Posting Twenty-three
“Practice What I Preached!”

Well, I’m back from my sabbatical. Okay, I lied, it was more like a much-anticipated trip to Italy! I just thought sabbatical sounded so much more impressive and I could slip away without much fanfare.

Back to the topic on hand, “Practice What I Preached!” When I go on vacation I get so caught up in the moment that I neglect some of the basics of photography. The primary neglect is that patience filter - Blog #15. I found myself rushing to get the shot in front of me with little regard to what was happening around me or what may be happening. I got the shot and so I was ready to move on. Of course, this movement is exasperated when you are traveling with a non-photographer, my wife. I didn’t want to spend too much time with my settings, tripod, or finding the right angle. Instead, there were more grabs than well-planned images.

The second neglect was discussed in Blog #9 - “Pre-shoot Checklist.” I mentioned two opportunities to get your camera in the right mode – the night before and in the field. Again, the excitement of seeing the Leaning Tower, the well-sculpted statuary in the churches, or the landscapes of Tuscany had me more focused on the sights and not trying to capture them in the camera. One instance in particular nearly cost me an entire day’s worth of pictures.

The night before I decided to try some HDR shots so I set my camera for bracketing – five shots of exposure compensations of +2, +1, 0, -1, -2. The evening shoot went off without a hitch. Unfortunately, I did NOT return the settings for the next day’s activities. So, as a result I was getting images that were over-blown or under-exposed. I looked at my Highlights/Blinkies screen - Blog #5 and made the as needed. I must have fired off about fifteen shots before I realized my error. I pressed the shutter release button too long which caused a burst of three images. I was still in bracketing mode which explained the sudden burst and the images that were greatly over or under-exposed. The rest of that shoot and the subsequent days had me double or triple checking my settings!

I’ve added a couple of my early favorites. Fret not, I will not subject you to my folder of 2800+ images taken over the twenty-eight days that I was in Bella Italia.

                          "Ruins along the Appian Way"

                                  "Roman Columns"

                              "Vesuvius over Pompeii"

                       "My FIRST Italian Hot Chocolate"  
                      (Okay, I didn't take this one as I was truly enjoying the moment!)