PicklesTravel

Have I mentioned how much I like pickles?

Well, I do. I love them. They are my most favorite food (though anything with lots of vinegar does warrant my adoration). Eating them, making them and everything in between is incredibly relaxing to me!

How do you kick back and relax?

ISO100, @24mm, f/11, 1/400sec; Antigua Yacht Club, English Harbor, Antigua
Smaller Apertures: Using a smaller aperture (f/11- though I could have gone smaller, given how bright of a day it was) kept this line of docks in focus and well detailed, as well as the line of mountains in the background.

Vertical
ISO100, @20mm, f/13, 1/320sec.; Carlisle Bay, Antigua
Making this shot vertical enhanced the height of the palm trees as well as drawing the eye along the path(s) and right out onto the ocean! (Care for a swim anyone?)

Perspectives
ISO100, @20mm, f/13, 1/125 sec, In front of St. John’s Anglican Cathedral in St. John’s, Antigua
F-M-B: The Foreground is the rusty sign-post (though rather undescript I think it still adds the dimension element, without distracting from the rest of the photo), Middle-Ground would be the stairs and the Background would be the colorful homes/buildings

ISO 100 @35mm, f/10, 1/250 sec., Devil’s Bridge, Antigua
My goal here was to keep the perspective of the rock and its patterns, cut out and designed by years of harsh seas. Instead of focusing on capturing the horizon line and the vastness of the sea as well as everything else I got down low to the ground. The three people in the far background also help to give it a dimension of scale.

Natural Light
ISO200, @22mm, f/7.1, 1/250sec, Soldier’s Point, Blue Waters Resort, Antigua
The sun was just starting to set when I took this photo. Because of the setting sun the beach has a nice, warm feel from the sun, which makes it look all the more enticing.

Capture Life
ISO100, 75mm, f/7.1, 1/200 sec with a polarizer filter; Devil’s Bridge, Antigua
Devil’s Bridge in Antigua is very beautiful, but a shot of “just” the landscape would have been a bit bland. I used to always think I wanted photos without people in them- keep them pure and simple- but it also made them boring. MatadorU has done a great job of showing how much better adding that familiar, personal element can make a photo!
In this photo in particular I like that the tourist in the front and the fisher-woman in the background give the photo some perspective AND some life! It makes things a little bit more interesting with them in there.

ISO 100 @28mm, f/14, 1/200 sec Blue Waters Resort, Soldiers Point, Antigua
The colors of the sails here give some nice color and dimension to an otherwise normal beachfront scene

Harmonizing Shades
ISO 100, @35mm, f/5.0 1/1600 sec; Antigua Yacht Club, English Harbor, Antigua
The colors in this photo are all very “pastel”/different shades of blue and blend together well. The floating slab has a blue-green shade that jumps out more than anything else and draws the eye, but doesn’t detract and pulls out the green shades from the sea.

Sharp Contrasts
ISO 200 @35mm f/4.5 1/5000sec Street Scene in St. John’s, Antigua
These colors may not all be right next to one another- but they are all very bright and any closer to one another may have been painful to the eye to endure. I do like that the sun (on a crazy, hot, sunny day) seemed to be equally selective towards showing off the colors in this photo!

Black and White
ISO 200 22mm, f/7.1 1/100 sec Gazebo on the Point in Soldier’s Bay, at Blue Waters Resort, Antigua
Color photo converted to Black in White to enhance the high contrasts of lights and darks

Tropical Storm Maria has been threatening us here in Antigua for several days with intermittent rain showers, but she finally “hit” last night by startling us our of our sleep with claps of thunder so loud I wouldn’t have been surprised if the buildings had fallen down around us!

Poster Board the hotel used to keep us appraised of “Maria”

In the rain, normally, I would still spend a considerable amount of time walking the beaches – there is something relaxing, almost meditative, about walking in the rain- and what better place to do it than on a beach! Unfortunately, we are at a place in Antigua where the beaches are short and surrounded by rocky cliffs that are impassible…

Rain threatening the day away?

Sooo, the question for me becomes – What to do on a rainy day?

Read – If your hotel doesn’t have an impressive collection of books left behind by fellow travelers, then start chatting up your vacation neighbors, swap books, or better yet…

Make Friends – Learn about others’s journeys. Why do they travel? Where do they recommend you visit? One of the most fulfilling parts of traveling for me is the learning through others’s (experiences, thoughts, etc.)

Play Card Games (no cards? How about Tic-Tac-Toe?) – Now that you have friends- Enjoy them!

Relax, Sleep, Eat, Enjoy yourself – You’re on vacation! (Yes, this all goes without saying, but I’m saying it anyway!)

And, if you’re me… Catch up on Blogging :c)

Enjoying the view and vacation just the same!

Suomenlinna Sea Fortress, a World Heritage Site, off the coast of Helsinki, Finland is the perfect day trip destination. A half hour ferry ride from the port of Helsinki gets you there. (Make sure you sit on the top deck of the ferry, as the views of Helsinki as you head out of port are definitely worth the ferry ticket price)

Looking back on Helsinki en route to Suomenlinna
Helsinki, Finland from the Ferry
Coming into Port at King’s Gate at the Sea Fortress

The island, also know as Suomenlinna Sveaborg, has a wonderful tourist center and tour options, but it’s an amazing place to explore on your own. The open spaces as well as the older structures was a treasure trove of adventure for me!

The “island” consists of 8 small connected islands and thousands of nooks and crannies, fantastic ocean views and beautiful colors!

Older structure converted into a tourist shop
Living Quarters for Current Residents of Suomenlinna
Ocean views in every direction

The history of Suomenlinna as a Fortress is equally impressive- Fortifications starting being built in 1748 and it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1991 because of its unique military architecture. The most impressive thing to me was the dry dock, which is still in use today. There weren’t many ships in, and some parts were under construction, when I visited, but seeing the raw “bones” allowed me to understand more about how it operated.

Drydock on Suomenlinna

Other Great Sites to see:
King’s Gate – built between 1753 and 1754


Don’t forget the architecture (and every other doorway for exploration!)