Warnemunde, Germany [Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]IT PROBABLY seems a little bit of a misnomer, to start a “Baltic” cruise, in Amsterdam. I think the primary reason for that is that our cruise lines (Generally Celebrity or Princess, but I expect HAL and NCL probably also) originate a lot of their cruises out of Amsterdam. Our British Isles cruise in 2019 – though it originated in Dublin, Ireland – finished in Amsterdam. This time we started and finished in Amsterdam. But, situated just north of the English Channel on The North Sea, it is a long way to the Baltic Sea. Our route took us through the “North Sea Canal” all the way west and into the North Sea, which took a couple hours. Photographically, I totally blew this one. I should have researched a little better. We left in the afternoon and the landscape was beautifully lit. There was a lot of interesting photographic potential off the ship, and I essentially missed the opportunity. But I was socializing with some of our newfound friends and really didn’t pay enough attention to this. We came back in during the nighttime hours. If we do it again, I will be ready.
North Sea Passage Amsterdam, Netherlands [Copyright Andy Richards 2022]ONCE IN the North Sea, it is a long trek up and around Denmark and back down into the Baltic. Consequently, our first day was “at sea.” By the time we got into scenery around Denmark, it was night again. My first photographic opportunity came in the morning, as we made our first port, Warnemunde, Germany.
Starboard Pier Light; Warnemunde, Germany Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved
IT TURNS out that that was probably the best part of Warnemunde. For sure it was the best part photographically. I have noted in prior posts that one advantage to the larger cruise ships is that they afford a nice high vantage point from the top deck, making for unique photographic opportunities that cannot be made from the ground. And often the advantage from the cruise ship is an uncluttered, clear view.
Lighthouse Warnemunde, Germany [Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]IN WARNEMUNDE this was especially good, as the lighthouses and the Ferris wheel present significant perspective challenges from ground-level. From the ship, I got some shots I liked. I especially appreciated being able to frame the church within the Ferris wheel.
Warnemunde, Germany [Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]THE STATELY old lighthouse in town is pretty photogenic, and now is right in the middle of a plaza near the beach promenade. Designed by Friedrich Kerner, it replaced an older “storm lamp” in 1898. I was able to get an o.k. photograph of it from the ground level with my standard “kit” zoom at about 35mm equivalent. Photoshop’s perspective correction tools work wonders on shots like this (but perspective issues are still evident to the experienced eye).
Warnemunde Light Warnemunde, Germany [Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]WARNEMUNDE IS essentially a very small, but busy, beach resort which is popular with Germans. The nearest city is Rostock. The cruise line touts this stop as “Warnemunde; for Berlin.” There is an express train that goes from right at the cruise port into Berlin. But it is a 3-hour or more train ride each way. To us, it didn’t make sense to spend 6 hours out of a port stop that was barely twice that duration, traveling. We didn’t feel that we would get the most out of Berlin. Someday, we will travel there – but it will be by air or land and will involve a multiple day stay.
Train to Berlin Warnemunde, Germany [Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]A LOT of people also took transportation (bus or train) to nearby Rostock. There is a university there, as well as some museums. Again, we didn’t see anything about it in the literature that really excited us, and we knew before the cruise that we would probably be getting off the ship and walking around the little town and re-boarding. This didn’t figure to be a “major” stop for us.
Commercial Tour Boat along the canal (note the name: a sure thing to make the kids laugh – though actually the word in German means something like “went” or “traveled” 🙂 ) [Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]BUT I had read about the canal coming into town, with boats, bars and restaurants. I had also read about and seen photos of the beach and the wide, nice promenade that parallels the beach. The best view of the beach, in my opinion, is shown in the very top image here, coming into the port. As you can see, this is a rather affluent beach/vacation spot which caters to tourism.
Along the Canal Warnemunde, Germany [Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]WE WALKED down the canal, over to the promenade, down to the beach, and “people-watched” for a while. I found a few photos. But I still think the best were from the cruise ship.
