Winding Road to the Beach in Capri
Jul, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken after a long day trip to Capri island in Italy from Sorrento. This is the Via Krupp and is a historic switchback paved footpath on the island of Capri, connecting the Charterhouse of San Giacomo and the Gardens of Augustus area with Marina Piccola. It was commissioned by German industrialist Friedrich Alfred Krupp, the path covers an elevation difference of about 100 m. Built between 1900 and 1902, ostensibly Via Krupp was a connection for Krupp between his luxury hotel, Grand Hotel Quisisana, and Marina Piccola, where his marine biology research vessel lay at anchor. Secretly however, this path also conveyed him to Grotta di Fra Felice, a grotto where sex orgies with local youths are supposed to have taken place. When the scandal surfaced, Krupp was asked to leave Italy in 1902. Since 1976, Via Krupp has been closed most of the time due to the danger of falling rocks. It was closed the day we were there.Time
This was the last thing we did in Capri before catching our hydrofoil back to Sorrento. I took this photo from an overlook from the Gardens of Augustus around 4:00pm.Lighting
This was late afternoon light around 4pm but the sun was still high enough to get most of the path be be evenly lit to make for a better overall photo. I was shooting towards the sun so I did have to shade my lens to prevent lens flares.Equipment
Canon 5d Mark III with Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 L lens hand heldInspiration
I am an civil and structural engineer by education and career. I have a healthy respect for the design and construction of paths like the Via Krupp! As soon as I laid my eyes on it, I began to consider the time and cost to design and install the path but I realize that the cost was to reach the "gold" at the bottom of the path which is the beautiful blue waters of the Mediterranean sea. I'm sure the cost was was worth the benefit!Editing
I did a little post processing mainly making sure the white balance was proper. I also dropped some of the highlights and opened up the shadows to provide for even lighting across the scene because I was shooting towards the sun.In my camera bag
I shoot with a Canon 5d Mark III with Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 L, Canon 135 mm f/2.0, Sigma 50mm f/1.4, Canon 24-105mm f/4.0, Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8, Sigma 1.4 TC and Sigma 2.0 TCFeedback
This was a piece of history that I was unaware of prior to my walking upon it at the park. I would suggest that any photographer regardless of skill always be on the lookout for things that are different and out of the ordinary. Some times those things are small like wings on an insect and other times it is a path in an amazing environment that once you lay your eyes upon it you know there was a purpose to why it is here. Once I got home, I was able to somewhat extend my trip because as I was sharing my photos with the viewbug community and others I would retrace my steps on googlemaps and begin to learn about the things that jumped out at me while I was visiting. This capture had a great story behind it because my wife and I got on the hydrofoil and were sold by an older Italian man to do a tour of Capri. We were told it would be a group tour which turned into just us but it was a highlight of our trip because "Luigi" had some of the most memorable sayings and mannerisms. We were guided to the park after Luigi parted ways with us for the day on his suggestion. My advice would be listen to people around you who know the areas and tell them you are looking for something unique. They will guide you the right way!
