photography by elisa sherman » travel

People versus Landscapes

elisa sherman — Sat, 29 Jun 2024 12:29:23 +0000

Hello world! It’s been a minute, or two, or three . There have been several frames that haven’t quite made it here, though should be in the ARCHIVE and/or my photo fave social media Instagram {{shrug}}…

So what has inspired the latent, oh so new post? Well, I did get a new camera, or two, this year… A Fujifilm X-T5 digital mirrorless (an upgrade from my X-T20) as well as a Yashica D TLR film (new to me) classic 120 manual camera…

Both of which, along with my trusty iPhone made it’s way ~8000 odd miles across the Pacific, down under the equator, to the land of Kiwi’s, also known as New Zealand . It was an adventure, for sure!

Now, to be more specific, back in 2023, hubs and I decided we wanted to join the Stuck In Customs Photography Adventure Workshop with Trey Ratcliff, a photographer we have both admired and followed for several years.

After a mellower vacation for my 50th, Maui in 2023, an “adventure” based one seemed just the ticket for 2024, photography focused, perfection. The workshop took place on the South Island centered in Queenstown. There were about 10 of us, including Wade(aka hubs 🥰) and myself, photography enthusiasts from all over that trekked down there to come together for some photo focused goodness. Like minds, varied focus, creative variations and all. It was spectacular: for the views AND the company.

Which brings me to the “point” of this fresh new post…the photo workshop along with the rest of our New Zealand vacation, was particularly centered in Landscape photography…capturing in frame the perfection of the glorious landscapes provided by these spectacular islands in the South Pacific.

So, landscapes, I do admit, are beautiful, and I do take several gigabytes of frames whilst I am vacationing…it’s our thing for sure. That said, I think my true love, and perhaps most natural inclination is to capture joie de vivre, or people in their element. It’s why I loved shooting live music, and Pride parades, etc etc… Life in motion if you will.

Now, all of this is to say, the mostly landscape backlog of digital masses is deep, approximately a terabyte…and on film, 9 rolls of 12. Lot’s of frames, many to be discarded. Yet amongst all the landscape goodness, and there is much of that…I couldn’t help myself, but to shift, and point a camera lens at those of whom were there to capture it, during our workshop. I can only imagine the inner eye rolls my fellow workshoppers likely had, as myself, I prefer to be on the back side of the camera, taking the shots. But they were all great sports, and I so enjoyed meeting each and every one of them, not least of which, our host Trey and his son Ethan that hosted us. We all learned quite a bit from each other, and it was so zen being amongst others who for all appearances also seemed to be chasing their bliss through the lens.

So, whilst culling the masses of image frames on my hard drive, I ended up drawn to these frames, capturing my fellow enthusiasts in action, both with candid glance, and from afar… There is something that just draws me most to these images and they floated to the top of my editing pile far faster than their clean landscaped counterparts. I think the magic, whether a quick close up glance, a far away peek, or even a sweeping panorama of backs and mountains…it takes me back to this time, with far greater speed than anything else.

Perhaps it’s the added connection I feel, perhaps, it’s just easier than waiting for the stacked HDR’s to process…or perhaps it’s just personal preference…I find these frames so much more compelling and magical than their relatively equally (or more) beautiful counterparts. And I mean, I have certainly used the AI tools to remove a photo bomber or two across some of my landscape shots… In contrast, for these frames I focused, intentionally on the people… Maybe it’s why, most recently, when asked to come out and capture a colleagues band playing, I did so enthusiastically. It was like riding a bicycle…I think people (even if I am a bit anti-social or perhaps because I am), are perfection in frame. Whether from behind and far away, or smiling close up in frame…I suppose it’s where my bliss and lens leads me.

But alas, I should finish the proper landscapes…NZ deserves the homage. Working on them, perhaps a post soonish will follow this…

That said, I have finished this one part of the New Zealand masses, and that is a full culling and final gallery featuring the people within the landscapes from our workshop. People who were lovely, intelligent, friendly, talented, and so interesting. Doing their thing, and not letting me see any eye rolls. And I have to admit, I am pretty interested to see what landscape beauty they captured, in pixels, on the other side of their lenses… to see how different things come out, when people shooting more or less the same exact things, click the shutter…because we all see so differently…we all behold different perspective, and we all like and prefer different things.