Promenade Warnemunde, Germany [Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]Canal lined with boats Warnemunde, Germany [Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]TOPOGRAPHICALLY, ANOTHER interesting point about this port is that it is in a wide canal that goes all the way to Rostock. There appears to be one bridge over the canal, about half-way between Warnemunde and Rostock. But there is quite a residential development directly east and across the canal from the main downtown area of Warnemunde. We saw a lot of this throughout this entire trip. The most common way to get back and forth is by ferry. I watched the small car/bike/pedestrian ferry with interest from the ship deck for quite a while.
Canal Ferry Warnemunde, Germany [Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]I MADE one final image as we walked back toward the port and reboarded our ship. It gives some perspective on how small Warnemunde is. We looked forward to “more” from the upcoming stops.
Celebrity Apex Warnemunde, Germany [Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]
Nyhavn; Copenhagen, Denmark [Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]FOLLOWING OUR marvelous trip to Portugal and May-June, we made our now-traditional visit back to Michigan. Most of my family are in Michigan. Having had my career, living and raising our family in Michigan, we have also made a lot of wonderful friends there. With those connections, we spend about 2 weeks every July back in Michigan. That’s family/friends time, and I rarely produce any serious photography. But our next trip abroad, and “photographic” venue came in August.
Along came “Putin’s War”
BACK IN 2021, we had scheduled an “Iceland and Ireland” cruise. Then the pandemic changed everything. That cruise was cancelled, and we re-booked something similar, which was, in-turn cancelled. This pattern recurred for about 4 cruises, until we finally landed on the “Baltic” cruise. It seemed like it would be fun. For one thing, we would be back cruising again. But it would also take us to some new places we hadn’t been before. There was one stop that really had my interest though: St. Petersburg, Russia. I had certainly read and heard over the years about the fantastic layout and architecture of the city. The ship was due to overnight in St. Petersburg, so that was clearly the highlight of the cruise.
Amsterdam is not only a busy and strategic Ocean Cruise Terminal, but also hosts a robust River Cruising presence [Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]THEN ALONG came Putin’s War (and from everything I can see, it is his – and his war alone). Most of us “get” things like Covid 19 (even though we don’t necessarily understand it and certainly don’t like it). I try to avoid politics and controversy here. But this isn’t really politics. This is humanity we are talking about. And what is unfathomable to me is how one deranged human being can have so much control over his own country – and indeed over the world. Putin’s folly has had the inexcusable result of tragic loss of life, liberty and property for so many of the great and resilient people of The Ukraine (as well as other direct and indirect participants – including children!). Yet day after day, there he sits on this throne, with apparently zero concern for anyone but himself. He is – in my view – a despicable excuse for a human being. I want to be clear that this “rant” is not because I am pissed that he messed up my St. Petersburg stop. To be sure, I – like many other cruisers – was disappointed. Indeed over 50% of those scheduled for this cruise cancelled because St. Petersburg was dropped from the itinerary. No, I am just plain old pissed – no more or less than I would have been if the cruise had never been scheduled. But since it was, I have noted that if the cruise line had not dropped the stop, then we would have cancelled. I refuse to spend any money in a country that is led by such an evil, narcissist. O.k. I am done. For now, anyway. 😦
Two of numerous modes of public transportation in Amsterdam [Copyright Andy Richards 2022]WE NEVER really considered cancelling the cruise. We wanted to get back out there, especially on our favorite cruise line (Celebrity). And, we have learned by experience that wherever we go and whoever is there, we make new friends and have unforgettable experiences. This cruise would be no exception. Over the next several posts, we will see what I was able to find and photograph in the Baltic.
Boats along a Canal; Amsterdam, Netherlands [Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]THOUGH THE cruise was to ports in the Baltic Sea, we started from Amsterdam. If the starting port is at (or reasonably near) a city we are interested in spending some time in, we usually will fly in a few days early. These days, given the “new world order” of travel after the pandemic, there is another reason to do that. Flight delays and cancellations have become much more common. In some instances, there have also been a higher incidence of baggage problems. Two or 3 days (minimum) gives us a better chance of those issues sorting out. It is always good to remember that the ship leaves the port on schedule and waits for no one.
