Host Bonjour

This plus your smartphone (especially if it's a recent model) will probably serve you well. It also depends on what size you want the prints to be (any enlarging?) and as others have said, where you'll be, not just the actual place, but where you'd be in proximity to the thing you'd be photographing. Where you're able to position yourself and the camera, and the image you'd like to have when you return home, might inform your decision on choosing to bring along the DSLR. You'll get the composition you want, which might come closer to what your own eye is seeing. (You can also work wonders in Lightroom, but there are limits to what photo editing can do, though it is pretty cool.) The later edition smartphones are pretty cool. You can also get a little tripod for it, if you really wanted to get crazy with the settings. (I've done long exposures on my older iPhone, but using intentional camera movement, so, no tripod involved) A gorilla pod is cool too, because you're sometimes able to wrap it around something that might provide an interesting angle. I think I almost always had two cameras in Europe, because I wanted different options. Sometimes I was shooting on black & white film, sometimes I didn't want to carry the heavy Nikon, sometimes I wanted a different look. But I was always really happy I had the DSLR (and my old Olympus point and shoot, so amazing) because these images were exactly what I hoped they'd be. Meanwhile, I'd fish through a few smartphone photography podcasts (not for beginners) for some smartphone shooting tips. They usually share some hidden secrets and other great tips for shooting that will definitely elevate your phone photography. Definitely worth it for this trip! Colleen 🙂

OK so I'm taking some steroids for a cough, you see 😂 and they seem to be altering my ornithological senses. I keep telling everyone how all of these creatures astound me coming from "pigeonville" as I do. There are ducks. So basically, that's the run of it and to make it sound broad and wild, I guess I got to keeping them in their own worlds: the bird, the duck, the geese. Makes it sound like we have quite the wildlife collection. I know other types pass through where I am now if you go to the right place, but even if I did, I'd miss them... they'd know I was around and split!😳 I saw Kookaburras when down your way, but I thought I remembered them smaller, could be I saw younger ones. Such a wonderful delight, your birds, I was in heaven.

Love all the birds, feathered and sans feathers! 🤩 The solo bird photo kind of had me wondering (before I saw its feet) if it was a duck, or a bird. I don't know why. Just has that face, but I love it 🙂

Congratulations on 20 years and thank YOU Dave! Cruise Critic's longevity and strength is in no small part thanks to the dedication and commitment of its community. Week in, week out, you post a prompt to get everyone sharing what's freshest on their memory cards and camera rolls, and which is fun for everyone. Fostering creativity, knowledge, ideas, benefits the community and enhances the experience, and that's always a fine thing. Things have definitely changed somewhat since 2003 (my own start date with the org goes further back! 😳) and it's been amazing to encounter so many incredible people, and keep making discoveries. What's never changed are the remarkable people in our community. Some kind of special magic around here, it's always been such a wonderful place thanks to them–long-timers and newcomers alike–, including members like you. Thanks for cruising 20 years with us, shall we carry on then to Pic of the Week 9 and another 20 years? 🥳 👏 In Appreciation, Colleen

Easy link to our wonderful Hotels in Rome topic. There are so many wonderful posts filled with information from our phenomenal community members, it's worth scrolling through the pages 🙂 Take advantage of the search feature, scroll up to the blue menu bar and type in your search terms. There's a great chance that what you're looking for is in there. If it's not, go ahead and write a post! You'll have a reply subito.

Using tools are just another way of creating something which is as valid as someone making something a different way. One is not more right or wrong, there are now just options and alternatives, in some cases time savers. A way to create something one visualizes beyond what they see, not unlike what a painter would do: how do we know that every painter in history included everything in a landscape that was within view? We don't know. And we do know, for example, that a still life is staged, often with specific light, for a desired effect on the objects. What's interesting, maybe, is let's share about the difference between the clone stamp (grabbing bits of the rocks and–sort of like the old rubber stamp–stamping over parts of the image one wants to delete), and the content awareness tool (better for picking up discernible backgrounds and omitting what one wants to delete), for folks that might not be familiar with the terms, to describe how the magic is done. (There was also a tiny zoom and crop on the beautiful lighthouse image, to great effect 🙂 ) All of which sounds "easy" but takes practice! However, as you see, the results are 🤩🤩 and of course not wrong, quite practical for oh so many reasons. 🙂 Colleen

above piece by Mary Lussiana, 2022 above piece by Oliver Balch, 2021 (You've been crediting all recent pieces Terry, thank you!! Since these were archived pieces, I added the credits 🙂 ) And thanks Terry and everyone for contributing to this phenomenal topic on Instanbul! If only to be there now on this very very frigid evening 🥶 Colleen

