Back to the Med Greece/Turkey in 2013! Complete!

[MinnieDiva]

Hi! I have enjoyed reading about your trip and appreciate all the helpful tips. I couldn't help but notice your camera bag in your photos and was wondering if you felt safe using it for your trip. I ask because we have the same one and with all I have read was wondering if it would be wise to use on the trip to the med.

Thanks for your insight!

Hi! I do like my Lowepro! It's the 100W, in case you couldn't tell. I bought it to fit me when I first got my camera. I have a really short torso, and most bags end up being far too long. Reality being what it is, Sean usually ends up carrying the bag, and he doesn't care for the sling. It hits him funny and he ends up with chafed skin.

As far as feeling safe with it...yes I did! Between the closeness of the sling strap (I wore it so there was not much movement), and the lower, narrower strap, someone would have to have used a very sharp knife to get that thing off of me. If I was in an area where there were a lot of people (Rambla, Trevi fountain), I'd sling it around to the front.

If it wasn't for the fact that my equipment has outgrown the bag and the fact that Sean complains about it, I'd be taking it right back to the med. I love the fact that it has the rain cover!

What cruise are you guys going on??

 

[CBJHockeyNut]

This summer we are going on the 8 night Bahamas-from New York and next summer we will be sailing on June 15th!

Thanks Again!

 

[MinnieDiva]

This summer we are going on the 8 night Bahamas-from New York and next summer we will be sailing on June 15th!

Thanks Again!

Enjoy!! We'll be coming to NY but no cruise for us this summer . Somehow it just seems wrong.....

And glad to see I'll be able to meet you next summer!!

 

[CBJHockeyNut]

Sorry, one more question--when you were on your excursions or walking around Barcelona did you ever just keep your camera on the strap around your neck, so you did not have to keep getting in and out of the bag?? I have a Cannon Rebel and many times it would be so much easier just to use my smaller camera, however when I do I always end up regretting it!!

 

[MinnieDiva]

Sorry, one more question--when you were on your excursions or walking around Barcelona did you ever just keep your camera on the strap around your neck, so you did not have to keep getting in and out of the bag?? I have a Cannon Rebel and many times it would be so much easier just to use my smaller camera, however when I do I always end up regretting it!!

I spend the majority of my time carrying it, either around my neck, over a shoulder (like a purse strap), or cross bodied. No matter how I hold it, I always have a hand on the camera to keep the lens from swinging around and potentially hitting something. If I were to either give the camera to Sean or put it in the bag he's carrying, nowhere near as many pics would get taken!! We brought our smaller camera last time as well, but it didn't get used that much. DD now has her own camera, so likely if we have need for something smaller, we'll just use hers. (like on deck while at the pool)

 

[mindelmouse]

This summer we are going on the 8 night Bahamas-from New York and next summer we will be sailing on June 15th!

Thanks Again!

which Bahamas cruise are you on...we're going on 8/25

 

[CBJHockeyNut]

which Bahamas cruise are you on...we're going on 8/25

We are going on the June 22nd and plan on spending two days prior to the cruise in New York.

 

[Disney9.9.10]

Hi! I just had a quick look through your report, and I think it is fantastic! I would love to go to Europe (we probably will at some point) and your pictures really show how beautiful it is. Things you said about your DH remind me of mine and he even thinks that I am crazy for simply belonging to a "board" I look forward to reading more about your trip!

 

[MinnieDiva]

Hi! I just had a quick look through your report, and I think it is fantastic! I would love to go to Europe (we probably will at some point) and your pictures really show how beautiful it is. Things you said about your DH remind me of mine and he even thinks that I am crazy for simply belonging to a "board" I look forward to reading more about your trip!

Welcome!! Now you need to sit your DH in front of this and prove to him that you're not crazy...there's a lot of perfectly normal (?) people out there just like you!!

Do you have any cruises in the works??

