Monthly Archives: November 2014

ISO 51,200

Towards the bottom of one of the spires of Antoni Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain it is dim to the point of almost pitch blackness. Tripods are not allowed. So I did the best I could, and shot handheld upwards with the heck boosted out of the ISO (ISO stands for sensitivity to light, and in days gone by would have been noted as film speed). The ISO scale on my D810 tops out at 51,200—almost inconceivably high compared to the camera’s “native” ISO of 64. Sure, there’s a bit of noise, but on the whole the image at this preposterous level of sensitivity to light has quite a bit of quality and resolution. The last few years have surely heralded a revolution in the ability of the current generation of cameras to record extreme low light conditions.

Inside the Sagrada Familia Spire © Harold Davis

Inside the Sagrada Familia Spire © Harold Davis

Here’s the complete exposure information: Nikon D810, 28-300mm Nikkor zoom lens at 122mm, 1/8 of a second using Vibration Reduction (VR) at f/16 and ISO 51,200, handheld. Note that I needed to stop the lens down (to f/16) to get enough depth-of-field to keep the spirals in focus, which is part of what compelled me to boost the ISO so maniacally.

Posted in Photography

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Posted in Workshops

Travels with Samantha

I’m normally a map, or a map-and-compass, kind of guy. But when I rented my car in Portugal I also rented a navigation system. Getting lost in obscure foreign parts where I didn’t speak the language was definitely getting old.

The man who set up the navigation system for me at Europacar wanted to know whether I wanted British or American English, and also whether I wanted the Jack or Samantha voice. I picked Samantha.

In some respects, Sam is a navigational prodigy, getting me places on a wing and a prayer that I would never have accomplished on my own. For example, the route Sam took me on to the door of my hotel in the historic district of Porto involved several one-way alleys, numerous roundabouts, the lower deck of the famous bridge in Porto, and—strangely—a vacant lot.

Porto at Night © Harold Davis

Porto at Night © Harold Davis

When she’s good, Sam is very, very good—but the price for her help is that she wants control. Occasionally she also gets things wrong, directing me up roads closed to traffic, or alleys that are only intended for foot traffic. In these cases, she gets repetitive, and there is clearly a shrillness to the directions, as if she’s asking, “Why can’t you even follow simple instructions?”

She’s also not very sympathetic to the stops I make for photography. She calculates an arrival time for each destination. Apparently, my photographic stops throw this off. “Recalculating,” she announces, and you can almost see the virtual eyeball rolling. “You are now fifteen minutes later than the original time-to-destination.” It certainly sounds like she gets more annoyed the more photographic stops I make.

Once today I reached a new highway that wasn’t in Sam’s database. Her display showed me and the car rolling across open fields, and her directions to correct my course were increasingly implausible, until at last the real world and her maps coincided again, and there was peace in the relationship once more.

Like any neurotic relationship there are communication problems, and as I mentioned, a battle for control. But I’ve grown accustomed to the strident, dulcet tones of my Samantha, telling me she is recalibrating, and to go right in 100 meters on a street whose name in Portuguese she has totally mangled—or often, turn in 250 meters on “Road” with no other name. It’s relaxing knowing I can blunder anyplace in this country, more or less, and Sam will get me to where I need to go no matter how lost I am.

Posted in Digital Night, Photography, Portugal

Rats at Mafra

The imperial palace at Mafra, Portugal was built on a huge scale with loot from the Brazil colony. Everything is super-sized: room after room with billiard table, deer antlers, and last but surely not least the library. This is the largest library of leather-bound books in the world, and it is never done. As fast as they prepare new volumes, the rats of Mafra eat older books.

Library at Mafra © Harold Davis

Library at Mafra © Harold Davis

Incidentally, this is the place where each of five guards told me I couldn’t use my tripod, even though I showed no sign of using it. I guess they had nothing to do in the vastness, and couldn’t very well start gnawing leather-bound volumes.

Posted in Photography, Portugal

Leaving Morocco

The Royal Air Maroc plane to Lisbon was late to leave, as expected. Still, it was a relief to leave the chaos of Casablanca as we said goodbye to Morocco. Surely an adventure with many images to process, and much to digest. I captured this image on my iPhone, and processed it with Waterlogue.