Actually, I love this image the most. The tonality is incredible, the the geometry of the horizon and how it marks the break between the blue of the sea and the introduction of the gradation in the tones of the sky. There are also the the tiny ships out in the distance, which add a sort of drama to it... ships–a lighthouse...there's almost a horizontal alignment between them. I'd maybe only do the most minimal edit on this, only to bring it to what the eye saw, which would maybe mean tweaking contrast the tiniest bit, and white balance, shadows, which would make the shades true. I love it. I think the tools may be used do make images in two ways: to enhance images that are meant to be (more or less) representative of what is before the camera, and to create an image that was before the camera, and composite that image in the way it would ideally be before the camera. I guess the latter could be considered a sort of image collaging, but it's not exactly like collaging, in the way we think of doing collages, but it is something where you can pick and choose what goes into the frame. Custom image making? Photo-compositing. I think it's been game changing for photographers who do editorial work and other contract work. There just isn't enough time to wait for the right conditions anymore, not with the cost of doing the job. The client needs the image to sell/promote/feature/communicate something strongly, and the visual has to be precise. Editing ensures there are no flaws, and that's game-changing. I hadn't thought of it as Dave mentioned, updating images for events when folks couldn't make it or something like that, to include them in an important moment. That's very worthwhile! Otherwise, I am of the mind that you have to get the image you want. I think editing software is useful in making the slight adjustments for getting an image nearer to what the eye might see, but in terms of changing composition and removing things from view, I won't do it. I'm very what-you-see-is-what-you-get. I kind of think that's the point–either that's a shot I want to take, or it isn't, once I frame it up. If me moving around, or moving the camera doesn't remove an obstacle I want out of the shot, doesn't make the shot more interesting to me, I pass on the shot. This is what I'm seeing, so either I want to reproduce it or I don't. What are my intentions? The only other time I get into editing software is when I PLAY with it, which is to say that the image doesn't look anything remotely like what it did, because I went all in on a few options, just to see what it would look like, something really abstract and cool (futuristic or theatrical) just experimentation. Do I love the street views with no signs or poles or ugly electric circuit boxes? Yes. But then why am I needing a photo of that street? Maybe I should find another street. Or just keep moving. There is no perfection. Well, I guess some places really do look amazing, don't they? That's why when I travel, I was into buying small, softcover (lightweight!) picture books to bring home. They were locally made and always had amazing images, the kind either I couldn't/wouldn't get, maybe because it was a different season, or I wasn't hanging out of a helicopter (or now, no drone) etc. My pictures looked like it looked when I was there. I work on getting the image the usual way, lighting/comp/depth of field/speed etc... and sometimes just shoot whatever, see what happens. But I love what I see in the photography sphere that can be created with design software, bringing in elements of not just other images, but also graphics, painting, drawing etc. Creating is awesome, and it's amazing to see what's possible. I think it's great that there are ways to make the image you want. Should the edits be disclosed? I guess that's the question. Sort of like the old discussion a number of years back about airbrushing (PhotoShop) especially in fashion/cosmetics images that were heavily altered, but it was never disclosed and the high ideal set was not real, a lie. That's not the same as changing a sky though, is it? Sometimes, with a good eye, it's easy to spot the PhotoShop, some people are Rembrandt with it and you can barely notice. Sometimes it's good to just be in awe of a beautiful image. For everyone it will be different, how they see their images, what they want to create, and how they like to create using the available tools. Kind of cool. 😎📸🪄 Also, I really can't stand PhotoShop, 😂 of all the Adobe programs, it's my least favorite, but I love many others a lot. (No one asked, I know...) Great discussion, thanks for posting! Colleen

