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All Entries from the Photography Category

Figure of Christ - detail from Deesis Mosaic, Haghia Sophia, IstanbulSeptember 02, 2010

Haghia Sophia is on my top 10 list of favourite places to wander through when in Istanbul ...

There is an amazing peace once inside.  Someone once told me that while the cathedrals were built to create a feeling of awe and smallness amongst congregations, the mosque is more about inviting, tranquil spaces.  Having visited more than a few mosques and cathedrals, it feels true.

Haghia Sophia is otherwise known as the ‘Church of Holy Wisdom’, and is one…

Where the Wild Things Are ... or something like thatAugust 30, 2010

Sometimes I am startled by the life that passes by me ... heart-stoppingly startled.  Truly

Fortunately, my tendency is to grab my camera and ask the wild thing to stop and pose for a moment.  And it did.  I still can’t look at this one without laughing.

Win a Free Photography Session with Me ...August 29, 2010

It is time for me to begin coordinating my children and family photography sessions for Autumn.

Please email me at mackey(dot)di(at)gmail(dot)com if you are interested in commissioning a session, keeping in mind that I’m celebrating the launch of this new website by offering you the opportunity to win a free family photo session.

Anyone booking a photo-session to take place before 20 October, 2010, goes into the draw to win…

I love family photography ...August 29, 2010

Yesterday we carried one of our couches out into the backyard, between showers, and I worked at photographing my favourite family here in the flatlands of Belgium.

It occured to me later that, had we filmed yesterday then played back a sped-up version of the photo-session ... couch carried out, couch carried in before the rain returned, moving rooms for different background colours and effects, life unfolding and me attempting to photograph the children as they continued with living life…

Family Photography Session Today ...August 28, 2010

I was working through the images tonight and I’m pleased with the morning’s work ...

It wasn’t just about the photography.  Gert and I had cooked up a small storm in the morning and so it was that 10 of us sat down to persian chicken and basmati rice, followed by pavlova, and one of Gert’s declious nectarine clafoutis.

I fell during the photography session and even I had to laugh.  I fell heavily, camera in hand, in the…

At the Zoo when a Giraffe Strode by ...August 26, 2010

I love going to the zoo with little Miss 6.  This is some of what we saw on that day when there wasn’t rain beating down ... on the skylight above me as I write this.  And the sun was shining and we were happier.

I believe I loved the colour of the wall almost as much as I enjoyed the colour of the giraffe but most particularly, I love the folds in the giraffe’s skin. 
Flamingo RipplesAugust 24, 2010

The afternoon light was just right, as I strolled past the flamingo pond today ... still, I had to show Gert that nothing much had happened in post-processing.  The light really was that special on that side of the flamingo pond.  And just at the moment, I’m fascinated by the play of light and water and movement.

A moment of fierce emotion ...August 24, 2010

Little Miss 6 and I wandered through the zoo today, cameras in hand ...

It was grand but for the song I had introduced her to a couple of days ago.

Today I heard the song at least 20 times as I wandered the zoo ... with that creature, who rates herself second only to me as ‘the funniest person in the world’.  Her rankings system, no…

I’m Better - Happy Monday!August 23, 2010

It rained last night, heavy wet rain ... my flowers were a little beaten by it but I wandered out to find some for my desk, then decided to share them with you.

Hookah-Coals Production Line, IstanbulAugust 23, 2010

It’s glimpses like these, captured as I was leaving a hookah cafe, deep in the heart of the Grand Bazaar area in Istanbul ... that make me feel I am seeing something of the soul of a city.

I asked permission to use my camera and then waited while the guys got back to the serious business of preparing the embers to burn in the water-pipes.  In Istanbul, they were called Nargile pipes however those water pipes seem to have…

Late Night Memories of Recent Days ...August 20, 2010

1am finds me here at the laptop, having given up on sleep because I can’t stop coughing in these days of my summer cold ...

Most people have stories of other places this summer, summer spaces, meanwhile I have this story of a cold I under-estimated, ignored, and came to accept as a guest who was going to take its own sweet time in leaving me.  It required me to rest you see.  I didn’t understand.

I had decided…

A Boy and his Bear ...August 20, 2010

We came to the end of a really fun family photo-shoot and this little man, he’d had enough. 

He was leaving, with his bear ...

A Cowgirl Passed By ...August 20, 2010

And I asked her to stand still a moment. 