 

[Tracerr00]

What camera did you end up getting? I use a Canon T1i. I'm hoping to upgrade to a better body, but I have a hard time justifying that as it does what I need it to do. As you've probably seen from earlier posts, I just was gifted with my new 16-35 USM Mark II lens. This was the lens that I rented for Med 2010, after reading another Dis'ers blog, and doing a bunch of research beforehand. I wanted to have a wide angle so that I could fit in all those amazing buildings and landscapes. I have both kit lenses an 18-55 and a 55-250, but nowadays I pretty well only use the 16-35 or the 55-250. I used the 55-250 on a lot of the Cinque Terre coastal views. I had a polarizing filter on it to reduce glare, but wasn't happy with the tone it cast on the shots. I had to do a lot of post-processing on those to make it look less....grey, I guess. I also bought myself a nifty-fifty for my birthday last year. I don't use this much, but I've gotten a lot of really good portrait shots. Not a go-to lens by any means, for me.

I've seen that PacSafe insert for a camera. I haven't been to that link before, tho, so I'll look at in in a little more depth. I've considered going with this set up, but am a little hesitant because I read some not so favorable reviews on few sites (Amazon? Rei?? I'd have to go searching again). But because I am torn, I still haven't ordered anything yet..

And, why yes, I do have a site you can look at pics! Two sites, in fact. One is my iWeb page that is due to be taken down soon (I hate that Apple is doing that, almost as much as I can't stand that they changed our email addresses from .mac to .me. My .mac still works and I'll use it until it doesn't!!!)

http://web.me.com/skamerrill/The_Merrills_web_page!/My_Albums/My_Albums.html

There other site is the Photobucket account that i use...I've altered a lot of the sizes of the photos for posting here, but here's that link:

http://s1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff449/skamerrill/

If you click on the "all albums" tab on the top of the page, you'll be taken to the list of different days and ports. The 1st link will be by far the better picture quality.

A friend of mine suggested the Nikon D3100 as a user friendly beginner DSLR. I just spent a ton of time looking at your photos and I'm so excited to get my camera!! The colors in your photos are gorgeous and so crisp! I'm just worried that I won't have "an eye" for photography like you do but I'm going to give it my best shot. Your eagle photo is beautiful! We live out in the country and we have eagles flying around our house as well. A few weeks ago I was bummed that I didn't have a decent camera because I could see something giant in one of our trees and when I went to investigate it was a golden eagle, just gorgeous!!

I will have to look into renting a lens while on vacation because at this point I need to be saving up for the airfare! I really appreciate your tips!

 

[Disney9.9.10]

Welcome!! Now you need to sit your DH in front of this and prove to him that you're not crazy...there's a lot of perfectly normal (?) people out there just like you!!

Do you have any cruises in the works??

lol I think you are right…but he will probably just tell me that we are all crazy And I fully admit to having a Disney problem, so he could be right!

We are going on a Canada/New England Coast cruise in September for our Anniversary! I'm pretty excited about it, its been a while since I've been on a cruise. I have a ptr link in my signature if you would like to stop by

 

[mindelmouse]

A friend of mine suggested the Nikon D3100 as a user friendly beginner DSLR. I just spent a ton of time looking at your photos and I'm so excited to get my camera!! The colors in your photos are gorgeous and so crisp! I'm just worried that I won't have "an eye" for photography like you do but I'm going to give it my best shot. Your eagle photo is beautiful! We live out in the country and we have eagles flying around our house as well. A few weeks ago I was bummed that I didn't have a decent camera because I could see something giant in one of our trees and when I went to investigate it was a golden eagle, just gorgeous!!

I will have to look into renting a lens while on vacation because at this point I need to be saving up for the airfare! I really appreciate your tips!

My DH has the same camera as Kim and I take pictures with it all the time. A person's "eye" is very important...I certainly don't have Kim's and her pictures are always better than mine. I'm trying to learn by watching her. Some of it is practice and some natural talent.

 

[mindelmouse]

lol I think you are right…but he will probably just tell me that we are all crazy And I fully admit to having a Disney problem, so he could be right!

We are going on a Canada/New England Coast cruise in September for our Anniversary! I'm pretty excited about it, its been a while since I've been on a cruise. I have a ptr link in my signature if you would like to stop by

Hey - Don't listen to Kim...she is pretty crazy No in all seriousness...you get a lot of good information and reviews from these boards. It so helps in the planning. I wouldn't do the cruise without it.

