Mazare del Vallo, la cattedrale

These photos of the cathedral of Mazara del Vallo in Sicily attest to what can be achieved with a simple point and shoot camera. They are from the summer of 2006,and the camera was the Canon  Powershot 620 that sported a mere 6 megapixels. It was small and very portable and it was really the beginning of the idea of leaving the big cameras at home when traveling. The camera doesn't take the picture...you know the rest.
At any rate, Mazara is a very rich small city that has the largest fishing fleet in Europe. In this cathedral - it is a see- are supposedly relics of the lungs of saint Vitus, the city's patron saint. The whole idea sounds rather macabre but for the faithful this is normal. Who am I to say what's macabre or what is normal. I just take the pictures.

Selinunte, the devastation

Our last post on Selinunte showed what archeologists were able to re assemble from the devastation caused by the Carthaginians. Here we see the actual results of the city's destruction. Still this is a very important historical site and should not be missed.

Le saline di Mozia / Nikon D-70S

The saline in Mozia, in the north western  corner of Sicily is where the most delicious sea salt is made. This shallow body of water called   lu stagghiuni is where the wind and the sun work their magic and this complex salt, [actually sodium chloride and other salts] is produced. The wind mills were used to grind the salt into the small crystals that we are so familiar with. Today they are no longer used as modern machinery do this task. We arrived before our visit to Salinunte and it was still not as hot as it got later on. This is a must for anyone visiting this fabulous island also known as Persephone's island. The history and mythology are still palpable here in it's well kept ruins and in its many folk tales. Of course the food is of great anthropological interest as it combines flavors and traditions of a place smack in the center of the Mediterranean and conquered 14 times but never fully dominated.

Have a wonderful week

Canon 1-D II

Rainy day flowers

On a rainy day, with a camera to test with an unusual lens combination, there's no better subject as flowers. The cloudy day makes the hues more intense and the lower light allows for wider apertures with the concomitant result os blurry backgrounds that create separation from the foreground. These photos were taken in my garden with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1 with a Nikkor24 mm 1:2.8. All manual but the results are fabulous. The 24mm becomes a 48mm in the Micro Four Thirds sensor so that in effect it becomes a regular focal length lens.

Selinunte / Fuji S2-Pro

These photos date from the summer of 2003; a very hot August day, to be exact. These ruins are of what remains of this once flourishing  Greek-Sicilian city that was destroyed in the middle of the fifth century BC by Carthage. We arrived on what was perhaps the hottest day of 2003 and were looking mainly for refreshments  and a good restaurants. Well we eventually ate at a fabulous place in near by Mazara. I wasn't about to wait for the dramatic late afternoon light as the level on discomfort was very high and our stomachs were in rebellion. So I captured the typically intense summer Sicilian light. Bright and very specular but still very colorful. I have reached the point in my photography in which food comes before the shot. I have just taken too many photos but have not yet ate all the best foods. These are my new priorities. One should never take oneself  too seriously; after all they are only  pictures.

Two of my early digital shots / Fuji S-1 Pro

I have repeated many times how much I loved the S-1 Pro. It got great image quality out of a 3.4 mega pixel sensor that today would not even be considered of any real value. But numbers are deceiving as it's the actual size of the pixel that is perhaps the most important spec on a camera. Needless to say the photos speak for themselves although they really do not talk but you get the picture. I better stop while I'm ahead with the silly puns. And if I do make occasional idiomatic mistakes please bare in mind that English id not my primary language. I do my best.