Classic MySpace

Rarely do we post a picture of ourselves on the blimbam (which apparently just became a significant and unique noun requiring a definite article), but this one was worth it. It's the famous MySpace-style self portrait, but this time not shot with a 2.0 megapixel camera phone. It's a bit harder using a Canon 30D with a heavy 17-70mm lens attached. I'm a fan because of the good lighting (it's a little outdoor light combined with who-knows-what-kind-of-lighting from the overhead Best Western lobby lights in Vina del Mar, Chile.) I'm also a fan because of how the lighting hit our eyes. PS--Don't let this post overshadow our entry from last night. Check out our travel page to see Patito in action!

Journey / Travel Blog Update

It's coming together! Bounce over to our travel page for the promised pix: Blimbam's Travels.

mysterious shopper

This is one of my favorites from the trip, even if there's not much, if any, story behind the shot at all. After a few hours of cruising up and down the streets of Puerto Montt, Chile, Becca and I decided it would be a good idea to go shopping for some clothes to wear on the ship's formal night. Like so many of our great ideas, it turned out to be a bust, but Beck snapped this shot out on the mall plaza and perhaps made our wandering worthwhile.

PS--Almost done! Watch for a whole batch of uploads in the next 48 hours on our travel page as well as in our Picasa album.

More Wildlife in Sudamerica

As promised, little by little, we're adding to our online gallery of South America shots, including these three from the chilly Otway Sound in Patagonia. The color was good/accurate in each of the following photos when shot, but I still felt like there was something missing, so I built a new setting in Lightroom to enhance the blues and blacks out on the ocean. What I ended up with, somewhat by accident, was the smoky blue that you'll notice in the first and third shots below.

Down where the temps rarely top 55 degrees Fahrenheit, I can imagine on some days it's pretty hard to get your hands steady and warm enough to shoot (thank goodness for Image Stabilization). It wasn't too bad the day we were there except as you got down close to the water's edge. However, at one point during the shoot, I did have to position the 100-400mm lens against a post to keep it from blowing in the wind and to keep me from tipping over. Crazy.







PS--the 1000 or so penguins at Otway Sound didn't at all seem put off by the "real" birds that were swooping in over 'em (except maybe this guy).

Since I'm Up at 2 a.m...

Yes, it's 2:30 a.m. I just woke up from a strange dream that our ship wrecked and we were sinking in the Straits of Magellan. Weird.

So, the photos keep rolling in (It's been tough getting back into the swing of things and getting back to our promised 2-3 posts per week, especially when you add in a trip to the dentist for a root canal (grrrr.) We're getting there, though. And, within a few more days, we'll post a bunch more to our sister Journeys page with a link to Picasa to see aun mas fotos. 'Til then, here are a few of Ben's shots from the cruise...

Our onboard family photo, not taken by the scurrying cruise ship Nikon photo team:



Beautiful Magellanic Penguins, photo'd in Punta Arenas, Chile:



A cloudy sunrise over the waters northwest of Puerto Montt, Chile:



To see more before our next post, check out Kent n' Lorrie's blog for photos from our travelin' buddies. By the way, there's little doubt my crazy dreams were a result of the industrial-strength pain medicine I took a few hours ago.

we're back and have 3000 photos to prove it

These pics are from the southernmost city in the world, Ushuaia, Argentina. Also referred to as Tierra del Fuego (the Argentine province it is a part of). I froze. Fortunately, I had also frozen the day before in Punta Arenas, Chile, so I picked up this lovely handwoven wool ear sock at a local market for only 1000 pesos. The climate here is referred to as "maritime subarctic." I only wish I would have read that before leaving the states, perhaps I would have thought to bring a coat? So ... this is me with 5 layers. We also got to check out the Beagle Channel wildlife here via catamaran. Little known fact: Ushuaia is the last stop on the Pan-American Highway. Left taken by bam; center, right by blm. PS--We'll have way more pix to come once we get through them all. We're still gettin' back into the swing of things.

touring the world ... or at least s. america

Soon we will be seeing a lot more water than this ... We wanted to make sure all our many readers (insert laugh here) knew we were not going to be posting for about three weeks. We will be out of reach and for once are NOT taking our laptop. But both cameras are sure to come along and bring back some great memories for you all through our journeys page. Above photo taken by bam, March 2007 in San Diego, Cali.