PICTURES FROM MY WINDOW. ANOTHER HERRING GULL

They are called Larus Argentatus in Latin. It is the species of gull that has colonized Barcelona. They are big, aggressive and very beautiful. This is a very rare photo. I shot this kind of seagulls sometimes to the series from my window, but they very rarely drop below the tops of the trees on the Gran Via. This is one of them and I could catch the moment. Light is important, the causeway of the street is in shadow but sunlight gives full in the bird.

PICTURES FROM MY WINDOW. THE "VOYEUR"

It seems that to observe what is happening in the street, it is becoming very popular. It looks very clear that I am not the only "Peeping Tom".

PICTURES FROM MY WINDOW. SOUTH AFRICA WORLD CUP

Usually I do not plan the photos. Suddenly, I am struck by an image and I photograph it, as in this case. I was watching the World Cup held in South Africa when I saw that the television was reflected in the glass of my window. It also coincided with dusk, known as the blue hour. The technical conditions were complicated because there was very little light. If it were a professional assignment I would have used a tripod. But I decided to opt for the benefits of new technologies. I used a Nikon D90 with 18-55 VR zoom, at the 30 mm position and at an aperture of 5.6 at a speed of 1 / 10 of a second. With the stabilizer I could shoot handheld at such a slow speed. I photographed in raw format with an ISO of 3200, forcing a bit the possibilities of the D90. But in this case the noise does not bother me.

PICTURES FROM MY WINDOW. MORE SWIFTS.

I could be watching TV or trying to land a F-18 on an aircraft carrier in a simulation program, but I decide to shoot, again, swifts.

It's a beautiful day and the swifts fly very low. They pass right in front of my window. This means that due to atmospheric pressure, flies and other flying insects from which they feed are at that height. They pass, time and again, at full speed, shaking with their shrieks.

When I became interested in photography, someone told me that a famous American Life photographer coached his photographic reflexes by throwing a tennis ball in the air and photographing it with an samall telelens. Of course, at that time was very complicated: there were no motor drives and you had to focus manually. I imagine him as a kind of Buffalo Bill who had replaced the Colt .45 and the silver coin by the camera and the ball.

Photographing swifts could be something similar. I used a 18-55 mm zoom, at 55 mm, shooting at bursts.

FIFA WORLD CUP STARTS TODAY IN SOUTH AFRICA

Today starts the World Cup in South Africa with the opening ceremony at the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg.

Just one year ago, I toured South Africa taking pictures to publish then coinciding with this important event. Some were published last Sunday in Vanguardia Magazine

All the speeches of Nelson Mandela ended with Nikosia Sikelel 'Africa! ("God help Africa") and always appeared the sentence: "In this beautiful country ...." Mandela has every reason in the world. The immense beauty of South Africa remained deep in my heart.
Here I show it in more photos.

DRAKENSBERG MOUNTAINS

DRAKENSBERG MOUNTAINS

ISIMANGALISO WETLANDS

LION SANDS . CLOSE TO KRUGER

LION SANDS. BESIDES KRUGER

LION SANDS. BESIDES KRUGER

DURBAN

WEDDING IN DURBAN

ZULU VILLLAGE. KWAZULU-NATAL

ZULÚ VILLAGE. KWAZULU-NATAL

JOHANESBURG

NELSON MANDELA'S SQUARE. JOHANESBURG

If you want to know what photographic material I used click here.

SOUTH AFRICA FOR LA VANGUARDIA MAGAZINE

Next Friday, 11 of June, start the World Cup in South Africa. I traveled there, one year ago and the last Sunday my photos were published in La Vanguardia Sunday Issue. This are the rest of the pictures.

JOHANNESBURG. DOWNTOWN

ISIMANGALISO NATURAL RESERVE

ZULU VILLAGE

SOWETO

KWAZULU-NATAL

DURBAN BEACH

MONTECASINO MALL, JOHANNESBURG

ROOM ON A TREE, SANDS RIVER LODGE, BESIDES KRUGER PARK

This is the photographic equipment I used for this trip. Here you can see more explanations about it.

BLOGGING WITH CATS

Or rather, with my two cats: Canela, also known as "the pigeon hunter” and her daughter Taca," The flying cat”.

The blogger activity, and I dedicate to it many hours , may seem a very lonely occupation : alone facing the computer late into the night or in the early morning hours. But as you can see, it’s not may case.

CANELA

TACA