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Author Topic: Romania Oct 2008  (Read 10058 times)

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Offline Paul

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Re: Romania Oct 2008
« Reply #25 on: November 03, 2008, 05:03:13 PM »
Bran Castle again, and a couple of crosses that can be found outside of the Castle walls. Below the pictures of the Castle and crosses are two pictures from Targoviste, Romania. Vlad Tepes did not spend very much time at Bran, his capital was in Targoviste, and it is where I believe he died. Targoviste is where the former communist leader of RO and his wife were executed after a 2 hour trial, and justly so (saw a documentary about him while I was there... a world class a-hole, he was).

DD,

first great pics!!!! and hope everything turns out for the best.

You are correct the A**hole was executed in the same castle that Vlad Tepes called "home" the dictator flew there from the capital palace and thought we would basicly 'hole up" there until the "dust" settled.

He was quite fascinated by Vlad Tepes and did in fact restore Vlad Tepes to a "national heroe" during his reign, which has helped Romania with some additional tourism dollars because of this,  but this might be ALL the good he did for the country

Thanks Chillidog. It's amazing, but some of the older Romanians still look back on Ceausescu with a kind of fondness.

Offline Ste

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Re: Romania Oct 2008
« Reply #26 on: November 03, 2008, 05:41:28 PM »
I went to Romania in 1985, wot a shithole,..

Yup, that was during Ceausescu's rule, and I can't imagine what a s-hole it must have been. I always thought stories of waiting in line 10 hours for a gallon of milk and etc. were just exaggerations... I was wrong.

Quote
I was on the station at Brasov at midnight, full of blokes puking red sick everywhere, totally disgusting, local cherry wine I think.

That red stuff must have been Tuica. It is most often homemade from plumbs, but some times it is made from cherries... it is usually drank hot, and will knock you on your ass (I had a little).

We arrived in Brasov after being helped by some Lebonese students in buying our tickets, Bucharest station was a hellhole for the orderly queueing Brit, noone seemed to have any concept of standing in line. I remember it as dark and grey, we had no intention of going outside and seeing the sights, we'd had enough...

Anyway, Brasov seemed quite open and floral and err, well, communist. We were hungry and decided to look for a restaurant or cafe. There weren't any. We found a bar nr the station and emerged with a bottle of something called 'sirop' after trying to ask for lemonade. We tipped the bottle to quaff it and nothing, yes 'sirop' was 'syrup' and eventually it did drip out. We didn't fancy it but the local wasps did, we found ourselves inundated....

Then we found a supermarket hoping to buy stuff to make sandwiches. All we found were mud coated turnips and potatoes. There was nothing to eat, nothing to buy even. And we had loads of money, being forced to convert $60 each at the border into into Lei...

We just bought booze and necked it - there was loads of that. My bro and 'sputnik' has all the photos, must dig them out...

We got the midnight train to Budapest after witnessing serial puking and the most unbeliveable thunderstorm, right in Dracula country, but 'fangs' for the memory, it was time to leave.

Budapest was a revelation, proof some sort of hard line socialism can work (Nadia tells me the goal of the USSR was Communism, it was never achieved, they had the interim, Socialism) - the city was vibrant, the girls were fit (and blonde) food was great but they still had the stupid three queue system in the shops...

Then it was train home in time to watch my team Bolton Wanderers thrash Plymouth Argyle 7-2, I wouldn't have missed it for the World...

Interrail, three month ticket throught Europe, £115, we lasted just over two weeks due to concentating on Eastern Europe, tiredness and starvation.

Could hardly call it a holiday, was knackered when I got home....





O pointy birds, o pointy pointy, Anoint my head, anointy-nointy.

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Romania Oct 2008
« Reply #27 on: December 02, 2008, 12:16:04 PM »
Very nice photos!


Offline Paul

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Re: Romania Oct 2008
« Reply #28 on: December 02, 2008, 07:01:33 PM »
Very nice photos!

Thank you Mendeleyev  :)

Offline Chillidog

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Re: Romania Oct 2008
« Reply #29 on: December 02, 2008, 10:06:53 PM »
DD,

question: I am going to assume (you know what happens) that when "you" travel the camera you have brought with is NOT your typical "digital" camera, am I correct?

I know you are a skilled photographer and I am a "shmuck" when it comes to photography or an eye for art. so my pic's are such a far cry from what you show I cannot help be envious and wish I could take the photos you do
"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion."

-Dalai Lama-

Offline Paul

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Re: Romania Oct 2008
« Reply #30 on: December 03, 2008, 04:19:51 AM »
DD,

question: I am going to assume (you know what happens) that when "you" travel the camera you have brought with is NOT your typical "digital" camera, am I correct?

I know you are a skilled photographer and I am a "shmuck" when it comes to photography or an eye for art. so my pic's are such a far cry from what you show I cannot help be envious and wish I could take the photos you do

Thank you Chillidog. I don't want to seem like I'm boasting, or anything like that... but I have spent A LOT of time learning about photography, and taking thousands and thousands of pictures. Photography isn't just something I do once in a great while. It is kind of funny to me when I get compliments from people who aren't as interested in photography as I am, because I can see all of my flaws and mistakes in my pictures, and I get REALLY INTIMIDATED by the great photographers on websites like fredmiranda.com

This is the same kind of camera and "kit" lens that I used in Romania...


