NikonGear'23
Travelogues => Travel Diaries => Topic started by: simato73 on October 07, 2015, 23:26:42
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I have come back a few days ago from a week with my family on Lanzarote.
Obviously the main occupation was spending time with the family on the beach or sightseeing, but I got a surprising amount of time for myself in the early mornings and evenings, and occasionally in the middle of the day when my daughter was asleep. The only time when I did not get to take photos was sunset, sadly it was right at dinner time.
Lanzarote is a surprising place for a package holiday place (no my holiday was not a package one...).
It is the second time I go there and I have come to like the place a lot. It is easy and fairly cheap to reach; there is plenty of good accommodation. Food is excellent, plenty of seafood and inexpensive. The local wines are very interesting too. During the non-photographic hours the beaches beckon; those interested in night life are spoiled for choice.
The most remarkable thing however it the landscape.
Lanzarote is quite unique, it is dotted with volcanoes and over a third of the island is covered in nearly impenetrable lava fields (called locally Malpais - badland). The place sometimes really looks a world away from Earth. The most recent lava fields on the island are nearly 300 years old but because it is so dry very little has grown on them. They are in a nearly pristine state; 20-year old lava fields on Mount Etna have more vegetation growing on them.
This first series is from the top of Montana Negra near sunrise. The climb to the top is steep, in fine deep scree and despite being only 300m gain it is quite a workout but nevertheless fun.
The view from the top is definitely rewarding:
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Fascinating, strange landscape, lots of photo possibilities.
Now, about that local wine....?
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Simone, it truly looks like the Moon on Earth. Reminds me a bit of Iceland.
Great landscapes.
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What a fascinating place. And a challenging place for landscape photography, and you have risen to the challenge! I think that #1 is my favourite image.
Reminds me a bit of Iceland.
Great landscapes.
Exactly my first thought - Iceland without the ice.
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Very "landscaping" place!
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Great shots, truly looks like no mans land.
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This place is already in my bucket list! Thanks so much for sharing Simone. All the photos are very nice. It indeed shows a feel of different world! Looking forward to see more photos of Lanzarote.
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Thanks everyone.
Lazarote is indeed a landscapes heaven.
I'll post more tonight, and hopefully address Anthony's question about wine in a landscape way.
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Fascinating, strange landscape, lots of photo possibilities.
Now, about that local wine....?
OK, let's talk about wine.
There is quite a lot of wine made on the island, especially considered how dry it is, making it difficult to grow crops.
I think it is fair to say it is the major cultivation on Lanzarote (in the past it was cactus - use to grow cochinille, which was the source of red food colouring. Lanzarote was a world player until chemical industry wiped them out of the market).
Back to wines, my experience is only with the whites, because they are said to be better, but there are also reds. Besides, eating fish everyday, I was not interested in reds.
One of the main grapes is malvasia, brought in centuries ago from Crete.
After a period of oblivion it has had a resurgence several decades ago.
There are sweet, semi-dry and dry Malvasias. My favourites are the dry ones. Sadly I could bring back only a couple of bottles due to luggage constraints.
It is possible to visit the wine makers, although I did not have time to take the tours, just bought the wine directly.
And now the connection with photography. Wine is made mainly in the district of La Geria and the way the vines are grown is as peculiar as the island, and in fact a direct consequence of its geography.
The result is very pleasing to the eye.
Vines are grown in 1-2 meter deep conical pits dug in the ground. 1-2 plants in each pit. The pits are protected upwind by a low drywall made of lava rock, semicircular in shape, to protect from the prevailing wind, the Trade Wind. The pit is covered in crushed lava ("picon") that has a specific function. When night falls moisture in the air condenses onto the picon in the pit, which being porous absorbs it. The vines survive just with this water.
The holes are placed regularly and form a beautiful geometrical landscape. Here follow some images of La Geria, shot the morning of my last full day of holidays.
PS: The place where I bought my wine is shown in the second picture.
It is the large building on the left of the picture, along the road that cuts the image in half lengthwise.
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Wow, thanks for that interesting story and the nice pictures.
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Beautifull landscape with lots of potential you have composed the scenery well some could have been just a tiny more sharper in the overall scene but what a place to be.
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Thanks, Simone, interesting about the wine growing technique, makes a good photograph too.
I always like to drink the local wine wherever possible.
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The location seems perfect for a future NG event...
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The location seems perfect for a future NG event...
My thoughts exactly; but glad that someone else has reached the conclusion :-)
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What a fascinating place. You have made me want to go there - well done, Simone!
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What other-worldly place and images! The spot lighting on the foreground in the initial image is just a miracle! Thanks for sharing, Simone!
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Very nice landscape images!
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What other-worldly place and images! The spot lighting on the foreground in the initial image is just a miracle! Thanks for sharing, Simone!
Thank you Akira.
It pays off rushing out of home early to get to the location before sunrise :)
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Very nice landscape images!
Thanks!
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Lanzarote is full of opportunities also underground.
There are lava tunnels that can be visited and although the pace of the visit does not make it easy to take pictures (no time to set a tripod, no control over lights, mixed white balance), it is still possible to try something.
All the following is done handheld, mainly with the newly bought Samyang 12/2 (I also used the 23/1.4).
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The last two you posted now if seriously nice
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The last two you posted now if seriously nice
Thank you Elsa, they are also the ones where I had more time to think about how to get the shot and to find a spot for keeping the camera steadier.
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sometimes I forget to think a bit myself. And when I do - its always worth it
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Thanks for the nice photos, Simone!
