Photography Only - Photography Blog

A Blue Iris Flower

2012-02-26T05:00:00.000-08:00

Today: Flower photography

In Greek, Iris means rainbow, probably it received this name because of its wide variety of colors found among the many species.

A reminder:

From today, you can follow Photography Only on Facebook. On our Facebook fan page you will find our blog's latest posts, announcements and once a week, we will share great photos from other well-known photographers. The link to our fan page is located in the Like Box (just click on the title and it will take you to our Facebook fan page). Don't forget to Like or/and Share our Facebook fan page.

Iris flower

Some Reasone To Try Out Pinterest

2012-02-25T01:20:00.001-08:00

What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is a new photo-sharing website where everybody who has an account can share photos of cats, dogs, flowers, clothing accessories for women..

How to use Pinterest?

This photo-sharing website is very simple to use, after you've created your account you can simply click on the Add button which is located on the right side, very close to the logo. After that a small window will pop-up with 3 important buttons: Add a Pin, Upload a Pin and Create a Board. Press the Add a Pin button and there, you must paste a link, wait a couple of seconds and select your photo from that link, add a short description of the photo, select a board and after that, press the Pin It button.

Your photo should appear in the selected board. Now probably you are wondering what are the so called "boards", well those are actually a way to categorize your photos. First you have to create some boards and after that you can add you Pins to those boards.

Why am I sharing my photos on Pinterest?

The main reason is to promote my work and to drive some free traffic to my photography blog. Almost 10% of my traffic comes from Pinterest, so in my point of view this is quite a good amount of free traffic. Since my photos have Creative Commons, Non Commercial license I have to admit that I'm not scared to share my photos.

If you like my work don't forget to follow me on Pinterest

This is my Pinterest profile: http://pinterest.com/mrshadow05/. (Don't forget to follow me if you have a Pinterest account) I have boards with HDR photography, winter photography, other photography blogs and amazing photos. I've also pinned amazing photos from other photographers. I know that that my profile is a little empty but I promise that I will share more photos in the near future, probably when I will have more free time.

Don't forget to share your Pinterest profile in the comments

What do YOU think about Pinterest?

Now I'm curious to find out what do you think about Pinterest? Please leave your thoughts in the comments.

A Sunset Somewhere In Europe

2012-02-19T02:43:00.000-08:00

Today: Sunset photography

This photo was taken a couple of years ago, somewhere in Europe. Probably you've noticed that I've added a nice texture to this sunset photo.

Learn how to add textures to your photos

We have a tutorial on this photography blog which shows you step by step how to add textures to your photos. You can check it out by clicking on the following link: How To Add Textures To Your Photos

Sunset photography

Henschel Steam Snow Plow

2012-02-18T04:09:00.000-08:00

Today: An old steam snow plow

This steam plow can be found inside the Sibiu railroad museum. Because this steam plow is very old, only a couple of details remained about the plow. It was built in 1924 in Germany by the Henschel factory which was very renowned for building transportation equipment like trucks, locomotives and armoured vehicles.

Henchel steam snow plow

WMA 65.4 Steam Crane

2012-02-10T04:16:00.000-08:00

Inside Sibiu railroad museum

You can find the WMA 65.4 steam crane inside the Sibiu railway museum. This is a very old steam crane, it was built in 1939 by the Ardeltwerke factory in Germany. This steam crane was used by the Romanian Railroad Company (C.F.R) for heavy lifting. The WMA 65.4 has a very big lifting capacity, it can lift 65 t on its 7.5 m long arm.

WMA 65.4 Steam Crane

Black And White Photography: Troubadours

2012-02-08T11:06:00.000-08:00

Today: Troubadours walking on the streets

This shot was captured at the Sighisoara Medieval Festival. As you can see in the photo below, some troubadours were coming down on a narrow street from the Troubadours square. In front of that small group of troubadours was a medieval soldier who carried a medieval flag.

The troubadours

HDR Photography: Sibiu Lutheran Cathedral

2012-02-07T05:17:00.000-08:00

Today: HDR Photography

The Lutheran Cathedral is the most famous church in Sibiu. This cathedral was finished in 1520 and it was build in Gothic-style. The cathedral's steeple has a massive height of 73.34m. Probably you've noticed that this photo was shot right after the sun went down. Personally, I have to admit that the HDR version of that photo is way better and nicer then the original.. Hope you like it.

Sibiu Lutheran Cathedral

A Pigeon Sitting In His Nest

2012-02-02T03:09:00.000-08:00

Today: Animal photography

The photo was captured a couple of years ago, I think somewhere in 2009. I decided to modify the photo a little bit because the original photo was captured with an older DSLR camera. Hope you like the final result.

A lonely pigeon

Travel Photography: The Locks At Agigea

2012-02-01T04:08:00.000-08:00

Today: Travel photography

The Agigea locks are located at the end of the Danube-Black Sea Canal, not far from the Constanta South Port. To those who are interested, I've found some details about the Agigea locks:
The locks have a length of 310 m, a width of 25 m and maximum depth of 7.5 m. The max speed of vessels transiting the canal is limited to 1-12km/h. As you can see in the photo below, the canal has double locks. The maximum time for passing the locks is 60 mins.

The photos was shot from a train when I've traveled to the Black Sea. As you can see, the train is crossing a bridge over the canal which is very close to the Agigea locks.

A small reminder:

If you would like to find out where Agigea locks are located on Google Maps, you will find out the exact location right under this post or you can always check it out on Google Maps.

Agigea locks

Swans On Lake Saturn

2012-01-26T02:56:00.000-08:00

Today: Animal photography

The photo from this post was taken in the summer of 2010 when I've traveled to the Black Sea. These swans were located on a medium-size lake not far from the Black Sea. When I shot that photo, on that lake were more than 15 swans. Those swans can be found on lake Saturn which is not far from Mangalia. (Mangalia is a city on the coast of the Black Sea, Romania)

Swans on lake Saturn

Flower Photography: A Red Tulip

2012-01-23T01:37:00.000-08:00

A beautiful red tulip

Probably most of you know that tulips are spring-blooming flowers. In the world, there are more the 20 species of tulips. The most famous country in Europe that cultivates and sells tulip flowers is, The Netherlands or simply, Holland. The photo from this post was not taken in Holland, it was taken somewhere in Romania.

No my question for you is: Do you like this flower? If not, then which is your favorite flower?

Tulips

A Carriage In Vienna

2012-01-20T04:49:00.000-08:00

From my friend's trip to Vienna

Among the photos that he sent me, I found one photo of an old black horse-drawn carriage which was captured in Austria's capital city, Vienna. As far as I know, those carriages are for the tourists, and if you would like to visit Vienna in a horse-drawn carriage, you must pay almost 40 euros for a long ride. I think this is the best way to discover the capital city of Austria, Vienna.

A Carriage In Vienna

A Viennese Park

2012-01-15T05:16:00.000-08:00

A park in Vienna

If you plan to visit the capital city of Austria, Vienna, you will notice many amazing Viennese parks and gardens there. In the photo bellow, you will see how a Viennese park looks like.. The park from the photo its not that big but its well maintained, you wont find a piece of garbage on the ground.

The photo from this post was captured in the fall of 2011, I think somewhere in the middle of October.

You can find us on Flickr

Yes we are on Flickr :) The link to our Flickr profile is under the "SHORTCUTS" area. So don't forget to follow us on Flickr as well.

