Prego

Florence Cathedral

Well we're a few days into Florence now, and the longer I stay here the more I like the city. It is not very big, but it's dense with tourists, local residents, street vendors, pizza, and most importantly, gelaterias. It has its own rhythm, completely different from that of Paris, and a world apart from anything in the States. You can wander in circles for hours, going back and forth across the bridges or making ever-widening circles around the Duomo, dodging the small cars and vespas as they tear through the tight streets, perusing the "fine" purses and art for sale on the sidewalks, and eating pizza at the base of a centuries-old building. That's exactly what we did this evening, after a morning of taking a long hard look at Michelangelo's David and Masaccio's work on the panels in the chapel of the Santa Maria del Carmine, some of the finest pieces of art in the world. Florence is rich in that kind of cultural history, and is very aware of it--sculptures can be found randomly on street corners or in front of buildings, and the city in general is proud of its museums and amazing churches.

Well, photographically, I have done better about taking the touristy shots. I feel good about it. I'm still not being as creative with the photographs as I'd like, but its getting better. I feel confident that I was right in thinking that simply pressing the shutter more is going to get me thinking more photographically. I have plenty of throw-aways, too, but some keepers I think. This isn't quite the same strategy as the "take a million shots and hopefully one of them will come out," which I strongly disagree with. I'm approaching it with more of a "pick the camera up, take some tourist shots to get you looking through the viewfinder, and maybe you'll start to see something more graphic." I think its working, and should only get better as I move forward, getting less self-conscious about laying on the floor to get a shot, or staying behind the group when there's good light.

I'm finishing this post on the bus as we make way to Venice. I'm excited that all the winding canals will make for some graphic images. There's one more thing I'd like to incorporate into my images: portraits. There were so many interesting people in Florence doing interesting things that I'd love to photograph, but I never got the courage to ask them. I took some portraits of friends, which I'm satisfied with and hope to continue, but how great would it be to get portraits of street vendors, gelateria workers, couples on the street and Italian policemen? That would be a sure way to add something extra to the "touristy" shots, but it will take some courage and technical confidence--I can't be fiddling with my camera as I try to do this. Onward to Venice.