Cultured Pixels
Old photos that have been around
Everyone with a smartphone nowadays calls themselves a photographer — and I won’t dispute that. Photography has migrated from once being an expert-only trade to an open-ended exploration of light, color and culture. The technical expertise previously required has been quashed by technology–from DSLRs to Instagram. Let’s go trigger-happy with our shutter buttons!
I’ve gathered up just a few of my favorite photos I had laying around on my hard drive. Have a look. Click “recommend” at the bottom if you fancy. ☺
I’m a sucker for shallow depth of field shots. This was taken somewhere in the foothills between San Luis Obispo, CA and Los Osos, CA when I had just gotten my first DSLR camera.
In addition to a new found love of shallow depth of field, I discovered my DSLR can be set up for long exposures. Unsure of what I was doing and no tripod in sight, I managed to keep my camera still for 30 seconds one sleepless night as I captured vivid colors and awesome light in the darkness of the early morning in my parent’s backyard in Orange County, CA.
Laguna Niguel, CA — 30 second exposure at 3:30 AM
Our discussion of photography is not simply that of technique, rather an exploration of culture. Walking the streets after dinner in a small town 30 minutes outside of Venice, Italy, you will find gems like this–crowds gathered round to watch an oversized game of chess. An older gentleman pauses to ponder his next move in a cozy corner under the shelter of trees. Indisputably this is interesting. We have a crowd watching a game of chess. But that’s what makes up the culture in Abano Terme — people and their love of culture. You can walk the endless cobblestone streets up and down the main strip and find musicians, street performers, vendors and curious people. You’ll walk past some of the most elegant shop windows and wind up at the entrance to a club. Truly a marvelous show of culture.
Walking through the streets of Madrid, I couldn’t help but to find a skyline full of beautiful architecture. The city screams modern with a proud memory of culture and custom. I found a lot of columns, white stone and statues strewn about the city. I saw lots of images of courage — statues of lions and warriors on horseback.
Out of all the destinations featured in this blog post, I found Amsterdam to have the most vivid culture. The Dutch, I found, speak impeccable English and are oddly friendly to American tourists. An early October trip to northwestern Europe left me with surprisingly gorgeous weather. At every intersection you’ll find canals and bridges that overlook them. Throw in the subtleties of roaring clouds, and you have a breathtaking scene.
Amsterdam, Netherlands — October 2012
Thanks for reading! I have plenty of other pics laying around I’ll post soon! Oh and of course, I’ll be hiding behind my lens again very soon — more photos to come!
