The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi

Today I chose an interior shot from the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. It really is an impressive structure. Outside and inside. And you can take photos, which is just great.

But it’s also quite difficult for me to edit photos from here. Never sure how they should look. There is a mix of natural, yellow, and white (a bit bluish) lights all over the place. And on top of it, most of it is white or shades of grey. I never know if I should leave it more yellow-colored or push it more white. But in the end, usually, I wouldn’t say I like both. So this is somewhere in the middle.

For those curious, this is a three-shot vertorama, taken with a 17mm Tilt-Shift lens. Each shot from 3 exposures, blended in Photoshop. I also used the Generative Fill to remove a few people. Yes, it’s not really that empty.

The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, UAE

Where the ships are docked

Let’s change the country again. So for today, let’s visit Portugal. To be exact, this is the small town of Barca de Alva. It’s right at the border of Portugal and Spain, and it’s also a turning point for many river cruise ships that cruise on the river Douro in Portugal.

I took this photo while staying on one of those ships. It was a very hot summer night and I took a walk across the bridge (Ponte Almirante Sarmento Rodrigues) to get a bit of fresh air and enjoy the calm evening. The bridge also looks very nice, with its reflection, which you can see in this photo.

This is a blend of three exposures, done in Photoshop. It’s not really a panorama, as I cropped it down. I found the sky a bit boring and like this, the composition works just better.

Where the ships are docked, Barca De Alva, Portugal

Love locks in Amsterdam

Let’s do a bit simpler photo today. So no panorama, no HDR, just a single exposure (that I of course split into two and blend them back together :)). These are some love locks I found on one of the side streets in Amsterdam. I was taking a photo of the reflection in the background, and I thought it would look nice as a foreground element.

I’m wondering. Is the trend to put these love locks on every bridge, and sometimes even statues and other monuments, still alive, or it’s gone? Have not seen anyone doing it in a very long time.

Love locks in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Vision Pro

So what did you think about the WWDC 2023 presentation? I think it was ok, but not impressed by many things. Of course, I already installed all the beta updates, and I really like the Snoopy watch face. But other than that, all the updates were very iterative, like Apple is scared to do drastic changes. It’s a bit depressing that the overall UI of smartphones (and also PCs) have not changed in over 15 years. I can’t believe that there is no possible advance in this field. I do miss Windows Mobile, as that was just better. But given how Apple just keeps taking things from it (and Android) every time, it will be there one day.

Same with the Vision Pro. Looks really impressive, but I saw it all when Microsoft introduced Hololens years ago. Yes, it’s more refined, and it has more power, but no surprise there. Technology advanced since then. But I have not seen any new use cases at all. Let’s see how a 2nd or 3rd generation is if they ever make one.

Blue hour at the Matthias Church

Let’s move to another country today, to Hungary, with a photo of the Mathias Church in Budapest. You can actually also see a part of the Fisherman’s Bastion here, as I was standing on top of it while taking this photo. There is a walkway you can use, so it is easy to get there. And you don’t have to pay in the evening.

This is a two-shot vertorama, combined in Photoshop. I did have to clean up a few people, using the Generative Fill in Photoshop (beta). It really is helpful.

Blue hour at the Matthias Church, Budapest, Hungary

WWDC 2023

What are your plans today? Mine is to watch the WWDC 2023 presentation from Apple. As you may have seen in my Desk Setup post I use quite a few Apple devices currently, so it’s nice to see what’s coming up. I’m especially curious about the AR/VR glasses, as all the ones I tried until now made me dizzy. Maybe they thought of something that fixes this. And I also like to use the beta version of all the software. Not even sure when was the last time I had a regular final version installed on any of my PCs or mobile devices. Maybe I’m just used to it since I work in software development years ago.

Are you gonna watch the presentation too?

A nice city walk in Paris

Let’s stay with another photo in Paris today, at a spot not that far from where yesterday’s photo was taken. It was taken during a nice city walk one Autumn day. You can’t even say it was already September, it was so nice. To get to this spot, you have to go from the Pont de Bir Hakeim (Bri Hakeim bridge) towards the Eiffel Tower.

I took three exposures for this photo but ended up using only one. As it was windy that day, the trees and ships just moved too much, to get a sharp photo. But since the contrast was not that huge, I could recover everything from a single exposure. Still, it’s always better to have multiple, in case one needs them.

A nice city walk in Paris, Eiffel Tower, France
Page 2 of 3123
FREE EBOOK!!!
Subscribe to my newsletter and get a free Capturing fireworks ebook. 
Subscribe