A park in Vienna

Nitra Cityscape

2012-01-13T07:18:00.000-08:00

Nitra Cityscape

Nitra is a very nice city located in western part of Slovakia, very close to the Zobor mountain. Nitra is one of the largest city in Slovakia with more then 80.000 citizens. The shot from this post was taken on a larger hill near the outskirts of Nitra.

If you plan to take a trip to Nitra you should know that in that city are many amazing things to check out. Among the main sights, is the Nitra castle, Zobor mountain and probably the old town. Also for the tourists, there are many hotels in Nitra so don't worry, you fill find a place to stay for a couple of days.

Nitra cityscape

Bratislava Cityscape

2012-01-12T06:28:00.000-08:00

Today - View from Bratislava castle

I have to admit that Bratislava is one of the most beautiful capital cities in Europe. Also I would like to mention to those who don't know that this city, is the capital city of Slovakia. In the photo presented in this photo you will see how Bratislava looks from the Bratislava castle.

I will try to upload more photos from Bratislava so please stay tuned!

The photo from this post belongs to a friend of mine so all the credits goes to him !

View from Bratislava castle

Sun Flower

2012-01-08T01:48:00.000-08:00

Today: Flower photography

As you can see, I've added to the photo from this post a nice texture. If you would like to learn more about how to add textures to your photos please check out this tutorial: How To Add Textures To Your Photos

Don't forget to share this post so others can watch our photos. You only have use the sharing buttons which can be found right under the post titles.

Sun flower

Steam Locomotive: C.F.R 150.1105

2012-01-07T06:39:00.000-08:00

From Sibiu railway museum

Today I thought to share some photos of a powerful steam locomotive which once was used by the Romanian railway company. To those who don't know, the following photos were shot inside Sibiu railroad museum.

Some details about C.F.R 150.1105

These types of steam locomotives (C.F.R 150.1105) were received from the Soviet Union as compensation for the war effort. These types of steam locomotives arrived in Romania between 1948 – 1949, right after the end of the Second World War. The Romanian Railroad Company (C.F.R - "Caile Ferate Romane) retired these steam locomotives between 1976 – 1979 and were replaced with diesel locomotives.

The C.F.R 150.1105 steam locomotive

The steam locomotive's headlight

Left side

The front of the steam locomotive

C.F.R 150.1105

A Train In A Cold Winter Morning

2012-01-06T12:01:00.000-08:00

Near Buzias train station

Back in 2010 when I traveled to Buzias I’ve captured many amazing photos and from that collection I will share a photo which was captured near the Buzias train station. Now to those who don’t know, Buzias is a small city located not far from the capital city of Banat region, Timisoara. The train from the photo below, is a regio train which was coming from Ilia. The final destination of that train is Timisoara Nord train station.

Some details about the locomotive

The locomotive from the photo is a class 82 diesel-hydraulic locomotive which was modernized by Remarul (a company in Romania which builds and modernizes railroad vehicles). The class 82 diesel-hydraulic locomotive has a brand new Caterpillar engine and it has a top speed of 100 km/h. This type of locomotive is used by the Romanian railroad company (C.F.R).

Class 82 diesel-hydraulic locomotive

How To Add Textures To Your Photos

2012-01-05T01:25:00.001-08:00

In this tutorial I will show you how to add amazing free textures to your photos. This is a very basic tutorial with only 4 simple steps.

In order to have similar results like the photo from the Final Result, you must have two things, first you need to have a texture and second, you need a photo editing software like Photoshop (this tutorial should work in all versions of PS)

The Final Result

A steam locomotive in Sighisoara

1. Pick a photo from your gallery and search on Google for some free textures. Here is a nice website which offers free textures for download: http://www.plaintextures.com/

2. Open Photoshop and resize your photo to match your texture dimensions. For example if you downloaded a texture which has a 1024x768 then rezise your photo to that dimension.

3. Add your photo and your textures on seperate layers, place the texture under the photo.

4. Reduce your photo's opacity until you start to see in the background your texture.

Here are the original images that I've used in this tutorial:

This is the techinique that I've used to add textures to my photos, if you have different techinques please share them in a comment.

How The New Year Looked Like

2012-01-02T00:53:00.000-08:00

How the New Year looked like in 2010

In this post you will see how the New Year's eve looked like in 2010 in my city. Sadly, back then the weather was a little bad because it was a foggy but luckly we were able to see and capture the amazing fireworks. Stay tuned because in the coming days, I will share on this photography blog some photos of this year's fireworks.

A quick remainder

If you have a Google+ account, please add this photography blog to your circles. Probably you've noticed that we have a Google+ badge on this blog, don't forget to use it, you only have to click the Add to circles button.


New Year's eve

Amazing fireworks

Happy New Year

2012-01-02T00:47:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year

First of all, I would like to wish a happy New Year to all of you. Also I hope that 2012 will be much better year for all of us.

Today: winter photography

Today I shared a photo which is related to winter photography. As you can see in the photo below, the park is covered with a laier of snow. This photo was taken last year in the middle of January in Timisoara, Romania.

Winter photography - Central Park

Praid And The Salt Mine

2011-12-29T02:14:00.000-08:00

Inside the salt mine

Back in 2010, I traveled to Praid which is a commune in Harghita county, Romania. The main reason for my trip to Praid was to check out the salt mine. Inside the salt mine you can find a museum where you can watch some exhibits of both old and modern mining tools which once were used by the miners. Also in the salt mine is a large playground for the children, a large restaurant and a small chapel. If you plan to visit the salt mine, you must take the special bus which will take you inside the mine, the station is very close to the salt mine's entrance tunnel.

The bus will reach the bus station from the salt mine in approximately 6 minutes, after that you must walk down some stairs and you are in the salt mine.

The commune of Praid

Also after the photos which were captured in the salt mine of Praid, you will see some photos which were taken in various places in Praid.

A statue which represents Saint Mary

Old mining tools which once were used in the salt mine

Inside the salt mine

A small souvenir shop and a restaurant above

A sign post

The altar of the chapel

In the back of this pictures is located a restaurant

Now you will see three photos which were taken in various places in Praid

The entrance tunnel

This shot was captured near a restaurant

A beautiful pension

Hope you liked the travel photography presented in the post. Probably in the near future I will add more photos from my trip to Praid. So stay tuned !

Free 2012 Calendar

2011-12-28T03:55:00.000-08:00

Download our free 2012 Calendar

Today we finished our new 2012 calendar which is waiting for you to download it for free. In order to download our 2012 calendar, you only have to click on the download tab or simply click here and it will take you directly to our download page.

This calendar was converted into a PDF file. For best quality, we recommend you to print the calendar on a A3 sheet of paper.

Here is a small image of our 2012 calendar:

This is how the calendar looks

Get your free 2012 printable calendar today!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T00:45:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas

Since the special day of Christmas is here, I have only one thing to say, and that is: I wish a Merry Christmas to all of you!

The photo from this post

In this post I will share a photo of a snowman which was made from small LED's. To tell you the truth, this photo of the snowman is one of my favorite photos. Hope you will like it!

The snowman

HDR Photography: Winter Is Here

2011-12-22T00:45:00.000-08:00

Today: HDR Photography

In this post you will have the occasion to watch a beautiful winter photo. Now if you wounder where the photo was taken, you will find the answer to your question in the photo's capture.

Central park, Timisoara.

This is how the Central park looks in winter when everything is covered with snow.

Macro Photography: A Bee

2011-12-13T01:08:00.000-08:00

Today: macro photography

Today I will share a very special photo which was taken a couple of years ago. In this macro photo you will see a bee which I guess is trying to drink some water from a tap.

