Nature’s Viagra

Nothing too artsy today…just a funny photo from our trip.

While walking down the main street in Amalfi, Italy, we came across a small grocery store that was selling peppers. Apparently, these were “special” peppers. Gotta love those Italians 🙂

If you ever have the chance to visit Italy, the Amalfi coast is a must. Just a small warning…I would take a boat to this area if you are deathly afraid of heights. The main road leading in and out of this area clings to shear cliffs and is BARELY wide enough to let two very small cars pass in opposite directions. This was the only excursion we took where I tipped the bus driver more than the tour guide. That guy had skills.

Vespa in Italy

How can you go to Italy and not take at least one picture of a Vespa…I mean come on!

Not a lot to say about this pic. This was literally the only scooter that I could find that wasn’t on top of another scooter or in a place that would probably get me killed by a moving vehicle. Another souvenir shot 🙂

Barcelona Street Art

One morning while in Barcelona, my wife (still feels weird to say that) and I decided to take a walk through the city. On our travels we went past some beautiful areas but we also ventured down some pretty shady streets…every city has it’s “bad” spots. On the way back to the hotel we walked past this utility box which someone decided to “decorate”. The funny thing is, the “graffiti” actually spruced up the area. I guess not all graffiti is bad 🙂

Two New Photos on Flickr: No Parking and Florence Bike

The two pictures below are totally unrelated, I just thought I would comment on both in the same post because it’s Friday and I’m lazy.

The picture below is what I think to be a “No Parking” sign. We saw these all over Europe. Some had writing on them, others did not. So why did I take a picture of a sign that I can’t even read? Well, I liked this way this sign contrasted with the building. The relatively new sign with bright colors looks awesome against the old building its fading and peeling paint.

This shot was taken in downtown Florence. This was another “Souvenir Shot” from Italy. Bikes and scooters are all over the place! I took several bike/scooter shots, this is one of my favorites. I have another one that I’m working on as well…I should have it up sometime next week. Check out the texture in the sidewalk.

Florence Love Locks

While on our honeymoon, instead of collecting souvenirs I decided to take one photograph in each place that represented something unique about that area. This is actually really fun and it makes you really look and think about what catches your eye about the areas you are visiting. I’ll be posting more if these “souvenir” shots from the various cities we stopped at while on the cruise.

I’m not sure what the significance is but in Florence, Italy (around the Ponte Vecchio) there are hundreds of locks attached to chains, hooks, fences and pretty much anything you could get your hands on. Seeing public spaces that have been vandalized usually gets me all fired up but this was actually quite charming. I’m going to do some digging to see if I can figure out exactly why people are placing locks in this area…I’ll update the post if I even find anything. Please leave a comment if you know why people are doing this in Florence.

**Update**

Apparently, these are called “love locks”. The following is from Wikipedia:

“Love padlocks are a custom by which sweethearts affix padlocks to a fence or similar public fixture to symbolise their love, beginning in the 1980s, in the centre of the southern Hungarian city of Pécs.”

“In Florence, Italy, love padlocks have been affixed to the railing around and near the statue of Benvenuto Cellini located at the centre of the Ponte Vecchio.”

Food Photography

I’m not really one to photograph food. I’m not sure why…it’s probably because I eat it before I even have a chance to think about taking a photograph. Before the honeymoon, I was reading a travel photography blog (I’ll see if I can dig up the link) and one thing they mentioned was photographing food. Food is an integral part of most cultures and what better way to remember a town/city/country/people than photographing the food. I made sure to keep this in the front of my mind on our honeymoon as we would be traveling to places with some pretty amazing food.

The shot below was taken at a small restaurant that had outdoor seating in the area of Athens called Plaka. It was a BEAUTIFUL day and the food was absolutely amazing. We didn’t get anything fancy, just a Greek salad, spinach pie, and a Kabop. That’s right, Kabop…not Kabob. Easily the best $30 I’ve ever spent on a meal. Unfortunately, I didn’t think about taking a picture until after I started stuffing my face. Oh well, I still enjoy the shot. Actually, I think I may like it even better because it doesn’t look like its fake/staged.

Anyway, the next time you travel or even if you are a foodie, try taking pictures of your grub!

This was taken with a Panasonic GF-1 equipped with the 20mm f/1.7 “pancake” lens. The only adjustment made was a tweak to the noise level in Lightroom 3.

Back from the Honeymoon

Hello readers!

Well, I’ve been home for about a week now after two weeks in Europe. Sadly, two weeks was not enough time to see everything…I think you would need 2 years! All in all, we had a great time. The weather was perfect, the seas where calm and we saw some amazing places. Over the two weeks I took about 900 pictures using only the GF-1 with the 20mm f/1.7. I’ll be sharing some of the pictures and thoughts about the GF-1 over the upcoming weeks. Overall, I was very pleased with this camera and I think it is great for travel & use when the 5D is just too much camera.

Below is one of the first shots I took with the GF-1. The first stop on the cruise was a town called Villefranche in the south of France and it was absolutely beautiful. It’s a quaint little town without the touristy feel of other cities (e.g. Nice) which is exactly what I was looking for. The narrow streets are lined with cafes, shops and small local businesses. I love the rustic feel that these historic coastal cities have…everything is so different than what we see here in the states.