Toledo de España

From Madrid, Toledo is just a short 30 minute ride on one of Spain's fast trains.  I had never thought of it, until I sat next to an older fellow on the plane to Madrid.  He didn't speak any English, but as we talked, I understood that he was from Toledo, and he told me how to catch the train there from Madrid.

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Main hall of train station Madrid de Atoche.  The high-speed train stops at the foot of the hill in Toledo, a walled, hill-top city, founded in Roman times, around 2000 years ago.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

You can take a bus, or grab a cab, and ride to the top of the hill, to begin your walk around Toledo there.  One of the first people we encountered was this young fellow, jumping to catch huge soap bubbles, created by a fellow using something that looked like a white, circular rope.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Toledo is a beautiful, densely constructed city, with street after narrow street, of apartments, restaurants, souvenir shops and more.  There are beautiful churches, cathedrals, synagogues, some dating back hundreds and hundreds of years.  Unfortunately for us, it was raining a bit as we arrived.

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

One of the most prominent buildings in the city is the Alcánzar, a large fortress atop the town.  It was rebuilt by Franco after it was nearly destroyed during fighting in the Spanish Civil War.  But, I had a hard time getting photos in the rain, because I couldn't "look up" to photograph it, without getting raindrops on my lens.

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 

There are all sorts of statues set into the walls of the large cathedral, 

Catedral Santa Iglesia.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 
And then finally, the clouds started to break...

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 
A view across the plaza, down the street that runs next to the cathedral...

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 

And as soon as the sun came out, so did the people.  Must have been many in hotels nearby, who had stayed in during the rain.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 

 

A puddle amongst the cobble stones, offering a reflection of a nearby balcony.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 

Speaking of reflections, this is my new favorite photo (at least until my next expedition !).  While standing in front of the cathedral, I noticed a cool reflecting pool, just as the sun shone brightly on the basilica.  In this image, you're actually looking at it upside down. 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Notice the orange tennis shoes in the lower left corner.  The kid wouldn't move out of my way, so I positioned his shoes just in the corner of the frame.  You don't really mind his reflection in the water, as he's obscured a bit by the reflection of a tree.  I have not yet printed it as a "metal print", but will do so very soon. 

 

For previous photos of Spain, see Valencia de España:

http://writtenpost.blogspot.com/2011/07/valencia-de-espana.html

 

Try Toledo. 

Really cool, really easy to get to, with a lot more to explore

than a fellow can do in one afternoon !

- Mark

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 

 

 

 

Sometimes the sun...

...cooperates...
               ...and sometimes, it doesn't.


When it does...

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

(Royal Palace, Amsterdam)

 

 ...you can find plenty of things to do with it.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

(Westerkerk, Amsterdam)

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

(Grote Markt Square, Haarlem, Nederlands)

And then sometimes, it doesn't.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

We were out well before dawn one morning...

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

                ...hoping the sun would stream through...

(De Adriaan Windmill, Haarlem, Nederlands)

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

                                  ...hoping it would silhouette the windmill...

But this time, no dice, no sun, just clouds.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

So, ya' gotta' do the best you can with what you get.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

So, just because it's not what you were hoping for, that doesn't make it a total bust.  Lights playing on the water...silhouettes against a cloudy, but brightening, sky.  If you give up and stay in bed, you get nuttin'.  Get up and get out there !

Y'all take care,

- Mark

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Dawn, Herrankukkaro, western Finland

 

Finland in the Fall

I've said it before,
but I will say it again,
I love Finland !

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

The roof of the manor house catches the last rays of the sun.

 

Several reasons.  It's a beautiful country, but also because the people are friendly.  I go there to work, our headquarters is there, but having worked with several of the folks for a number of years now, I go there with the knowledge that I will seeing and working with close friends. (and usually, if I am traveling there with partners from the USA, those are frequently close friends as well, so all the better).

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Lots of trees, lawns, beautiful.

I didn't have time for any photo expeditions this time, just had to take advantage of any opportunities that popped up.  Well fortunately, on Wednesday evening, we were treated to a group dinner at a place called Katisten Kartano. 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Pretty nice lobby for a "Cow House" !

There are a number of such places around Finland.  Like Katisten Kartano, they are usually large former farms or dairy plantations, typically with large Manor Houses and out-buildings. But these days, many of them have been converted to places where businesses can have meetings, or host dinners. 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 Stone walls all around, and many barns built with similar large stones.

 

 
There are several meeting facilities at Katisten Kartano, and the Manor House is set up with several dining rooms, with seating from around 100, to smaller rooms set for a half-dozen or a dozen guests.   

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Sitting area in front of the "Cow House".

Also in Finland, they take the cows indoors in the winter (not into the house dummy, I mean into a large barn).  KK has a former 200-cow stall and milking barn that has been converted to hotel rooms, so there's a place to stay if you are having several days of meetings. 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Several types of out buildings available.