She was in a hurry but I was allowed these 2 ...

A slice from Montmartre, ParisAugust 18, 2010

Perhaps this is partially about how I see the world too ...

I lifted my camera’s view above the heads of the tourists crowding this street and found something parisian, something identifiably Montmartre ... even if it’s not precisely pretty, it’s up close and personal on a slice of history, a slice of Montmartre.  The sign reads, La Premiere Mairie, De la Commune De Monmartre, 1790.

Rainy Day, Montmartre, ParisAugust 18, 2010

Even on the rainy days, the artists are out and working, between the showers.  I loved photographing them at work but didn’t go too close.  There was so much to see and it was actually cold.

It’s odd to be sitting here in Belgium, full of a horrid summer cold and quite exhausted, working on Monday’s photographs taken on a day trip to Paris, listening to some favourite music from home ...
…

Monmartre, ParisAugust 18, 2010

I loved wandering through Paris on Monday ... loved it!

We happened upon this cobblestone street after Julie and I climbed the hill to Montmartre.  We were wandering towards Sacre Coeur basilica.  Actually, you get a glimpse of the basilica there at the end of the street.  It was a street almost empty of tourists and I do love photographing empty cobblestone streets.  It was raining and still, there were 100s upon 100s of tourists all around.Notre Dame, Paris ... although it’s more about the birdsAugust 16, 2010

On my first introduction to Paris, a few years ago, I photographed this thing that the birds do outside Notre Dame.  Today I was there on a mission ... but more on that later. 

The great news is that the birds of Notre Dame are still doing their thing, and so it was that there was a kind of bliss to be found in the attempt at capturing it again, even in-between showers.
…

I Dreamed Red Teapots in Paris ...August 16, 2010

I had been talking of a red teapot just lately, so imagine my delight in finding this stunning teapot, floating there in space on a wall ...

I’ll write up the details of where you can buy yourself one next time you’re in Paris.  Tonight I must sleep.  We caught the 7.30am Thalys to Paris (2 hours) and the 7.30pm home again.  We walked a million miles, took so many photographs and had one of those sweet days that you…

Madness and Delicious Mayhem here in my WorldAugust 13, 2010

My favourite Berliner phoned from the road yesterday, to check-in about coffee and a catch-up and I said ‘Come stay with us!’ And so she did. My cousin is here from Al Ain, near Dubai and so last night found us - 2 kiwis, a Belgian and a German - here at my place eating Persian chicken, drinking wine, and having the most excellent conversations till 1am and after.

…

Giuseppe Garibaldi, by Italian sculptor Augusto Rivalta.August 10, 2010

I thought about doing a Craigslist advert for a hero on this next one but stuck to the facts in the end ...

Still having fun playing with the Polaroid Generator action.  I believe this is because I have much to do in the next few hours.  Hmmm, perhaps I shall re-christen mine the Polaroid Procrastinator.

On Loving Family Portraiture ...August 09, 2010

Photographing a family, working to capture something of who they really are, always delights me ...

This photography session was no different.

August Break - Happy FeetAugust 08, 2010

It turns out that Little Miss 6 is quite the puddle-jumper, even if there’s a dirty old cigarette butt in that puddle. 

I was so surprised to find myself being splashed as her happy little feet jumped up and down in the puddle next to me ... well yes, a photograph.

August Break - Lemontines 365 and a Polaroid Generator too.August 07, 2010

The August Break photo group, organised by Susannah Conway, introduced me to the work of Lemontines 365, among others.  That was a delight in itself but Lemontines, in turn, introduced me to the photoshop action that created the polaroid look-alike below.

It’s a faux Polaroid action, a Polaroid Generator and it’s free download, although donations are welcome, over at Deviant Art.  I had quite some fun playing…

Today ... a day spent stalking the flowers.August 06, 2010

Little Miss 6 arrived unexpectedly, spotted my 2 mayonnaise jars of flowers, and voila one ‘vase’ moved location and is up in her bedroom.

It’s probably for the best, as I’ve spent more than a few hours, measuring the amount of available light here at my desk via these flowers.  I moved them onto the window sill and fiddled with the exposure compensation button.  I have moved my collection of rocks with them ... always dropping at least one which…

I love flowers ... August Break SeriesAugust 06, 2010

This morning, nursing a sore throat, taking iron replacement stuff, and painkillers, and feeling a little pathetic quite frankly ... the 2 small glass mayonnaise jars I had saved due to their cuteness suddenly begged for some flowers.