Now that's a portrait 😍🤩 Pretty amazing for "nothing fancy" and a basic edit. You and the Sony captured a great image. It's just about getting that shot, and you did. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the thoughtful and insightful post! It's really helpful to share the pros and cons on some important factors for anyone considering investing in a camera for travel and beyond. These are truly some wonderful starting points for folks to consider when thinking about making the investment, to buy new or used (great pitch for used, and I concur as do many pros) and to buy pro-level bodies or elevated non-pro cameras, which have options to use in ways that mimic pro cameras and produce phenomenal results. I think it's also important to talk about the size/volume of the camera... this was something that was critical for me. The bigger bodies on the more sophisticated cameras, I simply cannot handle; just too bulky for my hands, and even with today's lighter weight material, all rigged up, just too heavy. Above all for me, I am a mirrorless purist, but it just works out a better fit for me physically. I too think the Canons are amazing, but there are some others that do well. Love, love the smartphone tips and also would add to search for podcasts with pros talking tips. They will help you convert your already decent smartphone shots into next level striking images. Listening to these podcasts, they pointed out things that were "hidden" on prior iPhones, which helped me do long exposures and create images with intentional camera movements (ICM). Bunch of other cool things too, prior to each equipment camera upgrade. Adobe also has free short videos for Lightroom, that break things down by tools/task (some YouTube videos are better than others) not every one is a great teacher, but some are. Dan Walter Scott (might be Adobe instructor, can't recall) is a kiwi who is excellent and easy to listen to; his intro videos are free and a great start. Adobe makes Lightroom. So having fun editing/playing with RAW images can also help you make the necessary adjustments to bring an image to as close as it looked with your eye, and or make adjustments that can do detailed adjustments, or let you get very creative with something out of the ordinary. Don't want to use Adobe, all good. The in-phone programs these days mimic a lot of the same tools, as do some other camera apps, which either cost the same or less. No plans to promote anything at all here... Lightroom is more or less the industry standard, kind of like in the old days with Kodak film... even though yes, we know lots of photographers loved their particular films. 😉 Just kind of using Lightroom here as a catch-all term for editing software, not an endorsement or ad. But research and read about an editing program before you buy or subscribe! And if you are wondering about RAW images, don't worry. Plenty of videos cover what you need to know, which for the moment is just that it's an uncompressed image file (large) which will take up space, but with which you have the most room/potential to make edits/adjustments. Once you've done the editing, you can compress the file (jpg, tiff, pdf) to save space. I'm running on now, but I got kind of amped by the previous post. I'm using Fujifilm mirrorless and iPhone 13Pro and love them. And I'm forever still working on it/learning...long ago my first classes were analog, which I'm glad I learned, including developing and processing. It would be awesome to try medium or large format... maybe sometime. Thanks again for the awesome post. Anyone wanting to chime in with suggestions for videos, podcasts, tips etc, lessons learned, please do. : :)

Silly me. You know what? My friend's daughter lived in Tauranga after they first got married, so I was sending holiday cards to Tauranga before they moved back to Christchurch. It's stuck on my brain.😂 And I visited Taronga while in Sydney. Amazing place, but wandering in the Blue Mountains was something altogether different, at least for this concrete city dweller. Sorry I got my southern hemisphere reference points all mixed up. There's truly no place like it on earth it is/was unforgettable. I feel lucky to have visited for a good long stretch. What a dream it would be to get back. Who knows?

