Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: city

(+ 11 insets) (this scene is really best at full size so you can see the whole show! :D) Trip Talk: Our Last Visit to Victoria Wasn't Long Enough! Some years ago, Steve and I went on a group motorcycle ride with a bunch of people including our good friend Andy. The plan would be to ride up into Canada, take a series of ferries to various islands and eventually end up in Victoria, Vancouver Island before heading back down to Washington and then home. The idea seemed reasonable until Steve started doing the math. There was no way we'd be able to make the ferry hops in time. But nobody wanted to think about details, so we went on the trip and lo' and behold, the ferries were missed and our adventures changed substantially. Steve and I didn't even make it onto the first ferry because of navigation issues with our phone. In the end, we decided to make our own adventure and took a ferry to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. From there we took the day cruising slowly south to Victoria. It turned out to be the best day of the whole trip! After exploring several quaint towns on the way down we eventually wound up in Victoria, where we ended our evening at an amazing sushi restaurant, followed by a walk along the harbor and finally tucking ourselves into bed after a glorious day. The only thing we'd wished was to have more time in Victoria, which was so beautiful and full of things to see and do. Therefore, when we discussed going on a trip to Vancouver Island, spending at least a couple of days in Victoria was at the top of our short list. And so, the day after we went to Goldstream Provincial Park, we decided it was time go have a proper day at Victoria. What would we do? Why, walk everywhere, of course! We wanted to see it all…and you know, I think we did a pretty good job if my photos are any indication! In fact, there are so many pictures that I processed that I'm reminded of the day Steve and I spent in Nice, France a couple of years back. A different adventure for sure, but equally full of wonderful sights and lasting memories. That being said, I'll have to take several days post pictures from our day walking in Victoria…either that or force you all to endure 30 insets! :D I didn't think that would be reasonable either, heh! :D Today's Pictures My main picture today shows the beautiful and extremely active harbor of Victoria, capital of British Columbia. There was a constant show going on with dozens of boats and ships of all kinds going by. I'd read that you might get to see pontoon planes in the harbor, but I never imagined we'd get to see them constantly taking off and landing! Steve and I really enjoyed looking out on this harbor! The rest of my presentation today includes more harbor pictures and some of the popular sights and cool things I saw as we enjoyed this gorgeous day! Inset 1: See the plane coming in for a landing on the main image? Here it is coming around to land on the bay! How cool is that?! And we got to see lots and lots of planes landing and taking off here! In fact, I've never seen so many planes land and take off in such a short period of time...such great entertainment! Inset 2: This is the plane from the main image preparing to take off. It's amazing how quickly these planes get off the water and also, how fast they land. They don't need much space which I thought was really interesting. The fact that they don't waste their time also meant a challenge to get pictures! Inset 3: This was a typical docking of sea planes. They were constantly taxiing into dock and then a different one would pull out and was soon zooming up into the sky. Inset 4: Across the bay was the magnificent Delta Hotel, overlooking the busy harbor. That cute little boat is a water taxi and they were constantly buzzing customers to and from water-based destinations. I'll have more pictures in my next set of images! Inset 5: We walked past the circa 1908 Empress Hotel, famous destination for celebrities and royalty through the years. Also known for its very schmancy "High Tea" service offered only with weeks-in-advance reservations and prices high enough they aren't listed on the menu! Inset 6: Built in 1897, the Baroque-style Parliament Building shown here is a construction of four government offices. This place was absolutely crawling with tourists so we didn't bother trying to get closer. Inset 7: I thought this statue might be Vancouver but upon looking closer I discovered that it was Captain James Cook! WOW, has that man been around!!! Here is what the plaque read: Capt. James Cook, R. N. 1728-1779: After two historic voyages to the South Pacific, Cook was cruising the waters of the Pacific Northwest on his third and final voyage. With his two ships Resolution and Discovery he was searching for the western exit to the legendary Northwest Passage. In March, 1778, they put into Nootka Sound for repairs and to trade with the native people. With him on the voyage were Mr. William Bligh as master of the Resolution and midshipman George Vancouver. Inset 8: As Steve and I approached the harbor I saw this sculpture and nearly dropped in my tracks! "The Homecoming" celebrates a father and daughter's joyful reunion as he returns home from sea. I was just stunned by the expressions, body language and perfection of anatomy and every single detail presented. An incredibly touching sculpture that really hit home with me. Inset 9: In daddy's bag we see that he's got a teddy bear for his daughter and a small wrapped box for his wife. Fantastic details! (I also adored the girl's frolicking dog, so darn cute!) Inset 10: I couldn't resist posting a picture of some of the ridiculously colorful planters that were absolutely everywhere around Victoria! Inset 11: Finally, this was a very interesting place to park your bike in inclement weather. :) Explored on 9/19/19; highest placement #5.

