Cathedrals often dominate their cities but I’m not sure I have ever seen one do so to the extent that Florence’s Duomo does. Although relatively hemmed in by other buildings, it towers over them. Any viewpoint over the city, whether from one of its towers or from the surrounding hills, will make this obvious.
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Photography, especially black and white photography, is all about light and darkness, and balancing the two. Too much of either and the photo is at best dull, at worst incomprehensible.
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We had spent two days in rather unsettled weather exploring the various sights of Florence, sights I will come back to in future posts. But when the sun appeared on our third day in the city it was time to see it from a different perspective, the far side of the River Arno.
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Opinion is very much divided on the topic of street art and graffiti. Some dislike it all, regardless of the skill (or lack of it) of the artist. They feel it disfigures a cityscape, rather than enhances it. Others love it for its rebellious nature, again regardless of the skill (or lack of it) of the artist.
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Vincent Van Gogh spent the last few months of his life in the village of Auvers-sur-Oise just outside Paris. In that short time, he completed over 70 paintings, many of them of scenes in the village and surrounding fields. Today the village styles itself ‘Village d’Artistes’ and is a popular day trip from the capital.
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My surprise birthday trip to Florence, a city I’ve long wanted to visit, was naturally wonderful. In three days of rather mixed weather (one wet, one cloudy, one sunny) we managed to see many of its sights (but missed more than we saw), wandered its streets, ate gelati every day and excellent meals every evening, and slept well in a beautiful old house in the Borgo Santa Croce.
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We have experienced plenty of mild mornings this October, but also some wild winds. The leaves changed colour throughout the month but by the third week many had fallen. We had sunny days, wet days and a few very chilly days.
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In the first half of the 19th century a Parisian wanting a good night out might well have headed to the village of Bercy. Ideally positioned on the banks of the Seine, this village had become the centre of the Paris wine trade and a major European market for wines and spirits.
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Last week I paid a brief visit to Liverpool. I stayed only one night and saw only a fraction of what the city has to offer. The weather was dull and grey, best suited to monochrome photography.
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Photography can be a tricky medium. To all intents and purposes, it appears to provide a faithful representation of a true scene. But ever since it was first invented photographers have found ways to fool the viewer. Creating double exposures in the darkroom, adding details by hand or removing them …
