Posts Tagged ‘italy’
View from the Argo March 6th, 2011
This picture was made in Florence one glorious morning last October, as I was walking along the banks of the Argo.
More coming soon!
Tags: argo, cityscape, firenze, florence, italy, morning, october, reflected, reflection, river, river bank
Posted in Travel/Urban | Comments (0)
World Within A World January 27th, 2011
In the glass of one window the open window across the street is reflected. I made this picture while wandering down a small cobbled street in Florence, Italy.
More coming soon!
Tags: florence, glass, italy, reflected, reflection, window, world within a world
Posted in Travel/Urban | Comments (0)
Florence, a Panorama January 20th, 2011
This is a panorama of the older part of Florence, Italy, which I find to be the most beautiful city in the world. The panorama was taken last October from the top of the Piazzale Michelangelo.
It is put together from 26 separate photos and the size of this low-resolution version is 5019×500 pixels (the high-res version weighs in at 375 megabytes with a size of 24073×4094 pixels).
Click on the thumbnail to view the full-size image.
For you Assassin’s Creed fans out there, has the old city changed much since the 15th Century?
More coming soon!
Tags: assassin's creed, florence, italy, pano, panorama, photograph, piazzale michelangelo, pic, picture
Posted in Travel/Urban | Comments (2)
La Figura Serpentina November 27th, 2010
Below are photographs of aspects of the impressive sculpture which dates from 1582 and known as the “Rape of the Sabine Women”. It was sculpted by the Flemish artist Jean de Boulogne, better known by his Italianized name Giambologna.
This sculpture can be found in Florence, Italy, where, since 1583AD it has been sitting in the Loggia dei Lanzi. The Loggia sits on a corner of the Piazza della Signoria and by the Palazzo Vecchio.
For this work, Giambologna’s masterpiece, he wanted to create a composition in the form of a serpentine spiral – making it the first sculpture in European history which could be viewed from all sides with no dominant viewpoint (by comparison, take Michelangelo’s David, which dates from some 80 years earlier). This stunning piece also has another distinction: it was made from one imperfect block of white marble which is the largest block ever transported to Florence.
Later, when the Medicis decided it should be exhibited in the Loggia, it was given the name the Rape of the Sabine Women after the mythical story of the founding years of Rome, where Roman men abducted women of the Sabine peoples to take as wives. Here the English word “rape” is a translation of the Latin word “raptio”, which in this context means abduction rather than its modern meaning. For more info on that section of the legendary history of Rome which gave its name to the sculpture, click here.
On another note, check out the following:
- For fantastic shots from the opening ceremony of the 2010 Asian Games, click here;
- For a different look at learning how to make photographs, courtesy of The New York Times’ Lens photo blog, click here;
- For a cool behind the scenes look at the American Ballet Theatre in Cuba, check out this great photo essay here;
- For a look at a unique shot of Eleanor Roosevelt, click here;
- For a photo essay on the Punch Me Panda touring New York City, helping release the frustrations of New Yorkers, click here; and
- For a fabulous selection of shots submitted to the National Geographic’s 2010 Photo Contest and brought to you by The Boston Globe’s The Big picture, click here.
More coming soon!
Tags: 1582, 1583, abduction, american ballet theatre, asian games, asian games opening, Boston Globe, cuba, david, eleanor roosevelt, figura serpentina, florence, Giambologna, havana, history, history of Rome, italy, Jean de Boulogne, latin, lens, Loggia dei Lanzi, marble, marble block, medici, Michelangelo, national geographic, new york city, Palazzo Vecchio, Piazza della Signoria, punch me panda, Rape of the Sabine Women, Rape of the Sabines, raptio, roman history, Rome, serpentina, serpentine, serpentine spiral, spiral, the big picture, the new york times
Posted in Travel/Urban | Comments (0)
The Ladies & the Gelato November 23rd, 2010
I’ve been a little busy of late, and not had much time to prepare any posts. Am working towards fixing that, so please bear with me!
I made this shot in Florence, Italy, just before I headed up the hill to the Piazzale Michelangelo. These three German ladies were sitting outside a tiny gelateria, enjoying the sun and the first-class Italian gelato. I love the texture of the wall behind them.
On another note, check out the following:
- For an extraordinary and unique glimpse at the Hajj, brought to you by the Boston Globe’s The Big Picture, click here;
- For a look at the Hajj in 1885, and compared with today, check out this post by Tewfiq El Sawy;
- For some shots of 1970s New York City, brought to you by the New York Times’ Lens photo blog, click here;
- For some beautiful shots by Gavin Gough from the Pushkar Camel Fair in India, click here; and
- For a cool Burning Man HDR shot from Trey Ratcliff’s Stuck in Customs blog, click here.
