Venice, Italy
Like the saying, "You are what you eat" goes, we are often influenced by the people around us. Having now spent time with Sherry Ott in three different and iconic Italian cities, I felt challenged (in a good way) to get off my hiney and step up my photo game a bit.
This grasshopper still has much to learn, but I think I did get some interesting shots today. I took copious notes while on our tour of the Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Basilica, though we could not photograph some of the more interesting bits. I did, however, manage a quick sketch of the Torture Room!
In any case, here is a peek at a few of the shots. More will inevitably show up, so watch this space. Same bat time, same bat channel!
(Click to expand.)
Sadly, WordPress seems to be compressing this to the point of squooshiness.
Let me know if you'd like to see a bigger and sharper version.
I liked this shot because of the seaweed, among other things. It's still interesting to me that despite the lagoon status, Venice is pretty much right on the open ocean. Seafaring culture from day one.
Pretty sure this is one of the Doges ("president" of Venice), though I was falling behind the group at this point and didn't manage to ask our guide. The winged lion represents St. Mark, whose remains are in the basilica next door. You know, St. Mark's Basilica (Basilica Cattedrale Patriarcale di San Marco).
The Greek Horses outside St. Mark's have a long and well-traveled history. The originals are now inside the basilica in a gallery right behind these replicas. Still, they are gorgeous in the afternoon sun. Although they are designed to be seen from below, I was quite happy to have the chance to see them up close.
It's long past my bedtime, so these three will have to tide you over for now. Hope you liked them!
How are you stepping up your game?
Disclosure: tour provided by Walks of Italy free of charge; accommodations were sponsored by Go with Oh.
Love it, Katrina – can’t believe it was over a month ago we were there. Currently wearing my Murano glass earrings and sandals from Venice:) I know exactly what you mean about spending time with Sherry and coming away inspired about photos – am finally trying to learn what all the buttons on my camera do after five years. Keep it up! Julie
Thanks, Julie! Wow, time really does fly. Seems like it was just the other day that we were cooking pasta together in the kitchen. Mmm… Venetian seafood and wine…
Stay inspired with the camera and let me know how it goes! :)
I don’t know if you changed the first photo or not, but I love it and think it is the best of all of them (IMO)… Very beautiful colors and texture of the water! lovely! Venice looks amazing! one day I hope to travel there! :) too many places to see!
Thanks, Shelly! I tweaked it a little for exposure and saturation, but not excessively. I don’t know why, but I was really excited by the seaweed. Something about growing up in Southern California on the beach, I guess. :)
Gorgeous. Looking forward to more. Venice is one of my favorite places in the world, despite only being there once. I was love at first sight :=)
Yeah, I really can’t get enough of the place. I’m not yet sure how many of my photos from there are awesomesauce, but I did get a bunch of mouthwatering snaps on the food tour of Rome to which Sherry introduced me. Pretty proud of that. So maybe I am gettin’ a bit better. :)
I was just there last year and seeing your pictures really took me back… We just followed the arrows and got lost a few times too but sometimes that took us down empty alleys that offered some great shots we otherwise wouldn’t have gotten.
Ah, getting lost in Venice can be such a pleasure! I want to go back and stay for 6 months! :)
That horse shot framed like that is amazing! Well done!
Hey, Tash! I missed your comment earlier. My apologies.
Thanks very much! I am mighty proud of how that one came out. :D
Superb shots! I went to Venice last summer and though the heat was unbearable I still had a great time. Would love to have taken some shots like these though. Did you make it to the Biennale? Great that you're combating Sherry in the photo stakes too. Definitely giving her a run for her money.
Thanks, Will! I’ve only been to Venice in the summer once. It was pretty toasty, but we did all right by taking boat rides, enjoying cool, delicious drinks in the shade (with friends!), and going out at night. I don’t think we were there during a heat wave, though, which would have been a different story altogether!
Love them! I loved how our guide told us that she never had a group who took more pictures than us! :)
It was GREAT spending time with you in 3 of Italy’s best cities – what a treat for me. Hope you guys made it home ok. I just arrived in Vienna and looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow!
BTW – love the horse shot!
Hey, Sherry! Yeah, the horse shot is my favorite, too. I wish I knew what the heck was going on with the compression with WP. The first shot is no masterpiece, but it’s much, much cooler when it’s sharp. The second shot is really about post tweaking rather than composition or anything super artsy. I generally only tweak a little to get things to look more like reality. This one I fiddled with a bit to make it pop more. And it does, but it’s not apparent if you don’t see the before next to the after.
As mentioned in person, I take a mixture of editorial and artsy photos. I’ve just been getting lazy and slipping into editorial schtuff too much. When I first got my Canon I was all about learning the art and started to get pretty decent, but I’ve been slacking lately. Got discouraged when the camera started having issues. Hoping it will behave until I can buy myself a new computer and camera body, though!
Anyway, was super nice to see you again and to meet Julie. Have a blast in Vienna!
Lovely stuff. We got horribly lost in Venice, our xenophobic coach guide told us we didn’t need a map and to just follow the arrows, bad idea!
Yeah, we got lost every time we returned to the apartment. Having been there before was actually a detriment in this case, as we kept recognizing landmarks from our last stay. I think each street, corner, and canal needs little electronic directional markers with QR codes or something. But then I’d have to get a smart phone…
Ohhh, getting lost in Venice is the best! So many alleyways and amazing places to discover just wondering off!
Hey, Tash! Sorry for the delay in my reply. Heh, yes, getting lost in Venice on purpose can be quite a lot of fun. If you’re tired and can’t find your apartment, though, it can be a different story. I think we got lost every time we tried to go back! It was kind of funny at first, but then it was just sad. We really should have figured it out after the first few times. I think the city of Venice needs to put electronic markers on each street that tie into some local GPS system. ;)
Love the shot of the horse.
Yeah, that’s my favorite. I like the lagoon shot a lot, too, but the compression of .jpeg + smushit plugin is killing some of the beauty. Think I will upload the high-res version and put in a link tomorrow. :)