(Tuscan style) picture window # 22 ~ window light

il Bacio window • click to embiggenOnce again, no matter where you go, there you are.

As with yesterday's Tuscan-style decay picture, there were also numerous picture window picturing opportunities in Tuscany.

(Tuscan style) decay # 33 ~ it's everywhere

Decay, Tuscan style • click to embiggenNo matter where you go, there you are.

Somehow it just seems appropriate to begin a stream of Tuscan pictures with a picture of decay since so much of Tuscany - primarily the nearly century old (and older) manmade parts, the really interesting parts - is in the state of decay, albeit a truly beautiful state of "preserved" decay.

tuscany # 2-6 ~ la dolce vita

Bridge ruins ~ Bagnoro
il Bacio, aka - the Kiss (on the right)
The interior of il BacioWhile in Tuscany the wife and I stayed in a quaint little cottage (1 of 2) - il Bacio (the Kiss) - on the grounds of an old olive orchard / farm house high in the hills overlooking Etruscan Arezzo - Arezzo is approx. 100 km south of Florence. My brother and his wife stayed in the other cottage at the same place.

And when I say, "high in the hills", man, do I mean high - the drive up, about a mile, was steep (massive understatement), one-small-Italian-car narrow, corkscrew-twisted with non-existent shoulders that were, in fact, cliffs. At no point was your line of sight up or down the road more than 40-50' max (but typically less). I kinda thought of the road as a challenge, my brother thought of it as a life threatening ordeal.

In any event, the bridge ruins - on which the former roadway extended only 50' on either side of the archway and then dropped off to the surrounding landscape - was our daily portal into and out of the hills. The view pictured here is looking back at the hills - a right hand turn at the stone farm in the distance is where the drive up to our cottage begins.

The drive up was so steep in parts that on one trip up (with the 4 of us on board) when I had to slow down upon coming around a bend and suddenly encountering a wild boar standing in the road, the revs dropped to a point where the car stalled. In order to get rolling again, my brother and his wife had to get out of the car, I had to get the revs up to 3500 rpm, pop the clutch and burn some rubber just to get moving again.

All of which was/is my kind of fun. Although, mama mia, if we had rented one of these Fiats ...

But alas, ours was a more sensible model Fiat.

tuscany # 1 ~ so many pictures, so little time

Pizza e Bottega ~ Greve / Chianti Region, Italy • click to embiggen2,446 pictures later, I'm back in the US of A. A good time was had by all - except by my brother on those occasions when he kept yelling from the back seat, "Sloooooow down."

In fact, I had such a good time that I'm thinking of moving to Italy and becoming a pizza delivery guy. Or, failing in that endeavor, maybe I'll become a Cardinal or an Archbishop - they seem to have it pretty cushy. What the hell, Pope Pius II didn't even become a priest until he was 42 and look how fast he went up the ladder.

In any event, while I consider my opinions, I'll be posting about a zillion pictures from Tuscany and a few from Paris. Stay tuned.

(guest entry) role of the subconscious...

"portals" NO click to embiggen

In the comments of the previous post Mike O'Donoghue opined that "location is everything". That rings true for me, but I also added that for me, extreme lighting and my mood also contribute to when and where I shoot. But after beginning this new series of photographs, I began to notice a bizarre and unexpected consistency in the images that was either subconscious or simply coincidental. In the compilation above (portals have been emphasized), you will notice doorways or openings just right of center, all but one containing the main character either inside or outside the opening. Now, it may be a case of simply reading too much into it, but the fact that there are doorways or openings and the premise of these images is dreams (which could be considered gateways) and being shutoff from family and friends, I can't help but be elated with my subconscious or happy about this coincidence.

Now that I have discovered this element, I doubt it will continue through the series (consciously). I don't like to have guidelines or required elements when I shoot. I would consider my photograph style to be elaborate "snapshots". Anyone who has every seen me shoot, will know that I don't spend more than 5-10 minutes on my photographs...upon finding a location, setting up the camera, posing, and shooting, it is all done swiftly and without any preconceived arrangement or storyboards. Therefore I would have no interest in composing any future scenes that would require composing a shot so that a doorway or opening would be needed right of center (or my 4th image of a panoramic left to right). I consider my style of shooting more akin to snapshots because of the lack of forethought. For instance my friend and peer Cornelia Hediger (link) spends hours sketching ideas, repositioning items, lighting, etc... as does Gregory Crewdson (link) and many many others that shoot narrative "staged" photography . I suppose It all depends on what works best for you.

Here is a quote from Gregory Crewdson regarding subconscious elements in his photography...

“It’s funny, when you’re making pictures you’re not really – I’m not – conscious of really the motivations behind the photographs or what they mean, ever. It wasn’t until much later, I was producing the show, that I realized there’s a lot of cars with doors open. I thought, ‘Whoa, strange. I wonder what that means.’ "

Question:

What about you out there? How often do you preplan your photography and to what degree? for example... do you just shoot what you like? Do you plan on shooting only blue houses and seek them out? Do you storyboard?

Also, have you noticed elements in your images that might be placed there subconsciously? If not, maybe you should go back and look for some... they may be there?

(guest entry) a very disheveled landscapist

dad #1 © the cinemascapist • click to embiggen

The landscapist (aka the old man, aka gravitas et nugalis) pictured for inclusion in my "dreams of end days" series that is currently in progress.

(guest entry) while the old man was away...

Too bad the Landscapist (aka the old man) was away during this seizure of 822 marijuana plants just down the street from his house in AuSable Forks. He may have taken a good square cropped & vignetted photograph of these plants for the Sherriff.

view article here

(guest entry) A friend to peruse...

Of course not every great photographer is famous or even represented by a gallery. I would venture to guess there are unfortunately hundreds of great photographers/artists that never "make it" and we never get to see. "Making it" can be quite the crap shoot. Who you know, who you've met, how hard you push, persistence, the right review, the right collector, and so on. You almost need all of the above to come together and that's a tall order.

With that said, I'd like to share a favorite photographer of mine from flickr, Luis Montemayor. We met 3 years ago on flickr when I began shooting and we immediately fed off each other's work for inspiration and ideas. Looking through his flickr portfolio is like coming across an amazing flea market filled with the most random and eclectic items. There are many many styles, subjects, formats to look at and his background in Graphic Design (aka photoshop prowess) is very obvious. From Portrait to fashion, panoramic to sci-fi, he doesn't fear trying anything and everything. His eye for gorgeous color and tones, his ability to use the right balance of "effects" that doesn't over do it, and his creativity for composition are what constantly bring me back to his photos whenever I want some eye candy to stimulate my photo senses. There are several styles that I glance over without interest and just as many that grab my attention. It's incredible to believe that when looking at his photos that they are all from the same person.

I also think his camera is permanently attached to his eye. He doesn't wait for that shot that suits his style or any particular series or body of work he is developing. He simply shoots, shoots some more and then shoots again! So take a few minutes (could take hours if you had them) and wander about his photostream on flickr, I'm sure there's something in it for everyones taste.

Luis Montemayor's Photos on Flickr Click Here