A selection of images of Catholic Shrines in the northern alpine region of Italy, around Lago di Como. These are found on mountain paths and trails and in many cases are still actively maintained through a mixture of tradition, conservation, and ongoing superstition.
Five monochrome landscape images, taken in the Italian alps. These were shot using a Leica Q2 Monochrom and various colour-contrast and polarising filters. The Q2M is a monochrome-only compact camera with a fixed 28mm lens which was bought to replace an ageing Ricoh GR for travel where carrying film is no longer practical. The Q2M has the advantage of a built-in EVF, and shooting with the monochrome sensor is essentially the same process as for shooting with black and white film, only without the chemicals. Compositionally, I found the Q2M […]
Transient Eye is five years old today (!), and so to revisit the theme of the very first post we have a selection of infrared images taken recently while hiking in the Italian Alps.
A set of Catholic Images taken from path side shrines and buildings in the northern Italian Alps. These are often found in dedicated stone constructions, built specifically to house frescos, statues and – more recently – photographs of significant relics such as the Turin shroud. There are also numerous painted frescos that adorn the sides of churches and houses. It is tempting to refer to these as “icons“, but I am sternly informed that most Catholics would insist that they are not – even if the depictions and function appear very similar to […]
The swiss alps, between Silvaplana and St Moritz. In winter this are would usually be full of skiers, but in summer the ski-lifts provide a quick (if expensive) start to a hike in the mountains. Although the mountains are rather barren, if you time the trip well there are usually many photogenic flowers to explore – and maybe the odd naked hiker, if that thing is still allowed near St Moritz. Leica M7 with Zeiss ZM 2/35 and Ilford Delta 100 , processed in HC110 Dilution H (1+63 from concentrate) for 7:30 […]
“We are currently awaiting the loading of our compliment of small, lemon-soaked paper napkins for your comfort, refreshment, and hygiene during the flight, which will be of two hours duration. Meanwhile we thank you for your patience. The cabin crew will shortly be serving coffee and biscuits… again.” Just back from ten days of fairly exhausting travelling, so the blog will be on hiatus for a few days until we will have had time to pick up the pieces back here in Barcelona… The photograph is a view over Valsassina […]
The walk from Pian delle Betulle, in Alta Valsassina, to the Larice Bruciato (burnt larch) is a lovely trail through a beech forest and pasturelands. On the way there is the Alpe Ortighera, a summer pasture, where there is the old dairy illustrated in this post. This is the main room at the entrance of the dairy with the churning machine to make butter (the stainless steel drum on the right) and some of the season production of ricotta, a whey cheese. The forms on the shelves are left to […]
A slightly different post from normal, with some images of greenery from what was the wettest August I have ever seen in the Alps. When not being deluged with water we were usually embedded in the low clouds, making any walking and photography interesting in the best proverbial sense. One thing that really stood out visually was the presence of the colour green. The plants were clearly enjoying the weather better than the humans (and cats) and the foliage produced some very vivid colour while wet. These photographs are not […]
A short set of photographs taking during the Easter break from the area around Valsassina and Lago di Como, Italy. All images taken with the Canon 5D Mark III and 50L f1.2. The 50mm is a very versatile lens that can switch from stopped down landscapes to shallow depth-of-field portraits without blinking. It is small enough to make an excellent travel lens, and the weather sealing is useful when you have full-sun, snow and rain all in the space of four days…
Transient Eye 