Skywatch Friday - Rain in Cappadocia

Happy Friday!!

This Skywatch Friday shot comes from Turkey...

Be sure to check out all the great skies from around the world HERE...

Inside Aya Sophia

This is an HDR photo made from a single RAW file. Since I was unable to carry a tripod into the Aya Sophia, I had to hand-hold the shot in the dark church. Why is it tripods are not allowed in certain places?? Really boggles the mind...what are they afraid of? I might get a good shot? I had asked the security guard when going in why I was not allowed to bring my tripod, and he had no idea...maybe they think photographers with tripods are terrorists or something...

Tanah Lot Revisited

I spent last night doing more editing on this photo I took last year at Tanah Lot in Bali. A good friend has commissioned me for a nice print on his wall...I still have some more work to do on the photo to match the style of prints and paintings he already has on his walls, but thought I would share what I have so far....I will later post the final version I will print for him...

Billion Dollar Mall

I was in Singapore last weekend, and the new Ion Mall on Orchard Road just opened....it was built right on top of the Orchard MRT Entrance...a great location. According to the papers, this mall cost more than a BILLION Singapore Dollars...amazing!!

Petronas Towers

My usual rule of thumb when taking photos is to avoid the mid-day sun...but I literally had only less than a minute to catch a photo of the famous towers before getting in a taxi to go to the airport...I didn't have the lens I wanted either...oh well, it still came out pretty cool...

Skywatch Friday - Hong Kong Skyline

Happy Friday!!

This shot was taken from "The Peak" in Hong Kong...

Be sure to check out skies from all over the world HERE...

Have a great weekend!!

Tallest Skyscraper in Hong Kong

This is the International Finance Center (IFC) in Hong Kong...the tallest building on the island...

Fun in the Fountain

My daughter, Kayla, playing around in the fountain...

The Alien Pods Have Landed

Not sure what these things are, but I thought they were cool. I took some photos of them during the day, but had to come back at night to see them again...

Jelly Fish

My underwater photos are usually taken in the ocean when I am diving...so, these are my first underwater photos taken from an aquarium...I used my 50mm lens through the glass...it was very dark, but I like the way these two came out...

Hong Kong Patterns

One of the units I teach in Photography is about lines, textures and patterns...trying to get new photographers to look around them more and to notice patterns both man-made and in nature...

Hong Kong is full of lines, textures and patterns...

Girls LOVE to SHOP

Just two MTR exits from our hotel in Kowloon lies the famous "Ladies Market" in Mong Kok...

Needless to say, Tika and Kayla couldn't get enough of the place...a women's shopping paradise...

Back From Hong Kong

We had a wonderful trip to Hong Kong.

Tika (my wife) had a great time shopping....Kayla (my daughter) had a great time at Disney...and ME...well, I had a great time running around with my camera...

Here is a shot I took my last night in the city....I have some others I will share in the next week or so...and some more from Turkey as well...

The Golden Hallway

This is inside the Aya Sofia in Istanbul...a cool hallway that leads to the stairs...I kept imagining all the secret little passages that surely were there when this was built...a kid would have a blast exploring...

Underwear Anyone??

We were walking down the streets near the Spice Market in Istanbul when I spotted this scene in the window...pretty spicy...ha ha...

Some Stange Hills

This was one of many stops in the car...how could you pass this one up??

Starbucks in Dubai

I am not a coffee drinker, but my friends all love coffee. In my travels I have seen more and more Starbucks Coffee places...I don't know the actual facts, but I would be willing to bet there are now more Starbucks stores out there than McDonalds...this one was worthy of a photo...in one of the mall in Dubai...

Skywatch Friday - Stormy Afternoon in Cappadocia

Happy Friday!!

This is one of my favorite photos that I took while in Turkey last month...it was our only cloudy/stormy day we had all month. I like blue skies, but I really prefer stormy cloudy skies for Photography...much more dramatic!!

I am off to Hong Kong today, and will be back in 5 days or so....

Be sure to check out other skies from around the world HERE...

The Landscape of Cappadocia

I kept feeling like I was on another planet when in Cappadocia....the landscape is the strangest I have ever seen. I must have a couple thousand photos of rock formations...they are very addicting to take photos of...it seemed like we were stopping the car, getting our cameras out, and taking photos every 5 minutes...we would be driving, and then one of us would yell out..."stop the car...we gotta get a photo of THAT...". Well, it was mostly me yelling that...and I was driving, so it was easy to just pull over....ha ha...

For Skywatch Friday tomorrow, I will post my favorite photo that I took in Turkey...be sure to visit tomorrow to have a look...

View From Our Hike

While on our "Blue Cruise", we took a day hike...our goal was to reach the top of the mountain behind our boat...this was our view...

The Marina At Marmaris

We had a couple of days in this small seaside town...a nice place, to say the least...

The Library At Ephesus

We got to Ephesus late in the afternoon which ended up being a good thing as most of the tourists had already left leaving the park practically empty for us to explore...plus the light was really nice for photography.

My favorite building from what is left from Ephesus, was the library...

Inside the Aya Sofia

I had to get this shot "hand-held" as no tripods were allowed inside...BUT, it came out pretty well, don't ya think??

Skywatch Friday...Balloons in Cappadocia

Happy Friday!!

I have been on vacation the past few weeks, so I am happy to be back for Skywatch Friday!
My shot for today comes from Cappadocia, Turkey. Upon arrival by bus at 4:30 in the morning, we were asked if we wanted to go on a balloon ride...WHY NOT??

Be sure to visit other blogs from around the world HERE...

Windows

I am not sure why, but I got addicted to taking photos of windows and doors while in Turkey...

I am thinking of creating a photo album of just windows and doors from Turkey...

Washing Before Friday Prayers

Outside of one of the large mosques in Istanbul, an older gentleman washes his face before going into the Mosque...the call to prayer in Turkey I found to be very pleasant and melodic. I found few people actually went to the mosque to pray like they do in Indonesia...however, on Fridays, most everyone attends...