If you are not familiar with Finland, the Sauna is a big deal there.  Being from Texas, sitting in a steamy room at 160 deg F (70 deg C) seems a little too much like every summer afternoon in Houston, as you are just getting into the car. 



Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Several small sitting areas.

 



Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

The small room for the 8 of us. 

 

 

If you travel to Finland in the winter time, you can see right away why Finns (and other Scandinavians) put such a high priority on getting warm (so much so, that they keep doing it even in warm weather).  But I am not so keen on it, so I took the opportunity to walk around and take a few photos before it got dark.

After the sauna, we all went up to the Manor House for dinner.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 One of several sitting rooms.

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Small dining room off to the side.  A nice place for breakfast,

especially if looking out over a meter-deep snow.

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Several smaller dining rooms...

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

The large main dining room looks to seat about 8 dozen.

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Windows are those locally-made, rolled panes,

with waves and imperfections.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

An old lock on one of the out-buildings.

So, if you happen to be in Finland, check out one of the many manor houses.  Cool places, year round.  Go for a sauna, a few drinks and a fantastic, multi-course, multi-wine, gourmet dinner.  I've had a couple, so far, Katisten Kartano was best !

Y'all take care,
-Mark W. Laughlin

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Katisten Kartano
Katistentie 91  

13210 Hämeenlinna, Finland  

Tel:  +358-03-656-8200  
E-Mail:  katistenkartano@katistenkartano.fi  

Website:  www.katistenkartano.fi  

 

.

 

Cool Bug(s) !!

Well, I just saw something I had never seen before, though I've been here in Houston all my life.

It’s Labor Day 2014, a holiday, but I was on a brief conference call, trying to keep the ball rolling business-wise, to get a project completed by the end of this week.  I was home, at my “kitchen-table-office”, and glanced over toward the rear windows. 

 

The sun was at a nice angle, about 10:00am, and I saw something smaller than a bird, but bigger than most bugs flay past.  Thinking it might be a humming bird, I stepped over to look. 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

We have a rather unusual bug here that we call a Cicada (not sure if that’s correct…).  I do know that they live underground from the time they hatch, for fourteen years.  They dig around, and then in their 14^th summer, they dig their way up to the surface, and out. 

 

They are large, with a heavy body, fully one half inch wide and about an inch and a half long (about 13 x 38mm).  Once up into the air, they find a tree or other vertical surface, climb up a few feet, and then go through their metamorphosis.  They split the skin of their heavy exoskeleton, and make their way out of this “ugly” “digging suit”, crawl out and spread their 2 inch (50mm) nearly transparent wings, to let them dry.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

When ready, they fly up into the trees and start their next phase, which is mostly singing and mating.  But, all is not harmony and light, you see the cicada has at least one enemy.  It is a wasp, a large heavy bodied wasp, that, on the wing mind you, will intercept a flying cicada, stinging it to death, in mid-air, dropping it instantly to the ground.  In all my years, I have seen this only once, a few years ago, just by chance, because I was looking in just the right direction at just the right time.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Well today, the object I saw flying past the window was one of those wasps, carrying a dead cicada.  He was losing altitude, as the cicada was heavy.  They landed near the base of a large pine tree, just a few feet outside the window, very nicely lit by the sun.  I grabbed my camera from my briefcase and quickly shot two photos before the wasp hustled up the tree and out of site.  It just took a few seconds, and I was back on the call before they missed me.

Take a look at a couple of links:

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/cicada/

http://www.stonybrook.edu/ehs/pest/cicada-killers.shtml

Y’all have a nice Labor Day !

-Mark

 

Fading Light

Some of my favorite photos have been taken in the early light of dawn.


Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Dawn, Helsinki Harbor, Sept-2013

I don't know why exactly.  I'm not typically an up-at-daylight kind of guy, so I would guess that I see sunsets far more often than sun rises.  Even further, taking photos at dawn can be rather tricky.  You have no idea the night before how the sky will look hours later, so you plan ahead, and get up early, only to be disappointed much of the time. 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Lighthouse, Aransas Pass, Texas, sunset, 16-Aug-2014

 

But with sunsets, you are looking at the sky and clouds in the afternoon, and have ample time to set up in a likely location, and capture the scene.  So why do I get more rises than sets ?  Don't know, maybe just a matter of chance, and of course, as always...time.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Well, this past weekend, I had a little "time".  I had the pleasure of taking a short pleasure cruise, at sunset, from Port Aransas, Texas, around through Aransas Pass, and out to where the pass enters into the Gulf of Mexico.

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

Well, the boat captain was obviously paying attention, because he timed our journey so we would be lined up with this 130 year old light house just as the sunset got lively.  He slowed the boat and kept us in position for several minutes, allowing multiple exposures of the evolving show.

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

In this case, what made the set up cool was the blazing sky, and something interesting to silhouette in front of it. 

