Last year, I brought my drone with me on some of my travels so I could take some aerial still images. Here are my 20 favorites from my travels to Italy, Bosnia, and Mexico.
Although I mainly use my drone for still images, I took some video too. Here’s a short film of some of the drone video highlights from 2018:
Birds Eye View 2018 from Carol Watson on Vimeo.
Earlier this month, I traveled with my husband from our home here in Mexico to his fatherland – Cuba. It was the first time he had been to the country where his father was born and raised. The plan was to have this trip be a way of discovering the spirit of Cuba by spending a week in Havana. We spent time with a local guide/photographer and visited various classic locations in Havana and strolled along the streets where his father likely spent time as well. My husband really enjoyed discovering “his people” and we’ve already talked about returning to Cuba again.
I brought my color infrared camera with me and took a series of images while we were in Havana.
For more images, check out my Steller story:
This past Spring, I traveled to the Netherlands for the first time with my daughter. We happened to be there right in the middle of tulip season, so it was imperative that we pay a visit to the famous Keukenhof Gardens. The gardens were not far from Amsterdam and even closer to where we stayed in Haarlem. We bought tickets for the gardens at the tourist center in Haarlem. Our tickets included a bus ride that let you off a few blocks away. Keukenhof is massive and there were a ton of people spread out over the large gardens. This place is a flower-lovers dream! Thousands of varieties of tulips and many other flower varieties are arranged along various pathways dotted with buildings that contained more flowers plus cafes and gift shops. There were bike rentals (of course!) just outside the garden entrance so you can cycle around the tulip fields in the area.
I took an incredible amount of color photographs while I was there but also had my infrared camera with me. Here’s a few of my color infrared photographs that I shot during that visit:
For more images, check out my Steller story:
July 1st is Canada Day and this year Canadians are celebrating Canada’s 150th birthday. On July 1st, to honor this special celebration, I spent most of the day gazing through 15 years of photographic archives and selected 150 of my favorite color images shot in Western Canada where I was born and raised. Oh Canada, my home and native land. You’re so beautiful! Here’s my Canada 150 in a slideshow:
Canada 150 – Happy Birthday to my home and native land! from Carol Watson on Vimeo.
I traveled a fair amount again this year and my infrared converted Nikon D300 comes with me. I thought I’d finish up 2016 with my favorite infrared images from my travels throughout this year.
Zion National Park (left), Barcelona, Spain (right)
Santa Maddalena Val di Funes, Italy
Lago di Carezza, Italy (left), Passo Gaiu, Italy (right)
Passo Sella, Italy
Las Fallas in Valencia, Spain
Barcelona (left), Mineral de Pozos, Mexico (right)
Val d’Orcia, Tuscany, Italy
Near Cortona, Tuscany, Italy
Passo Giau, Dolomites, Italy
Michoacan, Mexico
Michoacan, Mexico
Check out more of my images by viewing my story on Steller:
One of my favorite traditions to photograph in Mexico is Dia de Los Muertos. This year, since our streets in Pozos are undergoing major construction, many events had to be canceled. So, I spent a couple of days in San Miguel de Allende and photographed the various calacas and Catrinas that are abundant during Dia de Los Muertos and the annual La Calaca Festival. A rainstorm put a damper (literally) on the events later that night, but the rain held off until the end of the Catrina parade. 
Check out more of my images by viewing my story on Steller:
Photographing landscapes in digital infrared can yield some interesting and surreal results. I always bring my IR cameras with me to Italy.
Check out more of my digital infrared images of Tuscany by viewing my story on Steller:
While I’m here in Spain, I made a quick trip via high-speed train to Barcelona for a few days. As part of one of my excursions, I signed up for a Foodlover Tapas Tour. Along with our guides Javier and Daniel, there were 8 of us hailing from the USA, Germany, Luxemburg and the UK. There were a great bunch and it was fun to share food and stories with them! Here’s photos of all the tapas I tried along with plenty of wine (of course).
Our first stop was La Boudequeta Provença:
Octopus Salad, Ensalada de Pulpo
Bread with Tomato, Pan Con Tomate
White wine from the Pamplona region.
Fried Anchovies, Boquerones Fritos
Salt Cod Croquettes, Croquetas de Bacalao
Fried Baby Squid, Chopitos
Stop number two was a few blocks away and a small rustic and intimate tavern, Taverna Mediterrania:
A handcrafted Vermouth aperitif to start.
Mushroom and Egg Omelette
Ox Stomach Stew, Tripe Aita
Steamed Mussels, Mejillones al Vapor
More fried anchovies, Boquerones Fritos
Chickpea Stew with Morcilla, Cocido
Our final stop of the night was Bardot in the L’Eixample district:
Beef Croquettes
Calamari and Beans
Salt Cod Omelette
Braised Oxtail
Vegetable Risotto with Pancetta
Grilled Beef Steak, Chuleton
Postres — Chocolate Torte and Crema Catalan with Ice Cream
We finished off near midnight satiated and quite happy. I really enjoyed the people in our tour group, and Javier and Daniel were great guides! I’d do another Foodlover tour next time I’m back in Barcelona!
