John

Never one to resist excess, I posted a bunch of my faves (also not necessarily best) at my Yahoo public gallery, http://photos.yahoo.com/jfsevy<BR><BR>I think photographically I like the Polish field picture the best. It was taken at sunset not far from Chopin's house south of Warsaw.

Diana

Reading about everyone else posting their pictures for viewing, I finally decided to try it myself.<BR><BR>So if anyone would like to see my magnificent Luxemborg Garden Tree Photo (plus a few others from my trip last year), you can see them at http://hometown.aol.com/carrolldf/index.html. Hope you enjoy them.

BOB THE NAVIGATOR

Like Jim Tardio, whose work is fabulous, my best shot is after a storm in a famous "P" town on the Italian coast. It was Portofino taken from the foot path above town on the way to the church. The contrast with the dark clouds in the background is stunning. Alas, no scanner to share with you but it did get printed in the local fish wrapper.

David

Incredible photos!<BR><BR>Jim, the black & whites are incredible. I'm going to Paris the end of April and I'm definitely going to take a roll of B&W film!<BR><BR>

Dina

Of John's photos, I love the old crookmaker with watching children, the Belgian chocolate bras, and the Portuguese horses in their stable, which looks very like a semi-abstract geometric painting in white, brown and blue. <BR>As everyone seems to recognize, Jim Tardio's photo's are exceptionally vivid and evocative. He has the equipment, artistic eye, and probably digital photo-editing skills as well--otherwise they wouldn't translate to the computer screen so sharply. (Scanning may dull photos.)<BR>Diana's flower pictures are beautiful, but I especially liked her view of the Seine from the Eiffel Tower. I love bird's-eye views, and have a great coffee-table book, "Over Europe", with hundreds of aerial views all over Europe. (Every time I've tried to get a long shot myself, the photo failed to capture the beauty I saw, and looked boring. I don't have the equipment or know-how.) <BR>Sally's pictures look as pretty as postcards and show a lovely sense of design. <BR>But let me ask a question. Are these your best or your faves? Sally, for instance, seems like a very sociable person, yet she hasn't posted (among these faves) any showing people, or even animals. <BR>To me a "favorite" photo has a story, a personal meaning, or a unique moment, as well as aesthetically pleasing.<BR>Am I the only one who includes "us" as part of my faves? (I'd really like to see KAM's kiss-at-the-waterfall photo!) Maybe I'm especially egocentric! Or maybe I think of the travel photography as personal photo-journalism, rather than fine art; I leave that to those with professional skills (why I buy the coffee-table books and postcards.) Although I do try to apply my art school background (illustration) when composing the shots, if I have time. <BR>Any thoughts? Thanks!<BR>

s.fowler

Dina has raised an interesting issue -- I do have some good "people" pcis -- most of them are of people close to me and I guess, although the pictures are available to you through the fodorite website page, it's just a matter of privacy. I am seriously camera-aversive so I TAKE the piccies -- makes live easier <BR><BR>Here is/are some people for ya! I like the woman top left: http://travelswithus.net/MAK/wedding.htm<BR><BR>I use an olympic stylus zoom camera that could probably use some cleaning. I use 200 ASA film and, despite that, seem to have some skills at "available light" photography.

Diana

Actually, the ones I consider the best are the ones which are my favorites. When I think of Paris, the flowers are what I remember most fondly, especially Luxemborg Gardens. And I travel by myself so seldom have photos of other people since I don't like to take pictures of strangers. <BR><BR>One of my favorites I didn't post because I didn't think others would be able to appreciate it was of a little dog in the park with a ball in his mouth. I watched that dog and his owner for at least 15-20 minutes and enjoyed many a laugh at his antics playing with the ball. The photo evokes that memory for me but is not an exceptional photo in any way. But it always makes me smile to look at it again.

Dina

Sally, I love the Macedonian wedding photos!! Being into it myself, I am a sucker for photos of costumed dancers.<BR><BR>Diane, your dog story reminded me of an evening in Nimes, France where we dined at an outdoor cafe. Three mutts appeared, one big, one tiny and the third in-between. The three dogs were obviously pals, and romped and chased each other so comically, we were giggling uncontrollably. (I think it was platonic, but the idea of them mating was even more comical.) I tried to photograph them, but I simply wasn't able to capture the action!

Jim Tardio

Thanks to those that have written me about my photos.<BR><BR>I very much enjoyed looking at everyone's shots. It's great to see how different people approach the same subject.<BR><BR>Dina, I ejoyed your shots as well as your travelogue that you posted a few months ago.<BR><BR>I have plenty of more personal shots scattered through out my site. I usually try to catch my wife and daughter without them noticing me.<BR><BR>If anyone has any shots available but can't get them on the web, I could create a small, private section on my web site to post photos from this thread. If you like, you can e-mail them to me.<BR><BR>I don't know how long I can leave them posted. But a few weeks wouldn't be a problem.