To the photographers and to New Zealand I give thanks…you are all beautiful, xoxo.

Insta links to all the photographers, I’d like to to now consider friends:
@lynnsnow3
@imogen.nelson
@lightseeking
@intersabs
@lostinmybucketlist
@rajeevjayaraman
@worldinasnap
@flowcused
@treyratcliff
@wadehasphotos

Full Gallery below (alt archive link)

Alaska 2.0 #WEinAlaska2018

elisa — Mon, 24 Dec 2018 21:06:07 +0000

This was my 2nd Alaskan Cruise of the Inside Passage – so some of this may look familiar. One technical difference, beyond the company, was that this was shot with my Fuji X-T20 versus previously with my Canon 5d2. And since it was 6yrs later(2012 for reference here), though the same time of year, the days and light were really different, and am sure there was a few(more than) different frames. This year, there was a Skagway photo tour, a Juneau whale watching cruise, and a tour of Butchart Gardens when we stopped in Victoria BC. Although, with the Juneau stop, since I was only 2wks post op and sore post Skagway photo tour, I had to defer all long lens shooting to the hubs(@wadehas on flickr) with the reliable 70-200, who then managed to catch some spectacular bubble netting by some humpback whales. I sure was bummed to miss getting up personal with that, but alas, that is how it is. Still lots of photos of pretty mountains, lakes, ocean, an orca, some seals and sealions, and an eagle amongst all the massiveness of the gorgeous glaciers. In an upcoming follow up blog to this, I will write about post vacay project I did with select images from everyone in our group, but I’ll leave that for the next bit of words. Also, reminisce with instasnaps here #WEinAlaska2018.

For now, Happy Christmas Eve world…I present – Alaska 2.0, enjoy!

Slideshow Fullset:

Last chapter: Call me, Missus Hazebrouck…Europe 2017 volume 8

elisa sherman — Wed, 09 May 2018 06:36:19 +0000

Sigh, this is the final blog of #WEeurovacay…

All good things must come to an end.

Upon our return from Venice, and before we headed back to Paris, Wade and I took a day trip via 2 trains – to the “family”(named) town: Hazebrouck…a little town in the north of France. Hazebrouck became Hasbrouck, perhaps as the family emigrated across the Atlantic. The town is…very French. This was the last new location we visited, before heading back to Paris.

En route, we missed our connecting train in Lille, France. Wade had to dust off his french, and vice versa the ticket agent his english…turned out, missing one train was not that big a deal. We eventually made it to Hazebrouck, however, it was a bit of a holiday, so much in the main square was not open. But, we found lunch in one of the little french restaurants before setting off on jaunt around town.

Pro tip, sausages in France seem to equal hotdogs, oscar meyer style. Interesting. And they like cheese, a lot of cheese. The lunch I ordered was a piece of bread and ham buried in a bowl of yellow cheese, with a hotdog and egg on top. It seemed like a croque madame gone wrong… I think I’ll stick with croissants when it comes to french fare…

Food aside, I say au revoir #WEeurovacay…Hazebrouck, out.

Venezia ~ Ciao Bella! Europe 2017 volume 7

elisa sherman — Wed, 09 May 2018 03:40:12 +0000

Venice, Venezia in Italian…The Floating City. To drive in Venice is to skipper a boat. Actually, a collection of islands and canals, you walk over water in every direction. This was my second time visiting, and I saw many of the same sights as I had previously. And they are just as spectacular, the gelato just as sweet. Much like Hawaii, where every direction is loved by the camera, Venice is candy for the eyes and the lens. Pasta & pizza to savor. From the golden tiled mosaics to the blown glass, from the lace to rainbow neighborhoods, from gondeliered canals to bridges of sighs…there is nowhere quite like Venice, the city that seems to be sinking inch by inch, but rises above: bellisima!