Macro photography: a bee

Christmas Is Almost Here

2011-12-10T07:17:00.000-08:00

A few days before Christmas

Since Christmas is almost here, almost every commercial center in the world is decorated with all sorts of things related to this special holiday. Here is one example of how our mall is decorated in this period. As you can see, there are many small white LED lights hanging on the ceiling.

Probably I will share other Christmas photo in the coming days, so don't forget to stay tuned. Don't forget to subscribe to our RSS feed, the link is in the Shortcuts area.

Christmas Photography

Travel Photography: Radna

2011-12-04T01:57:00.000-08:00

Remember this post?

We have on this photography blog another photo from this trip: The Saint Mary Monastery In Radna

At the Saint Mary monastery

The Franciscan monastery "Saint Mary" was build in 3 stages: first. they started to build the Western wing (1722-1727), after the Western wing was done, the builders started to build the Southern wing (1743-1747), finally the Eastern wing was finished 1824. The main facade belongs to the classical style and the two older wings belongs to the baroque period Because this is a very old monastery and a well known one, its considered a historical monument. .

In this post, the majority of the photos were taken near the Franciscan monastery "Saint Mary". You will see how the monastery looked like in the summer of 2011. Also you will see some photos which were taken in the back of the monastery where an old "cemetery" can be found. ( As far as I heard, nobody is buried there).

The Franciscan monastery "Saint Mary"

The church towers

Other photo of the church

View from the church towards the city of Radna

A part of Radna

Inside the church - The organ

Inside the church - The altar

The old cemetery

View from the chapel towards the monastery

A small chapel on a small hill

HDR Photography: Peony Flower

2011-12-03T05:02:00.000-08:00

HDR photography: a peony flower

I really like the HDR images and today I've tried to apply this tutorial: How to create HDR photos in Photoshop CS5 on a photo of a Peony flower. In my opinion, the result turned out to be quite amazing. What do you think about the photo from this post? Do you find it amazing?

Peony flower

A Lonely Child Waiting For a Train

2011-12-02T00:52:00.000-08:00

Before the train left the station

Today I would like to share one amazing photo of a small child who was sitting and waiting.. I think.. for a train. The shot was taken in Timisoara Nord train station, a couple of minutes before the train ( I'm referring to the train from the photo) received the "You can go now" signal.

If you would like to watch the larger version of this photo, then please check out my DeviantArt profile, the photo on my profile has a bigger dimension (1024x768 pixels) and the photo is much cleaner. You can find the link to my DeviantArt profile under the Shortcuts area.

Travel Photography: A child waiting for a train

A Sunset In Timisoara

2011-12-01T06:17:00.000-08:00

Google+ badge on Photography Only

We added a new badge on our photography blog which will take you to our Google+ page, don't forget to share the page so others can watch our photos, you only have to click on the +1 button which can be found right above the Recent Posts.

Today: Sunset Photography

Among my favorite types of photography is: sunset photography and today I will share another photo with a beautiful sunset. The place where the following photo was taken is the capital city of the historical region of Banat, Timisoara which is located in western part of Romania.

Sunset Photography

Wedding Photography: At The Wedding Fair - Part 2

2011-12-01T00:53:00.000-08:00

Don't forget to...

Check out our other wedding photos, just click on the following link: At the wedding fair and it will take you to our first post with wedding photos.

"At the wedding fair" continues

I decided to share more wedding photos from the wedding fair which was held in 2010.

Flower decorations

Traditional food

Various wedding decorations

Beautiful red roses

Wedding phototography

Table decorations

Flowers

Other example of decoration

Wedding cake

Candles with flowers

Just Before Sunrise

2011-11-25T23:16:00.000-08:00

Just before sunrise: Timisoara

I found a nice shot which was taken last year near the Timisoara Nord train station. As you can see, the shot was captured just before the sun started to rise. In the back of the photo, you can see the Orthodox Cathedral which is one of the most popular building in Timisoara.

Timisoara

A Motorcyclist Riding His Cross Motorcycle

2011-11-25T07:29:00.000-08:00

A cross motorcycle

The shot was captured by a friend of mine when we were fishing near the village of Sanandrei, Romania. Since he ride his cross motorcycle very close to us, I've asked my friend to take a shot of the bike. I hope you will like the final result. :)

What type of digital camera was used?

The photo was taken with a Nikon D5000 digital camera.

A cross motorcycle

Sibiu Railroad Museum

2011-11-24T06:45:00.000-08:00

Steam locomotives in Sibiu railroad museum

This post is about Romanian steam locomotives. You will see photos of steam locomotives which once were used by the Romanian railroad company. Now, the steam locomotives can be found in Sibiu railroad museum were they are waiting for visitors to check them out.

These shots were taken when I've traveled to Sibiu last year ( in 2010). If you would like to watch some city photographies of Sibiu just click on the following link and it will take you to our posts: More photos of Sibiu.

The steam locomotives:

C.F.R 94649 - The C.F.R 94649 steam locomotive was build in 1914 at Scwartzkopff factory in Berlin, Germany. After the Second World War Romania received these types of steam locomotives from Austria as war compensation.

C.F.R 150.1105 - This class of steam locomotive (C.F.R 150.1105) was received from the Soviet Union as compensation for the war effort. These types of steam locomotives arrived in Romania between 1948 – 1949, right after the end of the Second World War. The Romanian Railroad Company (C.F.R - "Caile Ferate Romane) retired these steam locomotives between 1976 – 1979 and replaced them with diesel locomotives.

C.F.F 763.148 - This is a narrow gauge steam locomotive. This locomotive was used on a forest railway (C.F.F stands for "Caile Ferate Forestiere" - which means forest railway, forest railroad or logging railroad) near Curtea de Arges, Romania. This narrow gauge steam locomotive was build in 1923 at the Orenstein & Koppel factory in Berlin, Germany. This loco had a top speed of 15 km/h and wheel wheel arrangement: 0-6-0

C.F.R 94649 - right side

C.F.R 94649 - left side

C.F.R 150.1105

C.F.R 150.1105 -right side

The steam locomotive's headlight

C.F.R 150.1105 - left side

C.F.F 763.148

C.F.F 763.148 - other angle

Inside Dracula's House

2011-11-20T01:26:00.000-08:00

We also have..

Some city photographies which were taken in Sighisoara citadel, click on the following link: City Photography: Sighisoara and watch more photos of Sighisoara.

Dracula or Vlad the Impaler

Probably most of you know a few things about the mysterious Transylvanian ruler.. Dracula ( he's real name was Vlad the Impaler). In this post I will share one photo which was taken inside his house in Sighisoara citadel, Romania. According to the legend, Dracula was born in Sighisoara citadel, in a house which is not far from the Clock Tower. In our days, his house was turned into a restaurant.

Inside Dracula's house

Photography Only On Google+

2011-11-19T02:10:00.000-08:00

Photography Only on Google+

Today we launched a Google+ page where you can watch more photos from Photography Only. The majority of the photos on our Google+ page are new and probably you will never see them on this photography blog. Before you can watch our photos on Google+, you must have a Google+ profile.

The link to our Google+ page is here: https://plus.google.com/b/115153726809034784859/

Don't forget to add Photography Only to your circle - we will upload on our Google+ page many amazing and unique photos.

Fall photography continues

I found a very interesting photo in my photography collection.

Fall Photography

Transportation Photography: The V42 Electric Locomotive

2011-11-16T05:49:00.000-08:00

The V42 electric loco

How many of you like to watch railway photos, especially photos of locomotives? To be honest, I'm a big fan of locomotives (diesel, steam and electric) and wherever I travel, I always try to capture some photos of trains. In this post you will see the Hungarian V42 electric locomotive which was coupled to some old wagons. These photos of the V42 locomotive was captured in Szeged train station, Hungary.

