We spent a long weekend in Vancouver in March and found some time for a day trip to Grouse Mountain. I brought my Fujifilm X100T on the trip so I was able to get some images from my first visit to Grouse Mountain. On the Fujifilm cameras, the Astia preset is my favorite so I almost always end up processing my images using that preset. This time around, I decided to try something different and processed my images using the Velvia preset. I really like how the images turned out and this exercise was a good reminder of why I love shooting with the Fuji cameras so much.
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Haleakala National Park
We didn't have many opportunities to travel in 2017 and the trips we did take were mostly weekend trips to our favorite local places. We were lucky enough, however, to spend a week in Maui in November. It was our first trip to Maui and we spent much of the week relaxing, eating, and recuperating from a hectic year. Our main excursion during our trip was to Haleakala National Park. We spent the better part of a day there exploring, hiking, and enjoying the otherworldly views. If you ever find yourself in Maui, I highly recommend setting aside some time to visit the park and to take in the spectacular landscapes.
Cinque Terre
From Venice, we traveled by train to Cinque Terre, located along the coast of Liguria in the Italian Riviera. I didn't know much about Cinque Terre before heading to Italy (other than the amazing pictures I saw), but it turned out to be my favorite destination of our entire trip. We rented an apartment in Riomaggiore and spent the better part of four days exploring this beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Since we were expecting rain for much of our time in Cinque Terre, we weren't really prepared to hike between the towns. To get from town to town, we bought Cinque Terre National Park day passes (also known as the Cinque Terre card) and used the local train system. We opted for the Cinque Terre card instead of buying individual train tickets because it allowed us to explore the hiking trails between the towns and because it saved us from having to wait in line before catching each train.
All five of the towns were beautiful, each charming in their own unique way. The one I personally liked the best was Manarola. The walk along the hillside vineyards provided breathtaking views and the colorful houses above the seaside fishing village made it ideal for sunset long exposures. If you're planning a trip to Italy, I highly recommend setting aside a few days to explore Cinque Terre. Here are a few of my favorite images from the time we spent there.
Venice
We visited Italy last month and the first stop on our trip was Venice. It was my first time in Venice and I was quite overwhelmed by all the sights and sounds of this historic city. Since this trip was mainly for us to relax and enjoy our time away, I didn't spend a lot of time on photography. Instead, we spent our time wandering the canal-lined streets, sampling the local food and wine, and taking in as much of the city as we could. When we weren't busy eating gelato or riding the vaporetto, I did manage to capture a few of the scenes that caught my eye.
Grand Canyon
We spent four days at the south rim of the Grand Canyon last month. During my last visit to the Grand Canyon, I found myself zooming out trying to capture as much as possible. As a result, I ended up with a lot of wide angle images that lacked the impact I wanted. This time around, I shot more at the telephoto end and focused on capturing the amazing colors at sunrise and sunset.