And the thing is, we have our first real-live garden ... as opposed to a balcony garden but our flowers are more experimental that thought-filled or knowledgeable selections.  And they’re little flowers.  Lavenders, daisies, cosmos and a few ‘pink flowers’.  It’s all…

Introducing Miss 6 to the Land of Puddles, AntwerpAugust 05, 2010

It was Miss 6 and I today ...

It rained, it was grey, I was lethargic and empty after the work done on the new website and so ... we went wandering, and I was able to introduce her and her camera to The Land of Puddles, out there in the city.  We had the best fun. 

The August Break Series, Day 2August 05, 2010

Today the skies are iron grey and rain is falling.  It’s cold.  Welcome to summer in Belgium ...

It reminds me of home, this ability to showcase any season in summer.  I’m not really complaining however I am posting a photograph I took last weekend, when the sun was shining.  I loved the patterns and shadows that unrolled there in front of me.

The August Break Summer Series of PhotographsAugust 04, 2010

Susannah Conway has done, and continues to do, some remarkable things. 

To put it simply, she’s inspirational.

Her latest idea involves more than 300+ people ... so far.  You are welcome to join in on her August Break project.

I began today, 4 days into August, with this photograph taken a few days ago in Gent, Belgium.

And don’t forget, my new website is up over at…

My NEW Photography Website is Online ...August 02, 2010

Yes!  My New Website is breathing its first official breathe ... and I’m loving it.

It’s all about the photography, the thing I do best in this world, on that small list titled Things Di Does Best.

I needed something that made things clear ...
- What I Do
- What I’ve Done
and
- What I’m Planning to Do.

Come visit.
It would be so good to see…

Gent, Turkey and a few Excellent BooksJuly 31, 2010

Just in from a deliciously lazy day spent wandering the streets of Gent (Ghent to English-speakers).  It’s a beautiful Flemish university city, perhaps my favourite outside of Antwerp.  The shopping is excellent and the atmosphere is laidback.  So many good places to eat too.

Then again, I might be a little biased after today.  We found the best Turkish borek outside of Istanbul and there was a delicious espresso consumed along the way in Groent Markt, and…

Meet Kai-Mook ... Antwerp Zoo’s Baby ElephantJuly 30, 2010

The wires of the enclosure really mess things up for this photographer however ... if you twist and wiggle and patiently wait your turn, then you might catch a glimpse of little Kai-Mook playing on the back of his elephant friend while she lies on the ground.

Hippo Roar, Antwerp ZooJuly 30, 2010

Gert and I headed out on a day off today.  It was delicious, to have no one and nothing to think about ... no work pending, nothing.

Well ... there’s the new website but we had reached the point where I had put it out there on a reality check.  Back home and working on changes before dinner, I can see a long weekend ahead of us but I’m so grateful to the wise and fabulous friends that I have. …

In Need of a Window to Lean On the Sill of ...July 30, 2010

The new website is almost done ...so today I’m taking the day off to wander in Antwerpen with the Belgian bloke, who has a day off.

Cameras packed, a terras stop planned - the one with great olives and nice wine.
Yes, a day off ... could be nice.

A Remarkable Evening ...July 24, 2010

Just in, at midnight, from the most delicious BBQ in Brussels.

We were hosted by Simon and Paola, and not only did we get to experience the most delicious of foods and wine, we were also subject to the divine sound of the Irish.

I found myself in a corner with two of the loveliest Irish women I’ve ever met.  Deirdre’s mother and I shared a bottle of red ... or two, and many a story…

Thought-filled ...July 24, 2010

There is an element of the hunt in people photography.  It’s mostly unconscious but it’s a processs of seeking those moments that feel authentic to the person you are attempting to capture.  The pause in the conversation when they look away, thought-filled for a moment, the head thrown back laughing, a relaxing into the moment, an acceptance of me and my camera ...

5 minute photography ...July 24, 2010

I was given 5 minutes to photograph these two after their hair-cutting session in the city last night.  Family are the only ones who won’t give me the time I like when doing people photography ... none of them.
Never-the-mind, I was pleased with this.

Little Feet ...July 18, 2010

It was one of those days where I realised again that photography is my raison d’être ... absolutely.

Okay, wandering and meeting new people comes a close second.

This little feet moment happened while I was at work photographing yet another lovely lovely family.  An excellent day.