Amsterdam, Netherlands [Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]WE ARRIVED in Amsterdam on Thursday morning and boarded our ship on Saturday morning. That meant 2 days this trip. We had been to Amsterdam before. While we are aware that it is a large city and there is a lot to do, we had seen many of the sights previously. We had one “important” thing we wanted to do, which was to see the Ann Frank house. We had booked that tour for Friday afternoon. That morning, we took a “Free Walking Tour” of the Jewish Quarter. This was great, as it really put the Ann Frank story into perspective. The only other thing that I would like to do in Amsterdam is to take one of the tours out into the old canals and see the traditional cottages and windmills. Interestingly, though we didn’t see any traditional windmills, I was surprised to see the many modern wind turbines throughout this part of the world.
Windmill; Amsterdam, Netherlands [Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]BEFORE WE got moving for our tours on Friday, I did my usual early morning walk around, armed with my Olympus m4/3 camera and 3 lenses (I now had a wide angle – 9-18mm – zoom, and a longer – 40-150mm – zoom in the bag, along with the “pancake” 14-42mm). Having acquired the 40-150mm (80-300 “full frame” equivalent) prior to the Portugal trip, I realized then that I could really use a wider lens for some of the city shooting. So before this trip, I picked up the 9-18mm zoom. I carried and used it quite a bit for this trip. I would make one more lens change/acquisition after this trip and before the next – to make up what I think is my best (given currently available m4/3 glass) travel setup. This was my third major trip carrying this gear as my primary travel camera setup. I am pretty happy with it.
greyAmsterdam, Netherlands [Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]HAVING SPOTTED a Starbucks between our hotel and the City Center, I first walked over there. From there, I walked around the immediate area and took as much advantage as I could of the early light. One of the things I was immediately reminded of (having observed it on my 2019 visit here) was how bicycle-centric Amsterdam is. You see them everywhere, both parked and in motion. They have a very sophisticated (and often dedicated) bike lane system, even incorporating their own traffic signals in busy areas. If you are out walking around, it is worth noting that cyclists often do not obey these traffic signs. When crossing it pays to not only look for vehicular traffic but watch for bicycles as well!
Amsterdam Jewish Quarter [Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]JEWISH SETTLEMENT in Amsterdam dates back to the late 1500’s. I probably began with the Sephardic Jews (exiled from Spain to Portugal and then from Portugal to Netherlands). Netherlands was known not only for its progressive attitudes, but its tolerance and religious freedoms, even back then. In fact, in the early 1600’s the Jewish occupants of were awarded Amsterdam citizenship (although certain rights were still limited). Synagogues were built and trading thrived. Some of the Jewish population became some of Amsterdam’s wealthiest citizens. The settlement grew to over 80,000 Jewish inhabitants by 1940 (there were 140,000 Jews throughout the Netherlands).
Holocaust Memorial Tags Amsterdam [Copyright Andy Richards 2022]WHILE I kind of promised I was done with my rant above, I cannot help but draw comparisons to the events leading up to WWII. The parallels of an evil and twisted man, small in both physical and emotional stature, who rose to power in the late 1920’s and 1930’s, to the Russian man excoriated above are startling! While Germany at the time may have been ripe for his rise to power, it probably started as much with our 1929 stock market crash and “Great Depression” here in the U.S. as anything. Depression quickly spread to Europe and particularly to Germany, paving the way for Hitler. And perhaps the hallmark of his gestalt was his hatred for the Jews. I was struck by this quote, from JewishHistory.org:
“The rise and fall of Adolf Hitler is one of the most terrible, dramatic and unbelievable stories in history. He dealt in death in such boxcar numbers, and so irrevocably altered civilization, that it is impossible for the ordinary human being to fathom how so much evil could exist and be perpetrated essentially by a single person”
SOUND FAMILIAR to anyone else? Scary familiar, in my view. The best news is that – at least as I write this – “Hitler Jr.” is not really having the success he hoped for. But it hasn’t prevented the 1000’s of innocent deaths and loss of billions due to wanton destruction. At any rate, as Hitler began his quest to dominate all of Europe, many Jews fled to Amsterdam, hoping for safe-haven. The Nazis invasion and occupation of Amsterdam in 1940, crushed that hope. Hitler systematically began censuring, then removing their rights, and eventually, removing them to the Nazi concentration camps. Eventually, over 75% of Jews from the Netherlands were killed. The story is heartbreaking. Along the walks near the canal in the district, there are hundreds of small brass plaques commemorating the deaths of those who were taken away. Some made it back. Most did not. There are now numerous memorials to the Holocaust, including the reworking of buildings used to consolidate the Jews for transporting to the camps and care of Jewish Children, and of course the most famous in Amsterdam: The Ann Frank House. We toured the house, but there were no photos allowed. Still, it was eye-opening.