The V42 electric locomotive is owned by the Hungarian railway company MÁV.

Don't forget to..

Check out other photos which were taken in the Hungarian city of Szeged.

The V42 electric locomotive

The front of the locomotive

The V42 next to a V43 electric locomotive

The locomotive was coupled to some old wagons

The back of the V42

Fall Photography: Amazing Colors

2011-11-16T03:34:00.000-08:00

Today: Fall Photography

In this post you will find a few photos from my photography collection which were taken in various places in Romania. As I mentioned in the title, this post is about Fall photography so you will find photos which are related to the fall season.

About the photos

The photos from this post were taken with a CANON EOS 350D digital camera. One last thing remained to say, enjoy watching and don't forget to share this post so others can watch our fall photos.

A cold autumn morning

Leafs on the ground

Many amazing colors

The same tree

Another angle

Fall photography

A leaf

Somewhere in the nature

Wedding Photography: At The Wedding Fair

2011-11-13T01:17:00.000-08:00

Today: Wedding photography

In our days many photographers and simple visitors are interested in watching some wedding photography. Today I decided to share some photos which were taken last year at a wedding fair. In the following photos you will see some amazing wedding dresses, wedding ornaments, cakes, flower bouquets and many other amazing things related to wedding.

Flower Bouquet

A dinner table with ornaments

Various types of "specialties"

Some good wines

Wedding dress

Another wedding dress

Wedding dress

A very good-looking wedding dress

At another exhibition

Wedding cakes

HDR Photography: A Train In Timisoara Nord

2011-11-12T01:53:00.000-08:00

A train waiting for departure

The following photo was taken in Timisoara Nord train station in a cold winter morning. The final station of this train was Bucharest, the capital city of Romania. The train was pulled by a Romanian electric locomotive.

You can find out more details about this electric locomotive on Google, just type in the search box the locomotive's series number: 41-0860-1

A Romanian electric locomotive

Travel Photography: Nový Most, Bratislava

2011-11-09T10:17:00.000-08:00

Location: Bratislava, Slovakia

The photo from this post was taken by a friend of mine who traveled this year to Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia. Nový Most (Nový Most means New Bridge) is a bridge over the Danube river in Bratislava. This bridge is a very special place because on top of the bridge you can see a flying saucer-shaped structure, which is a restaurant and its called the UFO.

About this photo

This travel photo was taken from the Bratislava Castle which is not far from the Danube river.

Nový Most, Bratislava

How To Create HDR Photos In Photoshop CS5

2011-11-06T02:56:00.000-08:00

In this tutorial, I will show you how to create HDR photos in Adobe Photoshop CS5. If you don't have Photoshop CS5 installed on your PC, please don't bother to read this tutorial because only Photoshop CS5 has a special option which helps you to create HDR photos.

In this tutorial you will learn to create similar HDR photos like the one in the Final Result. If you would like to create something more advanced than the photo from the Final Results, then you should know that you need other ( the majority are not free) plugins.

The Final Result

Timisoara, Iosefin Neighborhood

Original Photo

The original image

1. Open Photoshop CS5 and insert a photo (which you would like to transform into an HDR image).

2. Your next step is to open the HDR Toning option, simply go to Image - Adjustments - HDR Toning.

Step 2: Open HDR Toning

Now start playing with the options in the HDR Toning window.

Step 3: Play with the options

I will explain the basics of the HDR Toning option in the following lines.

As you can see the HDR Toning window has 3 major options: Edge Glow, Tone and Details and Colors. Because this is a basic tutorial I will not cover in this tutorial the fourth section which is Toning Curves and Histogram.

The most important option from the 3 major options are the followings. ( I've used them almost every time when I transform my images into HDR images)

Details

This will make the images more surrealistic. It gives an interesthing effect to the image

Gamma

The Gamma is more like the Shadow Highlights in Photoshop, if you increase the Gamma level it will darken the highlights and brighten the shadows if you decrease it it will do the opposite. If you add more Gamma to your images then you will start to lose contrast.

Exposure

You can increase the Exposure if you would like to make the image a bit brighter.

Vibration

If you would like to add more color to your image just increase the Vibration level.

Edge Glow

The Edge Glow options are manly effect the edges. If you would like to make the edges sharp then move the Radius level close to 0 px. But if you want to add a Painting effect to your image just increase the Radius level. If you increase the Strength it will add stronger shadows and highlights to your image.

As you can see even from one photograph you can create a beautiful HDR-like effect.

HDR Photography: Inside The Covered Colonnades

2011-11-04T08:18:00.000-07:00

Don't forget to..

If you are new to this photography blog please and you would like to find out more details or probably you would like to see more photos about the Covered Colonnades or the city of Buzias then don't forget to check out the following post: A Cold Winter Morning In Buzias

Inside the covered colonnade

In the post you will see an HDR photo which was captured inside the Turkish-Byzantine style covered colonnades. I hope that you will like the interior of the covered colonnade.

The interior of the covered colonnade

Travel Photography: Venus

2011-11-02T07:36:00.000-07:00

The Romanian Black Sea and Venus

Venus is small resort which is located on the Romanian Black sea shore, near the costal city of Mangalia. The distance between Mangalia and Venus is about 3 km. Back in the communist era, Venus, Saturn and Olimp resorts had the most beautiful and well maintained beaches, in our days the situation is a little different.

In this travel photography post you will see some photos taken on the beach at Venus resort. As you will see in the photos below, the beach is well maintained, the weather is warm, the Black Sea is a little cold but that's not a big problem for the tourists in Venus.

A few words about Venus

This is the perfect resort for relaxing because its not very crowded like the other beaches on the shore. In Venus you can find many hotels and restaurants where you can find accommodation and serve some good food. According to a website, the most popular hotels in Venus are: Hotel Carmen, Hotel Dana and Hotel Palace, these hotels are considered luxury hotels because they have 4 stars and they are equipped with private swimming pools, fitness room, massage rooms and so on...

A part of Venus

Some hotels, tourists and the Black sea

The Vulturul hotel

Other photo with the Vulturul hotel

The tourists relaxing on the beach

The Black sea at Venus

Venus and Saturn resorts

The tourists in Venus

Another part of the beach

The Black sea and some tourists on the beach

Some tourists in the water

A closed beach

HDR Photography: The Statue of Liberty

2011-10-29T01:02:00.000-07:00

The Statue of Liberty in Arad

Today I will share one HDR photo of the Statue of Liberty which can be found in the Romanian city of Arad. The photo was taken in 2011 when I've visited the city of Arad.

About the Statue of Liberty

This statue was build in 1890 in the memory of the Hungarian revolutionary army. As I mentioned earlier, the Statue of Liberty can be found in Arad, to be more specific, the statue is located in the Reconciliation Park. In that same part (Reconciliation Park) you can find another monument which is called The Arch of Triumph.

The Statue of Liberty

Rural Photography: Cenad

2011-10-23T06:43:00.000-07:00

Today: Rural Photography

Today, I will share on this photography blog some rural photos which were captured on my way to Hungary. The place were I shot the images was the Romanian village of Cenad, Timis county. Cenad is a medium-sized village which is very close to the Hungarian border.

In this post you will see some photos of the catholic church and some photos which were captured near the main road.

