Venice - view from the Academia Bridge
Sep, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
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I went to Venice on a family vacation and wanted to take home memories of this beautiful city and not miss out on the "must see" views. I've learnt that it's worth doing a bit of research before going abroad if you're keen to get great shots of amazing places, and this preparation really paid off. This photograph was taken from the Accademia bridge looking along the Grand Canal to the church of Santa Maria della Salute in the distance.Time
Photographers on the web recommended going to this spot early in the morning. Luckily our apartment was only a short walk away so I ventured out whilst the rest of my family was still asleep. There are two reasons to not sleep in and instead to get up at the crack of dawn whilst on vacation: 1) to get amazing colours of the sunrise or the warm glow of dawn sunlight; and 2) to avoid the crowds! This spot would have been full of fellow tourists a few hours later, so at this cool and peaceful time of the day I had the place to myself. I wanted to convey the sense of serenity of the early morning in contrast with the hustle and bustle of Venice waterways by day, but I was glad when a lone ferry slowly crept into the scene, a sign of the sleepy city beginning to wake up.Lighting
I went past this spot on other days and never saw even the hint of a colourful sunrise such as this! The interesting clouds catching the sun were particularly beautiful.Equipment
After a lot of consideration I decided to part with my trusty (and ageing) Canon 1000D and upgrade to a full-frame DSLR. I settled on the Canon 6D and after a bit of a challenge actually getting it delivered to my home (a long story) it finally arrived two days before leaving for my vacation, so I had no time to practise using it beforehand! I got a great deal on the camera with the Canon 24-70mm f4 L-series lens which is a nice compact lens to take travelling.Inspiration
I wanted to capture an image of this well-known and often over-done Venice scene without making it look too much like a cliché, and was very pleased with the result.Editing
I increased the saturation a little, wanting to keep the delicate pastel tones of the sunrise and not spoil it with over-processing.In my camera bag
I prefer to stick with one camera and one lens as I feel awkward carrying around loads of equipment on vacation. Admittedly, compared with my old camera this full-frame model and the nice lens are rather heavy though! For this scene I brought my cheap, light-weight tripod as I knew I'd be shooting in the early morning light, but normally I'd never consider lugging it around. I've got two young kids so my backpack's usually full of extra drinks, food and spare clothes!Feedback
I was rewarded with this pleasing photograph after doing a bit of research and getting up ridiculously early whilst the rest of the family were enjoying their sleep. But above all it was about just being lucky with the weather!
