The Pantheon
The Pantheon in Rome, an amazing structure and well worth visiting!
Rome is just lovely. I would be really happy to go spend a week or so there, wandering and shooting like mad. So much history, beautiful architecture…I think I would skip as much sleep as possible! Here’s one I captured there a few years ago, just as blue hour descended on the Pantheon. I really thought it was more powerful in monochrome.
The light in Italy
I had to get up from our dinner to go shoot this, but who can focus on a meal when this is happening??
This was an amazing sunset (I guess that is pretty obvious though). We were dining in Praiano, Italy along the Amalfi Coast, and sat on a terrace overlooking this beautiful area. As the light began to change, I got more and more twitchy until I just had to get up, leave dinner, and take photos. I just couldn’t miss something this spectacular. This is definitely in the top 5 sunsets I have ever witnessed, maybe top 3. Just so gorgeous!
A Venetian scene
A daily scene in Venice…so lovely there!
Just a quick snap from lovely Venice, Italy. I was passing over a bridge, and could see the front of this gondola coming around the bend. I only had to wait a moment for it to get into position, and I fired away. It doesn’t get much easier!
A view in Praiano
A view from our hotel deck in Praiano, Italy…along the Amalfi Coast
When we were visiting the Amalfi Coast in Italy, our hotel was in the little town of Praiano, which is a mile or so from Positano. Just a quick bus ride and you are in the thick of it, but in Praiano you have the benefit of a little quieter spot. Our hotel had a rooftop deck with a pool, and I went up there one night for this nice view of the little church next door. I couldn’t resist a little blue hour shot from up there!
Shopping in Milan
The lovely Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, Italy…what a sight!
Ok, I didn’t shop here, but boy did I spend some time taking photos! This is the amazing Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II which is next to the equalling inspiring Duomo, in Milan, Italy. I absolutely adore locations like this, which have these beautiful reflective floors and rich architectural details. Although there were people walking around, I took this as a long exposure so they (mostly) blurred out of the shot. So worth seeing and shooting this place. Be sure to visit if you are in Milan. It’s hard to miss, being right next to the Duomo, which you will be visiting there anyway, right?
Dreaming of a train trip
A train idles in the station in Milan, Italy…
I guess I am dreaming of a train trip around Europe. When I saw this photo in my “to be posted” folder - which now has literally hundreds of photos in it - I knew I had to post it. I captured this one in Milan, Italy on our 6 week visit to that most lovely country. Oh how I long to return!
Italian light
An incredible sunset from southern Italy…
Oh man was this a stunner of a sunset!
We had been out all day, and when dinner rolled around we were too tired for any big production, so we just strolled down the street to this place with a lovely view. I did not expect this sort of light, but when it started coming together I had to leave the dinner table and shoot it! I love a good meal, but sunsets as beautiful as this one don’t come around very often!
Watching a Venetian sunset
A stunning sunset in the equally stunning city of Venice, Italy…
Ah, lovely Venice! So gorgeous, so fun to shoot, and so hard to navigate! :-) I admit to getting lost a few times while wandering with my camera in Venice, but that’s just part of the fun. But this spot, just near St Mark’s Square and the Grand Canal, is where you pretty much don’t have to worry about getting lost. It’s very central, and busy, but at sunset it just comes alive!
On the beach in Positano
A pair of photos taken on the beach in Positano, Italy - such a gorgeous little town!
Positano, Italy is an amazingly gorgeous place. I had dreamed of visiting for years and when we finally got there, it did not disappoint! I loved wandering on the beach there and taking photos. It’s small and quaint but it really packs in the beauty for being such a small place. Here’s a pair of shots I took while chilling on the beach one afternoon…
That lovely Italian light
A gorgeous sunset over the River Arno in Florence, Italy…
Ah, fair Italy, such a gorgeous country. This was a sunset in Florence looking over the River Arno. I just stood on one of the bridges and waited for that boat to get into the right spot. Easy!
Sunset at the Vatican
Stunning light + stunning location = happy photographer!
This was one of those sunsets that you just luck into. Well, since we can’t control the weather, I guess we luck into all of them. But you know, I didn’t expect the light to be so stunning, or The Vatican to be so deserted. But hey, no complaints from me! :-)
Sunset in Roma
A stunning sunset in Rome, Italy…
Sometimes you just luck into some beautiful light, and happen to have the camera handy! Sure, I love to plan ahead like everyone else, but when I stumbled onto this scene while walking back to my hotel in Rome, I was very happy to get a “lucky shot” for a change!
Vintage Venice
A beautiful sunset in Venice, turned vintage…(I think it works).
Venice is a beautiful town, even when it’s turned a little vintage.
I love to experiment with my photographs. New techniques, old techniques, you name it. It’s fun and always educational to just test out ideas on photos and see what you can create. Take today’s photo for instance. This was a gorgeous sunset in Venice, Italy and really didn’t need any post processing from me to ensure it came across as beautiful as it was in real life. However I decided why not try something a little old school on it? You know, give it a little vintage charm and see how it looks? So I added a water-stained paper texture to it and made some other changes, and came up with this. Is it amazing? No, not really. I like it, but it’s not going to win any awards. But I did have a good time creating this look, and that’s always worth it to me.
Sunset in Firenze
A lovely sunset in Florence, Italy…or was it?
Sometimes you just don't get the light that you want.
It happens a lot. You are going somewhere special, and you have a vision in your mind of what a stunning sunset will look like from a specific vantage point that you have never visited. So you plan ahead, get there with plenty of time, have all the right gear, and the light is crap. Totally boring.
Sadly, it does happen and there is nothing you can do about it at the moment. But part of the fantastic fun of post-processing for me is that you can interpret the scene artistically later if you want to. I don't do this much, but sometimes it a great exercise for crafting a photo that fits the vision you held in your mind for so long.
That's what I did with this photo. The light was totally boring, and although the view was incredible, the photos I took were underwhelming. So I went into Luminar and added a lovely sunset sky to replace the boring one I witnessed. I think that is totally ok to do, as long as you let your viewers know that it's an artistic interpretation and not exactly what you shot.
If you are interested in how I created this photo, you can find the video I did about it below:
That lovely Venetian light
A lovely sunset in Venice with some gondolas for good measure :-)
Venice is stunning, and oh so photogenic. Everything about it just screams to take a photo. I wandered a bit aimlessly there for several days, and never grew tired of it. You always come across a canal somewhere and there are bridges and gondolas everywhere. One evening at sunset I found myself here, staring at these lovely gondolas. So I set up for a long exposure, focused on the distance chapel, and knowing that the gondolas would move around a bit. I hoped it would look cool, and I feel like it came out exactly how I wanted it to.