The beginning of the Olympic

Canon 400D, Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
ISO 100 - 1/200sec - f/11 @ 28mm
Location: Kallimarmaro Stadium, Athens, Greece
click for bigger pic

The Panathinaiko (Panathenaic) Stadium or the Kallimarmaron, in Athens is the only major stadium in the world built fully of white marble. The stadium was built long before dimensions for athletics venues were standardized and its track and layout follow the ancient hairpin-like model. It can seat about 80,000 spectators on 50 rows of marble steps.

In ancient times it was used to host the athletic portion of the Panathenaic Games in honour of the Goddess Athena. Then, after so many years, the ancient structure were excavated and refurbished for the revival of the Olympic Games held in 1870 and 1875.

In 1896, officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad, was the first Olympic Games held in the Modern era. The modern Olympic Games were founded by Pierre Fredi, Baron de Coubertin, a French pedagogue and historian, he wanted to promote international understanding through sporting competition. Coubertin sought proper physical education and a way to bring nations closer together, to have the youth of the world compete in sports, rather than fight in war.

In the 2004 Olympic Games, the Panathinaiko Stadium hosted the archery competition, and the finish of the Marathon. The stadium was featured on all of the Summer Olympic medals introduced in the 2004 Games, and will be continued to be featured on the medals awarded at the upcoming Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Delos

Canon 400D, Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
ISO 100 - 1/400sec - f/10 @ 109mm
Location: Delos, Mykonos, Athens, Greece

The Doric Temple of Isis was built on a high over-looking hill at the beginning of the Roman period to venerate the familiar trinity of Isis, the Alexandrian Serapis and Anubis. [ref.wiki]

Canon 400D, Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
ISO 400 - 1/2500sec - f/5.6 @ 135mm
Location: Delos, Mykonos, Athens, Greece

This flower was taken at The Terrace of the Lions (behind), it was dedicated to Apollo by the people of Naxos shortly before 600 BC, had originally nine to twelve squatting, snarling marble guardian lions along the Sacred Way; one is inserted over the main gate to the Venetian Arsenal. The lions create a monumental avenue comparable to Egyptian avenues of sphinxes. [ref.wiki]

Canon 400D, Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
ISO 100 - 1/250sec - f/9 @ 85mm
Location: Delos, Mykonos, Athens, Greece

The island of Delos, isolated in the centre of the roughly circular ring of islands called the Cyclades, near Mykonos, is one of the most important mythological, historical and archaeological sites in Greece. Delos had a position as a holy sanctuary for a millennium before Olympian Greek mythology made it the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis. [ref.wiki]

The Acropolis @ Night

Canon 400D, Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
ISO 100 - 10sec - f/11, Ev +2, Tripod
Location: View of The Acropolis from the Syntagma Area, Athens, Greece

The shoot was taken at the top our hotel. Athens doesn't have many high rising buildings, so the Acropolis is always easily observed from roof of the hotels in the vicinity of the central area. (If it is open to the public)

Technical: Definitely a tripod plus timer, but I forgot the Mirror Lock.-up to reduce the camera vibration Next time then.

Temple of Olympian Zeus

Canon 400D, Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
ISO 100 - 1/125sec - f/8,
Location: View of The Acropolis from the Ancient Agora, Athens, Greece

This view looks like back to the past.

Canon 400D, Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
ISO 100 - 1/400sec - f/11,
Location: Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens, Greece

Temple of Olympian Zeus is the largest in Greece, exceeding even the Parthenon in size. Work began on 6th century BC, in the reign of the tyrant Peisistratos but it was not completed until 650 years later. The Roman Emperor Hadrian dedicated the temple to Zeus Olympios during the Panhelenic festival of AD 132. He Also set up a gold and ivory inlaid statue of the god inside the temple.
Now, only 15 of the original 104 Corinthian columns remain, each 17m high – but enough to give a sense of the enormous size of this temple, which would have been approximately 96m long and 40m wide. [ref.DK]

Canon 400D, Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
ISO 100 - 1/320sec - f/10,
Location: Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens, Greece

Canon 400D, Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
ISO 100 - 1/320sec - f/11,
Location: View of The Acropolis from Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens, Greece

Many people said stay away from the flare... but i just like the feel of the flares!!
But it is so difficult to control!

Canon 400D, Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
ISO 100 - 1/125sec - f/9,
Location: The Hadrian's Arch, Athens, Greece

The Hadrian's Arch, next to the Temple of Olympian Zeus, built in AD 131. It was positioned deliberately to mark the boundary between the ancient city and the new Athens of Hadrian.

As you can see, I've been fascinated by the stories and myth of the Ancient Greeks, adventures of a wide variety of gods, goddesses, heroes, heroines, and other mythological creatures. Stories like the Odyssey focusing on events surrounding the Trojan War and others.

So where is the best place to experience some of this atmosphere other than Athens?!

