Day 19 (

Today we wrapped up the trip, presented our On Assignment projects, and talked about travel plans. Were getting up at 2:30 tomorrow morning to drive to malaga. Hopefully we'll make our connection in Paris, because we only have an hour and have to go through immigration. I decided not to go to the beach because I have to edit photos. Tomorrow I'll by back in Houston.

Overall this trip was very interesiing, albiet tiring. I've learned so much about photography in the past few weeks and can't wait to use my skills back home and abroad.

Day 18

Today we got up early in Sevilla and drove to Cadiz. Cadiz is a beautiful city, much prettier than Sevilla, that is located on the Atlantic Coast. The beach is really hot, but the water is quite cool, making for a fairly interesting contrast. The hotel that we are staying at is the same one that LPI is using, so I saw some of my friends from Houston at the beach. Cadiz itself is the oldest city in Spain, and perhaps in Europe. I had a great dinner close to the ocean, peppered octopus, and Ben and Jerry's ice cream, which is actually pretty popular here in Spain.

Day 17

Today was our last day in Sevilla, and it was a great one. I got up early with Connor and Shelby (everyone else slept in), to go see the national archives of the New World. Because Sevilla was the only city in Spain that was legaly allowed to trade with the Americas, the documents and treasures were held here, and the city grew exponentially. At the moment, the archives featured an exposition on Spain's 300 years of influence in the present day united states; a pretty oppertunistic coincidence if you ask me. Some of the items on display were the original treaty of Tordesillas (which divided southern america between Spain and Portugal in 1494), Cortez's letters regarding the conquest of the Aztecs, many maps of the region (which was interesting because you could see the evolution of place names in the U.S.A.), a letter George Washington wrote to the chicawa tribes, and the treaty of San Ildefonso (a secret treaty in 1801 that gave the Louisiana Purchase to France from Spain). The archives were slightly biased; for instance failing to mention the atrocites committed during the Spanish conquest of what is now latin america and highlighting the "violent conquest of the American west in the name of god" (or the Manifest Destiny), but overall the exhibit was very well done.

After the visit to the archives, we went on a boat ride down the Guadalquiver river (the main river in Sevilla that links it to the coast), and saw a traditional flamenco show at night.

Day 16

Today we had a private tour of both the alcazar (palace/fortress) and the cathedral. The cathedral houses Christopher Columbus' remains and is the third largest in Europe, only smaller than the Vatican and the Milan Cathedral. The Alcazar has a pretty interesting history; its main plaza has one wall remaining from a roman fortress, one from the arab palace, and the other two are gothic. In the cathedral, I ran up 35 ramps and 17 steps to the top of the bell tower, which was probably the highest point in Sevilla. Tonight we ate at a Tex-Mex Bar and had burgers, which were actually pretty good; I got a shirt. Then we took blue light pictures of the cathedral and got ice cream.

Day 15

We left Granada early in the morning, and drove to Cordoba. Cordoba was fairly brown, but the mosque was really cool. After we visited the mosque/cathedral, we ate an awful lunch, and left the city. Now we're in Sevilla, staying in a four star hotel with a rooftop pool. Tomorrow we go to the Cathedral and the Palace.

Day 14

Today was our last day in Granada, and was definately more relaxed. I slept in until about eleven, and then went into town to go shopping. I bought some gypsy clothes and a stone chess set (which was only 20 euro). We had a long siesta and got a chance to edit photos and work on our assignments. Tonight was a meal to remember though. We walked back up to Albayzin (gypsy quarter) and ate at this place called Morayma. From our table we could watch the sun set on alhambra. Then we had a five course meal. We started with just cured meats and cheese, then salad. Next, we had a local specialty: orange with cod and onion. It sounds gross, but it really was good. Then we had a gazpacho thickened with bread. Then came the blood sausage, which I actually liked. After the sausage, we had asparagus wrapped in bacon in a white wine and cheese sauce. This was absolutely delectable. For our entre, we had braized pork, perhaps the most tender I have ever eaten, and mashed pumpkin. Dessert was an assortment of cakes and pastries along with a traditional arabian tea. After dinner, we walked through the wine cellar of the restaurant, which they kept cool using a fountain of ice cold water, and up many flights of stairs until we reached a tower. From the tower, we had a completely unubstructed view of Alhambra, as well as the surrounding city. I can't imagine how many men it took to sieze the fortress.

