David L Baker Photography

Photography with an occasional poem

Tag: Colour

  • Lairs

    No, not a wildlife shot. In the UK there is a cook called Mary Berry who used to judge on the Great British Bake Off. For some reason she was unable to say ‘layers’, and it always came out as ‘lairs’. Hence the title.
    One good thing about the location of Sorrento is the background landscape leading to the Appenine mountain range. Unless I am losing my memory I believe this particular section of the Appenines is called the Milky Mountains. Even if it isn’t, it looks beautiful with a low sun.
    By the way – I have revamped the gallery page, home page, and about page. Hopefully an improvement, but happy to get your view.

  • Smokin’

    When gods are angered
    Lava and ash fill the air.
    Nature proves a point.

    A close up of Mount Etna, taken from the coach on the way to the base camp. It was a little concerning to see it smoking to this level, but according to the Etna monitoring site it was calm. Definitely not an extinct volcano, and it had caused a lot of disruption only a few weeks before with a significant eruptive phase.
    It seemed about time for another haiku.

  • Goodbye

    Not a real goodbye, more a symbolic farewell to Venice.
    Yesterday I did something risky – I asked ChatGPT to analyse my blog photos. Apparently I am a competent hobbyist photographer. I can live with that. It also gave lots of constructive criticism of individual photos and suggested a future direction. To be honest I was amazed by how personalised and ‘human’ the interaction with ChatGPT was. And also, just a little bit scared of where it can go. I might even make a few changes as a result, or I might not.

  • Finally

    Finally? Well finally I get to the end of sorting through the photos from Italy, and now need to cull them to a level I can make a book of memories. Finally, this is the last stop on our tour of Italy, the magnificent ancient theatre of Taormina. Originally built by the Greeks, it was rebuilt by the Romans – as is much of Taormina.
    Interestingly, the G7 meeting of 2017 was held in Taormina. All the world leaders stayed in a particular hotel, except one who stayed at a different hotel. Can you guess who that was? I can give you a clue – he is orange.

    I may post more from Italy if anyone is interested (you can leave comments) or I will move on to my normal photography. We will see.

  • Geometry

    Our last stop was Taormina on the island of Sicily. Built on top of a hill, and virtually traffic free, the architecture is a rich mix of styles, and there is an amphitheatre, still used for performances. But forget all that… I saw a paraglider!

  • Etna

    Still going through the photos from our trip to Italy! Looking at how long it has taken me I am now dreading next year when we go to Africa on safari. The journey ended in Sicily. Obviously Sicily is known for Mount Etna, and there well be more images from that region to come, but this one really summed up the other-worldly atmosphere of being up amongst the minor craters of the volcano.

  • Line-up

    When you least expect it, the clouds line up in their own distict shapes, and the sun turns the sea to a pool of molten metal. Although we were on our way up to Mount Etna, this sight could not be overlooked, and at least it makes a change from the touristy travel photos.

  • Pompuvio

    The Bay of Naples is dominated by Vesuvius, which also looms over the town of Pompeii as a reminder of what can happen if the gods get annoyed. Luckily the gods have been busy making sure the right athletes get gold, and the right actors get awards, to be worried about silly things like an eruption. Thank Zeus for that, eh?

  • VC

    When we booked to go to the Vatican, we just wanted to see the Sistine Chapel. The only ticket we could get included the Vatican museum, for reasons that became obvious. So we thought we would just walk quickly through the museum, see the Sistine Chapel and then do something else. WRONG.
    The museum is amazing, and big, with one route along all the corridors until you reach the Sistine Chapel at the end.
    Now I know the British Museum gets a lot of negative press for owning many of its artifacts from other counties and cultures, but I think the Vatican can give it a good go – half of Egypt seemed to be in the first few rooms.
    Don’t forget to click on each image in the gallery to see it full sized – though I will understand if you don’t do it for the mummy…
    Oh, and there is no photography allowed in the Sistine Chapel.

  • Peter

    One benefit of a hotel with a rooftop bar is the view. And when that view includes the Vatican City and basilica of St Peter, it is worth waiting until sunset to hide all the distractions. One more part of Rome to go, and that is the Vatican itself. Has to be worth a visit, doesn’t it?