Final 10 Architecture AN ITALIAN ADVENTURE

These are my final images in the Architecture theme, again all the material was collected on my trip to Italy and I have tried to illustrate the different styles to be found in the Campania region going back to the time when  Pompei was a thriving city.

Plebiscito Pillars

This is my favourite shot of the trip, it was midday with very strong sunlight streaming into the Piazza del Plebiscito, the pillars cast very dramatic shadows which I wanted to capture as well as the curving nature of the building, it was more interesting to get the portico in shot with its echoing pillars than the building on the right.

Amalfi Duomo

Despite windows at ceiling level and near the alter, the baroque interior of Amalfi Cathedral was quite dark, I had to use a high iso to get a fast shutter speed, since I was unable to use a tripod to steady the camera.

The ceiling was highly decorated in green and gold mouldings, with a central painted panel, it was very beautiful and the local population must have been stunned by its majesty.

Duomo Arches

This is a detail of the entrance loggia to the Duomo, parts of which date back to the 11th Century.  The stone-work was cross banded with darker colours which reminded me of moorish buildings, with stone pillars receeding.  The arches starting in the bottom right and growing in size make for a dynamic shot.

Monastery Windows

 

Part of Amalfi Duomo again, these were the whitewashes cloisters of the original building, looking up towards the roof.  The centre of the picture forms a corner of the cloister, with a window on either side, I liked the symmetry and simplicity of this shot, almost an abstract.

Monte San Angelo

 

This was an ancient monastery parts of which dated back to Roman times, again beautiful arches with a bell tower above, crumbling and covered in vines.  The arches lead you in to the tower above.

Duomo Bell Tower

The top of the bell tower is decorated with green tiles and built with yellow stone, I wanted to contrast this with the entrance loggia to the Duomo, to illustrate how the building was added too over the centuries.  I think the vertical and diagonal lines make an intersting and dynamic shot.

 Compass Hall

This room was in Naples Archeological Museum, a former palace.  I wanted to capture the vastness of the space and have left the group of people to add scale.

Gallery Umberto

Built in the late 1800's and named after King Umberto 1st as a public space, holding shops and offices as well as private apartments.  The vertical lines with arches and dome on top make another interesting and dynamic shot.

Loggia San Franchesco Di Paolo

 

The entrance of another church, I wanted to emphasise perspective so took this shot quite close the the base of the collumn, with lines of the roof echoing steps at the base.

Pompei Bathing

This detail of a marble basin decorating the public bath house in Pompei, was beautiful because of the tones and  textures of  the rough stone alcove, against the smooth marble of the basin.

Final 10 - NAPOLI STREET LIFE - EVERY STREET A STAGE

Here are the final 10 images for my 'Street' theme.

I have decided to use material captured on my trip to Italy, despite having continued to follow the 'street' theme in recent weeks, since as a body of work they fit together well, rather than mixing in different styles.

I have also added borders for presentation on blogger, since the original borders which were used for presentation on disk for Mr Steve were white and did not form a frame which was distinguishable from the background.

I have relied on Exif data from the camera as my log of image capture as well as the information I have put into my blog and captured on Photoshop, I have also covered health & safety consideration in earlier blogs.

Sorrento Dreaming

This image encapsulates Sorrento for me.  Built into and around a rocky outcrop, devotional icons incorporated into walls and buildings, clear air and the blue of sea and sky, washing hanging from balconies was a constant theme.  Here a couple gaze romantically out to sea.  I like the three layers in this picture, the rock face, the building and then the view out to sea.  I think it adds depth and interest.

Not Quite an Icon

Graffiti was also to be found everywhere, particularly on train carriages, some of it quite artistic.  This image was from a street in Sorrento almost opposite to a plaster model of the Virgin Mary in an alcove on a villa.  The challenge here was to get the graffiti together with the street sign to show context.  In addition the contrast was high due to sunlight and shade from a nearby tree.

Into the Dark

Buildings in Sorrento were crowded down the hillside to the coast, here a tunnel leads through from bright sunlight into a dark passage and out down to a harbour.  Keeping part of the rock face on the right in shot adds to the feeling of depth and descent into the tunnel.

The Daily Shop

This image taken early morning in Amalfi, has a local chatting to the cafe owner whilst a woman is hanging her washing on the balcony.  I though it made an interesting scene and conveyed the idle atmosphere of Amalfi early in the day.

I would have liked to get closer and at a lower angle for this shot but I didn't want the people to move away, since they provided the main focal point.

Napoli Street Market

 

This was such a contrast to the lazy morning in Amalfi, Napoli was busy with shoppers in the back streets, produce piled high, and people busy with the days chores.  I wanted to get a sense of the bustle at street level whilst illustrating the crumbling tenement buildings all around.

I shot this angled slightly upwards to emphasis high buildings lit with long shafts of very bright sunlight.

Pink Tenement

The shaft of sunlight falling down this street emphasised the height and tunnel like nature of the streets.  Pompei red is a frequent  colour on buildings here.  The high contrast illustrated exactly how sunlight breaks between these buildings and adds perspective and leading lines.

Macho Scooter

Scooters are the favoured form of transport, I caught this one at a junction, with the street falling away behind forming a frame pointing to him looking away to the right.

Street Toys

These were an interesting little group of toys set out by a street vendor.  They made a colourful line up against the grey pavement and capturing them diagonally made a more interesting dynamic shot.

Street Lunch

This group of tourists had gathered to eat a picnic lunch, they formed an interesting forground to the beautiful buildings behind.  They just seemed oblivious to their surroundings and trailed a line the length of the street, I tried to use this as perspective to draw the viewer down into the distance.

Ave Maria

This beautiful icon carved into the rock face in Sorrento drew everything from my visit to Italy together.  The rock face itself was interesting with moss and lichen giving it a lovely texture contrasted with the smooth surface of the tiles.  The writing, home made light above and pot of artificial flowers, illustrated the poignancy of a personal devotion, with the niche making it distinct from the rock face.

This photograph for me sums up my experience of Italy, the religion which plays a large part in everyday life, the crumbling nature of the buildings and personal devotion.