If like me you enjoy searching out and photographing small details that capture the unique stories of a city, then spotting these relics of Florence’s past will certainly appeal. These 'buchette del vino' or ‘wine windows’ date back to the 1500s when the Medici family allowed nobles who owned vineyards outside the city walls to sell wine tax-free.
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I may be biased but I do think London does Christmas rather well. From the lights in the West End to light trails in some of our most beautiful parks and gardens, from shop window displays to those in people’s homes … from late November the whole city starts to take on a festive air.
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Our homes often tell the world something about ourselves, especially their exteriors. How often have you looked at a house and drawn some sort of conclusion about the people who live in it? Most obviously, we can tell if they are neat and tidy, or messy. We can tell if they favour bright colours or neutrals.
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The short but beautiful Loboc River winds its way through lush scenery in the heart of Bohol Island. Its banks are lined with dense forest, broken here and by clearings with simple houses. Its waters are crystal-clear and emerald green. Unsurprising then that it has spawned a significant amount of tourist activity.
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We all need a sense of humour right now. And as photographers we can look for the things that make us laugh through the lens of our cameras. Sometimes you are aware as you take a photo that it shows something amusing. At other times the humour in the shot only strikes you later.
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As in so many other places around the world, Catholicism was introduced to the Philippines by Spanish missionaries and colonisers in the 16th century. It played a crucial role in shaping the country's culture, values, and social structures during the colonial period and beyond. But it wasn’t all one-way traffic.
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It has to be said that Manila is not the most appealing of cities. While the largely reconstructed old city of Intramuros has its charms, much of the rest of the city is a sprawl of modern skyscrapers, older housing, near-slums, and very congested traffic. It is the world’s fourth largest city and one of its most densely populated. However, there are gems to be found half-hidden in the sprawl.
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The Kankanaey people of Sagada, an Igorot (mountain) tribe in northern Luzon, follow a unique burial ritual. Rather than placing their coffins in the ground they hang them from cliffs or place them in a cave. They believe that the higher the dead are placed, the closer they are to heaven and the greater the chance of their spirits reaching a higher nature in the afterlife.
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‘That’s my village, Bangaan’, said Conchita, pointing to a cluster of houses among the rice terraces far below where we stood on the terrace of a simple roadside restaurant. Peering down through the drizzling rain I could make out a simple church and rooftops of corrugated metal and thatch.
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A good portrait photograph is shaped by the connection between two people, photographer and subject. Without that connection the image is at best less interesting, at worst lifeless. When we look at an interesting portrait we discover something about the person portrayed: their life, their character. But we only do so if the photographer has discovered this and brought it out in their image.