Tomorrow we go to cordoba, and then on to Sevilla

Au Revior

Day 13

Today we drove about two hours outside of Granada to go on a hike in the Sierra Nevadas. The road was extremely windy and it was essentially one lane, even though there was two way traffic. Every town we passed driving up to the trailhead was whitewashed, and looked quite picturesque. After a little while, we arrived and started hiking down the trail, but, within five minutes, the group unexpectedly separated. We tried to find the other half of the group, but decided to keep hiking down anyways. Good descision. The trail got a little steep and slippery because we were basically walking down a small creek. However, the trail evened out and the view was absolutely spectacular. Along the way, we saw an abandoned stables that was built into the side of the mountain (probably a little over one hundred years old). Kate and i decided to hike down to it and explored the inside. It might not have been the smartest descision, but it was pretty interesting regardless. About an hour later we made it to the town below, and had lunch. All along the hike there were cherry trees that you could just pluck cherries off of because they were all in season. Anyways, in town, I drank from a fountain (here in granada and in the mountains the fountains are all meant to be drinkable) that promised a girlfriend if you drank from the water every day. After lunch, we got back on the bus and returned to Granada.

At night, we went back to the andalucian part of town and took long exposure shots of Alhambra. Some of my pictures turned out really great. Tomorrow we kinda have the day off.

Day 12

Today we went to the stables in granada. Essentially it was just like in the USA, except that
lierin is a beautiful person inside and out what a woman. Whoaaa where did that come from. Idk, someone must have typed that in my computer. Anyways, we watched a horse jumping practice while we were there, which was pretty cool. After the stables, we had a siesta; i was dead for a good three hours today. tonight, several of us watched the US - Brazil game; I really thought they were gonna pull it out, but whatever. They had a great tourney though. Tomorrow were going on a hike, which I'm really excited about. Hopefully the views are pretty.

Day 11

We spent today in our On Assignment groups. Our focus is on the impact of modernization on Andalucian culture. Immigration is a big issue; for example we spoke to a moroccan shop keeper today about the discrimination Spaniards tend to have toward North Africans. I also got some great pictures of a Spanish wedding, as well as a large outdoor orchestral concert that was held in the Cathedral square. Interesting Day, im getting a little tired though

Day 10

Today we went to see a famous matador test females to see if they had the right genes to give birth to bulls worthy of bull fights. It was absolutly nuts. All the matadors, including the most famous one, Salvador Vega, were showing off to try and impress the girls in our group. He especially liked hanna, and they started talking, so he invited here down to the pit to take pictures. After a while, he then offered her to go fight a bull with him. I dont know how hanna had the balls to do it, but she grabbed the other side of the cape and they did five or six passes. Then everybody who was watching at this ranch we were at applauded and went wild. She didnt really realize how famous this guy was, which was pretty funny. It'd be like if some famous baseball player invited you into the dugout during a game. But ya, he was flirting with her like crazy, and she was back.

Good Day

Day 9

Today we went to see a Flamenco practice. If you dont know the style of the dance, imagine a sexier and more vibrant form of tap dancing, with long dresses and lots of hand movements. The practice was almost better than seeing a show, because we were able to get extremely close when we took our pictures, which added personality. I really came to appreciate this style of dance and was caught up in the intensity of it all. We also said goodbye to Tino today, which was too bad because he totally changed the group dynamic for the better. Oh well, he's off to Turkey on assignment, au revoir.

Day 8

This morning, we went to a hotel conference room to listin to Tino talk about both his and our photos. Here's some advice:

To create a silloute, make the f-stop difference five or more betweeen the background and your subject.

Warm Colors in front, cool colors in back

Balance colors, such as red v. blue, blue v. yellow, pink v. green, and red v. cyan.

To add interest to a picture, use a splash of red to catch the viewer's eye.