Netherlands National Holocaust Memorial Amsterdam [Copyright Andy Richards 2022]FORTUNATELY, THERE is a lot more to Amsterdam than the negative history of the holocaust. In September 2019, I blogged about our first visit to Amsterdam. We walked through the famous Red Light District, and the nearby Marijuana facilities. I also illustrated the many canals and cafe/bars/restaurants, particularly street-side. On this visit, we again saw the canals – often adorned with colorful flowers. We also learned that Amsterdam has its share of cultural points. While in the Jewish Quarter, we walked around the botanical center, a large, impressively designed greenhouse on a canal, with some ornate footbridges and ponds on the grounds.
Amsterdam Botannical Center [Coyright Andy Richards 2022]Botannical Center Amsterdam [Copyright Andy Richards 2022]WE ALSO learned that they have some, well let’s just say “quirky” naming conventions. If you want a nice cup of coffee, for example (reputed to be very good in Amsterdam), you do not want a Coffee Shop. You want a cafe. As you can see from the photos, a “Coffeeshop” in Amsterdam has an entirely different connotation. 🙂 I thought the sign on the bench outside one of the coffeeshops we walked by sent an interesting message.
“Coffee” Shops in Amsterdam [Copyright Andy Richards 2022]O
NE OF the choices you need to make when cruising out of a city other than the one you live in, is where to stay pre-cruise, and sometimes post-cruise. For us, that often depends on what we are doing before (and after, if the cruise originates and terminates at the same port). We mostly spend time in the embarkation city. By the time we get off the ship we are both tired, and ready to get home. If we don’t think we can make our flight the day we dock, we will stay overnight in a motel that is close/convenient to the airport. If we are spending time in the city, we then want to find a place that is convenient to the city, or easy/close public transportation. On this trip we stayed at the Movenpick Hotel, which was literally next door to the cruise terminal. I have to say, it was the easiest boarding experience we have had on any cruise. The Movenpick’s advertising says: “City Center,” but it is really a short distance removed from there. The main rail station is about 1/4 mile away, but there is very good public transportation (tram line) right across from the hotel. In this instance, it really was the best of all worlds for us. We bought 2-day travel passes that gave us unlimited tram and train and bus rides (we used the tram a lot and the train to get to and from the airport). We easily got to the places we wanted to go. Our boarding time was 11:00 a.m., so we just walked our bags out the front door of the motel and about 1/4 block down, right back into the baggage drop and the terminal entrance. 10 minutes later, we were aboard. Easy-peasy. Our flight out was not until about 2:00 p.m. on the day we returned, so we felt confident about catching it (in spite of the “nightmare” experiences we had been reading about). It took us less than an hour from the time we stepped off the ship until we arrived at the airport. It probably took us about 30-40 minutes to check in, check bags, go through security and passport control, and head to the airline lounge (we did have “business class” and “priority” but we knew two other couples who did not, and they got through in about the same time frame. For ease of cruising, the Movenpick cannot be beat. It also happens to be the place where we met – in the restaurant the night before the cruise), our new good friends, Mike and Elaine. You’ll hear more about them soon.