The catholic church in Cenad

The same church

The front of the catholic church

An old sledge

That road leads to to the border

That road leads to Timisoara

A part of Cenad

A very old fire engine

Architecture Photography: Szeged Train Station

2011-10-22T01:46:00.000-07:00

A few words about Szeged train station

This train station is one of the oldest train stations in Hungary. The first train that entered in Szeged train station was on march 4, 1854. In the Second World War, more exactly in 1944 a few bombs were dropped near Szeged train station by the Allies, luckily the explosions did not make any substantial damage to the train station. In our days, Szeged train station look very nice and well maintained.

Where is Szeged train station located?

If you would like to find out more about its location, please check out the location on Google Maps, just type in the search box the following query: Szegedi Pályaudvar

Szeged train station - Szegedi Pályaudvar

The European Economic And Social Committee

2011-10-20T06:37:00.000-07:00

The European Economic and Social Committee - Delors buildings

The Delors building houses the European Economic and Social Comitee. This building is located in the European Quarter of Brussels. To those who never heard of Brussels before, they should know that Brussels is the capital city of Belgium (Belgium is a small country which is located near France).

The following photo, was turned into an HDR image. Please let me know if you like the photo from this post.

A quick reminder

We launched a brand new tab on this photography blog which is called Tutorials, there you will find many amazing tutorials related to photography.

The European Economic And Social Committee - Brussels

Nightlife Photography: Sibiu

2011-10-19T06:45:00.000-07:00

Nightlife Photography: Sibiu, Romania

When I traveled in 2010 to Sibiu I thought back then to capture some photos in Sibiu at night... When the sun was down, I've taked my camera and I went for a short walk.. The city was very active at night, many locals and tourists were walking on the streets and admiring the city.

In the following photos you will see how Sibiu looks when the sun sets down and the moon comes up.

Photography Tips: Shooting at night

I would like to give you some basic tips for night photography:

-For best results, always set your camera to night mode and try to shoot your photos without flash ( the quality of the photo is much higher and the pictures are much "cleaner" ).
-Try shooting photos in very illuminated places or shoot very illuminated buildings..

The Council Tower

Towards the Liars bridge

Some exhibits

People walking around the city center

The Evangelical Lutheran Cathedral in the back

The Liars bridge

View from the Liars bridge

Sibiu at night - Other view from the Liars bridge

Under the Liars bridge

A building in Sibiu

A statue

The same statue in Sibiu

A part of Sibiu city center at night

People are walking around

A famous restaurant

Make a Vignette Effect In Photoshop

2011-10-16T01:50:00.000-07:00

Probably most of you know how a vignette effect looks, if not please check out the photo from the "Final Result". If you would like to add a similar effect to your photos then please read this tutorial. For this tutorial, I've used a photo which I captured it near Sighisoara train station.

This tutorial should work in all versions of Photoshop including Photoshop CS5.

The Final Result

Vignette Effect - The forest near Sighisoara train station

1. Step - Insert your photo into Photoshop and select the Gradient Tool ( or simply press the G button ). Create a New Layer and make sure that your New Layer is selected.

Make sure that your Gradient tool [1] is set to Radial Gradient [2] and the Reverse [3] check button is checked.

Check the following options in Photoshop

2. Step - If your Gradiant Tool is selected, click on the center of your photo, hold down your left mouse button and drag the corsur until you reach the edge of your image.

Apply the Gradient on a the New Layer.

3. Step - Now your image should look like to one in the Final Result, but if you are not satisfied with the results, you can increase or decrees your vignette's opacity. You will find the Opacity bar in the Layers palette.

Alternative...

There is a simpler way to create a vignette for your photos, in my opinion, this will give a professional look to your photos. This option is only available in Photoshop CS5. First insert your image and go to Filter, under the Filter menu you will find an option which is called Lens Correction. After the image is loaded, click on the Custom tab, near the Auto Correction tab. In the Custom tab, you can select the amount of vignette effect, just drag the bar in the left side and Photoshop will add a darker vignette effect to your photos.

Flower Photography: Different Types Of Flowers

2011-10-13T09:14:00.000-07:00

Different types of flowers

Today on this photography blog, I will share 4 photos of flowers from my trip to Sighisoara. These photos were taken when I've visited the the Medieval Festival back in 2010. The flowers were planted in a small park near the orthodox church, not far from the train station. The flowers from this post are very common and when I will find out their name, I will update this post, until then.. enjoy watching!

Different types of flowers

From another angle

Some yellow flowers

Some white flowers

Steam Locomotives In Sibiu Railway Museum

2011-10-09T05:43:00.000-07:00

Reminder

Don't forget to subscribe to our Feedburner feed, the link to our feed can be found under the Shortcuts tab.

A part of the Sibiu Railway Museum

This is another post with one HDR photo which is related to steam locomotives. In this post you will discover a part of the Sibiu Railway Museum's exhibits. These steam locomotives were once used by the Romanian railway company for pulling or pushing both passenger and fright cars. In our days, these steam locomotives are not used anymore, they are standing in the museum where there are admired by the museum's visitors.

Some steam locomotive inside the railway museum

A Steam Locomotive

2011-10-08T05:27:00.000-07:00

Steam locomotive nr. 764158

How many of you like steam locomotives? To be honest I'm a big fan of steam locos and today I will share one black and white photo of a steam locomotive. The image from this post was initially transformed into a HDR photo and after that was turned into a black and white photo.

A little background information about this steam locomotive

This steam locomotive was used on the Sighisoara - Agnita narrow gauge line. In the 40's the railway line was closed and some of the locomotives were send to Sibiu ( you can find a few in the Sibiu Railway museum) and one example is located in front of Sighisoara train station. If you would like to find out more details about this steam locomotive, I recommend to google the following series number: 764158 ( the steam locomotive belongs to CFR which is the Romanian railway company).

Steam locomotive nr. 764158

HDR Photography: Bear Lake

2011-10-08T00:58:00.000-07:00

Today: The Bear lake

The Bear lake is located in Sovata, Harghita county and its one of the most famous salt lakes in Romania. The salt water in the Bear lake is helio-thermal and salty, it has many therapeutic effects.

Here is one HDR photo of the Bear lake:

The Bear lake - Sovata, Romania

Landscape Photography: Various Places

2011-10-07T06:23:00.000-07:00

Various place, various landscape photographies

My favorite part in photography is, and I think it will remain landscape photography, with this occasion, I will share some landscape photographies from Romania. The photos from this post were taken in different places and in different seasons, you will see some landscape photos which were taken in the winter, summer and spring.

The places were the photos were captured are located in the capture, right under the photos. You will find a couple of photos without an exact location, as soon as I remember the location, I will update this post.

Near Timisoara

Sanandrei in winter

Buzias in winter

Somewhere in Arad county

My favorite landscape photo

Rosia, near Petrosani, Romania

Somewhere in Harghita county

Sunset in Praid, Harghita county

Flower Photography: Poppy Flowers

2011-10-06T11:15:00.000-07:00

About this flower photography post

Today on this photography blog, I will share 6 amazing photos of Poppy flowers.

About the Poppy flowers

Usually the Poppy flower grows in the wild so its considered a wildflower. All the poppies have one specific color which is red ( the majority have a red color but there are some exceptions ). These types of wildflowers have from 4 to 6 petals.

A Poppy flower in the nature

Other photo of the Poppy flower

The petals and some black markings

The blue sky and some poppies

One poppy lost in the grass

The Poppy flower

Architecture Photography: Votive Church In Szeged

2011-10-05T11:56:00.000-07:00

Travel to Szeged, Votive Church

In the summer of 2011 I've decided to travel to Szeged, Hungary the main reason was that I wanted to check out that Hungarian city. Among the places that I've visited in Szeged was the Votive Church.

