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This is a shot of the Pyramid of the Magician rising above the jungle in Uxmal, Mexico. This was my favorite of the pyramid sites I visited: more remote, less crowded, and less touristy than the more famous sites of Chichen Itza and Teotihuacan. When you walk around here you can really feel like you’re in the middle of an Indiana Jones film.
You can view more featured photos at my Photo of the Day Collection.
I don’t often get to take long exposure shots while on vacation because it involves lugging around a tripod, but this beach was located just outside my cabin on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada, so it was a perfect opportunity to set up the tripod and try out the neutral density filter I bought last year. These types of filters enable you to take long exposures during the day without blowing the highlights. I’m still getting the hang of it, but I like the effect here of smoothing the ocean and blurring the clouds while keeping the rocks in focus, almost like a painting.
You can view more featured photos at my Photo of the Day Collection.
This was taken during my hike of the Skyline Trail in Cape Breton, Canada. It’s not a very vibrant photo due to the rainy conditions, but I like the imagery of a solitary figure standing at the top of a mountain gazing over the sea and the Cabot Trail. I didn’t have time to complete the entire trail myself, but had I done so, I would have been standing in the same spot as the person in this photo.
You can view more featured photos at my Photo of the Day Collection.
This lighthouse in Souris on Prince Edward Island was built in 1880. We visited after hours, so I didn’t get a chance to climb to the top, but I snapped this photo, capturing the lighthouse partially silhouetted against the setting sun peeking out to the right.
You can view more featured photos at my Photo of the Day Collection.
The Bay of Fundy in Canada has the highest tidal range in the world. To get a glimpse of this natural wonder in action, I visited the famous Hopewell Rocks in New Brunswick on two consecutive days. The first photo below was shot at low tide, while the second was shot at high tide. The visual comparison would have worked better if I had shot both photos from the same angle, but you can still see that all of the people in the first photo would be underwater in the second photo.
You can view more featured photos at my Photo of the Day Collection.
When hiking to the top of Franey Mountain in the Cape Breton Highlands, you will encounter this picturesque lookout about 1/3 of the way up (or 2/3 of the way down, depending on which of the two trails you chose to go up). It’s a beautiful hike, especially as you get closer to the top, where you are rewarded with spectacular views of the mountains and coast. The 1,100-foot ascent is not too challenging (especially if an out-of-shape schlub like me can make it to the top)–I think it took us between 2 1/2 and 3 hours to get to the top, though it can be done more quickly if you’re in better shape and not stopping for photos. Going down was much faster as we took the second trail down, which was much less interesting from a scenery perspective, and also less challenging.
I made one alteration to this photo–I used the content-aware touchup tool in Camera Raw to remove my hiking pole that was leaning against the rock–it turned out really well, not even noticeable. Bonus points if you can tell me where the pole was. 🙂
You can view more featured photos at my Photo of the Day Collection.
This was taken along the Cabot Trail in Cape Breton, Canada, not too far from the cabin where we stayed this past September. In the distance to the left of the shack, if you squint you can make out the Atlantic Ocean.
Even though it wasn’t technically a lookout and there was no convenient place to park, we knew we had to stop when we drove past this picturesque scene. You can see why Cape Breton draws so many comparisons to Scotland–the landscape is simply breathtaking. I’m ready to move there.
You can view more featured photos at my Photo of the Day Collection.
This photo is from an early evening hike in Fundy National Park along a small waterfall trail. The hike was beautiful, like a stroll through Middle Earth, and peaceful–we had the entire trail to ourselves.
You can view more featured photos at my Photo of the Day Collection.
One of the most interesting features of Prince Edward Island is its contrasting geography. You’d never know from viewing this green, windmill-dotted landscape that right behind me were red cliffs, rocky beaches, and a vast ocean (technically, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, but you get my meaning).
You can view more featured photos at my Photo of the Day Collection.
It’s been a long time since I’ve posted regularly, but now that I’ve finally finished culling and processing all of the photos from my Canadian Maritimes road trip (four months later!) I should be ready to resume more frequent posting. This photo is from the aforementioned Canada trip, snapped during my hike along the cliffs of Prince Edward Island. This is one of my favorite photos from the entire trip: a secluded beach, accessible only from the trail, that my wife and I had entirely to ourselves. Although we only spent two of our 12 days in Canada on Prince Edward Island, our visit there was among the most memorable of the entire trip.
For this hike I experimented with a polarizing filter for richer skies and colors. I had never used a filter on my Nikon in years past because I was concerned about putting cheaper glass in front of my good lens, but the photos taken with it turned out pretty well.
You can view more featured photos at my Photo of the Day Collection.
Michael Rappa 