Street Art Lisbon, Portugal [Photo copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]STREET ART. At one time, I called it all “graffiti.” So did a lot of others – perhaps a majority of the populace – and the reference isn’t always complimentary. In many cases, it was referred to as a contributing factor to a larger concept: “urban blight.” Encyclopedia Britannica defines graffiti as “a form of visual communication, usually illegal, involving the unauthorized marking of public space by an individual or group.” Wikipedia notes the art form’s negative connotation and reception: “Graffiti is a controversial subject. In most countries, marking or painting property without permission is considered by property owners and civic authorities as defacement and vandalism, which is a punishable crime, [and] as a growing urban problem for many cities in industrialized nations in the United States and Europe and other world regions.”
just as all graffiti is not art, all street art is not necessarily graffiti
GRAFITTI IS not new. It dates back to ancient times, with examples found of etchings and carvings on walls of ancient ruins. Our typical response to graffiti has often been to “clean it up,” painting over it. Perhaps a truism in life, there is “good” and “bad” in nearly everything, including graffiti, and the line between these may often be in the eye of the beholder. Much of the “art” we see on city walls may have hidden meaning. Some of it may be good; some sinister. My goal here is not to analyze the good, bad, political, or other non-art attributes of graffiti (however, if I become aware of something I post is truly offensive because of hidden, or other meanings I am unaware of, I will certainly consider removing it).
Street Mural in Ybor City, FL [Photo Copyright Andy Richards 2015 All Rights Reserved]AS I have spent more time seeking, and photographing street art, I have also come to realize that, just as all graffiti is not art, all street art is not necessarily graffiti; at least not as we look at it. Some of what I might have cavalierly characterized as graffiti is really probably better described as murals, or mural art. Whether it, or its artist, originated from (or as) graffiti, murals are purposefully placed on walls, and are generally commissioned by the owner or authority in control. Practically speaking, it will sometimes be a difficult distinction. For my purposes here, they are all “street art,” and I will characterize them as such.
Street Art Lisbon, Portugal [Photo Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]GRAFFITI HAS a history in art. The original Greek word from which “graffiti” comes means “to write.” In early art and art history, the term is used for works of art produced by scratching a design into a surface. “Sgraffito,” a similar word, involves scratching through one layer of pigment to reveal another beneath it, and was a technique used by ancient potters who would glaze their work and then scratch their design into it. In ancient times graffiti were often carved on walls with a sharp object. Modern graffiti, for the most part, consists of paint (often aerosol spray paint). In more recent years, this modern graffiti has taken on the cache of “art,” often photographed and occasionally (especially more recently) commissioned. Like much of the urban landscape, its color, shape, and often “storytelling” qualities attracts my photographic eye. I suspect that it will continue to draw my attention and I will continue to photograph it. For my purposes I will hereafter refer to it as “street art.”
My goal here is not to analyze the good, bad, political, or other non-art attributes of graffiti
I SAW a lot of street art during my recent trip to Portugal, all over the parts of the country we traveled in. While I have noticed it, and occasionally photographed it previously (see, particularly, the Athens shot), for some reason it really resonated with me in Portugal, and I began to not only seek it out, but view it for its photographic potential (a wordy way of saying: decide whether I wanted to photograph it or not 🙂 ).
Street Art Porto, Portugal [Photo copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]SEVERAL OF the better pieces were actually pointed out by my photo guide, Jose’ Manuel Santos, in Porto. The Blue Cat, for example, was a spot he specifically took me too. He recently posted one of his own takes of the cat on his Facebook page.
Street Art Lisbon, Portugal [Photo Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]THE PIECES above and below (in different parts of the city, but by the same artist) were some of the several examples of street art that Jose’ pointed out to me in Porto. He finds it interesting how this artist (we saw at least one other of his work) portrays the eyes so realistically. That is just one area of graphic arts that keeps me in saw awe of those artists. As photographers, we are always seeking “catchlight” in the eyes of animate subjects. Sometimes the sun does is wondrously for us. Sometimes, we mechanically create it with artificial light. But graphic artists create it with their brushes!