You could reach out to the Photographic Center Northwest in Seattle, a nonprofit organization centered on producing exhibits, events, education and more, mostly all free in the city. The organization I've been with for many years, also a nonprofit, has collaborated with them on free public art projects, which is how I learned about them...(I'm not in the NW). They've had the same staff for years. Since they're passionate about all things photography, I reckon they might be able to provide some thoughts or recommendations on places to look in Seattle for obtaining the kit you're looking for. No doubt they are working with artists all the time who frequently rent kit for shoots and projects, so they'd be familiar with area vendors. Who knows, if you pay for your rental and have it shipped to their center, it's quite likely they'll hold it for you there to pick up. Keeps it in a place that's familiar with handling the equipment, is a smaller familiar group than a hotel, and solely focused on photography. Likely the kit rental shops would be very familiar with Photographic Center Northwest too. Maybe email them and ask? Can't hurt. Keep us posted! 🙂

We generally let posts with links to news articles stay on the forum, and thanks for raising the concern. It's important!! Best practice when posting a link is to include the publication name, name of the person who wrote the piece, and or lead photo (if the image is featuring prominently in the post). Doing so helps to avoid any misunderstanding that the creator is the owner of the content, not Cruise Critic, nor the person posting the link. A link inside a post that does not solicit any form of payment or type of business counts as Fair Use Exclusion, wherein private people can share published material without infringing on the rights of creators. Yes, Cruise Critic is a business, but not actively promoting the contents of previously published material and representing it as CC content, for example in a link on a piece written by a Cruise Critic editor. Can't do that. Information sharing is important and there are guidelines for doing so. It is complex, so if in doubt, leave out the link and write the name of where you read the article... a quick search and it's on your screen. Publication paywalls are part of that story, but not one we need to get into here. 😉

Not entirely sure, tbh!! Your bio says Sydney and that's one of the most incredible zoos I've ever visited. But so were the Blue Mountains, where one is just walking among free roaming, unique, and dazzling creatures. Unforgettable and spectacular. Also, coming from one of the biggest, densest cities in the world, my mind just defaults to zoo, sad to say. The Bronx Zoo has a great reptile house, but the residents of that building don't otherwise have local addresses. 😂

It's not easy to spot foxes, and this life-long city dweller never saw one until a few years ago, driving in what to me is a country area (most people call it suburbs) and a fox ran across the road in the daytime. I was so excited! Same when I saw a skunk in the park. I know folks are laughing, but when you spend all your life in a place with no critters running around except squirrels, and the occasional squished raccoon or possum, spotting these creatures not inside a zoo is something. Thanks Terry and to everyone sharing their incredible images from home or away. Glad to see new equipment and smartphones alike getting worked out, and sharing the results here. Helps so much for everyone prepping their camera kits for upcoming cruises or land journeys, to see actual images from various cameras/lenses or phones, talk technique, tips, etc. to preserve travel experiences and memories, and keep those stories & feelings with long after the actual experience. 🙂 Colleen

Did you spot this looker at Tauranga or, you know, just in the garden/park as one does in Aussie? Not sure they were keen on being paparazzi'd while out sunning.... 😂 Great shot!

It sounds ominous (there's something similar for Australia) and truth be told, everywhere anyone should only ever be carrying their own prescribed and over the counter medications. And if that's all you're traveling with, you'll encounter no problems whatsoever. I think this comes down to break downs in communication over time that have simply never been clarified. While it may be apparent to most of us that we would only ever carry what we need, inspectors are trained and know what to look for in situations where things aren't ordinary. Enjoy your holiday.

Really, the best thing to do is post messages in a forum online so that people living in that place will see it before you arrive and can offer advice and suggestions. I've done this many times for folks sailing in/out of NYC, wondering which side of the ship to be on, because I lived just by the Verrazano Bridge in NYC, where every ship and tanker would pass under. Easy answer for me, to anyone that might be on a ship, I've been on a boat in those waters and lived all my life there. For example, I work part time in an office near this place in DUMBO, Brooklyn (just old iPhone shots) where just about everyone comes to take photos for whatever (weddings, fashion shoots, selfies, tourists, who knows) the one on in b/w was taken standing in the middle of Washington Street, probably on Water Street. The Photo in color was taken while standing in Brooklyn Bridge Park, entering on Jay Street and walking along the path towards the bridge. The subway (A, F or 1) gets you into the area, and a short walk puts you walking/cycling, over, under, alongside, or riding by subway over (or driving like me) either the Brooklyn or Manhattan Bridge (that's the Manhattan Bridge below), the Brooklyn Bridge is very close by, to the south. So, for example, you could place a post anywhere (including on our Ports boards) or on social media, like Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, and ask where might be an interesting place to take photos, one that is (or is not) overrun by visitors. And it's quite fine if you do want the beautiful building framed Manhattan Bridge on Washington St image. Just be prepared to wait a while, unless it's an early week day. Why am I centering on NYC? It's/was home most of my life. Still very close now. So whether it's a sail-in/out or shore-ex, find a place, either here or on social media, to ask locals where they would go to take cool photos. Would I go to Times Square? Not likely, but it's always here. Which streets or avenues do you want to walk to? That we can help you with. And we do love helping everyone, even if it may not seem like it. ❤️

