Sunset Rio

  This weekend Brasil went off daylight savings.  Every year it is a different day, even a different month – it seems given to the whim of the ruling government.  I am sure that there is some logic to it but I’ve yet to see the pattern.  Maybe I should do a spreadsheet of the dates over the past 10 years, then a graph and analyze the results….. 

No Matter, I actually like the change.  Now Houston is only 3 hours behind us and when they go ON daylight savings, there will only be two hours.  And I was able to walk at my usual afternoon time and yesterday I caught the sunset.  Last week I left the apartment at 5:50, walking at a good clip and I was up at the pile of stones on the east end of Ipanema with about 30 minutes to sun down.  Last night, leaving at the same time, I had to keep looking over my shoulder to see what was happening with the sun as I made the walk.  Too much glare through the humidity, that’s what! 
By the time I had reached the end of the beach I was beginning to feel that I would be rewarded for my efforts.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The twin brothers had a wisp of cloud floating around its summit, a few rays of sun were reflecting off the high-rises along the beach front.  I decided to join the sunset gazers atop the rocks to watch the final show at days end. 

 

 

 

I am pretty sure that the city has cleared the top of this rock formation to allow sunset gazers to vie for the best shots…. sit on the rocks and hold hands with your lover and sell sodas and water to make your day rate before the sun goes down.

    

  I decided that this sunset was going to be just for me and my camera. 
  
 
    
Today we will return to Friburgo but I am leaving pleased with myself and my little point and shoot.

Motion – movement on the streets

OK, I am game for learning new things about my camera.  I went back and printed Rebecca’s mini-course on Panning, read it again & again, thought about it, talked with Camillo about it and almost caused a divorce (He kept asking me questions about my digital camera that I couldn’t answer – it is not a semi-automatic 35mm like he knows and understands – anyway we agreed not to talk about it anymore.) and finally tried it a few times.  

We were in Friburgo for the week, hiding at the house because the town was clogged with Carnival goers and other strangers, so my options for action to try and capture was Spritzer and cars on the road. 

  OOPS, If you are sitting still and they are moving, you have to move the camera and click the shutter at the same time…… Hand – Eye coordination becomes a factor…..  but even with the motorcycle missing there is some panning movement.  (Nikon d40 - M)

Improved?  there is a sense of motions….. If you start to feel seasick blink your eyes a few times…..  (Nikon d40 – landscape)

  Click AFTER the actions starts….!!

  Almost have it….. (Nikon d40 – landscape)  to bad the yellow ball isn’t more distinct.

    We have come into Rio for the weekend and I walked down to the beach last evening hoping for some skaters, skateboarder, bicyclists.  There were enough to try with my point and shoot Samsung TL240 , there also were 200 people per sq. meter, all in the way, moving, jostling, drinking, sweating.  There were two guys on skateboards that I have to say looked mighty fine, tan, muscles, sweat and, of course, movement….. but I couldn’t catch them to take their picture….. plus Camillo reads my blog. (that is not me in that photo.)

    

Hey can you do it?  That is a giant rubber band they are walking….

  movement in the Lagoa this morning…

(I played with this a bit….. I added wind special effect trying to get more movement….. )  In the end was fun trying new ‘actions’ with my camera…..

A place close to the heart

You won’t believe this but I had a completely different post planned for today…. the best laid plans….. and all that stuff.  I just went to the the MTFSO blog page and re-read the topic for this week – thought OOPS.  “February 17 - Hearts. Heart shapes or places near and dear to your heart”, I need to read or to remember what I’ve read better.  Anyway, a last minute change of heart…..

February 14 is not valentines day in Brasil; Dia dos Namorados is on June 12th this year.  I wouldn’t or didn’t write anything about valentines day, love or passion – just not my way.  But when thinking about places close to the heart, there I could make a list.  It won’t be a surprise to you that Brasil in general was not on my list of  places ‘close to the heart’.  Maybe the botanical gardens of Rio or the park of the sitting dog in Friburgo are two of my favorite places but close to the heart is a stretch.  No, they are just interesting places.  My list would include Adrian Michigan, Houston Texas, Paris France (and other French places) and most of Italy.  Now these places could be noted as close to the (my) heart.  And just to show I’m legal, I have at one time or another posted on the MTFSO from any one of these places – so close to the heart and my towns.  

This revelation sent me looking through my archives.  I’ve made notes of things I’ve seen, felt while traveling and I found some notes listed under ROME / Italy.  So I will try to find some photos that will show you what prompted the words.  Remember that this is not intended as poetry just thoughts stimulated, probably, while sitting in some quiet spot after a good meal…..

Italy

Sweet smell of flowers, crisp scents of olives mingle in warm sunshine.  Red, yellow, purple and cream wild flowers color dotting cultivated fields.  Drab, deep and bright green, weathered red, soft browns, blue sky completes, blends, fills the eye, the mind : gratification. 

Fast cars, slow roads, rude, warm, inviting proud people, small space, big heart; grapes, grappa, pasta, bread.  Land renews, rocks grow old, hidden treasures, time and space continue.  Italy.

Photos from Rome and other towns throughout Italy and represent all (some!) of my favorite things, …held close to the heart

   

    

    

Scavenger Hunt–Wood – Metal – Stone

Sorry for the late post – long week.

This week My Town Friday Shoot-out comes from Rio de Janeiro  

Wood on the hoof!

Elegant Metal!

The Biggest Stone

natural products – up close

FMTSO - February 3 - Macro: Show case your town up close and personal!

Gosh dang-it, I can be so literal.  [1. Being in accordance with, conforming to, or upholding the exact or primary meaning of a word or words.] It really blocks me.  I read something; I hear something; an idea forms in my mind of what the words mean (to me).  Then I flounder around, knowing or thinking I know what others might have meant by the words, the words don’t mean the same to me and I get stuck inside my literal box.  I dig a hole for myself and I just keep right on digging until I run out of room and have to make a choice. 

I spent last weekend in Rio, digging….. Macro….[1. Of great size; large.] …. Okay that is Rio for sure, with 12 million and counting people, but how to take a photo of it – showcasing it up close and personal! I assumed that the assignee of this topic meant for us to do Macro Photography, to use macro photography to showcase an aspect of our cities – up close and personal…An aspect of a city of 12 million up close and personal…...Okay time to climb out of the whiney hole…..

Just today I decided to use some photos taken years ago instead of those I took this past week…. In mid June of 2010 FMTSO did Rocks – large and small, and a few weeks after that our topic was Urban Macro – Using those two FSO as inspiration, decided I would bring you a few up close shots of rocks and minerals of Brasil.

Out on the Barra – way out almost to Recreio, what seems to be south of the city but is really to the west, a good hour’s drive from Ipanema is a store that we often take visitors to see. Legep an wholesale outlet for stones and minerals from all over Brasil. Many come from their own mines, crafted and polished in their own workshops. They charge based on the weight of the stone and ship for you so you don’t have to lug your artwork through the airports or worry about baggage weight overages. Don’t miss going upstairs where there are bits and pieces of uncut stones that you can use to make into your own designs.  Here is a few of my favorite pieces – up close and personal!