crazy colourful Burano

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Andrei

What Venice lacks in colour (but makes up in the grandeur of the Gran Canale palaces), Burano makes up for it. Whether the colours were chosen to attract the crowds of tourists, or because all the happy Italians moved to Burano I do not know. Of course, it is also possible that one painter was tripping so bad that he coloured his house pink. And the rest just followed. But whatever the reason for the children-book themed colours, Burano is a very joyful and nice place. While lacking the tragic majesty of Venice proper, it more than makes up for it. If I were to get back to the Venice area, I wouldn’t miss a photo trip to Burano.

The best way to visit this island – which is pretty small, so 3 or 4 hours visiting should be enough – is to get a 12 hours (or more) boat pass. With it one can get to Murano (slightly dissapointing), Burano, Torcevello, Giudeca (haven’t been there unfortunately) and of course it is also possible to catch a boat that plies the Gran Canale. Again. And again.

In the same tone of the last post (the one with umbrellas) – I would say that a covered sky (preferably rainy) is perfect for this kind of joyful colourful setting. While it may seem counter intuitive – it is best to have a uniform, gentle light instead of a midday Sun. Too much light and all these nice colours would become washed out. Of course, even better would’ve been some godrays or a rainbow. But the beauty of this place – and the joy one feels surrounded by so much colours – is enough to make some very nice photos.

rain and photography – the umbrella treasure hunt

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Andrei

European cities, long weekends and photography go very well together. The “common” knowledge says that the fourth element is sun. There is a general feeling that in order to make good photos a lot of sun is mandatory. Yet the reality is pretty different.

First – the creative barrier: it is definitely harder to swim against the tide of sunny pictures with every monument, every cafe, every bridge/church/park than to come with a different look. Gloomy photographs – old buildings, overcast skies, huddled passer-bys – make for pretty powerful imagery. Not to mention that Gothic architecture works better with doom’n'gloom weather.

The second issue with sunny weather is the technical limitations of the cameras. It is easy to forget that the poor camera does not have the huge light latitude our eyes have. The dynamic range (the range of light intensities a camera can work with in one shot) of a digital sensor is a very limiting factor. After all – no one likes a white sky and black alleyways. (And no, using film is not better. Actually the dynamic range of film was even more problematic to work with).

a different look at the canal bridges in Venice

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Andrei

The classic photo of Venice is a composition with a gondolla, a bridge near the foreground and one or two palaces in the background. And of course I have countless images like this. However, like any city, Venice offers more. I also tried to glimpse some of the people living there and also catch more unusual imagery.

Today – a few photos from love locks on a bridge in Murano. Supposedly this Italian tradition started a few years ago in Rome, and represents eternal love (‘amore eterno’). Two lovers inscribe their name on a padlock, attach it to a railing or one of the many bridges and throw away the key. At one point There were talks to try to put a stop to this practice, as the weight of the padlocks put the flimsy bridges in danger. One could argue that a bridge sinking under the weight of so much love would be poetic, but probably cause a lot of headaches for the Venetians. As I didn’t pay a lot of attention to these locks, I only got a few pictures.

people in Venice

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Andrei

People and street photography – while not my strong points – are two areas I try to touch on every trip.

canals of Venice

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Andrei

Photography in Venice, Italy, is a real pleasure. The maze of canals and narrow streets, little restaurants and shops, the splendour of the palaces on the Grand Canale and of course the countless gondolas offer countless opportunities to capture beautiful imagery.

This was my first time staying in Venice. Hitting a city for 3 hours on an organized tour is not really visiting, and so the past weekend was a discovery-filled experience. These are some of the photos from the first day, which we spent just strolling around.

The only camera I took with me – the Fuji X10 – proved pretty capable. The main issue I have with the Fuji is it eats the undersized batteries like crazy. I am not really used to emptying 2 batteries per day. An interesting point regarding the Fuji is the while I expected to use the viewfinder I discovered that it is not really usable. Otherwise – a very capable little camera. I intend to continue to test it more, and of course I still have a lot of photos to filter through.

life on Inle Lake

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Andrei

Nearby Mandalay, in the middle of Myanmar, lies Inle Lake. This is a pretty large, shallow body of water, that supports the life of several tribes in a dozen villages. Some of the daily life takes place on the lake – with boats being the main mean of transport. The combination of faraway mountains, Budhist monasteries built on water, village markets and of course a lot of tourists whizzing from village to village offers a pretty nice and relaxing atmosphere.

I spent 3 days in late October 2011 in one of the villages near Inle Lake, and the experience was very interesting. As I was there in the slightly-rainy season, the water level was high enough to offer the full water village experience. This also meant there were little ponds that I had to cross on my way to the pier, food stalls or to meet with friends.

Because Myanmar has opened to foreign tourists only for little time, the tourist infrastructure and the feeling to be in an amusement park are somewhat lacking. And that is good - as part of the charm of the area is the way I could almost imagine I was living in a fishing village.

portraits from Myanmar (part 5)

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Andrei

Buddhist monks at a temple – probably one of the most photographed scenes. Add a bit of sunset and sprinkle with some shallow depth-of-field – and you get a very classic image. yet I still love this photo. In Lightroom I have about 5 virtual copies, with different crops and filters applied. The most important part – I really enjoy looking at this photo!

It was taken the second day in Bagan, Myanmar, while waiting for the sunset.

portraits from Myanmar (part 4)

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Andrei

portrait from Myanmar (part 3)

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Andrei

This photo I took at one of the temples in the Bagan area. This lady was taking a smoke break from selling at the temple entrance.

sunset at Bagan

Posted on November 6, 2011 by Andrei

Bagan in Myanmar is every photographer’s dream. On an area no larger than 40sq km there are thousands of temples. I think it is impossible to visit all of them – so there is still room for someone to find his ‘own’ favorite temple. Renting a bicycle and moving from place to place is the best way to experience this amazing place.

The magic moment is at sunset – when from one of the taller temples you can see the surrounding area – a huge plain dotted with countless temples.

traveling gypsy

one backpack, one camera, one passport… one world