Bubbles and The Magic Flute ...July 14, 2010

I really enjoyed trying to capture these giant bubbles in all of their splendour but was surprised with the results.  I applied nothing more than a simple increase in saturation and a little brightening.  The starbursts were already there in the bubble ...and to be honest, I’m not really a starburst kind of woman.

Maybe that’s Genova.  Even the bubbles are bit special.

As for The Magic Flute part of the title ... it’s an opera I was recently introduced…

a curve in the path ...July 13, 2010

In Genova, Italy, there is always another curve in the road to fall in love with ... to explore.

Books and Backbones and Secondhand Cigarette SmokeJuly 13, 2010

Each day, I try to find my way into a space where the real world simply slips away some ... a space where I work on projects, uninterupted, and have some kind of continuity in what I’m doing

Oftentimes, lately, it has been almost impossible to fit my work in around noisy, grouchy, amusing, delightful, delicious children and babysitting, and then there’s the life of the house and its daily needs.

In our previous apartment, my desk was the mission-control…

Life Goes on in Genova ...July 12, 2010

I was sitting here, in the quiet that is close to midnight, and lit a beeswax candle ... summoning up happy memories from childhood.

And I was working as the smoke curled around me, working on photographs from Genova and realising, again, that life goes on without me in all those places I’ve lived in or loved.

Here’s a scene that delighted me in Piazza De Ferrari one night ... I took a series of shots as this man worked…

Tall Ships, AntwerpJuly 11, 2010

I love the way flags move in the breeze and have photographed more than a few of them over time but in this one, I loved the way you could see the outline of another tall ship, parked directly behind the Dar Mlodziezy.

The Tall Ships on the River Schelde, AntwerpJuly 11, 2010

This was the view from up on the back of the Polish Tall ship, the Dar Mlodziezy.

Below is the Schelde River (Scheldt in English) and in the background, you can see the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal

Table and Chair, City Pavement, AntwerpJuly 11, 2010

We were strolling through the streets of Antwerp city this afternoon, looking for our tram stop, when we passed by this church and outside ... this decorated table and the chair.

It was so quirky, I just had to take this shot.

Dar Mlodziezy, a Tall Ship, AntwerpenJuly 11, 2010

We were invited to attend a reception on one of the tall ships, presently docked here in Antwerpen.

This was our ride ... the exquisite Dar Mlodziezy - a Polish vessel.  It was stunning.  Yet more champagne was consumed.

Home, a little sunburned in the the fearsome heat of today, but happy.

Another from the So Much Love Series ...July 11, 2010

Stolen, as a documentary moment, I captured this delightful Miss Two with her daddy, who she loves So Much ...

My Girl ...July 11, 2010

Nothing more needs to be said ... just ‘my girl, having fun at the bbq last night’.

A BBQ at Our Place ...July 11, 2010

It was an evening that began with Prosecca out in the garden, grazie to Paola and Simon (and to Maddalena, for persisting in insisting that I try it) , and ended with Mr Toad gate-crashing the party at 2am .... it was an excellent night.

The Prosecca was followed by a lovely champagne from Etienne Doné, dank u wel to Stephanie and Patrick.  Jurjana arrived with some Rosé wines and a delicious Russian Salad, hand-chopped in a 2 hour cooking…

And now for something different ...July 07, 2010

In an exercise of hilarity, I decided to photograph the new hair ... ehemm, colour. 

Streaked, enhancing what was there (okay, and coaxing a few greys into a new colour) but have you EVER tried to photograph yourself while keeping both eyes open? I do believe I might be holding my breath in this image. And was kind of propped up against the bathroom wall ... to take care of focusing issues, blah blah etc.

Okay, so no one…

GENOVA - in reflectionJuly 07, 2010

The other day I realised I might not be quite like the average mortal, and that my behaviour ... my way of seeing the world, might even border on a little odd ... but I love what I find in reflection, and have done since I was a kid, being driven along State Highway One in the South Island of New Zealand ... south, past Henley, where the marshes often reflected the world back at me upside-down and perfect. 

…

The Future ...July 06, 2010

I took Little Miss 6 to the zoo and look, she wants to be a photographer.

Caged ElephantJuly 06, 2010

Taking photographs from the wrong side of the wire or the bars ... that’s the challenge.

A Few Hours at the Zoo, AntwerpJuly 06, 2010

Miss 6 was gifted a small camera for her birthday and today we wandered off, zoo passes and camera in hand.