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

But other times, the effect of the fading light is entirely different.  In this case, the sun went down and the sky turned a beautiful blue-white. 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

These windows and storefronts looked cool because of the many lines and geometric shapes, the warm light coming from the lower floors, and the windows reflecting the beautiful blue light from the sky.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

So, as the day comes to an end, whether you're walking back from dinner in Haarlem...

 

...or walking back from dinner in Helsinki...

 

 

...or watching the sun drift down behind a hill, into North Korea...

 

...keep your camera handy, keep your eyes on the sky,

and whether you get blazing sun or beautiful blue light,

capture it !!

 

Y'all take care,

- Mark W. Laughlin

 

 

 

My camera

Now and then, someone asks (this time my buddy Russ) what kind of camera I use, so here it is.

First, anytime you ask someone how they like their camera, car, or any gadget they have, their answer is likely to be influenced by how well that device suits their particular needs, their mission.  If the fit is good, then I think the answer you get will always be more positive.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

I use a Canon SX20 IS, which I think I got in Summer 2011.  The main features I went looking for in a camera were:

 

·         Flip-Out Display:  I wanted the rear display to hinge out and rotate, so you can hold the camera high overhead (like when in a crowd), and still see what’s in the viewfinder, by angling it down, or you can angle it up, and place the camera down on the ground.  I find both of those angles quite handy, but also will steady the camera against a tree or pole for night shooting (as I was doing for fireworks just recently), and by angling the display, I can see what’s up while holding the camera in just about any odd position.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

·         Zoom Lens:  The SX20 IX has a 20x Optical Zoom, which is quite handy.  I sometimes think I use up the majority of battery power zooming in and out, because you can’t always walk up to, or back away from, a subject nearly as easily as zooming in or out.  The SX20 IS also has 4x Digital Zoom, but in general I try not to get into the digital, because you are quickly trading-off zoom for resolution (I don’t think any of the shots on the blog have used the digital zoom).  I used to own a full-bore SLR camera, and had an assortment of lenses.  But, I always felt that I was carrying too much crap around, always had the wrong lens on and wanted to change, etc.  The SX20 IS has enough zoom that I can get along just fine for what I generally need, with just its one fixed lens.  I would like to take more super-close, or super-zoomed photos, but that isn’t my current mission, or the mission I selected the SX 20 IS for.

·         4 x AA Batteries:  I wanted a power supply that can last all day, and one that does not involve a “special” battery that I will have to go pay $50 bucks for to replace, or worse, one that I will find unavailable one day in the future, and have the inability to find a battery cause me to scrap a camera.  Some cameras have 2 x AA’s, but I wanted 4.  Also, I like the “fatter” end of the camera where the batteries go, because that fits my hand just right.  Most of the time, I am shooting during daylight, so without flash, I can probably get 400 or so images on the rechargeable AA’s that I use, and I carry a second charged set along with me anytime I expect a lot of use.  AND, I can pop into any store, just about anywhere in the world, and get 4 normal AA batteries if I need them.  So, I have no issues needing to plug in the camera and charge it, I very rarely can’t shoot for lack of power.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

 

·         SD Card:  I find the easiest way to get photos off my camera is to pull out the SD card and stick it into the SD port on my little computer.  Of course, I also have a cable so I can plug the camera into a USB port, which is handy because my office computer doesn’t have an SD slot, I don’t use it as a back-up often, but now and then I need to.  SD’s are available in several Gig sizes, and even the 32 gigs are not so expensive anymore.  I use 8 gigs that I've had for a while, and they suit me fine.  Micro-SD’s may be the coming thing, but then I’d have to have an adapter to fit into my computer.  If I were shopping for a camera today, I would likely stick with SD’s.

·         Portability:  Finally, I must have great portability.  My current situation is full of compromises when it comes to taking photos, I just have to grab whatever time I can find and take advantage of it as best I can.  The only way I can do that, is to have a camera that I can easily carry with me wherever I go.  For me, most of the time, that means on business, and for that, I virtually always carry a brief case.  Whenever I power it off, the SX20 IS automatically retracts the lens to minimum length.  It’s only 4 inches (100mm) back to front, and 4.75 inches (120mm) long, and fits just perfectly in the corner of the front pocket of the briefcase.  I suppose my lugging it around with no special care for 3 full years now is proof of its durability.

·         Cell Phone:  Sure, sometimes I use it.  My current phone takes rather vivid 12mp photos.  But, cell phones tend to have only digital zoom, so as I described above, that presents limits.  Still, its handy for taking quick shots and instantly zipping them off to folks.

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin

The SX20 IS also takes videos pretty quick and easy, but I don’t do too much with videos at the moment, so that’s not a big priority.

Ok, that may be TMI for some folks, but that’s what I carry and why.

Y’all take care,

- Mark 

 

Photo by Mark W. Laughlin