One of my favorite things to do in Barcelona is to take pictures of people walking around the gothic quarter at night, especially next to the main cathedral. The architecture and lighting creating a setting that is good for night photography. As write this I am in Barcelona by accident; I was scheduled to return home but my flights were cancelled. That gives an extra day to explore one of my favorite cities at night. Images like this illustrate my preference for shooting scenes at night. In my mind it’s more interesting than daytime. It’s not just the time of day but the location. In Barcelona there are people out walking around at all hours. Those people and their sense of style surrounded by the ancient architecture create the perfect settings for this type of image making. One thing that helps is a fast lens. I used an f1.8, which lets in more light. That’s necessary for handheld night photography without a tripod. That in turn allows me to quickly capture scenes with little setup. In this case I am using an ISO of 1600, which is high but well within the means of today’s cameras. The technology will only get better and these types of shots will become easier to capture. Having that combination in a city like Barcelona is a very good thing.
I took this while walking aimlessly around Venice one afternoon. It’s easy to get lost among the narrow ways and canals, but at the same time it’s easy to find your way back. Every building has a sign on the corner pointing to St Marks Square. In this manner I headed out, got lost, and found my way back with little trouble. Along the way there were dozens of scenes like this. I walked far enough out from the central square that the streets were quite and life returned to the normal sights and sounds of an old world village. Shopkeepers leaned against doors, people lingered in cafés, and an old woman carried groceries. It was in contrast to the crowded tourist center where I started. This is my first time in Venice. It’s one of those places that immediately struck the photographer in me with endless possibilities. I have seen many images from here, yet the experience of being here is beyond the clichés. Like other iconic locations, the beauty of it inspires artists, and has done so for centuries. I was here only briefly but captured many images that I can go back and enjoy for a long time. I will share some of my favorite, but for now this is my first. And I have no idea exactly where I was when I took it.
This is just before sunrise at the port in Livorno Italy along the western coast of Tuscany. I took this from the deck of the ship as we pulled into port. On a cruise you wake up in a new place each morning so sometimes I like to get up and have a look around while the ship docks. On this morning there were colors on display as the ship entered port. Come to think of it, if it wasn’t for the sunrise and sunset I’d loose all sense of direction while travelling. A geographic sense is one thing, but being able to point east or west is entirely another. I had the same problem in Florida because the ground is so flat; there is no point of reference. Where would we be without a GPS? I’ve become attached to using it. I used to read maps and a compass but it’s no longer necessary. Maybe one day we’ll have GPS chips implanted in our brains and we’ll never lose our way. Even then we’d be inferior to starlings that use the magnetic lines of the earth. It seems we need a lot of technology to catch up to what is already in nature. Anyway, back in Livorno the ship docked and I took a trip along the coast of Tuscany. Because it was the coast I had sense of which way was west. But as soon as we returned to sea, all bets were off.