For this shot, I may have been standing on the second rung on the iron fence, trying to aim my telephoto lens through the wire for a decent shot of the elephant.

I was quite happy with this ...

Amsterdam Man ...July 03, 2010

This guy strolled by and I couldn’t resist turning round and taking this photograph, one of a series ...

Caught in Reflection ... meJuly 03, 2010

I have another plan, one that will release me to fly high again ... and that’s probably all you need to know for now.  It has been a deeply frustrating year in so many ways but things are slowly turning a corner.  Here’s to me having all kinds of news, and soon.

Anyway, I was going through photographs, on a mission, when I discovered these winter photographs taken while out wandering with Clare ... my favourite Australian in the world.

…

Through These Lines, by Cheryl WardJuly 02, 2010

I was recently contacted by Cheryl Ward, an Australian producer and director, about the possibility of using one of my photographs in a small theatre project - Through These Lines.  She is writing, directing and producing a play to be performed in old the defense tunnels at Headland Park, on the edge of Sydney Harbour . It’s a play based on the diaries and letters of Australian nurses serving during WWI and seems more than worth…

from A Walk in the ParkJuly 01, 2010

We have a huge park near the house, a beautiful place that makes you forget how badly polluted Antwerp is ... here at a crossroads in Europe.  You see, we have horrendous amounts of cars and trucks passing by, within a kilometre from here, and on summer days like today, you really know about them as the dirty grey/brown pollution haze climbs the horizons.  And so it is that the park creates this beautiful illusion of Nature and fresh air. …

remember when hugging your dad made you feel safe ...June 27, 2010

I had the camera at Miss Five’s kindergarten graduation and afterwards, during wine, cheese and play, I couldn’t resist documenting the event.

And I wasn’t quite ready when this little one ran up and hugged her dad’s leg while he chatted but the love is there ... it’s surely there.

Our Funny Little Belgian GardenJune 27, 2010

When we moved here last August, the garden was a knee-high jungle of grass and stinging nettles, over-grown bamboo and all kinds of other stuff, including the big old toads.  And anyway, we had so much to do inside ...

Gert painted up a storm, repaired broken things, rewired monstrously badly wired lights and we moved in.  And then life took off.  Before I knew it, I was in and out of Berlin over 3 months.  It was winter…

from the So Much Love Series tooJune 26, 2010

When I work on a family portrait, I invite the family to just be themselves.

When they are ... that’s when the magic happens.

From the So Much Love Series.June 25, 2010

I love when images like this appear in front of me in the midst of a huge pile of post-processing ...

Father and son, caught in a moment ...

Art and Fear ... and a little bit of Belgium.June 25, 2010

Control, apparently, is not the answer.  People who need certainty in their lives are less likely to make art that is risky, subversive, complicated, iffy, suggestive or spontaneous.  What’s really needed is nothing more than a broad sense of what you are looking for, some strategy for how to find it, and an overriding willingness to embrace mistakes and surprises along the way.  Simply put, making art is chancy - it doesn’t mix well with predictability.  Uncertainty is the essential,…

The Busker, Hendrik Conscienceplein, AntwerpenJune 22, 2010

I love that space, this place, his sound ...

We don’t take photographs with our cameras, we take them with our hearts and our minds. They are a reflection of ourselves, what we are, and what we think.
Arnold Newman.

that day i got hypothermia ...June 22, 2010

Hypothermia is the only explanation for forgetting that I had taken this series of photographs near Buttes New British Cemetery on Flanders Fields.

However, once viewed, I remembered the bone-chilling icy-cold that day, and the sun doing this beautiful thing with the trees in the forest nearby.  I took a few photographs, wanting to capture some of the deliciousness of it all. 

David duChemin, Photographer - answering the question ‘What is Photography?’ and ...June 21, 2010

So what is photography? It’s less talk, more making photographs. Do that, and do it hard. And then tomorrow, do it again. And as long as you love doing that more than something else, you’ll have filled your days and fed your soul with something you love. And to do that, by almost any sane definition, is to have succeeded.
David duChemin, photographer (and, Di’s Photography Guru Guy)

But wait, there’s more!
Begin. Life doesn’t…

Chris Guillebeau, (and a course that seems vital)June 20, 2010

The good news is that most artists fail NOT because they lack talent but because they have not been trained to represent themselves, to build a customer base, and to actually sell their great artwork.