Leaving Morocco © Harold Davis

Leaving Morocco © Harold Davis

Posted in iPhone, Photography

Satellite Dishes in the Medina

I am told that about half the households in Morocco have Internet access, mostly via satellite dish like these shown in this photo of the ancient Medina in Fez. These dishes also transmit sports, and no doubt the Al Jazeera news channel.

Satellite Dishes in the Medina, Fez © Harold Davis

Satellite Dishes in the Medina, Fez © Harold Davis

Posted in Photography

Castle made of sand

Coming into Ait Benhaddou shortly before an early sunset (a little after 5PM this time of year in trans-Atlas Morocco) I saw that it would be a race with the light to get to an elevation in the old fortress for photography. The bus stopped at the inevitable coffee shop with a view and for-pay bathrooms, and I raced out with camera and tripod.

Castle made of sand © Harold Davis

Castle made of sand © Harold Davis

The first hurdle was crossing the river (shown towards the back of the photo). There was a bridge upstream, but it was too far to make it in time for the light. The stepping stones nearer to my location looked precarious, but I watched a local person cross, and I realized they were steady enough if the attempt was made carefully. In fact, these steps were sandbagged cunningly in place and arranged to look precarious, so that when help was needed a tip could be solicited.

I carefully crossed the river, and made my into the Ksar. Several people demanded an admission fee. One lady was so persistent that I actually gave her a one Dirham coin (about ten cents). She took a look at it, told me if wasn’t enough, and handed it back to me in disgust.

The interior was a maze, and I knew that if I made a wrong turn I would lose the light. I also didn’t want to recross the river after dark, or miss the meeting time at the bus. So I raced upwards, finding a platform with a three Dirham for-pay bathroom and a great view. I handed over the money and set up my tripod. The proprietor was extremely gracious to me, and poured me a welcome cup of mint tea.

The image shows a castle made of crumbling sandstone, built on a huge scale, though it could easily be mistaken for a children’s sandcastle if one doesn’t look too closely.

Today is Moroccan independence day (won from France, in 1956). I’ll be writing more about this intriguing country, which has one foot in the thirteenth century and the other in the twenty-first.

Posted in Photography

Rain in Rabat

The autumn day in Rabat, Morocco was sunny with intermittent rain. During a squall with the bus parked near the medina (old town) I shot this with my iPhone through the wet bus front window.

Rain in Rabat © Harold Davis

Rain in Rabat © Harold Davis

Posted in Photography

Jemaa-al-Fna

The Jemaa-al-Fna is the central square in Marrakech, Morocco—used by locals and tourists alike. It’s a Unesco World Heritage site, and has been a symbol of the city of Marrakech for centuries. This is non-stop action, with snake charmers, monkeys, beggars and food vendors in an almost unimaginable pageant of humanity.

Jemaa-el-Fnaa © Harold Davis

Jemaa-el-Fnaa © Harold Davis

To make the image shown here, I paid for access to a “Panoramique Balconey,” and shot three exposures on a tripod. Shutter speeds ranged from one second to 15 seconds, with the exposures combined in Photoshop.

Posted in Photography

Onward to Morocco

Tomorrow we take the ferry across the Straits of Gibraltar to North Africa. How fitting then to spend our last day in Spain exploring Granada and the fabulous Alhambra—the fabled palace that was the last redoubt of the Moorish Kingdom in Spain!

Detail, Alhambra, Granada © Harold Davis

Detail, Alhambra, Granada © Harold Davis

Posted in Monochrome, Photography

Gotic Quarter

Squashed within the ancient walls of medieval Barcelona, the old town presents a maze of twisting streets and narrow buildings close together. Along the Ramblas the area teams with life: tourist shops, restaurants, hotels and just plain people living. The view shown is one small slice of the Gotic (or Gothic) Quarter, looking down on the intersection of two streets from my hotel window.

Gotic Quarter © Harold Davis

Gotic Quarter, Barcelona © Harold Davis

Posted in Photography

Sagrada Familia

I am undone. I am so totally blown away by architect Antonin Gaudi’s masterpiece, the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Catalonia. I had not expected such an emotional and awe inspiring interior space. I’m spent, and will write more when I’ve recovered from jet lag!

Sagrada Familia, Barcelona  © Harold Davis

Sagrada Familia, Barcelona © Harold Davis

Posted in Photography