Tag Archives: photography

Cyprus, travel

The Railways of Cyprus…what?

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Yes you read right! Everyone who visited or lives in Cyprus knows that we don’t have railways or we won’t have in the future. So the only thing left is the past!train_miniature

And yes indeed, we did have railways in the past, a part of our history, that even most Cypriots don’t know, especially young people.

When we visited Kakopetria village, a place that we really like and visit often, we decided to explore the villages close to Kokopetria,  in case they had something interesting to see. On our way to Evrychou village, a sign about Evrychou Railway Station, caught our attention.

So we followed the road signs and we arrived at the Cyprus Railways  Museum.

What we learned in our visit:

The Cyprus Government Railway (C.G.R.), as it was officially  known, ran from 1905 until 1951 when it closed down due to financial constraints.

The first section heading from Ammochostos to Lefkosia (Nicosia -the capital city of Cyprus) was 57km long, and officially opened for public transport on October 1905. By December 1907, a further 38km had been added, from Lefkosia to Morfou.  And by June 1915 a third, 23km long extension from Morfou to Evrychou had been added. With this section the line of C.G.R. was completed.

train_wagon_0611
A hand pump track and a freight wagon are exhibited in the yard

The Cyprus Government Railway was used in a number of ways and served both the colonial authorities and the local population.

The railway was an important conveyor of mail to and from Ammochostos harbour and carried mail overseas. It was also used for the distribution of mail throughout the island.

During World War II and post war years, the Cyprus Railways played a significant role as a prime mover of troops, stores and ammunitions from  Ammochostos harbour to the Royal Air Force airfield in Lefkosia.

With time, road transport developed at the expense of the railway. So the British Government announced the closure of the C.G.R. on December 1951.

An extension of the railway which was built to serve the Cyprus Mines Corporation operated until 1974.

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It would be very nice if we still had railways in Cyprus!

Official link:  http://www.mcw.gov.cy/mcw/DA/DA.nsf/All/E9A885735520686EC2257DE7002A8081?OpenDocument

 

 

close-up, Photography

Agapanthus flower

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On a warm Summer day, this purple flower bud, which you can see in the photo below,  began to  bloom in my mom’s garden.  As always, I didn’t know the name of the flower, so I made a little search!
flower_purple_garden_closeup

Here is what I found out

The flower is called ‘Agapanthus’ which means flower of love, from the Greek agape, meaning love, and anthos, meaning flower.

Agapanthus is also commonly known as  Lily of the Nile,  African Blue Lily, and African Lily. It origins from South Africa. There are now more varieties of this genus than ever before.  Agapanthus flowers bloom in large, round clusters or umbels of blue, white or violet-blue.

It is built to withstand even the toughest summer conditions. It is a common garden plant, easily grown even in coastal areas – especially if the plant is well watered and it flowers in summer.

flower_white_agapanthusI spent a lot of time shooting the agapanthus flowers. I started capturing their progression from when they were small buds and I continued shooting them as they grew. These flowers have a slow and steady blooming progress, so it took me a few days to fully seize their evolve to their fullest.

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The wish flower

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Foreword

I am the sun in sky of green 
I am the golden summer queen
I’m the friend to every child
Because I’m strong, bright and wild.

Grown-ups cut me when they mow-
Forget they loved me years ago.
But when I’m gone, then don’t you sorrow.
I’ll be back again tomorrow. 

This is a poem about dandelion flower from the poetry book “The Winds that Come From Far Away and other poems”,  by Else Holmelund Minarik (the author of the Little Bear books).

dandelion_big_book

Dandelion is known as the wish flower. The plant flower is yellow and when the flower matures you see the white fluffy seeds. Some people say, that when you see the first dandelion of the season, you should make a wish and others say you should blow on a dandelion puff and make a wish. After that, you are supposed to say:   “Dandelion, puffs away, Make my wish come true some day.”

close-up, Photography

Paper wasp

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On Easter time we were invited by family friends to a village called Melini, in Cyprus, that is close to the forest. The house is built on a hill and the nature there is beautiful,  so I went for a walk around the house and I found a lot of things to shoot. Something  that attracted my attention was a wasp trying to get into his nest. So I spent a lot of time there taking as many shots  as I could from different angles. As soon as I got home  I searched  the web for more information.