See, the old way for achieving fortune and fame as an artist (or at least a working income) was all about receiving the favor of gatekeepers. Beginning with the patronage system in Europe and continuing with the galleries and museums of modern times, the old…

‘When I Grow Up ...’June 19, 2010

Or that’s what he seems to be saying to me ...

1am, time to close-down the whole post-processing part of my mind for the night.  So much to do, I need to create a few 48 hour days and stop doing a little of each thing that I love.

Off to an Arabian Horse Show in July.  My camera and I are rather excited.
Slaap wel.

Graduation Day ...June 19, 2010

A moment of reflection during a graduation ceremony ...

Sunday 20th June, 4pm!June 19, 2010

It has been an insanely busy 48 hours but it’s done now ... well, except for the photo processing and continuing work on the project plans, preparing marketing for the marketeer maestro and all that.

But you know how it is when you turn up to take photographs of some of your favourite people and end up going home with those 3 Arturo Pérez-Reverte‘s book you would have searched for eventually, except some exceptional friends found them…

Learning to Read ...June 19, 2010

A place of quiet beauty, GenovaJune 17, 2010

Can you tell how much I love these places of worship?

It was the same in Istanbul, when I discovered the peaceful beauty of the mosque. 

A solemn moment ...June 16, 2010

Sometimes, the children check out the photographer from a place of safety. 
It’s so delicious…

Matteo - thinking ...June 16, 2010

I enjoy people photography most of all ...

You can see why.

Cute No-Hands, Licorice-Eating KidletJune 16, 2010

Facepainting ...June 16, 2010

Late Afternoon Sunlight, the Cafe, BelgiumJune 14, 2010

And then there was this little man today ...June 12, 2010

What’s not to love ...

I had the pleasure of entertaining this little man, his mum, dad and 2 sisters this afternoon. 

The Family ...June 12, 2010

I love documentary photography, for sure ... but there’s something quite magical about photographing a family.

Cloe ...June 12, 2010

The Most Beautiful Family ...June 12, 2010

I photographed the most beautiful family yesterday.

Here’s one of my favourite shots.  More to follow.

Persian chicken on the stove, Simon, Paola and kids on the way ... house clean.  I hope your Saturday is shaping up well or was good.

Tranquility ...June 11, 2010

I realised today, that some of my favourite photographs were captured in moments of chaos but there’s no sign of that chaos, or the impulse that led me to swing round and capture it ...

Looking at this photograph of the kindergarten teacher, so tranquil in the midst of an end of year party, and yet it seems impossible when I…

Just a Boy ...June 09, 2010

I’m meeting a potential client to talk about their wedding and needed to organise some previous work ...

I had forgotten this boy with the beautiful eyes.

Gent, as the sun goes down ...June 08, 2010

Like everyone, I know Bruges but I haven’t paid that much attention to Gent ... it’s a city I pass through on my way to other places.

Yesterday, Jurjana and I went wandering.  Or perhaps that should read, ‘yesterday, Jurjana dragged me out of my ‘feeling-sorry-for-myself’ state and took me on a road trip that was both hilarious and soul-restoring.  Anyway, last port of call on our way home was Gent.  We arrived as the sun was going down, lighting…

Portraiture as a Reason for Being ...June 06, 2010

I love this kind of photography ... this soul visit with whoever it is that you are photographing at any given moment.

My GirlJune 05, 2010

Miss 5 had her end of year party at Kindy today.

I photographed her mum.

The Boy who sells Roses, GenovaJune 04, 2010

The flower boy passed through Porta Soprana, the ancient gate leading into the old part of the city of Genova, while I was there ... trying to capture something of this opening in a city wall, built back in the 12th century.

There’s something about this one that I like ...

a holy place, genovaJune 04, 2010

A lovely old man saw me taking this photograph and took me to another shop window, and then on, round the corner, saying I must see inside this church pictured below.

I think we did all of this in Italiano, which I really don’t speak but sometimes, or oftentimes, you just ‘get’ what people are trying to tell you because your passion and curiousity meets them halfway.

Grazie to the Genovese man whose name I don’t know,…

Missing Genova ...June 04, 2010

The oddest thing ... I begin missing Genova as I pass through that halfway-thru-my-stay mark.

I notice suitcases rolling along the alleyway below Paola’s apartment, and I know it’s silly to think of them even while I still have the other half of the holiday left ... but I notice them anyway.