The construction of this church started in 1913, due to the First World War, it was completed in 1930. The church was build in neo-roman style.

You can find the Votive church ( "Fogadalmi templom" in Hungarian) in the Dóm square, not far from the Tisza river.

The Votive Church, Szeged

A strange tower near the church entrance

The church towers

Another photo of the Votive Church

5 Examples Of Stunning Sky Photography

2011-10-02T01:55:00.000-07:00

Watch 5 examples of stunning sky photography

In the following five examples of sky photography you will have the occasion to see how the clouds are looking when the sun sets down. The color combinations are very stunning and unique, the clouds receive many amazing colors like: red, gray and blue. In order to capture amazing sky photographies you must have some luck, why I'm saying this, well first of all, there must be some clouds on the sky and the second most important thing is the sun, the best sky photos were captured when the sun is down but the sun's light reflects in the clouds..

These sky photographies were taken in the same place and in the same day with the same DSL-R camera. The place where the photos were captured is the village of Sânandrei, Romania.

Stunning color combinations

This is the best sky photography from this post

The storm is coming

Some storm clouds

The sun is down but the light reflects in the cloud

Nightlife Photography: Timisoara City Center

2011-10-01T04:53:00.000-07:00

Our first nightlife photography post

In our first nightlife photography post I will share some photos which were captured in Timisoara's city center. The city center was decorated with all sorts of lights because it was close to Christmas day and when the holidays are very close, every year, you will find small shops where the merchants are selling things which are related to Christmas ( for example: candies, sweets, toys..).

On that day it was very cold outside, but I had a little luck and I found a small shop which selled hot wine with cinnamon, the wine had a very good taste and it warmed me up a little bit.

What photography gear did I used?

The photos from this post were captured in 2010, just a few days before Christmas day with a Canon EOS 450D camera.

A Santa Clause made from LEDs

The small shops

The Orthodox Cathedral at night

The Opera in Timisoara

Other nightlife photo of the Cathedral

Timisoara city center with the Cathedral in the back

Animal Photography: Cats

2011-10-01T00:47:00.000-07:00

If you like to watch photos of cats, then you are in the perfect place

Since my favorite animals are the cats, we tought to upload six photos of cats from our photography collection. The cats from this photography post are domestic cats which is the most common type of cats in the world... they grow almost everywhere.

Did you know??

Did you know that the cats live in close contact with the people for at least 3.500 years, according to some websites the ancient Egyptians were the first who used the cats to catch or drive away the mice.

Now here comes the six photos of cats:

This cat is looking for something

A nice black cat

A black and white kitty sitting on a railway sleeper

She is starring at the camera

This is my favorite shot, I hope you see why..

A cat watching the sunset

Architecture Photography: Cathedral of Murcia

2011-09-28T09:09:00.000-07:00

Where is located?

The Cathedral of Murcia is also known as The Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and this beautiful church is located in the city of Murcia, Spain. To be more precise and I hope I'm not wrong, the Cathedral of Murcia can be found near the Segura river, almost near the city center.

About the Cathedral of Murcia

To those who don't know, this is a roman catholic church which has two important elements, the actual church (the first photo) and a bell tower (the second photo). You will see that this church has a very impressive and unique architecture, the exterior was build in Gothic style.

The Cathedral of Murcia

The Bell Tower, a part of the Cathedral of Murcia

Rural Photography: Sânandrei

2011-09-26T10:25:00.000-07:00

Today: Rural Photography

The following rural photographies were shot in the village of Sânandrei, Timis county, Romania. Now probably you would like to find out more interesting things about this village and to tell you the truth, is almost the same as a normal Romanian village.

The photos from this rural photography post were captured in the autumn of 2010 (in the middle of September I think) with a Nikon D5000 DSL-R camera.

On last thing to say, enjoy watching !

Sunset in Sânandrei

Someone's goat

A part of Sânandrei

Sânandrei train station

Main road, not far from the train station

Landscape photo

Two villagers returning from work

The same main road but from an other view

The Clock Tower, Sighişoara

2011-09-23T01:45:00.000-07:00

A short description of the Clock Tower

The Clock Tower can be found inside the Sighişoara citadel and back then, it was build to protect the main entrance into the citadel. This tower has a height of 64 meters and it has five floors. In our days, inside the Clock Tower you will find a museum with many amazing and unique medieval exhibitions.

The Clock Tower at summer

Near the entrance into the citadel

This photo was captured near the torture room

This photo was captured inside the citadel

This is how the Clock Tower looks inside the citadel

Old buildings and the Clock Tower in the back

City Photography: Mazarrón

2011-09-22T07:32:00.000-07:00

What is this post about?

Today, in this post you can watch 8 photos of Mazarrón, Spain.

A short description of Mazarrón

Mazarrón is Spanish city in the region of Murcia. (the region of Murcia is located somewhere in the southern part of Spain, near the Mediterranean coast) The city of Mazarrón is a costal city because its located on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. In a few words, the city is very beautiful and it also has some nice beaches. Mazarrón is very close to another beautiful Spanish city, and that city is Cartagena.

Carlota hotel in Mazarrón

Mediterranean Sea and the city

Mazarrón and the Mediterranean Sea

A souvenir shop in Mazarrón

Small paintings for sale

The beach

Two people in the water

Some palm trees and some hill in the background

The Saint Mary Monastery In Radna

2011-09-20T10:13:00.000-07:00

Where is Radna located?

Radna is a small town (rather a larger village than a town) which is located in the Banat region, Romania, not far from the major city of Arad. The distance between Arad and Radna is approximately 35 km and you can cover that distance with a car in 20-30 minutes because the road between Arad and Radna is perfect. If you are interested in the exact location of Radna, please feel free to check it out on Google Maps.

Why did I traveled to Radna?

Well... mainly because I wanted to visit the old monastery. I've heard that Saint Mary monastery has a very impressive, old and big church, so I've decided to check it out. In the followings I will share a photo of the Saint Mary monastery's church. Probably in the near future I will share other photos from Radna, so stay tuned.

Saint Mary Monastery church - HDR photo

10 Examples Of Sunset Photography

2011-09-19T06:22:00.000-07:00

Now its time for 10 sunset photos

After I've showed you 10 sunrise photos from my photography collection, now its time to show you 10 sunset photos. Almost all the photos form this post were captured in Timisoara, except 3-4 photos which were captured near Timisoara.

The sun is going down

A sunset near Timisoara

Timisoara train station and the sun in the back

A sunset and the Solventul factory in Timisoara

Another sunset photo in Sinandrei

Location: Timisoara Nord train station

Somewhere in Romania

Some skies and the beautiful sunset

This photo was captured in Timisoara Nord railway station

Piata Unirii, TImisoara

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View From The Liars Bridge

2011-09-18T08:20:00.000-07:00

When we visited Sibiu

Back in 2010 when we visited Sibiu we captured some photos of this beautiful Transylvanian city. From those photos, I found one which was taken on the Liars bridge.

A little remainder

You can find on this photography blog a post with more photos of Sibiu, the post has the following title: City Photography: Sibiu.

Here is what you will see from the Liars bridge if you are looking towards Turnul Sfatului. (the tower which has a clock)

Sibiu - View from the Liars bridge

Timisoara and the Bega canal

2011-09-17T11:05:00.000-07:00

Timisoara and the Bega canal - on a cold autumn morning

This photo was taken in Timisoara (this is a city in Romania) on a cold autumn morning, just before the sun started to rise. The place where I tooked this photo was on a bridge which crosses the Bega canal, not far from the Timisoara Nord train station.