Offline Chillidog

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Re: Romania Oct 2008
« Reply #31 on: December 04, 2008, 01:28:02 PM »

Thank you Chillidog. I don't want to seem like I'm boasting, or anything like that... but I have spent A LOT of time learning about photography, and taking thousands and thousands of pictures. Photography isn't just something I do once in a great while. It is kind of funny to me when I get compliments from people who aren't as interested in photography as I am, because I can see all of my flaws and mistakes in my pictures, and I get REALLY INTIMIDATED by the great photographers on websites like fredmiranda.com

This is the same kind of camera and "kit" lens that I used in Romania...



dd,

modesty aside (and agree modesty is a good thing) your pic's are D*MN GOOD!!!!

thanks also for the pic of the camera, have not priced any camera's lately. how much does something like this one cost (PM if you want to talk money privately)

and does it have a scroll option to view recent photos, or is it a more "traditional" type of film roll need to get developed?
"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion."

-Dalai Lama-

Offline erudite

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Re: Romania Oct 2008
« Reply #32 on: December 04, 2008, 06:28:27 PM »
CD,

For good camera prices, buy one or two of the thick photographer hobby magazines at the newstand. They have pages of catalogues in them.  Most of the shops are West or East Coast.  Most actually up in NY area that I have noticed. You can beat the pants off most local camera shops and save the sales tax.  Whenever I buy a camera, that is what I do because often these places will remember you as a customer and give advice and even a better warranty service than the Mfr.

 :reading:
"It don't matter who's in Austin, Bob Wills is still the King", Waylon Jennings

Offline Paul

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Re: Romania Oct 2008
« Reply #33 on: December 04, 2008, 08:15:28 PM »
dd,

modesty aside (and agree modesty is a good thing) your pic's are D*MN GOOD!!!!

thanks also for the pic of the camera, have not priced any camera's lately. how much does something like this one cost (PM if you want to talk money privately)

and does it have a scroll option to view recent photos, or is it a more "traditional" type of film roll need to get developed?

Thank you again Chillidog,

My camera was right around $1,300 with the same lens that is pictured with the camera above (a few years ago). One thing to keep in mind for anyone considering a D-SLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex camera) is, you can easily spend a lot more on good lenses, than what you might pay for your camera body. The lens used in the thread "Sharing some of my pics" cost more than my camera body.

With my camera, I can scroll through the pictures I have taken, but I cannot use the screen on the back of the camera as a view finder like can be done with a "point and shoot" camera (I think it is possible with the new Canon 40D).

Chillidog, if you are thinking about buying a camera for more than just "normal" use, please take my advice and buy a book called The Ultimate Field Guide To Photography which is published by National Geographic, first. The book cost about $25 and is worth every cent  :)

Once you know what you are looking for, check out this website http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/buy.htm The guy does a great job of explaining how to keep from getting ripped off. What he says about B&H Photo and Adorama, is spot on... you wont do better than them as far as prices and customer service goes.

Offline mirror

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Re: Romania Oct 2008
« Reply #34 on: December 05, 2008, 09:14:43 AM »
DD,
you have a great camera. I have good one also but it has a huge instraction how to use it to make a good photos...no enough time and patience to read it and to learn.  :(

Offline MrMann

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Re: Romania Oct 2008
« Reply #35 on: December 05, 2008, 09:20:34 AM »
With my camera, I can scroll through the pictures I have taken, but I cannot use the screen on the back of the camera as a view finder like can be done with a "point and shoot" camera (I think it is possible with the new Canon 40D).

The new Canon 450D also has a "live" view finder and is more affordable than the 40D.

Offline Chillidog

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Re: Romania Oct 2008
« Reply #36 on: December 05, 2008, 10:37:27 AM »

Thank you again Chillidog,

With my camera, I can scroll through the pictures I have taken, but I cannot use the screen on the back of the camera as a view finder like can be done with a "point and shoot" camera (I think it is possible with the new Canon 40D).

Chillidog, if you are thinking about buying a camera for more than just "normal" use, please take my advice and buy a book called The Ultimate Field Guide To Photography which is published by National Geographic, first. The book cost about $25 and is worth every cent  :)

Once you know what you are looking for, check out this website http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/buy.htm The guy does a great job of explaining how to keep from getting ripped off. What he says about B&H Photo and Adorama, is spot on... you wont do better than them as far as prices and customer service goes.

DD,

thanks for the info and help, will be looking into this more closely, Thanks
"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion."

-Dalai Lama-

Offline mirror

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Re: Romania Oct 2008
« Reply #37 on: December 07, 2008, 05:36:24 AM »
Sparrows...

Offline mirror

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Re: Romania Oct 2008
« Reply #38 on: December 07, 2008, 05:38:20 AM »
Our shops decorate windows for New Year holiday!

Offline Paul

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Re: Romania Oct 2008
« Reply #39 on: December 07, 2008, 10:04:06 PM »
DD,
you have a great camera. I have good one also but it has a huge instraction how to use it to make a good photos...no enough time and patience to read it and to learn.  :(

Thank you very much Mirror. Try to read the manual that came with your camera a little at a time. New cameras are capable of doing a lot, and it is a pity that people do not take the time to learn how to use them to their fullest.

Very nice pictures by the way.

Offline Paul

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Re: Romania Oct 2008
« Reply #40 on: January 26, 2009, 07:29:08 PM »
Just bored...

This pic was taken in the city of Sinaia, Romania on my last trip.



*sigh* three more days...

Online Markje

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Re: Romania Oct 2008
« Reply #41 on: January 27, 2009, 02:29:43 AM »
Beautiful picture D_D.
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Offline Paul

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Re: Romania Oct 2008
« Reply #42 on: January 27, 2009, 03:48:49 AM »
Beautiful picture D_D.

Multumesc (thank you) Markje :)