Sunset over the Arno River, Florence, Italy
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May, 2015Views
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Awards
Contest Finalist in Dusk Or Dawn Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Colors In The City Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Colors and Mood Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Sunset In The City Photo Contest
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in Florence (Firenze), Italy, from the Ponte alla Carraia bridge.Time
I was in Florence for work and I knew I wasn’t going to have the opportunity to do most of the main tourist things, so I made a point of going walking around in the early mornings and evenings. Turns out this was a good plan. One evening, I was walking back toward the hotel via my favorite Gelato shop (somehow *every* walk back to the hotel took me past there even though it was a mile or so from the hotel …how odd), when I noticed the sun starting to set over the Arno river. It wasn’t an epic sunset yet, but the height of the clouds and the stillness of the water told me that the scene was just going to get better.Lighting
To make a long story short, I spent over an hour (and a melon gelato) there watching the sunset progress and go through a variety of stages. This is the peak of the saturation and color, but I came away with a series of nice shots.Equipment
For this trip I was traveling light, since I didn't expect to be focusing on photography. I had left my D800E at home and instead had a D7100 and a borrowed 11-16mm f/2.8 Tamron. I didn't bring a tripod or anything with me, so I ended up shooting this with the camera braced on the stone wall of the bridge.Inspiration
I had walked across this bridge many times and enjoyed the scene, but never under light that would convey the beauty of the place. When I saw the gathering clouds and the sun about to sink below them, I knew I was in for a chance to see a truly amazing painting of light over this famous, old city of art.Editing
This shot required relatively little post processing, though I'm not usually shy about post. I cropped to a cinematic panorama, sharpened, adjusted contrast, removed some lens flair and small distracting elements, balanced highlights and shadows, and fixed some lens distortion. When you're given such great light over such a spectacular place, it does reduce the amount of processing you feel compelled to do, I'll admit.In my camera bag
When I travel, I keep my D800E with 24-70mm f/2.8 with me like it's part of my arm. I usually have my Gitzo 1542T ultralight travel tripod with Really Right Stuff BH-30 ballhead, a variety of support gear (lens cloths/blower, remote, batteries, cards), and so forth. Except, of course, on this trip... Since this wasn't a photography trip, it was a work trip, I traveled light. I had a Nikon D7100 (fantastic crop sensor camera with familiar pro-like controls) and a borrowed ultrawide Tamron 11-16mm f/2.8 lens. The lens was a good learning experience for me, and I found I really like shooting urban travel photography really wide.Feedback
Over the week there, I’d gotten used to the locals being thoroughly uninterested in everything I found intriguing. After all, life in Florence was just everyday life for them. In this case, however, the bridge was lined with both tourists and locals, cell phone cameras in hand like electronic butterfly nets trying to capture the amazing colors. At one point, a police officer stopped his car in the middle of the road, came over next to me (I had the prime spot in the middle of the bridge) and took a few shots with his cell phone too. I asked if he minded if I take a photo of him taking the photo (always a good idea to ask law enforcement – especially in foreign countries – before photographing them), he cheerfully obliged, then asked me what camera I had. Turns out he’s a photographer when not working as a police officer and was wishing he had his trusty D700 with him instead of his iPhone. Over the course of the week, knowing that my time for photos was limited, I made a point of making sure my spare time in the early mornings and evenings was spent walking through areas with photographic potential, and I always had my camera with me. I had done a lot of research online so I knew my way around the city before I even landed. I knew key vistas and sights to walk past, and chose restaurants and places to visit that would take me past those places at potentially good times (sunset, for example). I walked everywhere so I wouldn't miss something by driving past it. Oh, and when I discovered the best gelato shop in the country was right next to the scenic river, I made sure to visit it around sunset frequently. These are sacrifices you have to make if you want chances to take great photos. The moral of the story — always stop for gelato.
