No one wants to see your pictures of Château Chillon
Since it is unlikely that you (dear reader) are a professional photographer, allow me to give you some photographic advice: no one wants to see your pictures.
OK, that's not entirely true, but trust me, it's true of most of your pictures. Let me rephrase: no one wants to see your pictures unless there's someone or something they love in them.
This, I claim, is almost universally true. Certainly, somewhere in those gigabytes of photos is an artistic, wonderfully captured gem, but odds are that most of them are boring photos of buildings, trees, and fuzzy landmarks. This is especially true of vacation photos. Do not take a picture of the street your hotel is on. Do not take a picture of your hotel from the outside. Do not take a picture of the corridor your room is on. Do not take a picture of the entrance way, the bathroom, the bedroom, and the view out the window. The only thing these photos will do is bore everyone to whom you show them and or provide a chain of evidence for the police to recreate your last known whereabouts.
Obviously, the solution to this problem is to include your beloved friends and family in every single shot possible and in every conceivable way. That impossibly tiny bathroom will look even tinier with all your friends crammed inside, and that lovely view from the window will make a nice desktop wallpaper if a dozing loved one is in the corner. As for those blurry shots of the Birth of Venus, the Eiffel Tower at night, and Cellini's Perseus; well, just let them go. Buy a postcard if it was really that beautiful.
All of this can be especially difficult to do if you're traveling by yourself, but being creative and waiting for a good shot will usually produce worthwhile results. That said, I went to Château Chillon and Montreux the weekend before last and took some pictures.
Fig 1: Courtyard, Château Chillon.
Château Chillon is famous not only for being a truly badass castle (parts date from the 12th Century) but also for inspiring a famous poem by Lord Byron. Interestingly enough, Byron apparently had about as much respect for the 12th century masonry as your average wannabe gangsta has for a freeway overpass and thus felt free to carve his name into one of the columns -- something which only like a million people have done since. Fortunately for literature and vandalism enthusiasts, his mark is well preserved.
Fig. 2: Lord Byron wuz here.
Just for team D&D, here's a picture of a display inside the castle of the various types of pole-arms available. Without consulting your manuals, how many names can you come up with? What sort of damage do they do against medium and large creatures? Do you feel any sense of shame in knowing this?
Fig. 3: Halberds, glaives, guisarmes, glaive-guisarmes, etc.
A brief walk from the castle is the picturesque, over-priced resort town of Montreux. A bit of totally true history regarding Montreux, regarding the hideously ugly new Casino on the waterfront, from The Rough Guide to Switzerland:
Fig. 4: F. Mercury et al.
A legend in Montreux, Freddie liked the town so much that he bought a recording studio and a house there, where he enjoyed the "kindness and discretion of the townspeople," according to the statue. September 5 and 6 of this year are "Freddie Mercury Montreux Memorial Day" and will feature symposia, fashion shows, cover bands, a cappella cover bands, and tons more, so book your tickets now.
All in all, Chateau Chillon and Montreux are certainly worth a day trip from Lausanne. Just remember to bring your camera!
Future updates: pictures of my current residence (I need to take them during the day to really capture the ambiance, but I've been busy lately), complaints about Swiss business hours (short summary: no one works around here), and who knows what else. Probably more complaints.
OK, that's not entirely true, but trust me, it's true of most of your pictures. Let me rephrase: no one wants to see your pictures unless there's someone or something they love in them.
This, I claim, is almost universally true. Certainly, somewhere in those gigabytes of photos is an artistic, wonderfully captured gem, but odds are that most of them are boring photos of buildings, trees, and fuzzy landmarks. This is especially true of vacation photos. Do not take a picture of the street your hotel is on. Do not take a picture of your hotel from the outside. Do not take a picture of the corridor your room is on. Do not take a picture of the entrance way, the bathroom, the bedroom, and the view out the window. The only thing these photos will do is bore everyone to whom you show them and or provide a chain of evidence for the police to recreate your last known whereabouts.
Obviously, the solution to this problem is to include your beloved friends and family in every single shot possible and in every conceivable way. That impossibly tiny bathroom will look even tinier with all your friends crammed inside, and that lovely view from the window will make a nice desktop wallpaper if a dozing loved one is in the corner. As for those blurry shots of the Birth of Venus, the Eiffel Tower at night, and Cellini's Perseus; well, just let them go. Buy a postcard if it was really that beautiful.
All of this can be especially difficult to do if you're traveling by yourself, but being creative and waiting for a good shot will usually produce worthwhile results. That said, I went to Château Chillon and Montreux the weekend before last and took some pictures.
Fig 1: Courtyard, Château Chillon.
Château Chillon is famous not only for being a truly badass castle (parts date from the 12th Century) but also for inspiring a famous poem by Lord Byron. Interestingly enough, Byron apparently had about as much respect for the 12th century masonry as your average wannabe gangsta has for a freeway overpass and thus felt free to carve his name into one of the columns -- something which only like a million people have done since. Fortunately for literature and vandalism enthusiasts, his mark is well preserved.
Fig. 2: Lord Byron wuz here.
Just for team D&D, here's a picture of a display inside the castle of the various types of pole-arms available. Without consulting your manuals, how many names can you come up with? What sort of damage do they do against medium and large creatures? Do you feel any sense of shame in knowing this?
Fig. 3: Halberds, glaives, guisarmes, glaive-guisarmes, etc.
A brief walk from the castle is the picturesque, over-priced resort town of Montreux. A bit of totally true history regarding Montreux, regarding the hideously ugly new Casino on the waterfront, from The Rough Guide to Switzerland:
[It] replaced the grand original, which opened in 1883 and was burned to the ground on December 4, 1971, during a concert by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. During the show, someone let off a rocket-flare, which set the ceiling on fire; everyone got out without injury, but the building continued to burn all night. Ian Gillan, lead singer of the band Deep Purple, who were holed up in a hotel nearby, watched the flames leaping into the sky and was thus inspired to write his seminal rock classic "Smoke On The Water."Most importantly, though, Montreux was the home for many years of one of the greatest musicians of our time. The writer of "Theme to Flash Gordon," "Fat Bottom Girls," and many other hits, ladies and gentlemen, I give you the one and only Farrokh Bulsara, a.k.a. Freddie Mercury!
Fig. 4: F. Mercury et al.
A legend in Montreux, Freddie liked the town so much that he bought a recording studio and a house there, where he enjoyed the "kindness and discretion of the townspeople," according to the statue. September 5 and 6 of this year are "Freddie Mercury Montreux Memorial Day" and will feature symposia, fashion shows, cover bands, a cappella cover bands, and tons more, so book your tickets now.
All in all, Chateau Chillon and Montreux are certainly worth a day trip from Lausanne. Just remember to bring your camera!
Future updates: pictures of my current residence (I need to take them during the day to really capture the ambiance, but I've been busy lately), complaints about Swiss business hours (short summary: no one works around here), and who knows what else. Probably more complaints.
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