We’re back home. The nice thing is that, if you call two places home, you get to be back home quite often. The Significant Other and I are spending the week after Easter at our “South” home in Genoa. And we can enjoy it to the fullest, as we are off from our jobs that pay the bills. So let’s take the camera and head out to the Streets of Genoa for a short stroll through the alleys of the medieval old town. “Benvegnûi” means “welcome” in the Genoese dialect…for a few more quick shots continue after the jump….
The kids definitely had a lot of fun on the last Sunday of this year’s carnival season, with this girl playing carniball – get the pun? And deservedly so, after Covid all but eliminated the party in 2021 and 2022. These are a couple of snapshots I took in a Genoa food hall (“MOG“) the other weekend The Significant Other and I discovered by chance (a.k.a. Google Maps) when we where looking for a place to eat Sunday evening.
With the two-week holiday break behind us, The Significant Other and I returned to the jobs that pay the bills today. But we’re still fueled by the memories we made visiting with friends in the Austrian and Swiss alps and, in between, spending the first days at our new “second home” in Genoa. As decoration for our living room we decided to put up a large photo of Genoa’s historic lighthouse – La Lanterna – printed on a 47×32 inch (120×80 cm) canvas.
One of my favorite images of La Lanterna is one I took back in 2004 during a winter sunset with my first digital camera, a Minolta Dimage A1. Revisiting the image in Lightroom Classic, I realized that the quality of a 18 year old digital photograph might not be up to todays standards, and could be unsuitable for a large scale print. Thankfully, Lightroom Classic offers the possibility to upscale any image to double its original size, so I could increase resolution to a modern 5210×3840. Changing the calibration process (in the development module) from the original V1 to the current V5, I was also able to use the modern day capabilities of Lightroom to clean up the noise in the original photograph and enhance clarity and the colors. Exporting the old image to its 2023 clone, I got a clean 10,4 MB file with 300dpi, perfect for a large print.
La Lanterna, as we still see it today, was built in its current shape in 1543, replacing a previous structure on the same rock. It is the world’s third oldest lighthouse and, for more than 350 years, was also the tallest lighthouse in the world.
As mentioned in my recent post about my photographic journey of last year, I did not include my favorite photograph of 2022 in that gallery. But here it is. My fave image of last year. The one I looked at the most. The one I showed around the most. The one that means the most to me. I titled it “Room with a View”. The thing that makes it stand out for me? It is the view from our living room balcony.
Last year, The Significant Other and I realized a dream many years old. Since having lived in Genoa from 2001 to 2005, we have fantasized about one day getting us a little place there. After all, it’s only a seven hour drive from Nuremberg. Three years ago we decided to try to turn the dream into reality and actively started to search for a little apartment. The key premise was it needed to have a view of the port, the city and the sea. It took us two and a half years to find the right place, and we closed the deal in May. The needed renovations took until December. It was quite a project. Last night was the first time we slept in our little Happy Place. We made the dream reality. Now we have a room with a view. This is my favorite photograph of 2022.
Have a great start into 2023, and keep pursuing your own dreams. One day they can become reality!
Just a snapshot from last night when I shot with my Leica SL2-S and the TTArtisan 50mm 0.95 prime lens. A photograph that works. The guy was cooking pasta at a street kitchen, and it was nearly midnight. He was a master (we tasted his delicious Bolognese when it was ready), a true Pasta King.
The Exif Data for this image read 1/1250 sec @ f/2 and ISO 3200. The file was so clean of noise that I introduced some noise in post production, when converting the RAW to monochrome. It was really pretty dark in the alley, but the TTArtisan 0.95 made it all come to live. Manual focusing with the marvellous electronic viewfinder of the Leica was a breeze.
This weekend, The Significant Other and I headed to Italy’s Lago Maggiore to visit friends who are spending their summer vacation in Viggiona, a little village in the hills above the lake. This weekend, the normal pretty sleepy Viggiona is hosting its annual “Viggiona by Night” festival, where bands are playing, all different kinds of street food and drinks are offered and the little alleys are full of people having a great time. For me a great opportunity to once more enjoy the low light capabilities of the Leica SL2-S.
Another weekend – another photo exhibition (have you read my post from the SteveMcCurry exhibition?). This time we were a bit more south. The Significant Other and I spent the weekend in (our former hometown) Genoa on the Ligurian coast to visit a dear friend. And, as things go, there was another exhibition in town – “L’Italia di Magnum”. Another opportunity to see great photography and do some street shooting inside the exhibition.
Back on the streets. Not only are The Significant Other and I on our way to Greece for the first proper vacation in almost two years. While spending an evening in Bologna in Italy on our way to catch the ferry in Ancona, this also was my return to street photography since the whole Covid thing started. And you know what? Not surprisingly I found out how much I had missed roaming the streets with a camera in hand and capture scenes of life as it happened around me…
A few days ago, The Significant Other and I headed down to Genoa to spend a weekend in La Suberba, as the ancient Italian Marine Republic at the Ligurian coast is affectionately called. And a good opportunity for some candid street photography…
The novel coronavirus induced total lockdown has caused a standstill on the Streets of Nuremberg. While technically I could take my camera out on the streets (walks of single persons are still permitted), morally I’d feel kind of guilty. And on top of it, with the totally deserted streets, what’s the point of doing street photography? And with travel all but impossible in the days of closed borders and cancelled flights, this is a good point in time to revisit some older travel photographs, and allow us to travel the world virtually via our blogs. This first post takes you to the city of Bergamo in Northern Italy, today the epicenter of the horrific corona pandemic in Italy.
Rome Sweet Rome ! I haven’t been to this magic city in what seems like ages. Inspired by a movie that The Significant Other and I did watch last night, I decided to revisit some old photographs from our last visit back in 2013 and put the RAW files (that I always keep) through some modern day post-processing.
The second day of Christmas. Downtime. All is calm, all is bright. In Pajamas all day. Watching TV documentaries. Couch sleeping (a lot). Playing with some photographs taken during the year, like this night shot from Boccadasse, Genoa. Just imagining, how the little port would look without light pollution.
If you think about picking up a camera yourself and are still looking for inspirations what to photography, check out my free Learning Center.
I hope your are all having a fantastic Christmas as well.
