Tag: Liguria

La Lanterna – revisited

Lanterna - Genova's historic lighthouse
La Lanterna | Genoa | 2004

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.

Have a great start into the week!

Marcus

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End of the Day

Vendor of illuminated balloons waiting for last customer of the day
Waiting for the last Customer | Genoa | 2023

Just a street snapshot taken with my iPhone last night while taking The Significant Other and Big Boy to dinner in Genoa’s Porto Antico. The vendor of illuminated balloons waiting for the last customer at the end of the day.

Post processed with the iPhone photo app.

Don’t forget to check out my free Learning Center for all those quick tips and inspirations around street photography.

Have a great Tuesday

Marcus

Liguria Explored – Mountain Village

Light at the end of the tunnel

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My favorite photograph of 2022

View of Genoa Harbor
Room with a View | Genoa | 2022

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!

Marcus

A weekend in La Superba

Street ? Harbor!

Halloween Ghost Tour

StoNur on the Road – Portofino

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Smartphone or entry level camera?

Portofino
Portofino

I get asked a lot for advice on a low-budget entry level camera. I usually respond by asking for what kind of photography it is intended to be used. Because, frankly speaking, if people want to spend 300€ on a simple entry level camera for just some basic snapping of the usual holiday / people / travel photos, they should stay away and just use their smart phone. Because smart phones these days are also really good cameras, and one that you always carry with you….so the question is: Smartphone or entry level camera?

Continue reading “Smartphone or entry level camera?” →
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All is calm, all is bright

Boccadasse Dreams

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.

Marcus

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Liguria Explored – Mountain Village

Romantic alleyway in Montalto Ligure
1/100 sec – f/5 – ISO 200 – 35 mm

The first road trip of our Ligurian vacation went up Valle Argentina to the mountain village of Montalto Ligure, situated like a fortress on a hill at the eastern edge of the valley with interesting, winding, medieval alleys. Join me for a photographic tour of Montalto.

Continue reading “Liguria Explored – Mountain Village” →
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StoNur on the Road – Portofino

Portofino Ligurien Italien
Portofino | Italy | 2004

In contrary to the original forecast the weather was quite gruesome this pentecost weekend. So a good opportunity to dive into the archives, in this case back to a sunny January afternoon in 2004, when we were living in Genoa, Italy.

That afternoon we visited Portofino, a picturesque fishing village on the Ligurian coast just outside Genoa. The town with its colorfully painted historic houses is built around a small harbor.

For some more info about the village that is said to feature the highest real estate prices in Italy, and more photos, continue after the jump… Continue reading “StoNur on the Road – Portofino” →

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A Valentine Sunset

Sunset in Camogli
Sunset | Camogli | 2016

I just felt today like I needed to post a sunset photo for all those Valentine Loveducks out there. The weather in Nuremberg during the day was quite nice although still too cold. But with some haze and clouds out and about there was no such thing as a nice sunset. Don’t remember when I saw the last nice one, might have been the one I saw from the plane when arriving to Los Angeles the other week.

As the weather forecast for my next business travel destination (going to Portland via Seattle tomorrow) calls for torrential rain, I decided to go into last years archive and post this beautiful sunset from the little town of Camogli on the Riviera di Levante near Genoa. Not without reason this coastal part of the Ligurian Sea is called Golfo Paradiso. The pebbled beach with the colorful historic town houses (there is an image in this post here) is the perfect swimming destination with crystal clear water and splendid views of the Monte di Portofino, and the sunsets behind the Basilica Santa Maria Assunta and the Castello della Dragonara are one of a kind. And for all you Valentines out there, on the terrace above the beach are plenty of great cocktail bars.

I took the photo with my Olympus PEN-F with the mZuiko 14-150mm F/4.0-5.6 travel zoom. Image specs are 1/320 sec with f/10 and ISO 200, focal length was 22mm (equals 44mm in full frame equivalent). RAW conversion was done in Adobe Lightroom CC where I applied the VSCO 4  Fuji Astia 100F+ preset to warm up the image slightly.

Have a great Valentines Day !

Marcus

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