(+5 insets!) Sorry so long! :D It rained and snowed all night long and this morning it's sloppy and positively yucky outside. What snow remains has been melting and it's been muddy and icky all day. You know, I forget that when snow melts, it makes slush and that's just bad news. I was going to say that there are no pictures to take but it occurs to me that I've never actually thought about trying to find an interesting slushy picture. That could actually be really neat! If you've taken one, link it in the comments, I bet it's pretty dreamy! As I type, there is an Acorn Woodpecker on one of our window sills, pecking at the surfaces and yelling about it. *shakes head* Our house is not a storage facility for your nuts, you crazy bird! :D I spent a lot of time today playing with pictures from France. So much fun! Street and city shots give me the opportunity to try out different photography than my specialty of macro and the change is both refreshing and invigorating. Plus, this sort of photography really lends itself to using filters to enhance the interest. Yay, time to play In the sandbox!! Do you guys know about Topaz Labs filter suites? They work for both Windows and Mac and they have stand-alone applications as well as plug-ins for Photoshop. (I am a Photoshop user from allllll the way back, but you don't need this program to work on your pictures!) I depend on their tools for a variety of my needs. Here's my workflow: 1) At the least, I use their Topaz Denoise filter which has enormous control for both RAW and JPEG. 2) Next, I usually place the subject on its own layer in Photoshop. I use Topaz Remask for this step, though I sometimes opt for using the polygonal lasso or magic wand for selecting the subject. 3) When my subject is on its own layer, I usually apply one or more detailing filters, taking the opacity down to about 50% usually. (Opacity means that I make the layer less and less visible and allow the original layer to show through more and more. At 50%, the effect of a filter is much more natural and allows the original details to show through the filtered layer) The look I'm aiming for is enhancement, not blatant garishness! Topaz Labs has several detailing filter suites but I usually use Detail (this is no longer available as a separate plugin but part of their stand-alone application, which has all of their tools in one convenient place.). Previous to Detail I used Adjust but I like the filters in Detail better, they are more sophisticated and less coarse. 4) Finally, I often add a vignette to my image to direct more attention to my subject. I do this with the Lens Correction feature in Photoshop but I also use Topaz Lens Effects and Texture Effects for this. (Other filter sets I adore, but not usually for final processing are B/W Effects and Restyle.) B/W Effects is full of fantastic monochrome and duo-tone options as well as interesting vignetting ideas. Restyle will eat your life. It changes the colors of everything in your image to varying degrees and can change the mood completely from drab to outlandish, for example. If you have an image with blah colors and you want to add pizazz, Restyle will do this for you. The only problem is that it takes forever to look through the universe of choices. It's really fun though and I love to allow myself the time to play in this suite from time to time. Lens Effects has very interesting vignetting options but also helps with recreating background blur or changing the lighting in your image. It's very powerful! Texture Effects gives you access to a world of textures and interesting filtering choices, as well as wonderful vignetting and border ideas. If your image is interesting but it's not quite enough by itself, Texture Effects will save the day! There you have it. The only other Topaz filters I sometimes use is Topaz Impression, which turns your photo into artwork with a zillion paint styles. It's really neat but I am more about enhancing my photography than changing it into something completely artificial. Still, what a fantastic tool! (I've also enjoyed Dynamic Auto Painter, a wonderful program you may like to explore) One other point: There are LOTS of filter suites out there which are outstanding—I just happened to latch onto Topaz and they give me the high-quality, adjustable filters I insist on. If you take pictures with your phone, you'll know what I'm talking about in this regard. Zillions of options! FRANCE TRIP, CONTINUED! Note: if you want to read my first and second France posts, they are here: The first entry: www.ipernity.com/doc/290645/48132924 The second entry is this: www.ipernity.com/doc/290645/48136884 Since I was playing with my France pictures today, that's the feature of today! If you may recall from the other day, Steve and I landed in Nice and got into our apartment late that night. The next morning was gorgeous and we were so excited to see the town. To continue on our fresh new adventure, Steve and I had a mission to find a grocery store for provisions. Once we located one we grabbed our cameras and headed out. Right away there were pictures to be had everywhere! A very colorfully painted car...a cool artistic sculpture featuring arrows going up and down...store signs, rows of motorcycles outside a shop and even the door handles leading into the store were cool! I tried out our sneaky way to take pictures of people, by holding my camera at my hip and pointing it up towards people but not looking at them. Lots of garbage but sometimes you nail it! However, at one point I was looking through my viewfinder and noticed a group of teenagers...I couldn't help aiming at them...and you'll see that the beauty who caught my eye most certainly saw my admiring aim and click! :D Pam, have you ever done city photography and pictures of people? The only images I found on your stream were of San Francisco, so maybe not? Or perhaps you just don't bother with them? I find city photography to be refreshing and interesting but you really do have to be in the right mood for it. People do NOT like their picture taken so you must be crafty...or ask their permission, but then it's no longer candid so forget it! I love architecture too...it's all really neat. Do you enjoy that sort of thing? Well, time to send more delicious soup your way...it's a cold and miserable mess outside, wouldn't be surprised to hear the same on your side! *BIG HUGS...AND SOUP!* :D Explored on 2/28/19, highest placement, #7.