Venice...
While Florence stole our hearts, there was something so magical about our time in Venice. As we stood on the Rialto Bridge looking out across the Grand Canal, we knew we were somewhere truly unique.
Every where we looked there was a building, a door, a texture that could only have existed in this place.

Doors. To say that these doors became my obsession would be an understatement. Our time in Venice was consumed by photographing canals, streets and doors. These are just a few of my favorites.
In the late afternoons, we often went back to our hotel room to rest. Every afternoon the sounds of Frank Sinatra drifted up through our open windows from a local accordion player. It felt like the soundtrack to Venice and I'll forever remember it that way.
I suppose I should have said "canals, streets, doors AND textures".
And the lighting?? A photographer's dream.
The overcast skies and cool temperatures were a perfect combination.
Below is one of the few times I actually gave my camera to someone else. Mind you, I found a guy who was shooting with a Canon 1D. I was pretty confident that he wouldn't stare at me in confusion when handing him my camera - "what do you mean this doesn't have a flash? And the lens doesn't zoom?? I thought this was suppose to be an expensive camera?" (a real conversation had with one of our Venetian waiters)
Ah, the sunset we almost missed. The night before the picture below was taken, I had asked Jason if there was enough time to stop near the Rialto to capture a few images of sunset before our dinner reservations. Fearing that our vaporetto ride would take HOURS, he told me that it might be better to stop the next night. I vaguely understood his logic, but continued to pout as we rode down the Canal.
And then we arrived for our reservation.....THIRTY minutes early. Yep. Thirty minutes.
I think of our time in Italy and I still can't believe it was real. Yet I know that it was so much more than just a distant daydream - I can still smell the salt air, feel the cool breeze rush across my face, taste the oil dripped across our bruschetta and hear the musical soundtrack that is the life force behind this beautiful country.
Labels: Italy, Personal, Travel