Europe for a Month

Posted on March 25, 2014 by Travel Spirit

You haven’t heard from me for a while because I’ve been busy planning the European trip I mentioned in a past post. In the other post, I gave you information about the first adventure taking trains from Prague–Vienna–Bratislava—Budapest and it occurred to me that I could stay in Europe longer and offer a second trip to another group. I have purchased train tickets to travel from Budapest to Munich for a few days, then an overnight train to Amsterdam for a few days. I’ll be staying in an Airbnb in both locations. Next, I fly from Amsterdam to Copenhagen where I’ll meet the other group for an unforgettable Scandinavian adventure!

We’ll head to Stockholm, Sweden for a few days, then to Oslo, Norway, and finally take the scenic train and boat cruise of the fjords in Norway to Bergen, where we’ll fly home. There will only be four of us for the second portion. I’m so excited!!

My three passions in life are photography, travel, and organizing/minimizing and all of my dreams are coming true! I just helped an elderly couple yesterday with organizing their retirement village home and will be spending a lot more time with them. And…my photography assignments have been coming along. I’m still working with iSPYCINCY and have an upcoming assignment Sunday. I answered a Craigslist ad for a Merchandise photo shoot. My husband went with me because I was going to the man’s apartment in a new area of Cincinnati called “The Banks”. He’s starting a business selling picture frames and wanted some lifestyle photographs of them. Here are a few of them:

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Baby Photography

Posted on March 9, 2014 by Travel Spirit

Baby photography is so rewarding! It’s hard work, but once you’re finished, having beautiful photographs is totally worth it. This is Neveha, my Cousin’s little girl. I couldn’t have picked a better baby for my first baby photo shoot. She was good-natured and beautiful!

I used a pink flowered comforter as a backdrop for some of the photographs. This was her mother’s favorite photograph…

I love her smile in this photograph!

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Model Studio Photography Shoot

Posted on February 26, 2014 by Travel Spirit

I recently had an opportunity to take photographs of a model in a studio setting with lights, etc. Being my first time, I wasn’t sure what to expect. When I arrived, there were other photographers there and since I’m not shy, I took a spot near the center to take some shots. It was a bit confined because if you shot at an upward angle, there was an ugly drop ceiling to contend with and if you were too far to one side or the other, the backdrop disappeared. I had to stand back quite a ways, so as not to get in the way of others, and with the strobe lighting, it was difficult to get really sharp images. Here are some of my favorites…

I like the look on her face here…

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Taking Photographs on the Way to Photography Class

Posted on February 13, 2014 by Travel Spirit

I know what two of my greatest passions in life are…photography and travel! So, it’s no surprise that I couldn’t help but stop to take photographs of the sunset while on the way to photography class…

Trees are so cool…even in winter and I love Churches!

We are swimming in beauty and don’t always see it!

Let’s go to Prague, Vienna, Bratislava, and Budapest!

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Travel Spirit

Planning a trip for yourself is one thing, but when you’re planning for a group of 12, the importance of a solid travel itinerary is essential! I’ve spent over 100 hours planning an 11 night trip for May of this year to Prague, Vienna, Bratislava, and Budapest, traveling from City to City via train. I’m so excited! I’ve longed to visit Eastern Europe and am giving a presentation to my travel meetup group next week, to see who would like to join me! After checking how much other travel companies charge for a very similar trip, my group will be very pleased to discover how economical it will be…at almost half the cost. I plan on staying an extra week to travel to Berlin and Amsterdam and hopefully Couchsurf!

With the weather so cold, its been the perfect time to get all of this planning finished! I took these photos the other morning…

You can barely see the sun peeking through the pine trees here…

I’ll post the itinerary for everyone when we get closer! xoxoxo

Cincy Winter Blues Fest…we’re singin’ the Blues

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Travel Spirit

Saturday evening’s Cincy Winter Blues Fest in Downtown Cincinnati, was held at The Phoenix Hotel, and it was the perfect place! Built in 1893, the majestic Italian Renaissance architecture, high ceilings and wonderful acoustic qualities, and the soulful music, made it a memorable evening. Two ballrooms and two smaller rooms featured 16 bands over the course of the evening and as you can see the lighting was superb!

We wandered from room to room, usually standing, to hear the variety of blues bands singin’ the winter blues. This artist, Janiva Magness, was billed as one of the headliners. Her “tell it like it is” lyrics and seductive performance, made for an entertaining show.

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Jimmy G’s Private Underground After Party

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Travel Spirit

CSO Encore hosted a private underground after party at the exclusive Jimmy G’s restaurant following Colin Currie‘s performance with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Saturday evening and I was there taking photographs for iSPYCINCY!

As usual, my mission was to take a set number of photographs featuring attendees and the event atmosphere. Members of the Cincinnati Ballet were there showing us how it’s done…Salsa style!