Street Art Porto, Portugal [Photo Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]MUCH OF the street art I saw in Portugal was more like cartoons than classical art, though there were certainly a few of the latter. This collage is a good sampling of some of the very well-drawn artwork. It is particularly impressive when you remember that this is not done in a studio with many hours of work before the final version is presented. Rather, it is usually done rather furtively, and very quickly. What draws me to these images? Like so much of the other images I have been posting here, on my Facebook pages, and from time to time on Instagram: color and shape.
Street Art Collage Porto, Portugal [Photo Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]WHILE THIS art is mostly done with paint, there are occasional examples of other media. The Pelicans are actually relief tiles in addition to color added by paints. I did not have the presence of mind to capture these with a person in the picture, to help give scale. But the taller of the two is perhaps 12 to 15 feet tall. These “sculptures” are in a prominent place, at the base of the Santa Justa Lift, in the Baixo area of Lisbon’s downtown.
Street Art Lisbon, Portugal [Photo Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]SOMETIMES THE art carries a message. While I am sure the local residents do, I am not sure what this message related to. But it was a funny, serendipitous moment when we came upon it. Our travel mates have not done the out-of-country travel that we have. This was their first venture out of the U.S. in a number of years. I think and hope that they will do more now. But when we first discussed, and planned the trip, our friend, Bruce, started saying (and it caught on with us): “if not now, when?” So it was pretty funny to walk by this early into our Lisbon visit.
Street Art Lisbon, Portugal [Photo Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]AS I “curated” the street art images in my Portugal take, it made me think back to other examples of street art that caught my attention. The one that most immediately came to mind was this image that I made on the streets of Athens, Greece. I am “new” to street photography, having only been doing it during the 10 plus years we have expanded our travel to the world (previously, other than Canada and possibly the Caribbean, I had not been out of the U.S.). It has taken me a while to get comfortable with a few of its aspects, including lens choice, perspective, and post-processing (particularly perspective work). It has also taken me some time to shake my predisposition to try to exclude people from the photographs (lately, I am using them and thinking more about their role in the images). At first, I have been drawn to buildings, squares, color, shapes and things that I think tell the urban story of the places I am visiting. I haven’t focused much on street art. That is unfortunate and I am sure I have missed many good photos. I know that going forward, I will be much more observant and thoughtful about this art as part of my shooting.
Street Art Athens, Greece [Photo Copyright Andy Richards 2017 All Rights Reserved]
You can look at your surroundings and still “miss” images because of a mindset that blinds you to them
PHOTOGRAPHY IS often characterized at the art of “seeing.” Sometimes the realization that I have “missed” something sneaks up on me. This has happened most often after shooting with others and seeing their “take” afterward. I have marveled that I was standing right there next to them and never “saw” the shot they had made. More recently, as I try to broaden my own photography, I have realized that I can just as competently miss things when out shooting by myself. 🙂 Mentors over the years have advised to be sure to look behind, and around you, after you think you have your “subject” identified. As I am writing this, I have come to a bit of an epiphany. “Vision” is not just physical. You can look at your surroundings and still “miss” images because of a mindset that blinds you to them. Looking at the outdoor cafe image in Tarpon Springs, Florida (just a couple miles away from my home), I “saw” – perhaps for the first time – the street art in the scene. It is not that I didn’t physically see it when I made the image. Indeed, I thought about it as I framed the image, trying to keep it in as part of the context. But I thought of it as a complementary element only. I did not think of it as street art – though it clearly is. And because of that, I failed to “see” the photographic potential of the artwork itself.
Tarpon Springs, Florida [Copyright Andy Richards 2021 All Rights Reserved]A
S I often do, I originally wrote the draft of this blog post several weeks back. Shortly after completing the draft, I returned, camera in hand, to downtown Tarpon Springs, where The Neptune and Toula’s sit side-by-side, flanking the Pinellas Trail. This time, I not only paid more attention to – and photographed – the mural on the wall of the Neptune, but discovered a few other examples of street art on the back street.
