HDR Photography
The deep natural harbor of Mahón in Manorca has been in use for centuries and the small, charming structures along the waterfront have been preserved (with careful, direct action by the local population), leaving a (here’s my favorite adjective) Miyazaki-esque Mediterranean setting. The clifftop town above the harbor also makes for a perfect view from which to capture it all.
Monday’s post brought me back to the epic imagery of the Bay Area that I suspect I took a bit for granted back when we were starting Decaseconds in 2011. Convincing oneself that one is a photographer is easy when these are the views—but I’m glad I had the potency of these places to get me through those awkward early years of developing as a photographer.*
*Apologies for the wordplay.
From “open for business” to “sleeping on the dock,” Mohonk Mountain House’s boats present lovely repeating patterns.
When it’s time to take the family fishing on Lake Mohonk, one rowboat will do.
The older bits of Belgium seem a little offended by the polished European modernity of the rest of Mechelen.
Heading back to the mainland after a Thanksgiving on Martha’s Vineyard, I captured this panorama from the upper deck of the Steamship Authority ferry. The width of our decaseconds homepage doesn’t do it justice; I recommend clicking through and zooming in to see all of the details on Flickr.
This modest iron drawbridge in Amsterdam has a mid-nineteenth-century-ness that fits charmingly among the tall buildings and trees neighboring it.
Though boats are an everyday part of Dutch life, the large fraction of these boats that were occupied by people living and traveling in them (thus not leisure-craft nor houseboats) leads me to believe that I observed the river-and-canal-going equivalent of the caravans also visible at the edges of the image.
Atlantic weather ages every part of Martha’s Vineyard, but the combination of textures and colors of age (rusted iron, grayed cedar, turned leaves) really captures a broad spectrum of possibility. The somewhat “impossible” geometry of the image places them in juxtaposition.
Amid the historic architecture, the riot of midsummer greenery, and the chaos of boats on the canals of Amsterdam, I appreciated the stillness and calm of the man relaxing in the window.
This bucolic Dutch morning puts me most in mind of Iain M. Banks’s science fiction utopias. That may sound “out of pocket,” but allow me to explain: His far-future settings often feature people who are choosing intentionally charming but low-tech lives doing what they enjoy in beautiful settings. These boaters traveling down the Vechte feel part of the same vein. Though they live in one of the most advanced countries on Earth, they can still choose relatively simple experiences and ways of living.
Windmill, bicycle paths, boats… This is an extremely Dutch picture.
The summer sun in the Netherlands is still scattering through the sky well after 10:00 PM, providing a companion to the reflection of this tin soldier museum on the grassy banks of the Vechte River.
Does anything say “summer” like nature and watercraft?
When breakfast is done, a panoply of watercraft are ready to carry me onto the reflective surface of Lake Mohonk. I have to admit, I’ve always preferred the canoes.
Decaseconds 