk then the Heritage House area. This recently restored area of Dubai dates back to the turn of the 20th century. Click on the picture for a peep inside the window and a whisper of color from a beautiful carpet.