Piece by Ryan Gray

Welcome, we hope you'll visit us here, among other places, on CruiseCritic.com So cool that you and Dave met on the Holiday cruise (what time zone was the NYE countdown taking place?) and thanks to @pierces for the shoutout, as well as the wonderful weekly photo of the week topic! Can't wait to see what we see in '23! Happy New Year 🎆 🎉 Colleen

And this is another way to make an impact on what is seen over there... 😉 (There's definitely quality on this forum!)

Thanks for sharing this interesting piece by Katie Wickers from the Daily Mail Terry!! 🙂

And you definitely want this for intercity, I will never not get on an Italian train without a seat reservation again. Ever. Unless it's like, you have to go now, with no warning, and then I'd bring a hard suitcase, if only to use it as a seat. That's an amazing price. Enough jam packed rides (with the random partial or weekend strike effect) to know better now. 😉 Bag of cookies is always nice too.

I can always ask our Community Manager, but having been a host in the CC family for about 25 years (going back to the AOL days when we were on the travel channel with a sister site Independent Traveler) I know one priority would be to balance selections from all of the various communities, so in other words, each of the cruise line boards, various topics, roll calls, etc. Another thing that has always been one of, if not the highest priority here are all of our members: YOU! Making sure everyone feels seen, welcome, part of the community, so trying to include new and veteran members alike, meaning it's not all about how many posts you've got or how long you've been around, though we love our ride or die CC'ers! 😉 What's super important for editors is storytelling. Some photos convey a very clear image that does not require much conjecture; other images, even one we wonder, why that one, can get folks wondering, what's it about? What am I supposed to think about this? Is it interesting, what's going on, should I care? Some photos just are this way, like signs, words, anything we see. Sometimes some people like it, sometimes they don't. The numbers can shift in terms of a majority of yeahs and nays, but it's almost never 100% one way or the other, is it? And I see it even in the work I do, a nonprofit centered around visual storytelling (photography mostly) where sometimes it's esteemed people making images that, for whatever reason, I'm not understanding... why am I seeing this image? And so I asked about certain images/artists being selected; different opinions and definitely other influences at times. It's complicated. Kind of like in life. But a lot of the time, they're pretty amazing, you see it, you know what's happening, and maybe why it's interesting/special/different and worth stopping to look at. Other times? Well, it's also ok to just say without judgement, thanks for making the picture, I'm on to the next one. What's most important is for everyone to make their pictures for their reasons and enjoy doing it without worrying about the outcome whatsoever. (Unless the client is paying, in which case, it kind of matters!) So here at CC, we love that everyone is taking photos and sharing them. That's why this board is here, for folks who are into it just a little bit more, or are curious about how to elevate their photos, or their kit, or whatever. And oh do we get to see amazing photos or what??!! I also know this: the editors and community managers see everything we do, so keep it up! We're getting a little busier and I think more people are discovering and enjoying the forum, the phenomenal images and of course, wonderful people. I know I do. 🙂

Always amazed by what everyone posts... from spectacular gingerbread... let's face it, not just homes, but palaces, to the white skirt, to Dave's evening sky... such a treat, and great variety! Thanks everyone. I'm tardy again pinning, I know but thankfully the fun continues no matter... 'tis the season for running around a bit extra. All I do is take pictures and they live in the camera permanently (even on the phone!) maybe one of these days... but please keep them coming everyone 🙂 (And thanks so much!)