The Alleyway
Apr, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This was taken on a very rainy day in Venice, Italy, down a little back alley off of the tourist trail.Time
It was nearing 3 o clock in the afternoon, and I was waiting at a harbour for a Venetian rowing lesson! The sky was overcast and grey all day, so I was denied that glorious late afternoon sun, but then I found that a grey sky really makes the colours of the city pop.Lighting
I found it really interesting that the lightest part of the scene is from the reflections in the puddles on the ground. I got really lucky with this image, because the glorious red of the building at the end of the alley almost appears to illuminate the whole image, and it is only from a lack of sunlight that those colours have come to life.Equipment
I shot this with my Sony DSC-HX60. As I was going on a boat trip in the Venice lagoon, I didn't have any other equipment with me-as I didn't want to lose anything in the water!Inspiration
It was really a spur of the moment shot-I wish I could give a clever answer and say that I scoped out this lovely location and planned the perfect time to shoot it, but it would be a pack of lies if I did! The stars just aligned a little bit, and whereas most tourists were hiding away in restaurants or museums during the downpour, I thought it could be a cool opportunity to get some more unusual photographs of this oft-pictured city. I was absolutely inspired by the colours on the buildings and the gorgeous bright spring green of the plants on the walls, and I love a frame for a picture. The brick archway was crying out to be used!Editing
For this I was on the road, away from my laptop for many more weeks, so it received very little post processing attention. I did some very basic stuff, adjusting the light balance and shadows, mostly to help that red pop and bring out the detail of the stonework.In my camera bag
My Sony DSC-HX60 is my little workhorse-I adore this camera. It has never failed me from -18 degrees at night in the Arctic to hanging out of a moving bus to snap a cool piece of architecture at 30 mph (not recommended for the sane amongst you!) So that is always in my kit. I also generally have a selection of tripods, ranging from tiny to quite frankly obscenely big-as well as a spare memory card and a spare battery. That's generally it-I travel quite light because I am extremely skilled at losing things-I figure the less I have, the less there is to leave behind.Feedback
Embrace the weather, even when it throws you a curve ball. If you're somewhere like Venice, use the torrential downpour to get out and pound the streets while everyone else hides away indoors-you might just get those shots that you were dreaming of but could;t see through the crowds of people! Be flexible, and see the beauty wherever you go.