More coming soon!
Tags: 1885, Boston Globe, burning man, camel fair, florence, gavin gough, gelato, hajj, ice cream, india, italy, lens, mecca, new york times, piazzale michelangelo, pushkar, stuck in customs, tewfiq el sawy, the big picture, trey ratcliff, wall
Posted in People, Portraits | Comments (0)
Of Love and Padlocks November 4th, 2010
On my recent trip to Florence, Italy to attend a wedding (of course) I discovered something completely new to me: love padlocks.
The custom basically has lovers affixing padlocks to railings and chain links along (generally) a pier or bridge and throwing the key into the water. This act is supposed to symbolise the unbreakable bond between the two sweethearts. Sometimes, one or other of the dewy-eyed pair will write their name(s), the date or even a small message on the padlock they affix. Or they may even paint the brass in pretty bright colours. It makes for quite a sight, these clumps of padlocks bristling like mad metal hedgehogs from the railings, or stretching out in heavy chains that look like they’ll soon collapse from the weight.
I was introduced to this curious phenomenon by a friend, with whom I took a lazy walk around the old part of town the morning after the wedding. I first spotted it by the little marvel that is the Ponte Vecchio and then again all along the Arno and on the other bridges.
It seems that the Fiorentine authorities tried to stamp out the practice back in 2006. Clearly, they failed.
A few shots below.
Shot on the wall along the Lungarno Archibustieri.
A never ending chain…
The above was shot from the Ponte Alle Grazie, with the Ponte Vecchio in the background.
On another note:
- click here for some fun street photography from the streets of London by Matt Stuart, brought to you by Lens, the photography blog of The New York Times;
- click here for some alternatively beautiful, disturbing, moving and hopeful pictures from The Big Picture‘s monthly series on Afghanistan;
- click here for a cool how-to by Strobist on tracking ambient light using manual flash;
- click here for a small article on an interesting iPad/iPhone/iPod application which allows you to light paint words into your photographs; and
- click here for a behind-the-scenes look at a fashion shoot brought to you by Scott Kelby and complete with cool photos.
More coming soon!
Tags: afghanistan, app, application, arno, big picture, boston, Boston Globe, custom, fashion shoot, florence, ipad, iphone, ipod, italy, lens, light painting, love padlocks, lovers, manual flash, matt stuart, new york times, padlocks, photoshop insider, ponte vecchio, scott kelby, street photography, Strobist, sweethearts, unbreakable bond
Posted in Interesting Stuff, Travel/Urban | Comments (0)
The Award October 3rd, 2010
Hey guys! I’m back!
Well, I’ve been back home for a few days, but they’ve been rather… full … for lack of a better word, hence the prolonged absence.
Today, I’d like to share something truly very special.
That there is my father’s brand-spanking-new award.
My father has just been promoted to Commendatore (Commander) of the Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana (Order of Merit of the Italian Republic)! The Order of Merit is the highest ranking honour of the Italian Republic. This award was signed by Giorgio Napoletano, Italy’s current President, and countersigned by Romano Prodi.
Some years ago Italy awarded him with the Knighthood (so basically he now skipped the rank of Ufficiale and went straight to Commander). He’s also been awarded with Knighthoods of the National Orders of Merit by both the French and the Spanish.
All for civil services rendered to all three states over a highly distinguished and extraordinary career.
You can see two of the medals in the Still Life gallery on my main website, pictured together with a very old portrait of my mother.
Few people can claim to have received any of these National Orders of Merit, and fewer still can claim to have been awarded all of them. He’s a great man (and clearly that is not just my opinion). It’s refreshing when all the effort and work he’s put in over the years is recognised and appreciated.
I took this picture over the weekend, lighting the award with two studio stobes fitted with softboxes.
More coming soon (though is still likely to be somewhat erratic – bear with me)!
Tags: abu dhabi, cavaliere, civil service, commander, commendatore, france, french, Giorgio Napoletano, italian, italy, knighthood, law, lawyer, Napoletano, order of merit, Ordine al Merito, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana, Prodi, Repubblica Italiana, Romano Prodi, salloum, samir salloum, spain, spanish, UAE, ufficiale, united arab emirates
Posted in Interesting Stuff, Macro | Comments (2)
