Okay, you got me. Paris certainly isn't forgotten. And the Eiffel Tower is probably one of the most recognized structures in the western world. However, I completely forgot I had taken this picture. Just goes to show that it pays to revisit your photographs since that's why you took them.
The last few days I've driven home at sunset and thought how beautiful the area around my house is. Today I got home a little earlier than usual so I grabbed my camera and headed down to the pond to try to take pictures of the ducks. What I thought was going to be a 15 minute outing quickly turned into an hour long venture as I played peek-a-boo with four families of forest friends. Once a upon a time ago I wanted to be a photographer for National Geographic but I don't think I'll be pursuing that dream just yet. Wildlife photography is a lot harder than it looks. Over the course of this hour I learned that (1) a telephoto lens is really hard to balance in low light, and (2) animals don't like to sit still while you fiddle with settings. I also learned that muskrats are evil creatures but more on that later. I had just about finished attempting to focus on moving ducks when a small buck and doe walked out to the edge of the pond. Of course by that time it was dark enough and far enough that very few of my pictures came out. A muskrat has taken up residence in the pond and taunted me by submerging just as I focused a frame and finally reappearing at the exact spot I was sitting as I headed home. Out of 99 pictures I ended up with 12 keepers. I was so frustrated especially because I had so many good frames that didn't come out in focus. Even though I managed to shoot my first deer (and it's bigger than my brother's first), I plan on going back soon when there's a little more light, and maybe a box to hold my camera steady.
Sunset
The Ducks
My First Buck
Little Buck and a Little Doe
I really wanted a close up of a froggie but I couldn't hold the camera still enough
I found out about these discoing water jets through two of my sorority sisters. The fountain in front of the Palau Nacional comes to life at dusk on the weekends and boogies to sounds of "Call Me Maybe," "Circle of Life," "Chariots of Fire," and many many more complete with light display. The Fountain was built in the 1920s for the international exposition in Barcelona, and revamped for the Olympics in 1992 but still uses most of it's original plumbing. The website I found said there was a show every 30 mins from 9pm -11pm. I knew it was going to be packed by 9pm so we tried to get there early with the fall back plan of hanging around until 9:30 or 10:00 to take advantage of better spots when people left between shows.
Only problem with that idea was that people didn't leave between shows. Over the course of three or four playlists we slowly were able to negotiate the crowds, throwing the occasional elbow, until we secured a clear vantage point. In the mean time I was careening my camera all over the place trying to capture the show without also highlighting somebody's bad-hairdo. In the end, we managed to escape the swarm of cranky, camera-welding spectators and trolling pickpockets with both our wallets and some good pictures.