 

[Kirbo]

Subscribing

I'm only on page 7 so far, but I'm loving it.

And if you respond to this, it'll be ages before I see it since I have a lot of catching up to do

A few things, I'm from the Bay Area as well and you look remarkably familiar! And we live in Washington now. Crazy.

I have twin girls who will be turning 9 when we disembark our Mediterranean cruise. We are taking the transatlantic and the first Med of the season. We are very excited and I'm trying to gather as much info as possible over the next 14 months. Might as well start obsessing by reading your obsessing!

 

[Disney9.9.10]

Hey - Don't listen to Kim...she is pretty crazy No in all seriousness...you get a lot of good information and reviews from these boards. It so helps in the planning. I wouldn't do the cruise without it.

I have been on Disney trips for years, but there are a ton of knowledgeable people and interesting information on the boards so it is still really helpful. First hand reviews and opinions are also really helpful and you can't really get them anywhere else.

About the crazy… lol I'm okay with her being crazy and me being crazy and well us all being crazy We aren't hurting anyone, right?!

 

[MinnieDiva]

A friend of mine suggested the Nikon D3100 as a user friendly beginner DSLR. I just spent a ton of time looking at your photos and I'm so excited to get my camera!! The colors in your photos are gorgeous and so crisp! I'm just worried that I won't have "an eye" for photography like you do but I'm going to give it my best shot. Your eagle photo is beautiful! We live out in the country and we have eagles flying around our house as well. A few weeks ago I was bummed that I didn't have a decent camera because I could see something giant in one of our trees and when I went to investigate it was a golden eagle, just gorgeous!!

I will have to look into renting a lens while on vacation because at this point I need to be saving up for the airfare! I really appreciate your tips!

I looked at the Nikons when I was researching cameras and the Canon just "fit" better in my hands. You can't miss with either brand...

Now as far as my "eye".....remember you're seeing edited pics! I'm still learning, but I'm getting better at it. I don't have time right now, but I caught a few good ones last weekend that I'll post later....practice really improves over time. And sometimes, it's just plain luck!

 

[MinnieDiva]

We are going on a Canada/New England Coast cruise in September for our Anniversary! I'm pretty excited about it, its been a while since I've been on a cruise. I have a ptr link in my signature if you would like to stop by

I will check it out! Thanks!

I have been on Disney trips for years, but there are a ton of knowledgeable people and interesting information on the boards so it is still really helpful. First hand reviews and opinions are also really helpful and you can't really get them anywhere else.

About the crazy… lol I'm okay with her being crazy and me being crazy and well us all being crazy We aren't hurting anyone, right?!

LOL!! I'm ok with a little bit crazy!

And I love the tidbits of info you can find on the boards!

Subscribing

I'm only on page 7 so far, but I'm loving it.

And if you respond to this, it'll be ages before I see it since I have a lot of catching up to do

A few things, I'm from the Bay Area as well and you look remarkably familiar! And we live in Washington now. Crazy.

I have twin girls who will be turning 9 when we disembark our Mediterranean cruise. We are taking the transatlantic and the first Med of the season. We are very excited and I'm trying to gather as much info as possible over the next 14 months. Might as well start obsessing by reading your obsessing!

Welcome!!! But don't you actually get sun over at the Gorge?? I'm a bit jealous....

 

[MinnieDiva]

Now as far as my "eye".....remember you're seeing edited pics! I'm still learning, but I'm getting better at it. I don't have time right now, but I caught a few good ones last weekend that I'll post later....practice really improves over time. And sometimes, it's just plain luck!

So here's some before and after examples of edited pics. Just goes to show that sometimes the software is mightier than the sword...or something like that! Before:

 

[MinnieDiva]

and after:

 

[Kirbo]

Welcome!!! But don't you actually get sun over at the Gorge?? I'm a bit jealous....

Not lately . We returned from our MR trip on Sunday the 4th. It snowed here on the 5th. And again on the 12th. And then again yesterday. And today is just rain, rain, rain .

About 25 miles further east from us has much different weather. They get far more sun than we do. Don't get me wrong, I love living here! But we don't have as much sun as I'd prefer. Think Portland, but with better views