About the HDR photo

I've captured this photo using a Canon EOS 450D camera, the original photo was shot in RAW mode because I wanted to capture more details. After that, the image was processed and turned into a HDR photo. Here is the final result and I hope you like it.

The Bega canal in Timisoara - HDR photo

10 Sunrise Photos

2011-09-16T02:05:00.000-07:00

Today: Sunrise Photography

In my opinion the most beautiful part of a new day is when the sun comes up, sadly, this occurs before many people wake up. In this post you will see some photos of sunrise which were taken from various places in Romania, at the beginning of the post, you will see some photos of sunrise captured near Timisoara and at the end of this post we added three photos of sunrise from the Black Sea.

A sunrise somewhere near Timisoara

A sunrise somewhere in Romania

A wild flower and a sunrise in the background

The most beautiful sunrise

A sunrise in Sinandrei, near Timisoara

In the following 3 photos you will see how the sunrise looks from the Romanian Black Sea. The most amazing moment is when the sun rises from the sea. The photos bellow were taken in different resorts.

The sun is coming out from the Black Sea

Without any zoom

With a little zoom

The Black Sea and a nice sunrise

Sunrise in Timisoara

Photos Of 8 Different Types Of Flowers

2011-09-13T07:30:00.000-07:00

Introduction

This is another post which contains some photos of flowers. In this post you will 8 different types of garden flowers from my photography collection. All the flowers from this post were captured by my neighbor who likes to grow flowers. I hope that the names of the flowers from this post are correct, if not, please leave a comment with the correct name and I will change it. (sorry but I'm not a flower expert :D ). We released a couple of days ago our first flower photography post, which is called Photos Of Lily Flowers

Carnations

Gladiolus

Lilies

Magnolia

Marigold

Passionflower

Decorative Poppy

Sunflower

Please share this post if you want to see more photos of flowers. Thanks for watching.

Photos of Lily Flowers

2011-09-11T07:14:00.000-07:00

This is our first post with flower photography and with this occasion, today I will share a couple of photos with different types of lily flowers. All the lilies from this flower photography post were shot with a Canon EOS 450D DSLR camera.

An orange lily flower

Yellow lily flower

The same flower from the first photo but from a different angle

This Lily has a beautiful color combination: yellow with dark red

A pink lily

Once again, a yellow lily

A red lily

A yellow lily after the storm

The photo above was taken after a storm, you can still see the raindrops on the lilies.

Museum of Traditional Folk Civilization

2011-09-10T02:03:00.000-07:00

Our Trip To The Village Museum

When we visited Sibiu, we also decided to take a short trip to the Museum of Traditional Folk Civilization which is not far from the city. The museum is quite big and it has many old traditional buildings from various places across Romania.

About The Museum of Traditional Folk Civilization

The Museum of Traditional Folk Civilization (or simply, the village museum) is located in the Dumbrava forest which is about 4 km away from Sibiu. This village museum was founded in 1963 and back then, it was named Muzeul Tehnicii Populare (sorry but I didn't find the correct translation of the museum's name). The village museum covers an area of 96 hectares and it has 10 km of walkways. In our days the Museum of Traditional Folk Civilization is the largest outdoor museum in Europe.

A cross inside the village museum

Other type of cross

The original cross was created somewhere between 1930-1940 and its located in Nereju, Vrancea county, Romania. The copy of the original cross ( the photo above) was created in 2004.

A small hut

A photo inside the small wooden church

A water-driven lumber mill

The wooden church inside the village museum

A traditional house a well in front of the house

A traditional Romanian house covered with straw

A traditional house which can be found in Transylvania

A nice looking hose, I really like the small balcony

Traditional ovens

Similar ovens are used in our days by the peasants for backing different things like: bread, cakes...

Old well with an old bucket made from wood

Paddle wheels which powered the mill

This is how a barn looked like 50 years ago.

A working model of a grain mill

Some souvenirs made from corn leafs

Traditional peasant cloths and a small hat made from straw

Photo of an windmill

Other type of windmill

The same windmill but from another angle

8 HDR Photos

2011-09-09T03:09:00.000-07:00

What is a HDR Photo?

HDR stands for “high-dynamic-range photography” - and you can create an HDR image by merging together multiple standard photos shot at different exposures. In my opinion, the best software for merging photos together is Photoshop which is quite expensive but, you should know that you can find on the internet other cheaper alternatives.

About this post

In this post I would like to share 8 HDR photos from my photography collection. All the HDR photos from this post were created by me in Photoshop.

A small bridge in Buzias park

View from the harbor, Cartagena, Spain

A statue in Cartagena

The Evangelical Lutheran Cathedral

CFR 150.1105 steam locomotive in Sibiu railway museum

Liars bridge in Sibiu

Covered Colonnade in Buzias - HDR photo

The Orthodox Cathedral in Timisoara

Please tell us which HDR photo is your favorite from this post? Or, please share your HDR images in your comment by pasting the link to your HDR images.

City Photography: Timisoara

2011-09-05T12:26:00.000-07:00

Some words about Timisoara

The city of Timisoara is one of the biggest city in Romania. Also, its the capital city of the Banat region of western Romania and the capital city of Timis county. Timisoara has the largest set of historical buildings in Romania, you can find some examples of historical buildings in Iosefin, Cetate and Fabric neighborhoods.

The Bega canal

The photo above was taken in the Iosefin neighborhood. On the right side of the Bega canal, you can see between the trees the cigarette factory which is one of the oldest buildings in Timisoara.

The cigarette factory

Here is a photo of the cigarette factory. This factory was build by the Austro-Hungarians. A couple of years ago was closed.

A graffiti near the Central Park

If you like to watch some amazing graffities, you can check them out under a bridge which is located near the Central park. You can find there some graffities which were made by some local artists. In the photo above you can see one graffiti example.

A monument in the Central Park, Timisoara

A building from the Austro-Hungarian era

Timisoara has many old buildings dated from the Austro-Hungarian period. Back then, in this building was a pharmacy. You can see the old writings on the building's wall, it is written in Hungarian "Gyogyszertar" which means pharmacy.

The Orthodox Cathedral in Timisoara

In the following photos you will see a couple of photos with the Orthodox Cathedral which is a very important and well known building in Timisoara.

The Orthodox Cathedral in winter

The Bega canal and the The Orthodox Cathedral

Iosefin neighborhood

This is one of the oldest neighborhood in Timisoara. In Iosefin you can find many old buildings and a market from where you can buy fresh stuff from the peasants.

Piata Traian

A monument near the Opera

Timisoara city center

The Alba Iulia street and the Orthodox Cathedral in the back

View from the city center towards the Central Park

City Photography: Timisoara City Center

The Opera in Timisoara

In the front is a statue with Romulus and Remus and in the back, the famous Opera.

I will update this post with more photos from Timisoara, don't forget to check out this post later.

A Cold Winter Morning In Buzias

2011-09-01T06:36:00.000-07:00

About our trip to Buzias

Because Timisoara is very close to Buzias, in the winter of 2010 ( at the the beginning of January), we decided to take a short trip there and visit the small city. Outside was cold ( about -8 C) but we had a bit of luck when the sun came up.

Some words about the city of Buzias

The city of Buzias is famous for its spa and for its dendrological park. Buzias in an old health spa, it was declared a spa in 1839 due to the mineral waters from the near area. The mineral water from this city is bottled for common use, you can find it in stores all over the country.