I think I’ve lived one of those lives where I am always searching for someplace else ... someplace perfect.  And sometimes I’ve come so close to finding it…

The Way Home ... when in Genova, ItalyMay 30, 2010

I love this gate called Porta Soprana.  It was built in the 12th century, with the help of the citizens of Genova, as the government of the time attempted to defend the independence of the city from Emperor Barbarossa.

However, Barbarossa apparently knew that he needed the people of Genova, with their rapidly developing economic and maritime strength, and he never attacked.  There was an oath of allegience and some levies ... 

And there I was, a 21st century…

The Bike on the Stairs, GenovaMay 30, 2010

I love the challenges posed by this bike up an alleyway off Via Cairoli or Garibaldi ... I was rapt to find it parked there, a year after I first photographed it.

Different light, a different camera, time spent learning some more of my craft, all combined to give me this shot.
I’m pleased with it.

Vernazza, Cinque Terre, ItalyMay 28, 2010

I want to write of the remarkable people we’ve spent time with these last two days but we’re preparing to leave, exhausted after a day scaling hills in the hot Italian sun ... only slightly revived after an exquisite dinner in the company of some lovely people.  I want to write the story of meeting these people but when I’m home and settled again and so, instead, I will leave you with some photographs taken today in Cinque Terre.

…

Via dell’ Amore, Cinque Terre, ItalyMay 28, 2010

You can imagine my delight over finding this graffiti lining the walls of Via dell’ Amore, high above the sea as we set out, walking between the five villages. More to follow, as two sections were blocked ...

The Remains of the Cloister of Sant’AndreaMay 27, 2010

Another attempt at capturing these Romanesque ruins next to Porta Soprana.  This time, I used a tripod and spent some time in an attempt to capture the full beauty of them.

These ruins are all that remain of Sant’Andrea church, demolished at the end of the 1800’s when space was needed to construct Via Dante.  Most important for me, as that’s where I catch bus 42 out to Boccadasse.

Store Window, GenovaMay 26, 2010

I think it goes without saying but this window dressing amused me ... so much so, that I had to go back and photograph it.

Yes ... I would love to believe that ‘stupid has all the interesting questions’.

Palazzo San Giorgio, GenovaMay 26, 2010

Palazzo San Giorgio was built in 1260, by order of the Capitano del Popolo Guglielmo Boccanegra, for the Commune.  In 1570 it was extended and this frescoed facade, showing Saint George and his dragon, was added. Later, in the 15th century, the palace became the headquarters of the first European bank, Banco di San Giorgio.

Marco Polo was actually imprisoned inside when it was the Customs House, and it was there, or so it is told, that he dictated his…

Night Shoot, GenovaMay 26, 2010

We wandered out to Isola delle chiatte to see what the sun would do to Genova’s lighthouse and ended the evening using the tripod in Piazza De Ferrari, photographing the fountain we love so well.

A sunset stroll turned into 2.5 hours of wandering and photography.
A lovely way to end a day, writes this very happy kiwi from Italy.

Rear-View, GenovaMay 26, 2010

3 days left here and I’m already sad. 

Each day, at least one suitcase rolls along the cobblestones here, reminding me that I have to leave too. So now for the last minute photographs we didn’t get yet ... but wait, there is a train that does Cinque Terre.  Hmmm, perhaps that heavenly section of coast is Friday.

Anyway, the scooter mirror here ... they are everywhere, I’ll miss them too.

Reminiscing the Future ...May 25, 2010

I love the way we can bring the past alive in our present ... recalling the people we loved and lived with, the way that they made us feel.  I find everyone is still there, as solid memories, if I manage to call them up.

7am here in Italy, a cup of coffee from my small traveling espresso coffee-pot and a packet of shortbread-like biscuits nearby ...voila, memories of Nana and pre-breakfast coffees back home at her place, in Invercargill,…

Musical Instrument-Maker, Genova.May 24, 2010

I could have watched these guys work for hours ... well, photographed them for sure.

Artisans Village, GenovaMay 24, 2010

Yesterday, we experienced the pure delight of walking into a tent village of artisans, down at the port, here in Genova.

I took a series of photographs of the musical instrument-makers at work.  Their shop is located at S.S.Matteo 19/18b, I hope to discover a little more about these talented people.  It was beautiful to watch them at work but I was so delighted about the range of artisans present, that I didn’t focus with specific questions.

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