It was a holiday spent on Lanzarote a few years ago that finally persuaded me that I HAD to move up to a DSLR.
The scenery was so beautiful and our small digital pocket cam just couldn't cope with the contrasts...
It's a very beautiful place, definitely worth a visit (with your SLR/ DSLR/ mirrorless!).
Apart from the landscape the architecture of Manrique (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/César_Manrique) is the second highlight of the island.
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Thanks for the nice photos, Simone!
It was a holiday spent on Lanzarote a few years ago that finally persuaded me that I HAD to move up to a DSLR.
The scenery was so beautiful and our small digital pocket cam just couldn't cope with the contrasts...
It's a very beautiful place, definitely worth a visit (with your SLR/ DSLR/ mirrorless!).
Apart from the landscape the architecture of Manrique (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/César_Manrique) is the second highlight of the island.
Thank you Gunther, Manrique certainly left a very strong legacy in the island, although I have not spent much effort to document it with photos.
I do have something though, from my previous trip, and may post later.
For now, some starry shots taken in the north of the island, where there is least light pollution.
I tried starry trails too on the last night, but there was dusty wind coming from Sahara that obfuscated the stars and made light pollution impossible to manage even there.
These two were shot on the previous day, when the dust problem was not as bad, but other nights that I missed were far better.
Shot with the Samyang 12/2.
This shot enabled me to check the lens as I was not able to do before.
Coma is excellently corrected. Chromatic aberration not bad at all; vignetting is manageable. All of this at f/2.
The problem is mis-centering. I fear there is little I can do about it. Fixing may be possible, but given the low cost of the lens probably not worth.
Returning is also not an option since I got it second hand.
On most application this mis-centering is not noticeable, and even with this shot I can live with it.
Despite this problem I am overall quite happy with this lens. For some things it can replace the optically excellent 14/2.8.
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Another fabulous place is El Golfo.
The Gulf is actually a half crater - the other half has been eroded by the sea.
You can see it below - with its green lagoon it is another otherworldly place.
El Golfo is at the very end of the road, in the middle of the lava fields.
The other attraction of this small village with a certain hippy air is the fish restaurants.
The fish is freshly caught by the local fishermen. Truly delicious stuff! Try with some local white....
PS This is a pano of 4 vertical shots stitched with Hugin. The shots were handheld and stitching them well was a royal pain. IMHO a tripod is the minimum requirement for making panos well.
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Fascinating travel log, very nice landscapes, cave and pano
Thanks for sharing your experiences
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El Golfo pano is classic Lanzarote shot. Beautifully captured. Your cave photos are awesome too! Thanks again for sharing and wonderful storytelling.
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This is a great series, #1 and #2 and the last two cave images are particularly nice, and the beach too.
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Great images! I particulary enjoyed the cave photographs. I'm travelling to one of the neighbour islands in a months time (La Gomera). Probably a bit different than Lanzarote. Camera kit will definetly be brought along.
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Armando, Anirban, Øivind and Ole, thank you all for your comments.
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Your photos do just to the beautiful scenery! Great job!
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Another fabulous place is El Golfo.
The Gulf is actually a half crater - the other half has been eroded by the sea.
You can see it below - with its green lagoon it is another otherworldly place.
El Golfo is at the very end of the road, in the middle of the lava fields.
The other attraction of this small village with a certain hippy air is the fish restaurants.
The fish is freshly caught by the local fishermen. Truly delicious stuff! Try with some local white....
PS This is a pano of 4 vertical shots stitched with Hugin. The shots were handheld and stitching them well was a royal pain. IMHO a tripod is the minimum requirement for making panos well.
I remember El Golfo being a very stormy place. The wind catches easily in this "half bowl" and any kind of photo without tripod is a challenge. Congrats to your handheld pano!
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I remember El Golfo being a very stormy place. The wind catches easily in this "half bowl" and any kind of photo without tripod is a challenge. Congrats to your handheld pano!
The two times I have been there the wind was a gentle breeze but I can imagine the place in stormy conditions.
After all it looks West toward the open ocean.
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Even though it is mostly rocky, Lanzarote also has beaches (if it didn't it would not be the popular holiday place that it is!).
They are quite varied. From the wild, black sand beach of El Golfo, which you have already seen, to the urban beaches in Puerto del Carmen (the beach in Los Pocillos is very big and pleasant), Costa Teguise, etc. to other gems.
I did not have the chance to see what arguably is the most beautiful beach of the island, Playa Papagayo (Google it!), but I have seen a couple of other interesting places.
The first is the wind-battered beach in Famara, enormously long and deep, frequented by surfers and dominated by the Risco de Famara,, a 500m high cliff that estends for kilometers to the nothern tip of the island. I can only offer a mediocre image of the place, I was mostly playing with my daughter at the time.
Another very interesting place are the beaches near Orzola, in the far north.
Here black lava flows from the volcano La Corona meet the sea forming sheltered coves. And within them, and slightly more inland, are low dunes of white sand. Very impressive.
This is one of my favourite places, and also a good spot for night photography, free from light pollution, since further North, looking toward the low-lying North Star, there is only the sea.
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Another pano from an afternoon hike to this volcano. It was very hot!
It is called Caldera Blanca and it is of an "older" generation compared to most other volcanoes on the island.
It is also the only one where the caldera forms a near perfect, unbroken ring.
6 shots stitched with Hugin.
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Amazing photos, Simone!
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Very impressive, Simone, the story and the magnificent images.
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Thank you both, Jakov and John.
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14928 and 14630 for me. Love the color scapes very much!