Photo of the Day & Barcelona

[tj_teejay]

What are the odds of taking a picture of lightning? Well, with enough patience (and the advantage of darkness and a remote control for the SLR), here's proof that it's not all that unlikely. Taken in Kusadasi, Turkey last week.



On that note, I'm off to a foreign country again. Business trip to Barcelona. Not looking forward to it all that much because a) it'll have to be a huge stroke of luck for me to actually get to see any of the city and b) it's gonna be three more days of forced small talk and fake smiles again. Oh well, can't be helped. This, too, will pass.

And now... back to packing suitcases. I have a strange feeling of déjà vu.

Comments

[crism79.livejournal.com]

That's a GORGEOUS pic! I love lightning and that one is beautiful!

I hope you do get to see Barcelona, it's really a beautiful city :D Have a safe trip! :)))

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

I like lightning too, but since summer of 2009, I sure have a lot more respect for it. Thankfully, this one was far enough away.

I can't say I got to see much of Barcelona, but enough to get a first impression. Maybe I'll go back there some day.

[crism79.livejournal.com]

Nature has its way to show how powerful it can be. I once saw a thunderstorm where the lightnings connected between clouds, it was beautiful and respectful.

You should go back to Barcelona with more time :) I was there two years ago and just loved it.

[anaithis.livejournal.com]

Oh boy, another business trip. :( You're living out of the suitcase at the moment.

Great photo, but, as you can imagine, it somehow gives me the creeps. o__O

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the suitcase part isn't that much fun. I still need to fully unpack from the trip to Barcelona. I kinda suck at that.

And I can imagine what you mean about the photo giving you the creeps. This one was far away, but we had a thunderstorm hit us while we were walking through the ruins of Ephesus, and we were under trees at that point. I made sure to hurry to some ancient ruins where we could seek shelter. It was pretty scary.

[afiawri.livejournal.com]

Now there is a truly stunning photograph.

Barcelona! It sounds like the meetings should keep from being envious, but I've always longed to visit that city. (Of course, I've seen Baltimore: it looks remarkably like the inside of an airport. So I'm guessing Barcelona will look to you like meeting rooms and hotels. I can't help but turn green with envy anyway.)

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

I think I've been to Baltimore too on a business trip once. (Looks like it didn't leave a lasting impression.) I do remember Washington DC, though. It was really nice! As for Barcelona, wish I could have seen more, but the first impression was positive (except for the masses of tourists in the Old Town).

[afiawri.livejournal.com]

Oh, man. :( And here most of the places I've been to 'look like the inside of airports.' I need a job where I can travel; you go the most interesting places. (Though yes, I realize it's nowhere near as fun in reality as it is in my head.)

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

The travel can have its perks, especially if you have a few hours to spare to look at things. I've been pretty lucky in that regard during most of my travels. There's some places I'd like to go back to to take a proper look, though. Like Budapest or Berlin, for instance. I've also not been to Paris in a long time, and that's always worth a visit.

And I'm very sure that it's nowhere near as fun in reality as it is in your head. Take my word for it! Also, what are you still doing up? To bed with you! That said, I need to get ready to go to work... *sigh*

[afiawri.livejournal.com]

But I don't want to go to bed! XD

Though in seriousness, I've spent my day off asleep and now can't sleep. Go figure.

So wow - what was your favorite place you got to visit?

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

My all time favorite place to visit is Scotland, though I've only been there on vacation and not on business (which is a good thing). Business trip wise, I have fond memories of New Zealand (Christchurch and Auckland), Odessa (Ukraine), Wroclaw (Poland), Toronto (Canada) and Washington DC, but that not only has to do with the location but also the people I spent time with.

I also loved Budapest, though I didn't get to see much of it. That's definitely a city I would want to go back to. I also hear Prague is great, but I've never been.

I've also been to places I'd rather not go back to, like Poznan (Poland) or Bucharest (Romania). And possibly Baltimore. LOL

[afiawri.livejournal.com]

That is pretty awesome.

LOL, no hating on Baltimore! They had a decent-ish airport!

But wow - wow, the places you've been. What did you love most about Scotland?

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

What I like most about Scotland? Oh my, that is such a loaded question. I just love the country. All of it. The accent, the people, the landscape. (Maybe not the weather.) The landscape most of all. It's really hard to capture in words if you've never been. The beauty of places like Mull, Staffa or the Outer Hebrides just takes your breath away.

Here's a little taste: Scotland photo selection (http://teejay.bplaced.net/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=40)

[afiawri.livejournal.com]

Woooow.

Geez. I've barely left the Midwestern United States in my lifetime. In fact, I grew up thinking there was no unsettled natural beauty because I was in the sprawling Chicago suburbs and the place I lived was the least densely populated of the ones I knew.

And. Wow, looking at these. It makes me think back on that view of the word and laugh a bit condescendingly. And just wow. Wow. I need to get myself to Scotland. Did you take all of these? You have an eye for beauty. Or every inch of Scotland is just gorgeous. Or both. Whoa.

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think it's a common theme that a lot of US citizens seldom leave the US. But that's not because you guys don't like to travel. It's because the US is so vast and most foreign countries require air travel. I totally get it.

In Europe, it's so easy to see other countries. My parents went to France and the Netherlands on vacation a lot when I was a kid. We even had a holiday home in the Netherlands for a few years. Where I live, I could get in the car and drive for five hours and have easily passed three countries (because the Netherlands, Belgium and France are so close). And about a dozen other countries are within a three hour's flight.

Yes, I took all those pictures myself. And I didn't even have my SLR camera back then. All the photos in my gallery were taken by me. I think the Scotland photos turned out especially nice, but it's not difficult to take good pictures when you have the right scenery to take pictures of.

Not every inch of Soctland is beautiful, of course. Glasgow is questionable where beauty is concerned. Also, if you want to see the "typical" Scotland, you need to stay in the west. The east has its own charm, but it's really the Highlands that people think of when they hear Scotland. You only get that kind of scenery in the west. The east is more rolling hills. Of course the islands in the west and north are wonderful too.

So, yeah, you need to get your butt to Scotland!

[ripper-girl.livejournal.com]

Wow! Sehr stimmungsvoll!

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

Danke!

[hai-di.livejournal.com]

Hab auch schon gestaunt, dass Du das mit dem Blitz hinbekommen hast!

Würd mich ja auch nerven, schon wieder packen und beruflich reisen zu müssen. Echt schade, Barcelona an sich ist ja ziemlich klasse. Gute Reise *wink*

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

Ich hab noch mehr Blitz Fotos, aber das war das beste. Wünschte, ich hätte mehr von Barcelona sehen können als bloß anderthalb Stunden durch die Stadt zu hetzen. Na ja, man kann nicht alles haben.

[hoosierbitch.livejournal.com]

Freaky pretty.

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

I know! And it's even more freaky scary when I tell you that three of my friends were hit by lightning almost two years ago. They all lived, but thunderstorms really intimidate me now when they're getting close.