adetorrent; photography, lifestyle.

There are some places on earth that disappoint. You read/hear about them for years but when you finally visit them, they're nothing like they've been made out to be. Venice is the direct opposite of that. Not only did she live up to everything I'd expected, she was much, much more. There is the astonishing grandioseness of the place when you first arrive as dozens of towers point heavenward from within hundreds of magnificent palace mansions. Just when you thought you'd seen the most ostentatious mansion, you're confronted with a bigger, more ostentations one around the corner. Just when you thought you'd seen the most picturesque bridge, you're reminded you're yet to see the Rialto bridge. Just when you thought you'd seen the mightiest tower, there emerges a higher, loftier one at the next turn, all culminating in the jaw-dropping spectacle that is the Piazza San Marco .  For me though, the guy with the camera, the most amazing par...

It took long enough, but I finally got to try out the famous Olympus Trip 35 . Having used the Olympus 35 RC, RD and SP, the Trip felt both familiar and strange at first.  Familiar because of the form factor and size of the camera - it felt just like the RC in the hand.  It has the classic metal and black 1970's compact camera/rangefinder design.  The 40mm f2.8 lens also sits somewhere between the RC and RD range. That's about it. I took the Trip on a, er, trip to picturesque Eastbourne sometime this summer to test it out.  The first thing I missed was the rangefinder - there is none. Instead, it is a zone-focus camera with icons to guide you, or actual distances if you know what you're doing. I used the icons. I had problems nailing focus at first, especially just after shooting something closer up, and then forgetting to adjust the focus for something far away. Yes the camera is fully auto, but it is NOT focus-free. I often forgot that and treate...

Teguise.  It's a tranquil, charming little town in the middle of Lanzarote.  Six days of the week the town is a peaceful, extremely quiet place.  On Sunday it becomes one of the busiest market towns in Europe. Thousands of traders, tens of thousands of visitors and a few animals descend on Teguise from around 9 am to 2 pm - The Tequise Sunday Market. I learnt that in fact Teguise was the old capital of Lanzarote. It made sense to me as it has some of the oldest buildings on the island.  Apparently it is also referred to as "la Villa".  The architecture is also really beautiful. Intricate carvings can be seen around the doors and windows of many buildings dating back to the 17th century. Another thing that happens on Sundays is the town becomes extremely colourful. Like everywhere else on Lanzarote, most of the buildings are whitewashed with either blue, green or unpainted wooden doors and windows. On market day however, you get pink, red, lilac, i...