We recently returned from Tbilisi, Georgia and I have to say…What a wonderful place to visit. and shoot… especially for door lover’s like me..
Tbilisi is located along the banks of the Mtkvari river and filled with winding, narrow streets and hidden stairways..and a treasure trove of doors to shoot…
Doors are among my favorite subjects… and they don’t mind posing…
Happy Travels!
Photography as Art Fine Art America
A wonderful city to visit… even better to shoot.. The weather was crisp and pleasant…
The streets not overly crowded… In fact, some places were practically deserted..
Maybe the time of year had something to do with that… New Year’s Day in Split, Croatia..
A great start to the year
Happy Travels!
Photography as Art Fine Art America
That was one of the great things about Dubrovnik.. All the little passageways everywhere. Arches and cobblestone side streets were a photographers dream..
As everyone who knows me knows.. I don’t really shoot the major landmarks much..Well, not to post anyway… There are plenty of those pictures out there already. I prefer a laid back and back alley approach to a city.. But there are exceptions.. Coming soon
Happy Travels!
Photography as Art Fine Art America
During the Christmas holidays, I had the opportunity to spend 6 days in a whirlwind tour of Croatia.. Here is the first shot of some daily photos of that trip…
This was the view across Gruz Harbor from our room in The Berkley Hotel. A wonderful place with a great staff …
Happy Travels!
Photography as Art Fine Art America
As most of my followers and avid readers have noticed, I have not posted anything in a little over a month. I decided, in January, that it would be a good idea to take a break..
From everything.
No posts … no trips … not even any photos..
And yes, it was difficult. The trips part especially. I am used to taking a 4 or 5 day trip every month. And when I see a possibility on either Facebook or one of the blogs I follow, I just wanted to look at tickets and hotels and things to do…I even went on Booking.com TWICE!
But I resisted the temptation and held firm .
Resist … Relax .. Recharge ..
I spent the last month preparing for a couple of things…
#1. My contract in Kyiv, Ukraine is finished in June, so it was time to start looking for the next place.. Hopefully I will be in Moscow this summer to start a new contract. It would be a great job because Moscow is an awesome city for photographers and tourists … plus St.Petersburg, Volvograd..the trans-Siberian railway.. mmmm.. fascinating. So fingers are crossed…
#2. It was time to clean and repair camera equipment.. the past few trips I have taken have been horrible weather-wise.. rain, snow, cold…all very detrimental to a camera’s health and well being.. The next trip (Munich – in a week) will be more of the same, I think so … better safe than sorry..
But mostly, I took the month off just to reflect on the experiences of the past year.. A lot of cities and a lot of countries. The experience of meeting new people and delving into a new culture every month is an eye-opener. You realize that no matter how different we all are, we are also very much the same. People all over the world have the same hopes, the same dreams and the same fears as you do.. It doesn’t matter what religion you practice.. It doesn’t matter what language you speak.. We are all afloat in this vast sea of humanity and we will all, TOGETHER, sink …or swim.
So.. I am back.. Here’s a teaser for the next post..
Great trip.. especially once the weather cooperated – On the last day naturally..lol
Happy Travels!
Tune into my personal website, Photography as Art for more photos and a few links to help plan your own get-a-ways..
Amazon < — For my shopping buddies
There is a difference between “Best” hotel and FAVORITE hotel.. Sometimes they are the same, but in my case, they are not..
The best hotel we stayed in was, by far, the Grand Hotel Continental ... This is a 5 star luxury hotel in Bucharest.. Beautiful building, wonderful staff, great breakfast, awesome service and the room was very nearly opulent..Of course, for the first time in my travels, I reserved a suite and the experience was such that I will do that again.. at least once a year…somewhere..lol
But my favorite hotel this year was, and still is, The Charles Bridge Palace in Prague.. Situated just a short walk from the historic Old Town and over-looking the Vltava River, it is in a perfect spot for visiting the city..
The rooms are spacious, well appointed and have wonderful views of the city…
The staff is courteous, friendly and very helpful with anything you might need.. The metro station is 5 minutes away and a trolley stops 50 meters from the hotel..
Prague is a wonderful city anyway..and when you couple it with a stay at the Charles Bridge Palace, it becomes damn near magical..
Happy Travels!
Photography as Art Fine Art America
Thanks to everyone for following along on my journey… I hope everyone stays safe during this holiday season…
Merry Christmas and a have a very happy holiday season..
Steven Liveoak
Photography as Art
15 countries….21 Cities.. Since my New Year’s resolution in January of 2014 was to visit a new country every month, I can happily say “Mission Accomplished”.. But where do those trips rate? This is difficult because every trip was awesome.. it just so happens that some places ranked higher on the awesomeness scale..
Athens from Acropolis
We started off the year going to Greece.. followed by Cyprus, Spain, the Czech Republic, Austria, Turkey, Sweden, Romania, Poland, Latvia / Estonia, Netherlands, Belgium and Italy… Unfortunately Croatia (at the end of the week) will miss this years cut..
This is where it gets difficult..
#1 – Stockholm, Sweden <— Past Posts from Stockholm
There are a couple reasons I chose Stockholm..
The photographic opportunities were amazing.. The city, itself, while being a walking friendly place, has an impressive public transportation system.
Stockholm is the definition of New Age technology meets Old World charm..
#2 Barcelona, Spain <– Past Posts from Barcelona
For me, the difference between Barcelona and Stockholm, as a tourist, is negligible. Good food..good people and a wonderful year-round climate, makes it a great city to visit.
#3 Riga, Latvia and Tallinn, Estonia < —- Past Posts from Riga and Tallinn
What a wonderful trip this was…Able to see two world class UNESCO site filled cities in one 5 day trip.. Needless to say, modern amenities and old world architecture make this an easy choice..
Riga
Tallinn
So there are the top 3 from last year…although technically it is 4…
Now the Not Best trip…
Larnaca, Cyprus
To be honest.. it was a good trip. Not one of the best, but a lot of that was my fault for planning a trip in the really really OFF season
Beautiful scenery..interesting city..but almost no people..and no people meant almost everything was closed for the season.. It was difficult to even find a place to eat.. I will return to Cyprus on another trip..during a different time.. who knows, maybe it will move up the list..
Happy Travels!!
As the New Year approaches, we all have a tendency to look back at the past year and reflect … and when the new year rings in, I will have completed one of my goals for the year..
12 months … 15 countries …21 cities..
That doesn’t include the trips to explore Ukraine, where I currently live…
Over the next few days, I will the best and the not-best of this year long adventure… I can’t say “worst” because as a bastardization of a common saying goes –
The worst day traveling beats the best day working…
Tomorrow – Best and Not Best City ….
Happy Travels!!
My friends invariably ask me 2 questions… Where are you going this month? and What do you do first? The answer to the first question changes every month… The answer to the second, however, is always the same…
Just wander.. roam..explore with no destination in mind…
Up and down the side streets, in and out of alleys…
Early evening … lights just beginning to come on… the streets in Florence were strangely empty of people… even the Piazza di Duomo
Maybe because it was late November.. maybe because it had just stopped raining.. It was peaceful.. quiet..and very pretty.
A great 1st night..
Happy Travels!
Photography as Art Fine Art America
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