No Photoshop, No Filter Mediocre Travel Pictures

I am bored of looking at professional pictures with ultra high saturated colours and hours of post processing done on them; some how takes the fun out of memory associated with the picture. This is my attempt get desensitized to all that.

I like to capture the passing moment in mediocre but personalized pictures that are meant to help me re-live the memory.

I try to capture the vibe of the place and our mood while we were there. I focus on getting the composition right. I try to make sure the photo is lit just like how it was at that place at that moment. I try to get the focal point and depth of focus just right so the photo tells the right story. I just have two rules: No photoshop, no filters (except for the trusty polarizing filter). The end result is that the pictures look kinda mediocre compared to the ones on travel blogs; but they serve their purpose really well: To take me back on 5 second vacation every time I look at them.

Solin, Croatia

2nd century AD amphitheater where gladiators fought to death. Totally appropriate for a romantic picture, right?…. right?

Happened to click this at the last few golden minutes before sunset. I did absolutely nothing for this picture except get the focal point and depth of focus just the way I wanted.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Wife got the hat in Dubrovnik cos it was too sunny, and I hated it. So off course we have a picture of it. :)

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Budapest, Hungary

Prague, Czeck Republic

Kutna Hora, Czech Republic

Berlin Wall, Germany

It was so cold in Berlin, the only thing my wife and I could do to stay outdoors was get drunk. Here she is trying to out stupid me.

I broke my no post processing rule by applying the selective filter in DSLR effects menu; atleast its not photoshop.

Henry Ford Village, Detroit, USA

The building was supposed to be a replica an old British home. Thick walls and small windows make for little light.

Kept the exposure low to capture the dark and dingy interiors and the single light source of the room. My dad and my wife happened to strike the exact same pose.

Alpine pacific traingle, South Island, NewZealand

Best honeymoon place ever. We felt like we were the only two people in the whole world. Some times hours would go by before seeing a third person.

This spot we stopped at had a completely flat featureless river bed/valley amidst pretty big hills. So I tried to get a low shot to capture both.

Alpine pacific highway, South Island, NewZealand

Kutna Hora, Czech Republic

Broke the rule and went with selective red filter again. I might add this as a permanent exception to my no processing rule.

Prague, Czech Republic

Prague historic destrict was full of buildings that have too small a foot print for their height. When you are on the top the entire block looks like a miniature set.

I was tempted to add the tilt shift miniature effect to the picture, but it would take away from what I want the picture to say: It looks like a miniature set to the naked eye, with out any special effects.

Kutna Hora, Czech Republic

Budapest, Hungary

We visited Budapest during Christmas time and I was so badly looking forward to click some pictures of the trams with lights, but the year I went, the trams had no lights. Dang it!

The best I could do was to capture a moving tram against a stationary wife. I made her stand at that exact spot, that exact pose for 7 full minutes in sub zero temperatures until a tram came along. She never said, but I am pretty sure she was contemplating filing charges of abuse.

Shutter speed: 1/6s. Its surprisingly hard to stand motionless for such a short time.

Prague, Czech Republic

Was trying to figure what is the best way to capture the gothic arches and this is what I came up with. If you have any more ideas, let me know.

Middle of now where, Indiana, USA

Clicked at late hours of a very foggy evening. Very gloomy atmosphere. To add to the gloominess, wife and I had a fight.

The dead tree and the barn straight out of an apocalypse movie were perfect personification of how I was feeling that day.

Budapest, Hungary

The idea was to capture each reflection of the crosses on each coloumn of wind panes.

Kutna Hora, Czech Republic

Dark Dingy church full of real human skull and bones. Do you feel the dread? do you?

Budapest, Hundary

Overcast day in Budapest; it felt like we were looking at the world through a redish yellow filter. Tried to replicate the original lighting.

Wife was pissed off cos I skipped the bus and made her walk up the hill in freezing temperatures just so I can take pictures.

Split, Croatia

Not a sunny day and not overcast either, it was white all over. There were no shadows, and felt like diffused lighting so even for the naked eye it was hard to get a feel for the texture of buildings.

To capture that mood, I over exposed the picture by a couple of stops to reduce the contrast as much as possible and make it seem monotonic.

Budapest, Hungary

Most European cities I have been to have a lot less lighting than American cities. That helps buildings like these to stand out. In American cities like Chicago, NY, the lights become the subject. Here the lighting is subtle and casts the right shadows to accentuate the architecture of the historic buildings.

This picture came out with a lot more “reddish” tinge than how it really was. So picture this, but with more yellowish lights than red.

Kutna Hora, Czech Republic

Most of Czech Republic was very beautiful but too crowded. You never really get a feel for the place; you don’t get a piece of the country’s soul.

Kutna Hora though, was just perfect. Beautiful place but lot lesser crowds. People were just going about living their lives. It felt like you got a true glimpse into what it is like to live in the town, like a silent observer looking through a half opened door.

Budapest, Hungary

Cant remember where exactly, Croatia

Berlin, Germany

Kutna Hora, Czech Republic

Gothic arches again

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