"I warn you to leave, this is the last warning!" I get up off my knees and walk over to the man who's been staring down at me with a fierce expression. "How many times do I have to tell you that we're not interested in whatever it is your selling?" The man doesn't answer but clenches his jaw tight as he turns on his heels. He floats out of the room without saying another word before slamming the door shut behind him, leaving me alone in this spooky place with all these strange spirits floating around me. I take a deep breath and try not think about what just happened or how they might be watching my every move or moving around me now even more quickly than they were before.

Happy Halloween

Tags:   spooky scary ghosts halloween fog steam smoke dark long exposure blue ominous

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Digital Photo Magazine Interview
"Venice :: How I Got The Shot"

How long have you been taking pictures?

I’ve been taking photos for as long as I remember. I've always had a camera tho' I began taking photographs professionally in 2005.

What's your favourite kind of photography, and does this image fit into it?

Typically, I gravitate toward night photography, reflections, and motion. When there is opportunity to combine the three, all the better. Venice provides sublime opportunities for reflection photography, especially at night. Too, many of my urban shots tend to be void of people which reflects the quiet I strive to find in every day life.

Tell us about what made you want to shoot this particular picture?

This particular scene attracted my eye not only for its reflection, but also for the long lines leading to a vanishing point, which allows a viewer to be drawn into the image. Additionally, the “super moon” was illuminating the sky offering a beautiful blue hue to the sky and adding a bit of extra natural light.

What equipment did you use to capture the shot - type of camera, lens, tripod, etc?

A Canon 5D Mark IV with a 18mm wide angle Carl Zeiss lens was used to capture this photograph. Rarely, while travelling, do I use a proper tripod. The camera was steadily planted on a pavement stone at the edge of the canal.

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Tags:   ALLEYS OF VENICE ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE Architecture BEST VENICE PHOTOGRAPHS BRIDGES IN VENICE CANALS VENICE PHOTOGRAPHY CHARACTER OF VENICE CITY LIGHTS CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE GLOW FROM LIGHTS HASSELBLAD HASSELBLAD DIGITAL HASSELBLAD DIGITAL IMAGE HASSELBLAD H4D HISTORIC BUILDINGS OF VENICE LIGHT POSTS LIGHT REFELCTION LIGHT REFLECTION LIGHTED ARCHITECTURE LIGHTS LONG EXPOSURE PHOTOGRAPHY LOW LIGHT Long Exposure MARK A PAULDA MARK A PAULDA FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY MARK A PAULDA TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY MPAULDA MYSTERY OF VENICE NARROW STREETS OF VENICE NIGHT IMAGE NIGHT IMAGES VENICE NIGHT LIGHTS NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY Night PAULDA Street Light VENICE VENICE ACROSS THE WATER VENICE ALLEYS AT NIGHT VENICE AT NIGHT VENICE BRIDGES VENICE CANALS PHOTO VENICE ITALY VENICE NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY VENICE PHOTOGRAPHY WHITE LIGHTS WWW.MARKPAULDA.COM WWW.MARKPAULDAPHOTO.COM colors of venice italian architecture Veneto ITALY

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I write extensively throughout this blog about Bali. It would be easy to say - This is Bali, but there are so many sides to the "Island of Gods". If you prefer Bali is also "Paradise Island". How your refer to Bali all depends on why you visit. If you travel to Bali with an open mind and open heart, it is quite possible to have a travel experience you never expected and even an experience of a lifetime. In other words, you can have everything Bali has to offer.

Bali is beaches, beach resorts and the vast Indian Ocean that can sometimes be unforgiving. Bali is sacred temples, some of which date back seven hundred years. Bali is some sort of ceremony every day of the week. Bali is the jungle and the Sacred Monkey Forest in Ubud. Bali is creativity and the Balinese's openness to share. Bali is motorbikes zooming past you in rapid fire. Bali is lush green rice terraces and palm trees.

Bali is spicy food. Bali is the great sense of humor of the Balinese. Bali is friendly and welcoming. Bali is rich in tradition. Bali is Balinese Hinduism. Bali is winding roads through lush green tropical plants and foliage. Bali is peaceful and quiet. Bali is yoga and meditation. Bali is art. Bali is woodcarving and basket weaving. Bali is spiritual offerings to the gods.

Bali is anything you want it to be quite honestly. I think what you experience in Bali is entirely up to you.

The first time I visited I went on a whim.

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When defining the Underground
You might list some statistics,
You might mention 249 miles of track,
or 1.1 billion who ride,
You might ride up the 426 escalators,
and then back down again,
You might stay on one Tube train,
traveling 114 thousand miles one year,
Might even mention the lifts,
totaling 164 in all,
or that there are 270 stations served,
260 stations managed,
and 19,000 who help you manage
When defining London’s Underground,
it seems a traveler’s anthem has been
a moan, and a groan,
and maybe that’s where they are
At the oft’ signal failure,
it’s true
Being packed like sardines at the peak of the day,
but when defining London’s Underground,
don’t forget to mention nearly 2.7 million journeys
each, and every day.

The trains whiz by, and oftentimes screech,
they jump, they jolt on many miles of track,
but all 4,134 get you to the spot
where you wish to be
And, yes,

Waterloo is busiest in the a.m.
when 57 thou’ hop on, and go,
though nearly 82 million
use it each year making it the liveliest of the lot.
Though the Circle Line is said to be torture
going slowly round, and round,
The network goes under only 40%
while the rest is on top of the ground,
And, 29 stations placed south of the Thames,
really not very many at all
Regent’s Park,
Hyde Park Corner,
Bank, then Piccadilly
have no buildings to mark their spot.
The

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Turning off of Chispa Road’s crisp smooth pavement deep in the heart of West Texas, I veer onto what seems to be an unassuming stretch of dirt road. “Take a left at the fork in the road about ten miles in,” Fred had told me. “Unlock and pass through the gate then drive right into the ranch.” Driving right into an unexpected driving adventure is just what lie ahead of me.

The thirty thousand acre Coal Mine Ranch is a privately owned investment and playground for a group of businessmen who have called the ranch their sanctuary for more than twenty years. On the rear side of the Sierra Vieja Mountain Range, a world away from the flat grassy desert plains of Highway 90 and thirty miles of rough dirt road winding through steep arroyos from the end of the pavement on Chispa Road, is the Coal Mine Ranch.

Less than midway, with the pavement far behind me, the only sound I hear is the gravel and rock being churned by my 4x4’s wheels and hitting the underside of the vehicle. Clank, pop, clackity clack, in an erratic yet rhythmic cadence.

Lightning fast jackrabbits race by every so often; otherwise, there is no sign of life save for the desert brush, blooming yuccas along the way and a petrified rattlesnake or two. I reach for my mobile phone only to see there is no signal. Immediately, thoughts of the 4x4 breaking down, a flat tire, or more dramatically, a sudden ailment race through my head. Who would find me?

No one would find me and I had convinced myself of this.

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