Lake Garda in Italy

“Discovering this idyllic place, we find ourselves filled with a yearning to linger here, where time stands still and beauty overwhelms.” Whoever said this must have seen wonders beyond what man can afford with his ingenuity. So when in Italy, stop and stare on the peaceful and breathtaking Alpine scenery reflecting in the still, delicate waters of Lake Garda.

Lake Garda or Lago di Garda or Benaco is the largest inland lake situated in a beautiful area in northern Italy between Venice and Milan and split among three regions: Lombardy on the western shore, Veneto on the eastern shore, and Trentino-Alto Adige on the northern shores. A lake that boasts more than 48 kilometers of beaches from north to south and a scenic view of the cue misty mountain tops and bright bursts of bougainvillea is undoubtedly one of the most picturesque parts of Italy.

The formation of Lake Garda dates back around 1.5 million years ago during the last Ice Age. When a large mound of glacier spilled on a flat land next to a valley and flowed down from the Brenta Dolomites and gouged through the valley. Once the glacier melted the fresh water, a lake was formed which we now know as Lake Garda.

The lake also has numerous small islands and five main ones, the largest being Isola del Garda and nearby to the south is Isola San Biagio. The three other main islands are Isola dell'Olivo, Isola di Sogno and Isola di Timelone, all further north near the east side.

As the largest of the lakes, Lake Garda offers much to see and do – including deep blue waters, green forests, towering mountains, and picturesque towns. Luxury hotels and resorts that cater to both local and foreign tourists, dot the shoreline of the lake as well. It should come to no surprise why this place is the most visited lakes in Italy. Moreover, Lake Garda is a true outdoor fitness center where all sorts of “active sports” can be enjoyed. Many tourists visit the lake for the extraordinary opportunities the lake offers on its waters and throughout the inland area. The clear waters of the lake is perfect for swimming in summer and many popular sports such as windsurfing and sailing. Malcesine, Riva, Gardone, Brenzone, Caprino Veronese and Spiazzi are also excellent for mountain-hiking and biking and Canyoning and other outdoor sports providing panoramic views of the area.

Finally, a visit to this region is a delight to the taste buds – pasta, fresh tomatoes, the highly aromatic Italian basil, and the most glorious olive oil completes the whole package of pleasure. Lake Garda is definitely one difficult place to beat.

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Riding the Rails: Long Beach to Los Angeles

I lived in Long Beach for two years so it was a bit of a homecoming for me this summer when my friend picked me up at the Anaheim Amtrak station across from Angel Stadium. We drove to the LBC and straight to a park near Long Beach State University where we were treated to classic hits from the Long Beach Municipal Band. There were lots of families and couples spread out on the lawn making picnics and listening to good music.

One reason I like Long Beach is because it is the fifth largest city in California but still manages to maintain a small-town, family-oriented atmosphere. That small town spirit was alive and well that day at the park with the Long Beach Municipal Band.

The next day I rode the L.A. Metro Blue Line light rail train from downtown Long Beach to downtown Los Angeles. The line is the oldest ( opened in 1990) and busiest (26.6 million boardings per year) in the system and has become notorious for its high number of incidents involving pedestrian and motorist fatalities -- to this date over 100 pedestrians and motorists have been killed and there have been more than 800 accidents at level crossings.

The Blue Line passes through some of L.A.'s poorest and most crime-infested neighborhoods in South L.A., including Watts and Compton.

My experience riding the line however has been incident-free and positive. And I encourage anyone visiting L.A. to not be afraid to ride the Blue Line during the day (night might be a bit sketchy). Yes, you will see stereotypical gang members and mentally unstable people, but you will also see Hispanic, African-American, Caucasian and Asian families, children on their way to school, elderly people on their way to the doctor and men and women on their way to work. In other words, everyday people living their lives like anywhere else.

Los Angeles is much more than Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica. It is an educational experience to ride public transit through the working class black and immigrant neighborhoods of the City of Angels.

Photos of my ride from downtown Long Beach to downtown Los Angeles:



And here is video riding the Blue Line train from downtown Long Beach to downtown Los Angeles via Compton:

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1:12 Aperture

I think I mentioned before that Kate suggested linking up for a 12 week fun photo course online. And it's FREE. Since I am a gourmet hoarder of the first kind, I jumped on this. Free classes? An excuse to play with my camera? I am in! We will be linking up every Thursday with what we have learned for the previous week. This week's post will be about Week One: Aperture.

Instead of my repeating what she has already said, you can hop over to Kate's post where she has links to PDFs for all 12 weeks of the course. Or you can look at WEEK ONE here. Whether you are a beginner or an expert, it always helps to have focus (no pun intended). I, for example, already know a little about aperture. However, it never hurts to get in some extra practice AND having an assignment makes me more likely to get out and experiment!

So here’s the question that week one wants us to answer:

Just how much of your photo do you want to be in focus?

I started by playing around a little.

This is Papa P. He has been featured here in the past. 

Notice in photo ONE, the background is blurred. This is becuase I was using a wide open aperture, or a low f/stop.  In TWO, I used a higher f/stop. You can see the background is still blurred, but you have more of the photo in focus than in number one. In THREE, I used a very high f/stop (small aperture). This makes even more of the photo become in focus. Note not only the curtains, but the carpet. In one, its blurred; in two, only the edges are blurred; in three, none is blurred.

I am not going to go into all the camera mumbo jumbo (unless you want me to, you can email me or check out week one's PDF) but basically the lower the f/stop, the less of the photo will be in focus. The higher the f/stop, the more of the photo will be in focus. In a nutshell.

Here again, we have a low f/stop in the first frame (blurred background), going higher as we move to the right (more of the photo is in focus). 

And again, low to high f/stop. 

I take a ton of photos using LOW f/stop. I love macro shots and shots with a blurred background. Many of those photos look like this: 

So my goal for myself was to take some photos using a smaller aperture (a larger f/stop). 

So here are some of the results.

It was fun but I still need more practice! 

Lessons learned?

First, I had to re-remember that the bigger the aperture, the more light that gets into the lens. So, when you are shooting with your aperture wide open, you don't need your ISO to be as high or your shutter speed to be as low. The opposite goes for the small aperture. I had to bump up my ISO and lower my shutter speed for some of them. (they call this the "exposure triangle")

Also, I still need to practice more, as I tend to "set it and forget it" like Ron Popeil. I need to be conscious of what my settings are set on and remember to change them! Ansel Adams is well known for his landscape shots, which he used a very a very small aperture for. I strive to be more like him! (He used f/64!!)

Join us for next week's link up where we will be talking about: ISO and Shutter Speed.

Have you experimented with aperture? What f/stop do you like best? If not, just as an observer, which photos are more pleasing to your eye? Blurred or not blurred background?

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Summer Arboretum

One of my best friends came to visit me (and Dallas) for the first time over Labor Day weekend.  We decided to venture to the Arboretum.  Previously, I had only been in Spring (see here) but was pleasantly surprised to see that there were still flowers that weathered the intense summer heat.  Our favorite sight: the flowering canopy of trees that only displayed green leaves in the Spring:

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Vanden Plas wallpaper

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BORN TO DEATH ANiMATİON (doğumdan sonsuza yolculuk)

İnsan ömrü nekadar kısa yada yeterince uzunmu,göz açıp kapayıncaya kadar çabucacık akıp gidermi ?

video

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Triaxis wallpaper

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To-Mera wallpaper

 

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Therion wallpaper

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Symphony X wallpaper

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