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.

colorful Sibiu

Posted on September 13, 2011 by Andrei

Slow day photo wise, but I did find a very nice image I took in Sibiu. I really enjoyed the beautiful colors of the buildings -I am not used to see houses painted so full of colors in Romania.

goodbye to summer

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Andrei

Officially the summer is over since September 1st. However, only today really feels like autumn is here. Rain – clouds – sleeping late – umbrellas. Yet the biggest change is that weekends no longer mean going to the seaside. Probably until next year it’s goodbye beach life. This train of thought made me browse some of the older photos, and I found a set from Sri Lanka which I haven’t published yet. So – that’s the reason (if I need one) to post this image.

Granada and Alhambra

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Andrei

I think Spain is one of the greatest places to visit – and it can offer photographic gems for several trips. While I have in the past visited Madrid, Toledo, Aranjuez, Barcelona and a few other places, until this summer I had never visited southern Spain. But it was about time.

For one week I did a short tour in Granada, Cordoba and Sevilla – and then continued to Lisbon. One of the most famous monuments in Spain is Alhambra, and indeed it is an amazing place for photography. Even though I arrived in Granada at noon, after a long-ish bus ride from Madrid, I did manage to visit the city a bit and spend several hours in Alhambra.

A word of advice – Spain in summer is grueling hot. Walking in the afternoon sun is pretty harsh. Even if the light was not the greatest for photography, I did manage to take some good photos.. Enjoy!

continue reading Granada and Alhambra »→

Sibiu photo gallery

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Andrei

Did I mention in the previous posts about Sibiu that I love this city? Well – I do not remember posting more than 2 or 3 posts with photos from other cities, so Sibiu seems to have something that I really loved. Be it the company, festival atmosphere or the beer I drank, the result is a lot of photos taken.

So, enjoy this third photo gallery from Sibiu

Sibiu – a walk in the city and surroundings

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Andrei

Sibiu offers a lot of sights, besides the wonderful cafes and restaurants. So, before going to ARTMania concerts we tried to see a bit of the nice museums and sights in Siibiu, and also ASTRA open-air museum. For people interested in traditional homes and work techniques, ASTRA is a very nice place to spend half a day. Also – for anyone just wanting to take pictures!

The next post will be a photo gallery with some of the photos I took in Sibiu proper – Main Square, Bruckenthal museum, Little Square, and so on.