Monday, July 30, 2012

San Michele....Cemetery


I've always loved the trees on San Michele....they seem to stand guard over
the grave sites.......

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Final result ~

Here is the last image in the series...the image completed....see post below for details...


Saturday, July 28, 2012

Steps of Photoshop etc.


I love to see the steps... the before and after shots.
The girl without makeup and then the girl ready for the runway.

The bottom image is the original image...this shot was underexposed and
slightly blurry. 
First thing I did was run it thru Photoshop to fix the blur....2nd from bottom is
the image after the blur was improved.
3rd from bottom...I fixed the angle of the shot...wanted it to appear as if I were standing
in front of the window, not below the window.  I then ran it thru an app called
Snapheal. 
( I love Snapheal!!)
4th from bottom image is after Snapheal.  In Snapheal I corrected the 'empty' corners
and messed with exposure, color temperature, exposure, etc.
Then I decided I wanted a more vintage appearance....so I used another app called
Modern Grunge.
Top image is the result of Modern Grunge.


(click on images to enlarge)


Sunday, July 22, 2012

A trip down the Grand Canal....Looking up!


I love riding the vaporetto...day or night.

One morning around 7am I had to go to the airport to pick up a friend.
I boarded at San Toma and headed to Piazzale Roma...I snagged a seat in the front.
I decided to aim high....looking for chimneys.


(click on images to enlarge)


San Polo Dreaming.....


Cafe Paradiso - Giardini


Favorite 'pieces' at the Biennale.....


Boy...am I gonna hear it for this....
I was underwhelmed by so much of the art at last year's Biennale de Venezia.
I  just spent twenty minutes viewing THE TANK.  The blasting grind and plumes of smoke didn't make a great impression...neither did the prancing athlete that strode the treadmill.
Sorry!


In all fairness, I only spent 3 hours at the exhibits....I'm sure there were gems I missed.
In the past...there have been many works that left a lasting impression.
Just not last year....sigh.


I rounded the corner...in search of quiet!
I found this wet, gorgeous tree....


and then I looked down...a fall carpet!!

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Salute


(Click on image to enlarge)

Tiepolo ~ San Polo


This is the water entrance on the Grand Canal to Palazzo Tiepolo.
I love looking out our two windows and watching the world glide by.
Last year a dock was added...so now we have a spot on the Grand Canal to 
enjoy our Moscato.

(Click on image to enlarge)

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Gondola ~ Rainer Marie Rilke








In 1920, when the gondola had already ceased to the chief mod
of transportation in the city, Rilke described the results of all this 
craftsmanship in his inimitable way:

"Seven years ago, because the gondola was then still
an affordable vehicle, one always sailed along the canals into
the lagoon, up against the darkening of the sky;  one perhaps
never entered so fully into the medium of the night, as
when one was lying almost flat on the black leather
cushions of this coaxing vessel, the only one that does not tear
a hole in the nights as it presses forward.
However well you know the gondola, its consummate perfection
always amazes;  many of its particular features, its
extraordinary length for example, seem the opposite of what is
required and yet then prove themselves to be unerringly
practical and insightful.  How Venice brought forth this slim black ship
from its innermost nature, a creation, an essence - in the world of objects, only a
musical instrument compares to it, an object whose entire body is
shaped by requirements that reach deep into the invisible, the gondolier
stands there like a sign, like the treble clef, at the beginning of
a line of movement, of noiseless, silent music, endlessly varying and
 intensifying."


 From:  Rilke's Venice by Birgit Haustedt

Sotoportego de le Colone - Castello


July 17th 2012


Monday, July 16, 2012

Ponte de la Malvasia Vechia



No matter how many times I come across this spot...it always takes me by surprise.
It's such a perfect composition...the light is always different...always
~magical~


(click on image to enlarge)





My neighborhood...

I love staying in San Polo....it's a perfect fit for me.  
These two photos were taken from the same spot....I've always said....
 "You can stand in one spot in Venice and have a thousand fantastic views!"



Piazza San Marco

Anyone that has been to Venice will always remember the first time they came upon
Piazza San Marco.
I remember that I took a wander the first night we were in Venezia.  We had a late dinner & returned to the Marconi near the Rialto Bridge.....I couldn't stay inside...I grabbed my camera and went on one last explore for the day.
I rounded a corner and BAM there it was.........the glory of decades before my eyes!!


(click on image to enlarge)