We attempted to be economical upon arrival awaiting, seemingly forever, a water bus. Splurging on a water taxi would have been well worth it. Alas, we made our way from airport to San Marco eventually. We had a lovely apartment reserved via Airbnb near Piazza San Marco, and it was awesome. It was associated with a hotel, so we had access to their services, wifi, and ability to make reservations for taxi when we had to leave in the wee hours.

Our Venice stop on #WEeurovacay consisted of roaming Piazza San Marco, a day trip to the islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello, and of course, a gondola ride. Mix in some pizza, pappardelle and a canoli or two…well, la dolce vita is realized. Photos abound.

First views in all direction of Piazza San Marco…

A pigeon or two…

San Marco itself…we could not shoot inside, but around, and from atop…

Endless waterways…

Grand Canal…

…and Gondolas…

…islands full of…glass, lace, rainbows, and ponderous statuary…

…There really is just endless visions…

…sigh, Ciao for now sweet Venezia, until I see you again…

Ghent ~ Castles and moats and chainmail, oh my! Europe 2017 volume 6

elisa sherman — Tue, 08 May 2018 07:29:43 +0000

On our way back to Brussels from Brugge, we stopped in Ghent, specically Gravensteen Castle, before heading into the town for dinner. Gravensteen is a castle from the middle ages, full of armour, and various…torture contraptions, and whatnot. Views abound. It is like stepping through time, as you climb through and around the castle grounds. Dark and dreary, yet also dreamy. You can almost see ghosts of knights past lurking through the dark dank stone halls. It’s hard to imagine a time when this was a lived in, working dwelling. What with tourists roaming about, through the halls, and down below and around it, feeding the ducks, and sitting on the grass aside the moat. Castles seem so “fairytale”, yet here we see, they are but history, as dark as it may have been…

En Brugge , Europe 2017 volume 5

elisa sherman — Tue, 08 May 2018 05:35:12 +0000

Brugge, Bruges…Venice of the north… One of the coolest north Belgium towns. If you don’t mind dark comedies, the film En Brugge, will take you there…on point scenery. If you are but a tourist, like, se moi, there is Photo Tour Brugge brought to you by Bruges’ best photographer, Andy McSweeney @andymcphoto. Andy was so great working with each of us at varying levels of skill and equipment, taking us to sights off the beaten path, and pointing out how to make unique compositions, etc. And he let me swap lenses with him as we were both shooting Fuji mirrorless this fine evening:)

We had headed up to Brugge from Brussels on the Saturday after returning from Berlin…walked around the main Place(plass) ourselves (Wade, his aunt, cousin and myself), and then met up with Andy for an evening private tour(scheduled in advance). From rapt statues, canals, reflections, architecture, odd signs, and windmills we got a taste of everything through sunset. What a great way to see Brugge! The next morning we walked around as the city awoke, and took our final clicks and then headed off to the next stop on #WEeurovacay…for now, let’s look back, En Brugge.

Wolfsburg: Das Auto! Europe 2017 volume 4

elisa sherman — Mon, 07 May 2018 04:02:32 +0000

So our trek to Germany was born of desire to go see the birthplace of Wade’s 1967 Beetle…So we planned it as a day trip from our stay in Berlin on our #WEeurovacay. We planned poorly and didn’t get reservations to visit the factory, but after a brief stroll through the Autostadt. we realized the real place to see was the museum where all the old Volkswagens were… So we hopped in a taxi and went to this little building in town. Undertated from the outside, but all the goodies were inside. So we got to see all the new tech at Autostadt, and all the old cuteness at the museum – win win I have to admit, I prefer the classics, they have very expressive faces if you will. I am not as much a fan of the boxier styles of the 80’s etc… But it was fun to see everything over the years.

