Last Nights Sun | A Chemical Trail

Last nights sun was full of radiant colour. The skies are finally clear enough to watch the burning ball of flame set behind the Asinara Islands.

Pretty beautiful, eh?

Now, how about we address that white, long, fluffy line at the top of the picture.

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Two Hours in the Mountains | Sardinia, Italy

She walked beside me and jabbered on. Her broken, high-pitched accent threw me for a loop. At first glance, she seemed so Sardinian, but as she talked that speculation evaporated. She told me that my spoken Italian is not the greatest, we laughed. She said “nor is mine.” We laughed again.

She moved to Sardinia sixteen years ago and brought with her half of her home village from Romania. Her energy spun around the warm air as she explained the sylvatic goodness of Sardinia’s wild roots and I found myself basking in the newfound education.

We hiked two kilometers together through the beautiful Sardinian wilderness, before she turned around and headed back to town, back to work.

We said our piacere’s and parted ways. I continued on the voyage.

What did you do today?

Carrasciali Trinitaiesu | Carnevale Trinita 2012

Gallery

This gallery contains 7 photos.

Last night marked the end of Carnival. The crowds came out in numbers to watch the floats and dancers go by. The atmosphere hung steams of happiness and moments of crisis’ momentarily forgotten. Carrasciali Trinitaiesu Devils, hippies and fairies oh … Continue reading

The Rule of Thirds | Understanding Photography

Photography has been a hobby for some years and I’ll be the first to admit that I know nothing of this snappy profession. What I do know is that I love to take pictures, of anything, and everything.

A few days ago I went shutter happy on some beautiful cows and calf’s in the hilly mountains of Sardinia, Italy. I then asked for some advice.

Michele over at Our Italian Table offered me the best advice a beginner could ask for!

The Rule of Thirds – A Beginners Guide

  • When you look through the viewfinder, or the LCD display on the back of your digital camera; imagine a perfect tic-tac-toe board displayed. (Most digital cameras have a grid setting which will display the grid automatically for you … hey, I found mine, you can to.)
  • The first horizontal line, at the top is the Eye Line. This is where you put your subject’s eye, line.
  • The second horizontal line, at the bottom is the Horizon Line. This is where you want to level your horizon.
  • You can play with the horizon on both horizontal lines, it all depends on what type of photography you wish for the final picture.
  • A high horizon line creates depth in the photo.
  • A low horizon line helps eliminate boring foregrounds.

Rule of thumb

The experts agree, if you want a dynamite photograph that pops out from the page, or a photo that expresses justly a moment in time – then do not center your subject in the middle of your grid.

By centering the subject in the middle of the grid, you are creating a static photo. A static photo has no depth, movement or flow. A static photo is boring, and who wants boring? I don’t.

Remember …

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Video – My Sardinian Mom the Artista

My Sardinian Mom is my husbands second cousin, her passion is paint and colour. Her house is a museum of beautiful colourful paintings, each one over the years hung on every wall space available.

She paints landscapes, women and children, fruit and vegetables. She paints on glass, canvas, leather and cotton. Her art is fantastic and truly Sardinian.

Her name is Maria Caterina Satta. She is an extremely humble person who has painted for over sixty years. In the last two years she has finally opened her art for the world to see.

Art critic Andrea Diprè and his team flew to Sardinia late last year to film a fifteen minute segment for his popular show on Italian TV.

Check it out for yourself.

The YouTube clip is in Italian. But you get to see her art!

What do you think?

Roadside Finds in Sardinia, Italy

I went on a little winter walk this morning, just around town. It was a very cold, sunny morning but I had to get out to shake the winter away.

I found the following sign on the road side, well after I had stepped onto its cold pavement.

What do you think?

Carrasciali Trinitaiesu | Carnival in Sardinia

All around the world people are gearing up for the biggest party on the planet – Carnival. It’s already started here, in Sardinia, Italy. Last night kicked off the beginning of Carrasciali Trinitaiesu.

The 2000 locals finally free from winters wrath, dusted off their masks, put finishing touches on floats and cars, filled up thermos’ of wine, beer and liquor and they hit the streets for Carrasciali Trinitaiesu 2012.

Finally blessed with beautiful warm sunshine which brought out smiles and laughter from young and old alike. The techno beats kept the kids moving and the bootleg Sardinian red helped the adults forget winters harsh cold.

Fairies, berries and confetti too.

Are you celebrating Carnival? What are your customs?

Early Morning Snow & Sun | Photo Post

Morning Light

Watching snow melt

Rainbow Snow

Stubborn Blindness

I pass her on my early morning runs, she is generally feasting beside the bamboo fence.

This morning, once the sun shot its first morning beams over the mountains, I headed out into the wild winter morning in hopes to capture her magnificent beauty.

I’ve tried to photograph this stunning white horse for months. Finally this morning she steered her stubborn head towards me. My camera was on full zoom and this was the best I could get.

Calling to her in English proved her stubbornness overboard. I tried in dialect “AJO.” I called tut-tuts and come here’s, she didn’t budge.

Stubborn in her own winter blindness.

How do you photograph animals?