Now some words about the dendrological park. The park has a surface of 20 ha where you can find many rare species of trees and some Turkish-Byzantine style promenades, unique in Romania.

Near Buzias railway station

Inside the Buzias park

All the park is covered in white

A walkway covered with snow in Buzias park

A squirrel searching for food

A long walkway

The promenade

Winter, trees and some green benches

Some rare trees inside the park

Frozen leafs

An orthodox church in the back, between the trees

The railway track to Buzias railway station

Some trees covered with snow near the railway station

Other trees close to the railway station

City Photography: Sibiu

2011-08-31T11:09:00.000-07:00

About Sibiu

Sibiu is a beautiful city in the southern part of Transylvania, Romania, near the Carpathian mountains. Back in 2007, Sibiu was the European Cultural Capital, together with Luxembourg. If you want to find out more details about Sibiu, I've recommend to check out the article about Sibiu on Wikipedia.

Travel to Sibiu

In 2010, we decided to travel to Sibiu. The main reason was to check out the city and of course, take some photos. In a few words, the city of Sibiu is very beautiful, not that big but quite impressive. The main sights are located in the old part of the city ( in the city center or Piata Mare), let me give you some examples of main sights: Liars bridge, The Evanghelical Church, Passage of the Stairs, Brukenthal National... If you plan a trip to Sibiu then you should know that the city offers many hotels and restaurants were you can have a good meal and a nice place to stay.

About this post

In this post you will find photos from the old part of Sibiu ( the majority of the photos from this post were taken near the city center which is located in the old part of Sibiu).

The Evangelical Lutheran Cathedral

The Evangelical Lutheran Cathedral's tower in the background

The Orthodox Cathedral

Near the city center

Brukenthal National Museum

Sibiu city center

A catholic church and the city center

A narrow street somewhere near the city center

Some old buildings in Sibiu

Residential buildings

Some medieval buildings in Sibiu. A defence tower on the left

A fountain near the city center

The Liars bridge

The Liars bridge from another angle

An old building in Sibiu

Other old residential buildings

View from the Liars bridge

Macro Photography: Bugs and Insects

2011-08-30T09:36:00.000-07:00

About Macro Photography

Since this is our first post with macro photos, probably some of you don't know what "Macro Photography" means. To give you a short answer, Macro Photography is close-up photography, usually of very small subjects. In our case the small subjects are some insects and a red bug. In order to capture small subjects, your digital camera must have special lenses ( macro lens) which are, sadly, a little expensive, but don't get disappointed, your normal digital camera can make a very nice job.

About this post

Today I will share some macro photos from my photography collection. In this post you will see some macro photos of bees, butterflies and a red bug with black dots on it. All the photos from this macro photography post were taken in the nature with a Canon DSLR camera.

A bee and a red bug with black dots

A photo with the red bug which I was talking about earlier

A butterfly on dandelion flower

A bee searching for some pollen

Dandelion flowers and a lonely butterfly

Two butterflies resting on some wild flowers

The place but from a different angle

A white butterfly

Thanks for watching our macro photos, probably in the near future you will more macro photos on this photography blog.

Nature Photography

2011-08-27T08:43:00.000-07:00

Some words about this nature photography post

Today I will share a few nature photos from my photography collection. The photos below were taken in different places in different seasons.

All the photos from this "Nature Photography" were taken with a Canon EOS 450D DSLR camera.

A cold winter morning and some wild flower in the nature

The same cold winter morning but in different place

A photo with a fir tree's branch covered with snow

Winter, nature, cold, snow

This photo was taken in autumn

This is how nature looks in the Romanian city of Buzias

An old tree somewhere in Romania

A photo in the nature

The nature in the back and an old tree in front

Hope you've enjoyed watching the nature photos presented in this post. Tell us which was your favorite photo from this post.

City Photography: Sighişoara, Romania

2011-08-26T10:27:00.000-07:00

Where is Sighişoara located?

The city of Sighişoara is located almost in the middle of Transylvania, Romania. To be more exact, this city can be found in the southern part of the Mures county.

A few words about the medieval festival

The following city photographies were taken last year, 2010 in the beautiful Transylvanian city of Sighişoara. Every year, in July, inside the Sighişoara citadel is held a medieval festival. We thought to travel there and take some photos. The medieval festival starts on July 27th and it last 5 days. As you will see in the following city photographies, the Sighişoara citadel is packed with tourists from all over the world. In the following photos you will see two photos which were taken outside the citadel and the rest of the photos were taken inside the Sighişoara citadel.

About the photography gear

When I've made the photos in Sighişoara, I've used a Canon EOS 450D DSLR camera.

Orthodox Trinity Church and the Târnava river

This orthodox church which was build in the 1930's and its located on the banks of the Târnava Mare river. Probably some of you are wondering what is written on the wall, on the northern bank of the Târnava river. That's a quote in Romanian: "Viaţa este o condiţie necesară pentru a exista dar insuficientă pentru a fi. Fă-ţi datoria şi vei afla cine eşti" ( Translated into English it means: Life is a necessary condition to exist but insufficient to be. Do your duty and you will find out who you are)

A street near the citadel

This is how the streets are looking near the Sighişoara citadel. You can see old buildings, some of them belongs from the medieval times. Also this street leads to the main entrance into the citadel.

Some stairs which leads into the citadel

Stairs which are leading into the citadel. If you go up on those stairs you will end near the Clock Tower.

Some medieval buildings in Sighişoara

Some old medieval buildings and a nice restaurant ( the restaurant is located in the unrenovated building) where they make good pizzas. The prices are very reasonable and the food is great, almost every time, the restaurant is full with tourists.

A photo with a medieval buildings from the citadel

Inside the Sighişoara citadel

In the photo above you can see the tourists walking around and watching the exhibitions. In the photo above you can see Dracula's house (in our days, hes house was turned into a restaurant), its the first hose on the left, after the small street.

The famous Clock Tower

Yes, this is the most famous building in the Sighişoara citadel. It was build to protect the main entrance into the citadel and now it serves as a museum. If you pay for a ticket, you can visit the museum which is located inside the Clock Tower and you are also allowed to check out the surrounding area from the Clock Tower's balcony.

Tourists, knights and princesses

Some locals are dressed into medieval cloths.

A shepherd blowing into the horn

Some medieval weapons, shields and armor

In the photo above, there are various medieval weapons and armors. From swords to spikes, from normal and simple bows to crossbows and from simple and light armor to heavy armor. As I heard, some of the medieval weapons are original weapons.

Some medieval buildings in Sighişoara citadel and a defence tower in the back

The citadel full with tourists which had come to the medieval festival

The "Casa cu Cerb" (translated it means "House with Stag" - the name of the restaurant comes from... the stag which is painted on the building - you can see it in the photo above) restaurant in the front. On the right, the street leads to the covered staircase.

Old medieval buildings and the Clock Tower in the back

Some masks for sale

Some handmade masks for sale, their are very cheap, one is approximately 6$ ( 20 lei in Romanian currency)

Inside the covered staircase

A photo inside the covered staircase which leads up to an old medieval church.

Old tombstones from the medieval times

Some old tombstones which are located in the citadel's cemetery. The cemetery is near the covered staircase, as you go up in the staircase, the cemetery is on the right side.

A photo with a statue of Vlad the Impaler or Dracula

A statue with Vlad the Impaler who is also known as Dracula. This is how he looked like :). This photo was taken inside hes hose in Sighisoara citadel.

Hope you liked the photos above, now I'm waiting for your feedback.