# ED Italy writeup - May 2006 (Finally)



## Gripster (Jun 28, 2005)

I know, I know, it's late but I only just got around to sorting through some of the 968 photos we took. I kind of made the 12 hour rule at this LINK

Big THANKS to all on the forum that helped with my questions. Beewang for the DVD rental, Marcus330i for the encouragement  and everyone for making this an amazing forum. I couldn't have done it without your help.

Here are the links

Delivery Day - LINK

Venice - LINK

Tuscany - LINK

Florence - LINK

Pompei - LINK

Roma - LINK


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## mullman (Jan 5, 2006)

Congrats Gripster, she is a beaut!

And a Mac user, it warms my heart :thumbup:

How many lenses did you travel with? You really took some stellar pics!










:rofl:


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## Kanuck (Feb 18, 2003)

:stupid: Great pics! I love them, especially the dude in the glass box in Pompei. You must have had a tripod for some of those. And a Mac user too.:thumbup: 

I definitely have to spend time in Italy on my next trip.


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## xspeedy (Apr 10, 2003)

Awesome pics! We'll be doing Italy for our next ED as well, with most of the places that you were. 

Looks like you took a whole camera studio with you. Quite a wide angle lens you must have used.


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## Deutschhof (Mar 28, 2006)

Hey Gripster. Yeah, great pics and congrats on the new car.

Since I'm trying to make photography a serious hobby, I must know what equipment you have.


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## Gripster (Jun 28, 2005)

Thanks for the compliments. I once read something about the difference between good photographers and bad photographers is that the good ones don't show you their bad photos 

Actually, I've had my SLR about 18 months now. I love the thing. It's a semi serious hobby - I've not taken any classes, but I intend too. I'm reaching the limits of what I can learn on my own. As far as equipment, I use a Canon 300d (the first digital rebel) and the following lenses

- 50mm f1.8 prime. This costs $80 and is a fabulous lens to keep with you. Sharp and good in low-light. Cheap enough to stuff in a back pocket. The narrow depth of field creates a pleasing blur effect if you get it right.

- 18-55mm (this is the kit lens). I take most pictures with this one. It's versatile enough as a carry round lens. Pro's scoff at this lens, but it only shows it's flaws on close inspection. I don't think my skills are good enough to tell!

- EF-S 10-22mm. I bought this because I tend to favour wide angle vs. superzoom. And this sucker is WIDE. I have to be careful with this because I end up with lots of foreground in there which spoils the image. Having said that, it was the only way I could get some of the Pantheon and St. Peters Basilica shots.

- 70-200 f4/L. This is a really sharp lens with decent reach. Being a fairly long lens it gets only limited use. But boy do the pictures pop when I use it. This was not in Italy, but at San Diego Zoo - LINK and shows how sharp it can be. Again - handheld!

As for tripod, well I have one and a monopod too. However, since this was a vacation and not a photoshoot I didn't get to use either. Not even once. My wife hates the setup time and I don't blame her. To get the low light shots, I bumped up the ISO speed and opened up the aperture. I hate using flash. It takes a very steady hand and 2-3 attempts to get something sharp.

I did improvise a tripod for this shot. I rested the camera on a trash can and straightened/cropped it when I got home!:thumbup:


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## Asteroid (Aug 17, 2005)

Very nice pics!:thumbup: Thanks for sharing.

Edit: Forgot to add that the valet parked the car uncomfortably close to the next one.


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## Deutschhof (Mar 28, 2006)

Gripster said:


> Thanks for the compliments. I once read something about the difference between good photographers and bad photographers is that the good ones don't show you their bad photos


Good tip, and thanks for the info.

BTW, great lighting in your shots. :thumbup:


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## MarcusSDCA (Jan 14, 2004)

Good job, Grip.....three thumbs up! :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:


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## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

I loved the pics... I wish I had 1/2 your skills  Congrats on the new car!


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## mason (Jun 8, 2006)

The write up is getting more challenging by day!!! Now, I need to bring my gear along in September.


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## X550-ED (Aug 27, 2005)

What are you doing ED on?
I also plan to do ED in early Sept.



mason said:


> The write up is getting more challenging by day!!! Now, I need to bring my gear along in September.


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## Gripster (Jun 28, 2005)

Asteroid said:


> Very nice pics!:thumbup: Thanks for sharing.
> 
> Edit: Forgot to add that the valet parked the car uncomfortably close to the next one.


That bothered me too. I had to go down and take a look for damage - there was none thankfully!

I liked being able to see the car from our room so much, I left it parked for 2 days until the Harms guy showed up to drive it to Munich. We did a fairly thorough look see before he took off and the car was perfect. The valet guy got a nice tip!

As has been stated many times before in this forum. DO YOUR HOMEWORK. Had I known the hotel (Intercontinental de Ville, Rome) had no self-park, I would have probably stayed somewhere else.


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## Chris90 (Apr 7, 2003)

Great pics. Talent definitely trumps equipment.  I have to get a wide angle lens, love those wide shots.

Did you have any trouble navigating the E90 through Italy's narrow streets?


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## JSpira (Oct 21, 2002)

Great Fotos - enjoyed every one!


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## Gripster (Jun 28, 2005)

Dawg90 said:


> Did you have any trouble navigating the E90 through Italy's narrow streets?


For the most part, no, although we kept city driving to a minimum where we could. The worst by a long shot was Naples. Here a tip for anyone doing ED. DON'T DRIVE IN NAPOLI. Here's why:

1) Some streets are narrow. I mean like 'you got to be @#$ kidding' narrow. Like 'clench your butt cheeks' narrow. Like 'fold your mirrors' narrow. Like 'pray you'll make it' narrow. :yikes:

2) There are no street markings. On many major roads, there is no discernable center line. Scooters and cars will happily crossover into your side of the road to get by whatever is blocking their way. The culture seems to put the onus on you to avoid them. When you hold you own and they have to dodge they give you filthy stares! It's like playing chicken every 15 seconds. Not fun in a new car.

3) Streets are cobbled and the occasional brick is missing. This results in little potholes everywhere that are near invisible. On a ZSP suspension you feel it all and it makes you want to :bawling:. "_What am I doing to my new baby?!_"

4) Nav starts to freak. High buildings mean that the GPS signal is not great. Tiny roads, mean you miss your turn either accidentally "_rats - that was Via Stradale back there!_" or intentionally "_there no way on earth I'm going down there in a BMW - I'll get jacked!_". The system then recalculates too slowly and tries to send down a road you've already passed, or one that is an alleyway where cars aren't permitted. This was only an issue in Napoli.

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Rome was a little scary too, but we drove the car to the hotel and parked it. No point taking a chance when there's perfectly good public transport and parking is hard to find.

All other places were fine. You have to get used to mopeds going around you on both sides and general automotive anarchy. I grew up in the UK and lived in/near London for 10 years, so driving in Europe doesn't faze me. Except for Napoli that is....


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## Gripster (Jun 28, 2005)

*More photos*

Encouraged by your positive comments, I added a page full of mixed photos.

http://s107570665.onlinehome.us/Italy/Photos.html


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## Deutschhof (Mar 28, 2006)

Gripster said:


> Encouraged by your positive comments, I added a page full of mixed photos.
> 
> http://s107570665.onlinehome.us/Italy/Photos.html


More good stuff. :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:


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