So I give you Wolfsburg, Volkswagen – ad infinitum…

next up, En Brugge…

Ich bin ein Berliner! Europe 2017 volume 3

elisa sherman — Sat, 05 May 2018 19:49:34 +0000

Jelly doughnuts not included…lol, j/k, that’s not what that means. So Berlin…the third city we landed in. So much history. I am a child of the cold war, and almost nowhere is more symbolic than Berlin, where remnants of the Wall still stand. We actually stayed in what would have been East Berlin. Walking just down the street to what was Checkpoint Charlie, or taking an Uber further east to the Wall Museum, with the tour through the museum narrated by Mikhail Gorbachev, the history permeates the air. Berlin was actually my favorite city to visit…it was full of history, the people were so nice, the food good, and the price was right. Easily the best deal on #WEeurovacay, the beer and brats were much more afordable than the Parisian croque madames
Our favorite pub , Augustiner, was the one down the street by Gendarmenmarkt.

Cheers Berlin!

Brandenburg Gate greets you…

The cathedrals at Gendermenmarkt candy to the eyes…

…and the Wall, so dark in it’s history, now stands in part as monument, in part as art making us think about the future and past…

And never fear, Starbucks is here…and smarter coffee too…pick your kaffee

And so much more interest to the eyes, as you stroll and wander through the city…I would love to go back and see more than our brief stay allowed for…

Sprout to be… Bruxelles! Europe 2017 volume 2

elisa sherman — Tue, 01 May 2018 03:03:40 +0000

Brussels, or as the French say – Bruxelles (it basically sounds the same but with an accent)…was our home base for our #WEeurovacay adventure – much love to Cathy for allowing us to visit. We whisked our way there Monday evening from Paris via high speed train – and apparently First class – I highly recommend. Brussels…is a brilliant city, a Grand Place(pronounced plass) with a Starbucks & a Hard Rock…did I mention, we’re American?! Anyways, we actually left the next day for Berlin, but technically it was our second stop, so volume 2 it is! When we did return from Germany, we got to hang out a bit, and again when we returned later from Venice. We rode the subway here, as we did in Paris…to navigate in from the Train station, and back to Grand Place. Drank beer(as I did in Berlin as well – Volume 3 or 4?! lol) thanks to some Monks come brewers…La Trappe ~ Trappist…

…and well, ate chocolate…because, Belgium…

…missed Brussels Pride (we went to Brugge that weekend…it’s early there I guess?)…it would have been fun…but great to see an international city getting ready…

And, of course…Grand Place…

…and did I mention Starbucks?! yes…there was Cafe Americano…

…and chocolate sculptures and chocolate elephants…

…and well, it’s Europe…so really cool architecture, courtyards, fountains & churches…

Brussels was really cool, even if we only got to visit a small part…the people were all wonderful, and everything was so fun, just to walk down the street…until we see you again…to Bruxelles with love, xoxo…

Paris, a room with a view…Europe 2017 volume 1

elisa sherman — Mon, 30 Apr 2018 04:27:38 +0000

Ah, Paris! City of Love…served as bookends for our 2017 European adventure: #WEeurovacay.

We flew roundtrip to Paris, hitting the classics the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Latin Quarter, and Arc de Triomphe.

We partook all – croissants & a cafe au lait, to croque madame (or monsieur if you prefer). Not to mention eight Euro Coca Cola’s – yes, Paris may be the city of love – at a premium price. Well, noone will ever mistake it for a bargain city, that is for sure. Nonetheless, it is spectacular. I will have to make it back sometime, and expand beyond the classics.

Anywho, we started at the Le Derby Alma Hotel where we had this lovely room with a view of Le Tour Eiffel (aka The Eiffel Tower). After our long flight we walked around the neighborhood before we could check in…later followed by a nice nap.

After our nap it was time to take a ride…to the top, Le Tour! We had 5pm reservations – and it was a gorgeous day. Views were far and wide. From the modern city skyline, to the pander for future Olympiad, to the River Siene.

…Later in the evening, we continued to enjoy the view from the ground…

The next evening, we took the high speed train to Brussels. Before that, we squeezed in Notre Dame, and a stroll through the Latin Quarter…

…Fast forward through the rest of #WEeurovacay, and we are back in Paris, this time just off the Champs-Élysées by the Arc de Triomphe…so much we have soaked in thus far (in blogs to come)…but Paris, is the perfect end to a perfect trip…innovation, fashion, culture, croissants…and really big traffic circles…

Au revoir Paris…le sigh…