Street Art Tarpon Springs, Florida [Photo Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]IN A very similar vein, the image below incorporates (purposely) the most-likely commissioned street art on the wall. It appears to me to be part of the signage for the cafe. But it is still street art. Again, my use of it was to pull together all the elements for context. The subject here was the Neptune Lounge, and not the nextdoor building or the mural. Again, while I like the Neptune image, and fulfilled my objective while shooting and processing it, my mindset kept me from the next level, which was to study the photographic possibilities of the street art.
Tarpon Springs, Florida [Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]GOING BACK to re-shoot this location turned out better than I might have expected. The wall on the other side of the Neptune was actually a full mural. But even better, a couple other splashes of color caught my eye, and I wandered further down the alleyway and found several other street art scenes.
Street Art Tarpon Springs, Florida [Photo Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]Street Art Tarpon Springs, Florida [Photo Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]AS I noted, the street art was not confined only to the larger, urban areas. We spent 3 days in the southern part of Portugal, in a beach/resort area known as The Algarve. We stayed on the ocean in the town of Lagos, which is clearly a tourist/vacation area, populated much more during vacation times. But it had its share of street art.
Street Art Lago, Portugal [photo copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]I PARTICULARLY like the below image. It must certainly have some significance. Surely to the artist; maybe to others. I like the way the artist portrays aged skin and wrinkles. Perhaps this has some connection or significance to the cigarette in the subject’s mouth. I also wonder if the red mustache (if that is what it is) is actually an example of graffiti and graffiti. What do you think?
Street Art Lagos, Portugal [photo copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]NOT ALL graffiti is “art.” But that doesn’t necessarily make it a bad thing. Who doesn’t remember the old, wartime scribble that seemed to appear all over Europe: “Kilroy was here?” Whether you agree or not, some – if not most – graffiti eventually takes on the characteristic of “art” (or at the very least, history). They certainly chose to leave the graffiti on the wall near the inside entrance to California’s Alcatraz prison (now a historical site) there for a reason.
Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary San Francisco, CA [Copyright Andy Richards 2011 All Rights Reserved]THERE IS a tradition in Liverpool, England, which is – as most here (should) know, the birthplace and original home of perhaps the most iconic and famous of rock and roll bands: The Beatles. And most of us would recognize one of their best-known tunes: Penny Lane. There really is a Penny Lane. It’s not what you might imagine (if you haven’t been there). It is actually a quiet, residential street, some kilometers from the street that spawned the song, “Penny Lane.” The barbershop, the firehouse and the roundabout are all on that latter street. I know, because I have been there and photographed them. 🙂 But a “tradition” of sorts has evolved around the real Penny Lane. The sign on a wall at the beginning of the street has become the repository of autographs. Some of them are famous. One in particular? None other than the Paul McCartney (circled in red in my image below). Is it “street art?” I don’t know. At first blush, I probably wouldn’t think of that. But you know, our definition of art is pretty broad. And I felt that it was photo-worthy.
Penny Lane Sign Liverpool, England [photo copyright Andy Richards 2019 All Rights Reserved]CONSIDERING THE amount of travel and time in urban places that I have spent over the past 10 years I am surprised that I do not have more examples of street art in my portfolio. That will change. I will surely be on the lookout for street art in my future travels. It really is fun to look at, and to photograph.
Street Art Lisbon, Portugal [photo copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]
Grottos The Algarve Faro, Portugal [Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]ONE THING we wanted to do was to see the grottos off the coast of the Algarve. Although they are found virtually everywhere, the most impressive collection of them are east of where we were staying, in the Faro area. As we walked around Lagos, we saw that there was a large marina there, and it became apparent that we would have not problem finding a tour. Bruce went online, found and booked one for us. So that morning, after breakfast, we took an uber to the marina, at the designated meeting place.
