Saturday, September 22, 2007

Pictures From Italy

Secondhand Smokette once insisted that I "get a hobby" so that I would find ways to relax. I began to shoot photographs. Here are a few I am pleased with from our recent sojourn in Italy that I share for your (I hope) enjoyment.

This is a shot in Rome taken from just above the Forum to some buildings in the sunset:




The glory that was Rome:













Here's a picture of a fruit stand near the Forum as darkness fell. I like the rich colors.









I am fascinated with the textures of rich store displays, which I consider "temporary art." This furniture store in Rome, shot through the window at night with the flash off, is a case in point:















This is a picture taken from inside St. Peter's out through a window that shows Christ from the back in a nice silhouette.















Debra and I have an affinity for this 2500-year-old Etruscan cremation urn that depicts a married couple who seem (like us occasionally) to be bickering. The urn is on display in a museum in the Tuscan hill town of Volterra.


This is the Volterra Cemetery. The flowers are faux and at night the place is entirely lit with small electric lights so that it appears that a candle burns in front of every grave. Both effects are very touching.














In a word: Venice.



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5 Comments:

At September 22, 2007 , Blogger OTE admin said...

When I was there in July, I didn't make it to Venice, but I saw Naples and Florence as well as Rome.

It was a great trip. I enjoy your pictures, Wesley.

 
At September 22, 2007 , Blogger Wesley J. Smith said...

Thanks. I get a real thrill from "seeing" a good shot and nailing it. I had a pretty good success rate on this trip.

 
At September 26, 2007 , Blogger T E Fine said...

Wow, awesome pics! So what kind of camera do you prefer?

I had a prof at college who was a military photographer and he still prefers traditional film photos 'cause he says they capture images better. I'm a lay-person so I still prefer digital - easy upload!

 
At September 26, 2007 , Blogger Wesley J. Smith said...

When I shot film, I had an SRL Nikonm, which I loved. Still have it, don't use it. I was afraid that shooting digitally would make one sloppy since you can reshoot a picture you missed. But I did not get sloppy. I got more diligent because if I miss what I wanted in a shot, I keep trying until I get it. Secondhand Smokette created a monster because she will sometimes have to wait, foot tapping impatiently, as I work to get what I see in my heart with the shot.

I can't afford a digital SRL at the moment. I am using an awesome point and shoot from Nikon, the Coolpix S 4. It breaks in half so you can shoot it vertically or horizontally. Whilst in Italy, I was able to lean over and point the camera behind me to get a good shot!

 
At September 26, 2007 , Blogger T E Fine said...

Ooooooo... I am *so* jealous! I've got an Olympian something-or-other (I got it second-hand so I'm not as keen on it as I was on my old Kodak, but eh) and it doesn't have all the nifty features. What's Nikon like? I've used Olympian, Kodak, and an awesome Minolta Maxxum.

 

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