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 […]
A set of test images shot at night in Italy, to gauge whether or not a digital camera would be a reasonable replacement for film in the Barcelona Dark series. The bottom line is probably not. It is very hard to emulate the “glow” around lights that get with film (caused by back-scattering of light from the film base). Shooting with a diffusion filter gets someway towards the look of film, but the fall-off with distance from the light is never quite right – although it is a nice effect […]
A short photo essay on the easing of lock-down and the (quasi) return to normal life, albeit somewhat cautiously. These images were shot on a short and cautious trip to Italy, with some hiking in the mountains both in Italy and neighbouring Switzerland. It is clear that the COVID19 situation is going to persist for some time to come, not least because there is still widespread confusion and/or refusal to take simple preventative measures against infection. Surprisingly, the flights and public transport were perhaps the lowest risk in the trip, […]
A short set of Italian alpine landscape images, which seems appropriate for the time of year. These were shot in several locations, from Vall di Mello to Lago di Como, and are a pretty good summary of what August should be like. Unfortunately for us, August is going to be a busy month, and I am putting the blog on hold now until things settle down in September, when it might also be cool enough to process film again…
A short selection of images taken while visiting friends and family in Italy over New Year. For some unknown reason, these were all taken using older Zenit film cameras. The first set were shot with the Horizon 202 panoramic camera – a camera that begs to be used but which still needs more time to figure out how to get the most interesting results (compare, for example, the images with massive distortion vs those that look entirely undistorted – the result of simply tilting the camera a few degrees and […]
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 slideshow of images taken on a recent trip to Padova, Italy. This was not really a photographic trip, although it was a chance to put the M262 (camera, not aircraft) through its paces following the six week long repair in Wetzlar. Padova is a fascinating city that is a microcosm of Italy. There are many contrasts: the old town and new developments, exemplary classical art and modern graffiti, young and old. You could easily spend weeks observing and photographing in this town, and still not run out of new […]
These were some of the areas that we hiked through to take the photographs in Catholic Imagery from the Italian Alps. Most of these were taken in the stunningly beautiful Val Codera, close to the Italian-Swiss border. A welcome antidote to the current chaos and pollution in Barcelona.
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 […]
This week, a set of architectural images taken in or around High Rise Piazza Gae Aulenti, Milan (next to the railway station at Porta Garibaldi). All the pictures were taken with the Ricoh GR II. There was a lot of guesswork with these photographs, thanks to the very very bright sunlight and a non-very anti-glare screen protector. The area is an interesting example of trying to undertake practical urban regeneration, with a good mix of living spaces, offices, shops, supermarkets and arts and social venues all within a very short walk. […]
Basilica di San Giacomo, Bellagio, Italy.
Landscape (lakescape?), shot on Lago di Como, Italy. The ghostly halos around the reflections are the rendering from the Zeiss C-Sonnar lens, which was used here with a stack of ND filters to allow it to be used nearly wide open while not burning a hole in the M7’s shutter curtain… Shot on Delta 100, processed in HC110 at box speed.
Reflections on a journey with doors and cobbled streets. Taken in Bellagio, Italy and somewhat out of sequence, due to vagaries of processing and scanning… Leica M7 with Zeiss C-Sonnar 50mm and Ilford Delta 100 black and white film processed in HC110.
One of the numerous water-taxis, running between Varenna and Belaggio on Lago di Como, Italy. This is a composite of two digital images, processed to give a more film-like look (the lack of dust and fluff should give this away!). Although shot from the same location, the background sky and boat did not in reality appear at the same time. Back to real film and a slower pace tomorrow…
Fisherman at Varenna, Lago di Como, Italy.
Transient Eye 