Travel Photography Inspiration Project: Italy

Rome. Venice. Architecture. Wine.

Italy.

It’s the stereotype we all know and so much more. And that’s why I am thankful for this installment in the DPS Travel Photography Inspiration Project because those who submitted photos have found another side of the country and reproduced it in beautiful photographs.

They have taken the time to help others find and take some of the same shots they hold dear and for that I am thankful.

Ladies and gentleman, Italy as seen through the lens of fellow DPS photographers.

San Giorgio Maggiore view from Palazzo Ducale in Venice, Italy by Arturo Lavin Gonzalez

I made this picture at the blue hour using a tripod. You have to set a low aperture on the lens in order to achieve the lights in star shape and also to make the exposure longer to record the motion in the gondolas and the sky.

Primary colors… by Lila Braga

Good morning sunshine!!
In Italy everything is beautiful,bold and colorful!!…be prepared to dream about your own house in Tuscany and balcony with blue doors…I did!
To capture this image all you need is a bit of creativity when cropping…that is it!

Panarea by Federico Smanio

Eolie Islands, Sicily. The photo was taken in the only road of the island while I was walking to the west part of Panarea. Summer 2006.

The beauty of this place is stunning. No cars are allowed on the island and the only possibility to get here is by boat, from Naples or from Sicily. It’s like staying in another dimension. I would wake up early and try to exploit the light of the early morning. The colours of the houses, plants, flowers and the sea make this place unique.

The Duomo by Dev Wijewardane

Plan ahead and know what you want to shoot and where you want to shoot it from. I knew I wanted to photograph the Duomo so I did my research before I left on my trip and identified where I was going to shoot it from. On the day I was going to photograph the building, I got there early and waited for 4 hours to photograph the Duomo under varying light condition. Fortunately I got there early as I was able to pick the best spot. The place was crawling with photographers during the "golden hours" but because I got there early I had one of the best positions.

Untitled by Benjamin Clark

The location of this shot is along the waterfront in the small town of Bellagio, on Lake Como. Bellagio is a great little town to experience the lakes region from. The trick to a shot like this is to get down low to put the flowers in the forefront, then open your aperture wide and focus on the flowers. This should blur the background a bit and give the viewer something to bring their attention to.

Mount Vesuvius by Bill Chizek

The sun setting on snow covered Mount Vesuvius with the traffic of Naples’ Tangenziale.
I was shooting HDR hoping to capture the orange of the sun as it went down. I liked not cropping out the traffic to give the busy, restless, feeling that is Naples.

Market day in Porto Maurizio by Harri Küünarpuu

Porto Maurizio is a very nice small Italian city on the coast of Mediterranian sea. It is probably most popular vacation place for italians. Not so many people from other parts of Europe. Do not travel there by car as we did – you cannot find a parking space very easily.

Grand canal view from the Rialto bridge in Venice by Arturo Lavin Gonzalez

This picture was made in the afternoon facing south from the Rialto bridge, one of the busiest places in Venice due to tourists. To get this shot I had to wait until someone move, then wait for the water buses to park or to move outside of the frame, an then hope for a gondola get in the frame.

The City of Pillars by Lila Braga

This is how Venice is known by many; as the city of pillars.Venice is a city entirely built on cylindrical pillars which were driven into the mud. Some are from the year 7 A.D when the city was initially created on a series of low shallow islands in a lagoon of the coast of Italy. These pillars were gradually built on and added to to create the city that is now Venice! Isn’t that simply amazing! Today the city is slowly sinking as the pillars sink into the mud and the tides carry silt and the sea floor away. Sad hum?
Another cool thing about photographing Venice is that you get many opportunities to frame you images with gorgeous old pillars, beautiful door ways and gaps between very narrow streets…The streets in venice are sooooooo narrow!…Just a fabulous place to unleash your inner artist!

Carloforte by Federico Smanio

Carloforte is the capital of San Pietro Island. This place together with the other island of St. Antioco are two remote places off the south coast of Sardinia.

This city and its island are famous for the hunting of Mediterranean tuna fish. Here I want to share the colors of this town during the village festival. I think it’s apparent from my shooting the buzz of people and the typical colours of the picturesque buildings of Carloforte. The multi color baloons add to the story the presence of kids although not depicted.

The Mask by Dev Wijewardane

One of many colourfull masks in Venice.

Remember to focus on the smaller details. Apart from the churches, canals and palaces in Venice there are a number of smaller objects which are quintessentially Venice. amongst these Masks and glassware are famous.

Untitled by Benjamin Clark

This is the famous Rialto bridge in Venice. In order to capture the shot, bring a tripod after dark and find a clear view of the bridge, and set your shutter speed to at least 1 second. Another tip for Venice during the day is to try to get lost as a way to explore more of the city, and more of the great scenes!

Spacca Napoli by Bill Chizek

A side street of Naples complete with laundry drying in the breeze.

I was trying to get away from the typical tourist photo ops and dig way deep in to Naples and get a shot of everyday Neapolitan life. I chose black and white because it seems nostalgic and takes you back to what this must have looked like a century ago.

Mediteraanian Cityspace by Harri Küünarpuu

This photo is also taken in Porto Maurizio. There is a very nice old part in the town that climbs up into the mountain. Needs a lot of stamina to climb the old streets.

Gondolas at dusk in Venice by Arturo Lavin Gonzalez

I made this photo late in the afternoon walking along the Grand Canal. I exposed for the highlights and then underexposed two steps to get the gondolas shapes all in black and only have detail in the brightest part of the shot.