Those of you who have been following our blog know about my mother. Anyone who has lost a parent knows what a hellish summer it’s been, thus the long delay between posts. Thanks to all of you who wrote expressing condolences. We really appreciated those notes. But now, I’m back, so things should get back to normal, blog-wise.
An update to Arnie’s stolen camera and lens … When we returned Stateside, there were no replacement lenses to be found. Nikon Professional Services (NPS) really went to bat for us. They not only instantly produced a loaner camera body and lens for Arnie, but since they knew our saga, they let Arnie keep extending the loaner for over a month. While Nikon Replacement Services had no problem getting Arnie a new body, it was the lens that was difficult. There were none to be found. Arnie called everyone he could think of and more, but nada – nothing!
NPS was fabulous, a pro’s dream team. Both Debbie McQuade and her boss, Melissa DiBartolo, top people at NPS, went all out and finally found a lens somewhere (we didn’t ask where). That lens is still out of stock everywhere, so we are ever grateful to them. Kudos to NPS. Arnie is a happy camper!
This week, we’ll return to Spain. It was great to receive so many comments on Beware of Thieves while Traveling. We were really lucky. Passports (in hotel safe), money (minimal while traveling), and credit cards were all safe, and everyone was so kind and helpful, save, of course, the thieves!
Now that Arnie had a loaner camera and lens for the rest of our trip, we took off for the wine country of Penedès, southwest of Barcelona. We stayed in a lovely B&B, Arianel-la de Can Coral. Rainer and Arianel, charming owners, guided us to some great locations over and above the ones we knew.
We tasted plenty of wonderful wines we would have loved to find back home, but alas, those wineries do not export over here. Bummer! Everyone gave us a special tour. I’m sure it didn’t hurt that over the years, we have done a number of assignments for wine publications.
We were met by the charming owner of Albet i Noya who gave us a wonderful history of his grandfather’s early commitment to organic farming.
We stayed there so long, that we missed our other appointment, so called to express our regrets that we could not make it by the end of the day. We didn’t want to miss the promised trip up into the vineyards up on the hillsides.
The owner passed us on to his manager who gave us the winery tour. We then all hopped into his 4WD, and we took off for the hills with great views of Monserrat and the surrounding vineyards.
The next day, we visited Jean Leon in an ultra-modern, stunning building that tucked into the hillside. Our hostess made time for us before a group from Russian came and said we could stay after the group arrived. In contrast to the reception building, the cave, was more traditional in feel, with rows of barrels and that musty smell that means the cellar has been kept at optimum temperatures and humidity for the wines.
It was interesting that while Arnie and I both photographed in these wineries, we gravitated toward different subjects and different areas. Until, that is, we called Montse, the stunningly chic owner of Rexach Baque, whose caves literally run under the little village. Montse greeted us when we arrived, and I asked if we could have a picnic at the table in her mother’s garden. Not only did she say, “Si,” but she brought us a bottle of the finest cava we have ever had. For those who don’t know, cava is a sparkling wine made by the same method as champagne, but because it isn’t in France, it has to go by another name.
She was all set to give us the grand tour, but I explained that while we would love to see her extensive caves (over 1,000,000 bottles of wine), we were caved out. Montse understood, and we all laughed when two hours after lunch, we were still down in the cave photographing and talking about the passion of photography and wine making. It was well past closing time, but she was relaxed and I don’t think any of us wanted the conversation to end.
As I’ve written before, it is always interesting at the different things or different views Arnie and I find in the same place. It’s a reminder to all of us that there are many ways to look at a subject. Keep that in mind as you explore your subjects.
Arnie and I were drawn to the long lines of cava stacked many rows high. While we both chose a narrow depth of field and shot toward the light, our photographs have a very different feel.
Arnie chose to accent the height of the rows, with subtle detail below, while I was drawn to the way the backlight picked up the moisture on the bottles.
Same place, different view…
When we finally left the cellars, Montse said we could photograph in her mother’s garden. Then, she took us down into her private museum. What a wonderful end to a fabulous day!