Some information from Wikipedia

paper wasp
photo by karafc

Paper wasps are 1.8 to 2.5 cm long wasps that gather fiber from dead wood and plant stem, which they mix with saliva, and use to construct water-resistant nests made of gray or brown papery material. Paper wasps are also sometimes called umbrella wasps, due to the distinctive design of their nests.

Unlike other wasp species, which can be very aggressive, paper wasps will generally only attack if they themselves or their nest are threatened. But if they attack their stings are quite painful and can produce a potentially fatal anaphylactic reaction in some individual.

Most wasps are beneficial in their natural habitat, and are critically important in natural biocontrol.  Paper wasps feed on nectar and other insects, including caterpillars, flies, and beetle larvae. Because they are a known pollinator and feed on known garden pests, paper wasps are often considered to be beneficial by gardeners.

photo by karafc
photo by karafc

In my effort to get  better shots I had  to get closer.  I am so glad that the paper wasp  didn’t think of me as  a threat, or else I would have  been stung!

Photography

Self assignments

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pattern chairsWhen I was taking photography lessons,  our instructor would always stress the importance of going out to implement what we learned.  A great way to enhance  your photography skills and your creativity is to give yourself assignments –  something  to focus on.   Sometimes  you venture out without having any  idea what you are going to shoot. However,  it is better to decide before what your daily assignment would be.  This way you will be more aware of what you are looking for and will be focus on that. Create a variety of themes by choosing a different assignment each time, for example, one day shoot  ‘patterns’,  another day ‘color’ etc.

colors and shapesThemes of the assignments can be:

  • repeating patterns
  • lines, shapes, colors
  • moving objects
  • reflection
  • shadows
  • silhouettes
  • texture
  • rule of third
  • depth of field
  • angle and much more

These kind of assignments will help you boost your creativity, improve your composition and  your photography skills.

 

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Photography

My assistant or else the bag holder

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path B&WWhen  you go out for a project you need an assistant to carry your things, so it can be more comfortable for you and you can be focused on taking pictures. My main assistant  is my lovely husband and I should  admit that he is good at his job; well, most of the time. While I’m shooting, he carries the empty camera bag and my purse that’s filled with my personal belongings. So far so  good.

However, he is always  in the visual field and as a result he is in most of the photos. So I have to retake the same photo without him and sometimes it is time-consuming. At other times, he is not always around especially when I need him. For example, if  I need something from the camera bag, lets say the soft cloth to clear the lens, he is far away. I ddevin B&Won’t know how my assistant will cope, when I will acquire more  gear, like tripod or different types of lenses! I am not complaining that much, am I? Ok, maybe  just a  little! There’s also a positive side to this. For example, he enjoys being in nature and he doesn’t complain when it takes me too long when shooting things and, plus, he keeps me company. I should also admit, that sometimes,  when I think that the composition looks good, I include him in the picture on purpose.  But that’s only a few times!

Photography

My first steps in photography

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As photography is one my passions, buying a good dslr camera has made the bucket list. There was nothing wrong with my Nikon coolpix s2600, but I wanted to take it  to the next level. I wanted to be more creative and it was about time.  For the last year, I have been taking intensive online courses in order to get better and learn in depth the world of photography.

As of January 2015, I am  using my new DSLR Nikon D3300 with nikkor 18-55mm  kit  lens and I am very satisfied.  Most probably I will need  more types of lenses and some additional gear.  The good thing is that we are  a ‘Nikon family’ – my father, my sister and I – we can borrow and use each other’s gear.   At the end I will see what gear I will use or need the most  and I will write it first thing in my bucket list!

No offence to other manufacturers; I’m pretty sure that their cameras are as good as the Nikon but as I said above – it’s a family thing!

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