The Acropolis

Canon 400D, Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM

ISO 100 - 1/80sec - f/11, Tripod

Location: Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens, Greece

The Parthenon is a temple of the Greek goddess Athena, built in the 5th century BC on the Athenian Acropolis. It is the most important surviving building of Classical Greece, generally considered to be the culmination of the development of the Doric order. Its decorative sculptures are considered one of the high points of Greek art. The Parthenon is regarded as an enduring symbol of ancient Greece and of Athenian democracy, and is one of the world's greatest cultural monuments. [Ref. wikipedia.org]

Canon 400D, Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
ISO 100 - 1/125sec - f/9
Location: Acropolis, Athens, Greece

The greatest and finest sanctuary of ancient Athens, dedicated primarily to its patron, the goddess Athena, dominates the centre of the modern city from the rocky crag known as the Acropolis. These unique masterpieces of ancient architecture combine different orders and styles of Classical art in a most innovative manner and have influenced art and culture for many centuries.
The most important buildings visible on the Acropolis today - that is, the Parthenon, the Propylaia, the Erechtheion and the temple of Athena Nike. The temples on the north side of the Acropolis housed primarily the earlier Athenian cults and those of the Olympian gods, while the southern part of the Acropolis was dedicated to the cult of Athena in her many qualities: as Polias (patron of the city), Parthenos, Pallas, Promachos (goddess of war), Ergane (goddess of manual labour) and Nike (Victory). [ref.odysseus.culture.gr]

Canon 400D, Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
ISO 100 - 1/500sec - f/5.6, Ev+1
Location: Acropolis, Athens, Greece

Theatre of Herodes Atticus or The Odeon of Herodes Atticus is a stone theatre structure located on the south slope of the Acropolis of Athens. It was built in 161 AD by Herodes Atticus in memory of his wife, Aspasia Annia Regilla. It was originally a steep-sloped amphitheater with a three-story stone front wall and a wooden roof, and was used as a venue for music concerts with a capacity of 5,000. [Ref. wikipedia.org]

The Gate

Canon 400D, Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
ISO 100 - 1/400sec - f/8
Location: Roman Agora, Monastiraki, Athens, Greece

The Gate of Athena Archegetis is in the west side of the Roman Agora. It was built between 19 and 11 BC. The monumental entrance has a row of four Doric columns and a pedestal made of Pentelic marble. It was constructed in BC with the donations of Julius Caesar and Augustus and was dedicated by the people of Athens to their patroness, Athena Archegetics.
It is considered to be the second most prominent remain in the site after the Tower of the Winds. [ ref: wikipedia.org]

Technical: This time, on the pp phase, i tryed the sharpen + sharpen more filter function and fill 10% on the layer. It is a common technique to bring out details of the image and saddly noices too.

Qingdao

Canon 400D, Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
ISO 200 - 1/125sec - f/5.6
Location: ZhongShan Park, Qingdao, China

Location: ZhongShan Park, Qingdao, China

Canon 400D, Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
ISO 200 - 1/200sec - f/5.6
Location: ZhongShan Park, Qingdao, China

Canon 400D, Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG
ISO 100 - 1/640sec - f/4
Location: Granite Mansion, Ba Da Guan, Qingdao, China

Location: Ba Da Guan, Qingdao, China

Location: Qingdao Guest House, Qingdao, China

Location: Qingdao Guest House, Qingdao, China

Location: XiaoYuShan Park (Little Fish Hill)

Location: Zhan Qiao Pier

Qingdao is a very attractive tourists area due to its parks, beaches, sculpture and some unique classic European architecture built when Qingdao was a German colony during 1897-1914. It is a very unique place found in China.

ZhongShan Park is a place for flower lovers. The 500-meter-long Oriental Cherry Corridor is a famous scenic spot featuring 20,000 Japanese cherry trees. Every April and May, a Cherry Festival attracts thousands of admirers to view the delicate pink blossoms.

Ba Da Guan is one of the older areas of town with some surviving German and Japanese architecture. Here must be one of China's great places for wedding photography. We could see docents of couples taking their wedding photography along Ba Da Guan's shoreline and greenspace.

Qingdao Guest House (Governor's Mansion) with the delicate shape, splendid ornaments, graceful lines and bold colors make Qingdao's Guest House one of the best examples of European villas in China. Originally, the Guest House was the official residence of the German governor-general of Jiao'ao. The original name was the Governor's Official Residence, in 1934, it was formally renamed "Guest House," and then became important as a retreat to receive the VIPs of military affairs and politics.

XiaoYuShan Park (Little Fish Hill), It is the first hilltop sight of the Chinese ancient traditional style in Qingdao.

Zhan Qiao Pier with an octagonal pavilion ath end of the pier is called the Billowing Back and Forth Tower. Zhanqiao pier is viewed in the eyes of many as the official symbol of Qingdao as it was made famous by being placed on the front of the Tsingtao Brewery beer can.

At the end, Qingdao is a nice place for sight visit. Although a bit disappointing, because of the timing, we went on the wrong time. The flowers didn't open much because of the cold weather. There was also some rain, not a clear sky and most of the places and building were completely or partially in renovation, remodeling and rebuilding it for the coming Beijing Olympic.

Technical: This was my first time doing the panorama, not a perfect one but it was nice try for a handheld shot.