Here are a few pictures that I took as we toured the Royal Navy Dockyards in Bermuda. This is a popular spot for tourists and for the cruise ships. And I can see why. It combines some great restaurants and stores with some interesting historical sights.
When we toured the town of St. George, one of our first stops was St. Peter’s Church. Later, we toured the unfinished church. Construction of the church started in the 1870s. The Gothic structure was meant to be a replacement for St. Peter”™s Church. Following a series of problems, including a church split, financial difficulties and a damaging storm, it was abandoned on the eve of its completion.
Here are some pictures of the two churches. I will let you determine which church is the unfinished one.
As we walked Bermuda’s railway trail and headed towards the Royal Dockyards, we came across the Royal Naval Cemetery. Over 1,000 servicemen from as early as 1819 are buried in the oldest and largest cemetery of its kind. Here are some pictures I took of the graveyard. Many of the inscriptions honoured young men. Tragic that so many died so young.
Bermuda’s Railway Trail is a scenic path with a fascinating history.The railway began in 1931 and it was the most expensive railway ever built on a per mile basis. It was an economic disaster and shut down in 1948. In the 1980”™s the government converted the railway into a trail that runs almost the entire length of Bermuda.
We walked most of the southwest portion of the trail. Below are some pictures I took as we walked the trail.
Historic Fort Scaur was one of the many interesting buildings around the trail. You can make out the defensive ditches in the second picture. Quite an interesting set of tunnels underneath the fort. You can learn more about the forts of Bermuda here.
The fourth picture was an abandoned church that we passed along the way. The trail did lead us to a street and a bus stop. Many of the bus stops in Bermuda look like the fifth picture. And the last picture was representative of the scenic views along certain portions of the trail.
We spent a day touring through the town of St. George. It was a fascinating journey back in time. Here are a few of the many pictures I took of the town. Many of the buildings date back to the early 1600s.
We made it back to Toronto. In some ways, it is a bit shocking to arrive in Toronto. It may be a nice city to live and work but it is not a very scenic place. Particularly in early March.
Nonetheless, I have a great set of memories and a great set of photos from Bermuda. As promised, I will post them up in batches over the next week or so. The first set are pictures taken around the shore areas of Bermuda. Some classic beach shots with a couple of unexpected images. Some great skies in this area.
Someone had been looking over one of my portfolios of photographs and made an interesting comment. “These pictures are really sharp. How did you do that?”
The answer is pretty simple. I use a high quality tripod and I use a remote shutter release. And, if the exposure warrants, I will lock the mirror of the camera. All intended to minimize camera vibration and get the sharpest possible image.
The two pictures below show the difference between a handheld shot and an exposure shot with a tripod. Even with a lower resolution jpeg file, it is very clear which shot is the sharper of the two.
I do shoot handheld of course. There are times when it is impractical to carry a tripod. I use the following tips to get as much sharpness as possible.
Good handheld technique. My left hand supports the lens and my right hand holds the camera. I breath in and hold my breath when I click. And I click as gently as I can.
Shutter speed. I do not shoot at shutter speeds below the inverse of the focal length of the lens that I am using. If my lens is 80mm then I stay at shutter speeds greater than 1/80 sec.
Image stabilization. Some lenses offer image stabilization. They can help when shooting handheld. Just remember to turn them off when using a tripod.
Professional quality camera lenses generally offer the sharpest capture. I use the best possible glass when I am taking pictures.
The best tip though is to use a tripod. And a remote release. And mirror lock-up if your camera supports this feature.
Although I should not have gone out on a photo shoot, the day was just too nice to pass by. I went with my wife and my youngest son to take some pictures around Port Perry. The weather was truly outstanding. A beautiful, sunny and mild day. Hard to believe that this is January in southern Ontario.
The first picture is a shot that my wife took of me as I was getting an exposure ready to go. Tripod, mirror-up, remote trigger in hand. Everything that you need to get a tack sharp photo.
And below is one of the exposures from the day. Sadly, my back is a mess. Hopefully it clears up before I return to work on Monday.