I experimented with the various pre-set lighting filters in Lightroom 5…

They were filled with joy and enthusiasm! Such energy!

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21c Museum Hotel and Gilpin’s Steamed Sandwiches

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Travel Spirit

Walking through the 21c Museum Hotel is an experience not to be missed in Cincinnati! Friday night, my friend and I began our evening attending the Art after Dark event at the Cincinnati Art Museum, followed by Final Friday at the Pendleton Art Center in Over the Rhine, and finished the evening with a walk through the trendy 21c Museum Hotel, and a yummy steamed sandwich at Gilpin’s Steamed Sandwiches next door! By the time I got home, it was almost 2:00am! But it was worth it…we had fun.

The next few images are pieces of art you will discover at this boutique hotel…

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Final Friday at Pendleton Art Center

Posted on February 2, 2014 by Travel Spirit

Final Friday at Pendleton Art Center is always a fun and interesting event in Cincinnati. If you read yesterday’s post, you’ll remember I started my evening by attending Art after Dark at the Cincinnati Art Museum with my new friend, Jena. It was a night filled with art and fun! After that I drove to Over the Rhine, where the Pendleton Art Center is located and began looking for a parking spot. I told Jena I felt lucky and drove up a side road next to the Center. Up ahead was a vehicle with its brake lights on, so I pulled alongside, opened Jena’s window and asked the guy behind the wheel if he was leaving. He said he was trying to, but couldn’t get his SUV out of the parking spot. Jena offered to help and stood outside trying to guide him. I could tell we may be there a while, so I put my car in park, jumped out and offered to do it for him. He said, “Sure”. Within 20 seconds I had his vehicle on the road and he thanked us. I then parallel parked in the spot and we were on our way! I know what you’re thinking. That may not have been the safest thing to do, especially in that area of town, but I had a gut feeling that it was OK.

Jena had never been to the Pendleton Art Center and was a bit overwhelmed with how much there was to see on eight levels of the old building! Here are a few my favorites…

Oh…and here’s the beautiful and stylish Jena. She’s my height, 5′ 10″ tall, so it was nice to hang out with another tall lady!

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Art After Dark at the Cincinnati Art Museum

Posted on February 1, 2014 by Travel Spirit

If you’re looking for things to do in Cincinnati, I suggest stopping by the Cincinnati Art Museum for their monthly Art After Dark event. A new friend and I made that our first stop last night and enjoyed watching the salsa dancing and wandering from room to room to view paintings, sculpture and other types of art on display. If you’d like to avoid the $4.00 parking fee, and don’t mind walking 3-5 minutes, there’s a free lot for use.

Upon arrival, I noticed Pinocchio with his arms reaching towards the sky, as if in wonder…

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First Attempt at Capturing Cincinnati Skyline at Night

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Travel Spirit

Last night after giving the second part of my African presentation to my Travel Spirit Meetup group, I was driving home, took a wrong turn and ended up at the river. I’ve been wanting to get some photographs of the Cincinnati skyline at night, so I took the opportunity and set up my tripod, while my car was still running, pulled over to the side of the road. My settings were on F8, 6 secs., and 100 ISO. I didn’t have my remote with me so I used the 2 second timer. They’re not quite as clear as I’d like, although it’s a good first attempt. It may have been because I still had my internal stabilizer switched on.

I think it was a good reminder that we need to be flexible when we’re traveling through life when opportunities present themselves!

Next, I want to take a bracketed or HDR photo with my Nikon!

Using Husband as Model for Photo Shoot

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Travel Spirit

My husband graciously agreed to be my model for a quick photo shoot over the weekend. I took about 15 photos and narrowed it down to these three. It’s fun using Lightroom 5 for editing and the creativity involved…

This photo is my favorite. I call it “Nanook”…

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Pet Photography — “My cat is so pretty”

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Travel Spirit

I think my Cat, “Kate” is so photogenic and I don’t think I’m biased! She loves me and I love her! We trained her to go in and out of the doggie door to use the restroom! At night, she’s able to roam around the living room and nap in her bed that I placed on top of a high table. We keep our bedroom door shut and every morning, sometimes as early as 4:00am, she would come to the door and meow to get me up. Now, I have a large piece of foam insulation board blocking the hallway.

I love my dog Jake too…but it’s more difficult to get good shots of him!

Replace Complaints with Gratitude

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Travel Spirit

Everyone is complaining about the snow…but I still think it is so beautiful! Here are some photographs I’ve taken in the last few days in my yard with a variety of light. Let’s replace the complaints with gratitude…

Shortly after sunrise this morning…

An hour later…

I pray that homeless people find shelter during this extreme cold! Make it a great day!

Still Life Photography Fun

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Travel Spirit

I’m doing my taxes today and wanted a distraction for a bit, so I took some still life photography of a few items around my home. I took the shots with the sunlight streaming in through the glass paneled front doors. This was my favorite…apples in liquid…