Steve Mueller

<BR>Although occasionally I get a great shot that is spontaneous, like last summer's Yellowstone Grizzly, most of my best shots are planned.<BR><BR>For Europe, night shots are almost always the most impressive. One of my favorites is a cafe scene in Brussels with the bright yellow and red napkins and table cloths illuminated by the street lights. Another favorite is a night shot of the statue of Mary at the top of the column in Munich's Marienplatz, framed by the twin towers of the Frauenkirche (which are ever so slightly out of focus).<BR><BR>I also like pictures that immediately identify a location to the viewer, whether of the St Louis Gateway Arch or Neuschwanstein Castle. Some of my favorite London subjects are the Yeoman Warders at the Tower of London. They are readily recognizable and the bright red uniforms make striking photographs. They are also always very friendly and willing to pose for a shot.<BR><BR>Often the ideas for my best shots occur before I travel to a specific place. These are the result of studying what other photographers have accomplished. I search through guide books, internet travel sights, picture calendars, etc. looking for spectacular shots, and then I try to reconstruct how and where they were taken. When I arrive in an area, I look for postcards and sometimes try to recreate the best of them (like the people in the Louvre painting a copy of the Mona Lisa). This is excellent practice to improve my photography skills, and also results in a few great images.

steve

My best ever photo was taken the morning i was bicycling from Obertraun )near Hallstatt) to Salzburg, Austria<BR><BR>It is of the Hallstattsee on amisty morning with the town on the left hand side (The church tower right at the edge of the water) and two of their unique, gondola-style boats out in the water. Just a lucky shot of beign there at the right time. Unfortunately, when you are on vacation, yiou can't wait for days to get the perfect shot like a professional photographer. SOmetimes you can't even wait five minutes because of impatient travelling companions!

jay leno

Hello. My favourite photo, was taken in my window, on new years night.<BR>I used a tripod, and did a LTE.<BR>It turned out to be amazing. I repeated the technique in Florence, in the ponte vecchio, and once again...great.

s.fowler

Jim -- that's a nice offer. Just a reminder that there are already many "fodorite" photos at http://traveurope.net/fodorite/fodor.htm and there is room for more if people want to send them to me.

Jim Tardio

I wasn't aware that you already had a site for these. Best to keep them all together then.

sandi

My favorite is the one I took while my son was sitting on the balcony of our hotel in Venice (Locando Leon Bianco). <BR>It wasn't posed but as I took it I realized that his face was reflecting in the windows, so it turned out even better than I thought. I can't describe it well but it's photo #10 in my on-line album documenting our trip. <BR>http://www.imagestation.com/album/?i...39&mode=invite

rand

Elvira, you are soo right about labelling. My grandpa was a 'pro', but was burned out so many times in the days of 'wet plate' photography (let's see how many fodorites know what that means) that a few albums from his home are all that remain. These are from approx 1900 to 1940. Growing, up my pa carried a hasselblad with lenses and tripod around everywhere. We have a few albums and 5,000 slides. I am not joking, I counted a (per inch and multiplied). I grew up waiting impatiently for dad to frame that photo. My mother must have been the most patient woman ever, judging from marital argument posts here. I probably have the most documented life in history. There is not one label on any of them. We look back on a beautiful photo from 1928 and say 'who the f**** is that'? A shot of two boys in 'dresses?' Looking at jumbled slides of baby photos from my generation we comment 'no, that looks more like ??? than me'. I must go and label my photos now, before the alshiemers gets worse.

Diana

I took time to look at the photos the rest of you posted. I'm glad I posted mine before I looked or I would have been too intimidated to share. You guys are great! <BR><BR>The biggest problem is that now I have even more places I want to go after seeing your photos.<BR><BR>Sandi -- the picture of your son is wonderful I also really liked your Venice Bridge of Sighs and Florence Pnte Vecchio.<BR><BR>Jim -- the Overview of Ischia Ponte at Dusk and The Amalfi Harbor are wonderful. (I looked at several of your galleries but have book marked to go back and eventually look at all. Your work is incredible!)<BR><BR>Dina -- I liked the Temple of Diana shot with you in the red blouse. <BR><BR>I am thrilled that you all are sharing and so far this is my favorite thread. This is what these forums should be about.

Sue

Sandi, I loved that photo #10, especially since we never did get to see Leon Bianco (actually thank goodness, for when I called to cancel, they "had never heard of me"). Some day....

Capo

I think my best ever ever photograph was taken back in 1981, right before sunset on Lopez Island, in Washington state's beautiful San Juan Islands. Two friends & I had just finished speeding down a hill on our bicycles and were cruising past a series of weatherbeaten docks in the bay as we headed toward the nearby village. One of the docks caught my eye so I stopped and shot a few photos. In one of them, the light reflecting off the water gave it a Monet-like quality and the dock, with its pilings concealed, seems to float in the air above the water. <BR><BR>My favorite photo from Europe is probably from a small alley in Vieux Nice. The yellow, orange, and rose colors of the buildings in the alley are offset with green and purple towels hanging out of the windows.

Howard

My favorites are a group of eight photos of some of the canals of Venice. When putting the shots from our 1999 trip to Italy together. I realized that the result of following up on my attitude that "every time you turn a corner in Venice, it's photo op," I had a series of beautiful shots of the little canals. What do with them? Making blowups and framing them was too expensive and would take too much wall space. So, instead, I have eight of them (each 4 x 6) matted in a 16 x 20 frame...sort of like those posters of the doors of Ireland, etc.<BR>(Those of you who do frame your photos ought to consider grouping compatible ones in a single frame. I have another grouping of three shots of the Tunnel View at Yosemite--one panoramic shot and two 5 x 7s in a 14 x 18 frame, for example.)<BR>One other favorite (which I've posted on Sally Fowler's website) is a shot of gondolas in storage off-season in Venice. To me, it looks like a painting. (In fact, a Fodorite paid me the highest compliment by asking my permission to do a painting of it!)