Friday, May 29, 2015

Photo Tour: Montenegro Day 6

What's the difference between a regular ol' travel tour vs a photo tour? I found out the answer today when Marsha and I headed out for our day tour of Montenegro. We were joined by twenty others from who knows where (there weren't any intros or sharing of where we were from and definitely no witty British slapstick jokes, which I actually missed from our very witty Allan). We were carted to quick photo stops (5 minutes and back on the bus), herded through tours through the old town where I learned a little history (like Napoleon conquering Dubrovnik in 1806 and then to the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro) and tried not to get lost. We then hopped on and off of ferries and headed back to our hotel. Eleven hours and we covered Kotor, Herceg Novi ("new king"), Budva, and a ferry ride. Whew! I did appreciate learning about Montenegro's name (means black mountain) and the capital Podgorica. Also that the reason for the splitting up of Yugoslavia (Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia, Hercegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, Croatia) was due to Tito's death in 1980 which led to a fight for independence. Apparently, Slovenia and Croatia were making the bucks and they wanted a say in how the money was spent (instead of it all going to Belgrade). Plus, the Serbs wanted to unite those in Croatia and all the other countries. But then again, the tour guide had a different version of the story than Roman, our photo guide.

Sadly, it's my last photo adventure day. I can say that I have learned alot about how to use my camera (plus tripod, flash, telephoto lens, polarizer) and Lightroom. I also enjoyed spending time with people who share the same passion as me and being able to take my time. I think I've also gotten better at composition and seeing the shot before taking it. Best of all, I loved all the relaxing and unhurried pace.