If you're taking a portrait, don't have many lines in the background.

Give people room to breathe.

try to find and capture the face that people dont use for photographs. Be quick so they aren't ready, let them relax, and when they are comfortable again get your best shot.

You dont need a colorful picture to use color well; it's all about balance.

take a sequence of pictures to tell a story

If you are taking a portrait shot, the eyes must be in focus.

That was some good advice. Anyways after this we had a siesta, and then we went to an Irish Pub to watch the USA play Spain. Everyone, including myself, thought the USA had no chance against the best team in the world, but somehow they were able to win 2-0. Hopefully there aren't any riots in the streets. After the game ended, we went inside Alhambra, which is absolutely beautiful. The light wasn't that great for photos, because we missed the blue hour, but the ambience of the place was certainly magical.

Day 7

Today we went to the science park, and photographed birds of prey in flight. The best exhibit there was on the technology developed by the Andalucian culture, from clocks to chess. I figured out how to use an abacus pretty well.

Day 6

Today was our first full Day with Tino, and I felt like I learned more about photography in the first thirty minutes than I ever had before. His main focus is on people. both portraits and the natural setting of their lives, stolen pictures to be more precise. I discovered my theme today, which is to utilize my sense of humor in my photographs. We traveled to the Andalucian quarter in the afternoon, which gave us a great view of Alhambra. My mos favorite part about the trip so far has been the Andalucian culture, which is a mixture of Spanish and North African gypsy culture. My photography is improving tremendously.

Day 5

Today was much more laid back, but we were able to get a feel for the Spanish countryside. We woke up very early and hurried to the train station to catch our train to Granada. The train ride itself was absolutely beautiful; it is quite easy to imagine Don Quixote running through the same parched valleys filled with sunflowers, chasing elusive windmills that seem to be just one step to far away. My first impression of Granada was its lack of Madrid's hustle and bustle. The pace of life is just slower, the streets aren't as crowded, and the architechture is much prettier. Speaking of architechture, Alhambra, the most famous Muslim fortress and Mosque in Spain, is here. Today we met Tino, who is the national geographic photographer assigned to teach us. He's such a great guy, and I have a feeling that the next four days will be the best of the trip.

Day 4

Today we went to Toledo, the old capital of Spain and the seat of the Spanish Inquisition. Ironically, the building where trials were held during the Inquisition is now a concert venue. Van Gough's surrealist depiction of the old city really captures the spirit of the town; for instance many of the bridges had been constructed in roman times. We were given a private tour of Toledo by Javi, the boyfriend of our national geographic leader. Good Day

Day 3

Today we visited the Prado Art Musuem, which contains many of the most famous paintings by Spanish artists. The musuem itself is right next to the park that we went to the day before. One of the best paintings in the musuem was a depiction of the apostles and Jesus after the last supper, but set in Venice. What made this painting so special was that the perspective allowed the viewer, depending on where he or she stood, to see several different views. El Greco was also featured predominantly; people have speculated that one of his paintings in actually of Miguel Cervantes. The Maids, by Velazques, was also one of the highpoints of the visit.

Day 2

We got up relatively early today, and went to the central park of Madrid, which really was quite beautiful. In the afternoon, we went to Madrid's modern art musuem, which was basically a showcase of Dali and Picasso's work. I didn't realize how big the Guerrnica, probably about 25 feet by 15 feet. We ended the day with night photography and long exposure shots.

1st Day

Today was somewhat eventful. I think rollerboard bags were invented for the sole purpose of watching american tourists attempting to roll them down a crowded cobblestone street. After we arrived at our hostel, we decided to go to a large square, but, along the way, we lost connor. After about thirty minutes we found him (he had been locked in the hostel bathroom), but we get to watch Mrs. Bottoms and Mrs. Karter freak out. Once we finally made it to the square, we were approached by Marco, our friend from Ghana who wanted to give us braclets because he was such a nice person. Suprise, Suprise, Marco wanted a gift in return in the form of five Euros. We paid him to go away. Dinner was great though, tons of cured ham and Manchego cheese. Relatively good first day.

Im still in the US

Isn't that cool