Firenze by Night

We are in a place called Promontoria de Gargana, which is the little nub on the heel of Italy. Gargana is a national park, and a very beautiful peninsula. We’re in full-on hippy mode now, living in our Westfalia. More on that eventually. For now, enjoy some images from a few days ago of Florence at night. The photos below are a mix of shots form both Laura and I.  

Roma

After getting settled early yesterday and dropping off our (too-heavy) bags in our hotel, we hit the streets to reorient ourselves with this great city. After walking (and walking, and walking), we managed to take in the major sites. Today, we’re off to St. Peter’s and the Vatican museum. For now, enjoy a few of yesterday’s photos from the streets of Rome.  

One day in Yazd

We decided to spend a day in a city called Yazd, after our thoroughly enjoyable 6 days in Esfahan. We’ll have some posts from Esfahan eventually, but right now it feels like a lot to digest. We made a good friend there, and had a few other interesting experiences. Yazd is nothing like anywhere we’ve been in Iran to date. Situated on the edge of the desert, the Old City is a maze  of crumbling mudbrick alleyways. The heat hit us like a wall when got off the air-conditioned bus. It was 37 degrees Celsius at about 10:30 at night, and the warm, dry wind that rushed through the open windows of our taxi into town reminded Laura of Saudi Arabia. Our hotel is a bit expensive (at $40 per night), but the food is good, they have wifi, and the setting is charming. It’s built in an old Yazdi…Continue Reading

Easter Procession

Easter is of course huge for Italy’s Catholic population. In Lanciano, where we have been staying for the past week or so, Easter is a week long affair filled with socializing, shared meals, picnics, and religious processions through the streets, replete with religious artifacts, costumes and marching bands. On Thursday night before the Easter weekend, the Churches open their doors to display “Sepulchre,” or artistic displays of Christ coming off the cross. Thursday night also kicked off a weekend of processions with a hooded march through the old districts of the city. The mood was sombre, if not a little eery, with a marching band droning in a minor key. These shots were from that night. The interior shots were from a particularly well-done Sepulchre, and the rest are of the hooded procession.  

Documentary Photography: An Unrealized Ambition

I hate when people ask me if I’m a photographer. Sometimes it’s the gear that prompts this. They see the expensive looking camera, or maybe pick up my kit for a moment and are taken aback by how heavy it is. “Whoa! You must be a photographer.” Maybe it’s the final shots that have them whoa-ing, but the gear still takes centre-stage: “You’re camera takes great pictures!” But no, the reason I hate when people ask me if I’m a photographer is because I’m not sure what to say. On the one hand, I most certainly am. I’ve shot weddings, portraiture, and used my photography as the foundation of several paid graphic design projects. I’ve been paid money to shoot. Simple. But on the other hand, I feel like I’m not really a photographer at all. To date, photography has only been a small part of what I do, and after…Continue Reading