How do you capture your vacation? How do you like to take pictures? As I went through the pictures from our trip, I found some common threads/techniques which I’ll share below.
Don’t think of me as some fantastic photographer when you look at these. We like to take the shotgun approach. I am not a professional.
By the time we got home, we had taken 7 gigs of pictures. That’s 7 gigabytes of pictures.
Here are just a few.
The Sights
A.K.A. the “of course” pictures or “the good stuff.” These pictures are self-explanatory.
Khafre’s Pyramid and the Sphinx.
The Rammesseum.
Hatshepsut’s Temple.
Watching balloons go up at sunrise over the Valley of the Kings.
From our balloon – the Valley of the Kings is on the other side of these mountains.
View from our hot air balloon.
The Treasury at Petra
The Monastery at Petra.
Wadi Mujib Canyon, Jordan.
Site where Jesus was baptized.
Closeups
Sometimes you should do the opposite of taking a step back. Take a step forward and stop trying to capture the entire scene and just get one thing.
Traces of paint on a carving of Horus.
Lighting candles for friends and their loved ones.
Salt flaking off the rocks at the Dead Sea.
Food
I’ll remember what we ate, but it’s fun to show people. I don’t take pictures of every meal, just a few here and there.
Mixed grill brought to our table.
Koshary – Cairo dish of rice, macaroni, lentils, chickpeas and crunchy onions with a tomato sauce mixed in.
Schawarma!
PERSPECTIVE
You may be at a site wishing you could get a picture without all of the people in it. It may actually be better to get someone in the picture to show perspective. It’s hard to explain to people just how gigantic some of the sites really were.
Using ourselves to show the enormity of the Great Pyramid of Khufu.
Me in the Great Hypostle Hall of the Karnak Temple.
Broken colossus of Ramses. I’m standing by his head and shoulder.
Every Day Things, Life
Sometimes random, these are every day things that you might not normally take a picture of. Looking back, they make the photo collection interesting (I might be the only one who doesn’t get tired of looking at ancient Egyptian temples).
Egyptian 1 pound coins.
Store just outside the Pyramids at Giza.
I couldn’t get enough pictures of camels. This one smiled mid-bite!
As it Happens
I took quite a few pictures while we were waiting around for something. It’s fun to show what we were watching.
Watching jewelry maker polish the bracelet they custom made for me.
Watching our hot air balloon get blown up.
Watching our balloon get deflated and folded up after our flight.
Juxtapose
Much like getting perspective, it’s fun to juxtapose two things in the picture. I find it makes the subject much more interesting.
Flowers at the Temple of Philae.
Citadel with Roman ruins on the hill in Amman, Jordan.
Where We Stayed
I’ll remember our hotels, but I’m sure people would rather see pictures than me trying to describe it to them.
Our hotel in Cairo was originally built as a palace.
View of the Nile from our hotel along with Cairo traffic.
View from our cabin on our Nile Cruise.
View from our hotel in Petra.
The Dead Sea beach at our last hotel.
Points of Reference
I take pictures of signs all the time. I think it breaks up the string of scenery pictures when I show them to people and helps convey what we were seeing.
The Dead Sea – the lowest place on Earth!
Entrance to Mount Nebo, where Moses saw the Promised Land.
The picture above helps define this picture: the Promised Land from where Moses saw it.
Shopping
If it’s acceptable to take pictures in markets and stores, I go for it. It’s such a fun way to show the buzz of how an area works.
Let’s not talk about what I did in the beaded necklace store.
Buying spices.
We Were There!
After a couple of trips, I realized I wasn’t getting enough pictures of ourselves! I never hesitate now to take a tripod or ask someone to take our picture.
Us floating in the Dead Sea. You can get a camera dry bag at REI or other outdoor stores.
My absolute favorite picture of the entire trip.
Thanks for giving me an excuse to share my pictures!
Mr. P and I took a whirlwind trip to Seattle a couple weekends ago and I used it as an opportunity to play with the new camera. Here is a teeny tiny photo walk!
Really pretty leaves falling on train tracks.
We spent the better part of a day eating our way through Pike Place Market.
Sometimes we sat down to eat at Pike Place.
Other times we ate on the go (mini donuts!).
We got to see guys throwing fish – but I never got a good shot of it.
On the advice of fellow blogger Jean Manis, I visited the Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibit at the Seattle Center near the Space Needle.
The exhibit was absolutely fantastic.
The exhibit ends in a greenhouse with a beautiful piece. There are roving photographers in the museum that will take your picture. You can email yourself a copy of the picture and it is included already in the ticket price. Awesome!
I know we just scratched the surface, we were there for no time at all! I didn’t even get to sit at a coffee house! No matter, I’m sure we will go back!
Almost Never Clever 