The ride was bumpy – almost painfully so
THERE WAS good news and bad news. The (mostly) good news was that we had a nice, rain-free day (though it looked a little threatening on the horizon), and we were pretty much assured to get a close look at these caves. The bad news (really minor in the big picture – but I think we all agree we might do things differently if there is a next time), was twofold. First, we didn’t realize how far the ride all the way up the coast from Lagos to east of Faro was. Probably 20-45 minutes on the boat. Not a huge deal in and of itself. But the boat was the real issue. As we were on the way to the marina, I joked about being on an RHIB (rigid hull inflatable boat). I was totally joking, as I was thinking Navy Seal style. Well. The boat was essentially a specially specced RHIB, with carnival ride type seats that were very close together. The boat held maybe 20 passengers. We rode the seats like a saddle. The ride was bumpy – almost painfully so (remember, we are 60 plussers). And, for a photographer, unless you have the very front seats (we didn’t) shooting was a definite challenge. While I did get a few shots that I felt were good enough to publish, I saw many, many more, where I would have liked to have: (1) an unobstructed view, and (2) the ability to ask the pilot to linger a bit in certain places. If I were to do this one again, I would definitely explore the viability of a smaller, more private setup. And, as totally an afterthought, there is a very nice marina at Faro; much closer to the caves. We probably could have booked our tour from there and saved ourselves that RHIB joyride. 🙂
Grotto The Algarve Faro, Portugal [Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]O
N THE other hand, I have become fond of a saying: it was a “first world problem.” In other words, as inconvenient as it may have felt, it was nothing compared to things others go through in life, and I count my many privileges and blessings. Would I do that ride again? I don’t know (not if I could find a reasonable cost alternative). But we had the privilege and pleasure of seeing something not everyone gets to see in their lifetime. I’ll take that.
Grotto The Algarve Faro, Portugal [Copyright Andy Richards 2022 All Rights Reserved]T
HE FINAL day in the Algarve, was, practically speaking, our last “real” day in Portugal. We headed back to Lisbon the next morning, to stay in a motel that was quite close to our first Lisbon hotel. We had a mid-morning flight out the next day. On the homeward-bound part of this trip we encountered what may have been the most unpleasant traveling experience we can remember for some time. One of our parties tested positive for Covid 19 the day before we were to leave. He ended up having to stay an extra 4 days in Lisbon. Fortunately, his symptoms were not very bad, and once he tested negative, he was able to return. With that shadow over us, we navigated the awful customs system of the Lisbon airport (I would later read that all of Europe considers Lisbon to be the worst airport in Europe – we cannot argue with them there). We had some kind of customs/passport check at least 5 times from the time we entered the airport until we were in our seats on the plane. It made no sense to us. We had an otherwise uneventful flight back into the U.S. But as soon as we landed and turned on our phones, things again deteriorated. We happened to be traveling when several negative things (Covid, weather, airline logistics problems) all converged. We had messages from our carrier. Our flight (which was supposed to get us home around 6:00 p.m.) had been cancelled and we had been re-scheduled and re-routed. And we weren’t the only ones. LaGuardia was an absolute zoo. Before the night was complete, were re-scheduled 2 more times, missed a connection in Atlanta, and again rescheduled. We also lost our purchased seats (we were business class – non-stop to Tampa originally) and got whatever was available for the next two flights. We eventually landed in Tampa and then waited almost an hour for our Uber. We got home around 2:30 a.m.; exhausted of course. But we got home, and all of our baggage made it with us. In the sunlight of the following morning, I awoke, tired but happy. What had happened was – once again – a “first world” problem. And while it does make us re-think how we plan our travel it certainly hasn’t stopped us from charging forward. In August, we would again board a plane bound for Amsterdam (where we had read about nightmares with customs and baggage, but where we got through both very quickly and efficiently both going in and coming back out). Shortly after this entry posts, we boarded a plane bound for Rome and yet another adventure (accounts to follow). We were as excited as ever to travel, and thankfully, once again, neither luggage, nor customs were a problem on any of our flights.
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