There was a little hamlet that I wanted us to see high up on a mountain side. We drove up through switch backs, ears popping at the ever-increasing altitude. We found lots to keep us busy, but what was amazing, was the sky we saw. Huge, dramatic clouds rolled in, a warning of a nasty thunderstorm. They were magnificent. I chose to photograph them alone, while Arnie sent them off against a cross while I was gathering the group to get down the mountain before the storm hit.
From the wine country, we headed up into the Occidental (western) Pyrenees to a valley that is considered to be one of the most beautiful in Spain. Tucked up by Basque country just a few kilometers south of the French border, it was, indeed, stunning. We wandered the little stone village of Anso, with its curious chimneys. Arnie came upon this gardener in the late afternoon. Later, I happened along the same street, but the gentleman was not there. I photographed the garden as a bit of a still-life, and it had a totally different feel.
One cannot be so near to France and the Basque country without heading there. As we headed up the steep road with switchback after switchback, we found ourselves in thick clouds. In fact, I was wondering if we’d still be able to see before the next drop off! As many of you know, guard rails are not a major feature overseas!
Right at the French border that didn’t even have a sign saying Bienvenue, we saw a huge flock of sheep. Everyone hopped out and found themselves surrounded by thick fleece until the sheep dog from the stone croft up above raced down the steep slope and quickly herded the flock to the home side of the road.
Arnie scouted around and found a great angle formed by the rocks and sheep leading up to the croft.
I had something else in mind. Having raised sheep in an earlier life, I suspected there were a lot more than we could see. On the other side of the hill, after all, I heard bells. Soon, faces would appear over the rise. Sure enough, two faces popped up, the right one with a humorous look. Eventually, another huge part of the flock appeared, but I got my shot with just the two faces.
In both cases, we knew what we wanted, and put ourselves in the right position to get the photographs we wanted.
Heading down the French side of the steep mountain was hairy in the clouds, but soon, we got below them and headed for a little village our host had urged us to visit. After a picnic lunch with a beautiful view of the valley we came around a corner.
A charming house with pretty gardens, a lush lawn, and a rushing stream greeted us. “Stop,” I called out, and Arnie quickly pulled over into a side road.
As I was chatting with one of our students and a couple who were also exploring, Arnie wandered upstream for a different view. He found this shot looking down the stream through the trees at the house.
I had made a beeline for the view that had initially caught my eye. With a slow shutter speed, I gave the stream a feathery feel that added to the peacefulness of the scene. Like Arnie, I composed my photograph so that the stream entered the photograph diagonally, leading one’s eye into the scene.
Same principle, same place, but very different looks. Those of you who have joined us in our workshops know how much difference a different vantage point can give. In some cases, even a few inches can often make the difference between a ho-hum photo and a dramatic one.
On the way out, it was gloriously sunny, and as we came around a bend, we were treated to this view.
Next week, we’ll finish with Part 2 of Spain, Same Place – Different View. Next year, we are headed to a different part of the country (Andalucia) for our Spain workshop to mix things up a bit. It is an area that is also very dramatic and photogenic and we have scheduled it before France so it will not be too hot in the south!
Workshop Updates
For those who want fall color, while New England Fall Foliage is sold out, we still have space in Fall Aspens & Ghost Towns of Colorado. If you look at the banner photograph at the top of this blog, you’ll see one of our locations.
I just updated the website again today to reflect the new European dates. A number of people have done or said they are interested in doing back-to-back workshops, so we’ve rescheduled to allow enough time between them, but not so much that people are hanging around for days. In addition, those who wish to do two or three of our European workshops get a special discount. More on this to follow when we post Sicily.
Yes, we are going to Sicily in June after French Wine Country. We hope to have that page up next week.
As always, if you are contemplating one of our workshops, be sure to make room reservations early. There are a number of locations where rooms will go quickly. Remember, you can always cancel later if necessary and not pay any penalty! If “our” inn or hotel is full, or if you prefer to stay elsewhere, we always have links to other choices.
Remember, too, that spouses and SOs are always welcome to join us. We go to some great locations that they may enjoy, even though they aren’t photographers.
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Monthly (ish) Newsletter
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