15 posts tagged “italy”
The original photo was taken with my Sony point and shoot camera. I didn't have my Nikon yet.
I was able to sharpen the contrast, make the colors more vivid, make the dirt stand out a little more on the bottles (the flash had washed it out a bit), and remove most of the white splashes of light from the flash.
The final result is a photograph that is far superior to the original. It somehow feels to have an unreal feel to it. Do you sense that? What is your first impression of this photograph? I would love to get some feedback as I am learning to use Photoshop Elements to re-touch my digital photographs.
Thanks!
There was actually a bit of excitement and awe that we were going to have a cheeseburger, fries, and coke in Italy.
I am not personally a big fan of McDonald's food, however, when offered a few french fries, I couldn't resist.
For my meal I had a Captain Nemo sandwich. It was a local baked bread with ham and some great cheese and a cup of Italian coffee.
As we approached Vinci, I was immediately struck by the sense of pride I found in this small town. The streets were very clean and the homes were all very well manicured. The countryside was rolling and full of olive trees nearing the harvest.
I have always held Leonardo in high regard because he was, in my mind, the ultimate Renaissance Man. As I have read about him over the years, I found myself in awe not only of his genius, but the incredible span of his interests and his ability to master them.
The town of Vinci has none of his works of art but they did have a little museum dedicated to his interest in mechanical things. We saw models of his submarine, scuba diving outfit, his tank, his flying machine, many "war type" devices, and many more.
All in all this was a very enchanting town and I enjoyed being able to walk the streets where he did as a child.
Here is the link. I can't wait to make some of these when we get to Arizona.
When we were in Florence, we heard a lot of the big flood that hit this historic town and created a lot of damage. Here is a blogger that attended an event in the Piazza Signoria in recent days marking the 40th anniversary of this event.
There are photographs and a movie of the event.
This was the day to visit Florence, Italy. I suppose one could say that only a day in Florence is a crime. But keep in mind that this was essentially a guided taste of Italy. Therefore we were only hitting the highlights of Rome and Tuscany.
Our tour bus arrived to the outskirts of Florence and we found ourselves in a cloudy, rainy, wet day. Our tour guide (pictured to the left) had only three hours to show us this magnificent city.
This tour guide, like the one in Rome, used a radio system to communicate with our group. He wore a transponder around his neck and spoke into a microphone. Each of us in turn has receivers around our necks so that we could here his lecture without having to be standing right next to him. This was a very nice touch and made the tour far more enjoyable.
Our first stop was Michelangelo's David.
The other unfortunate thing about this museum is that there was no photography allowed. I suppose they would rather sell you postcards and other paraphernalia. Therefore, I had to snag this photo from the website.
This was the second time I have had the opportunity to stand in front of David. It is certainly an incredible work of art.
If you would like to understand more about what makes David so special click here for a seven minute audio file to learn more.
Our next stop on this rainy day was the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flower).
One of the striking things that you notice right away is that the building is constructed with three different colors of marble.
As you walk inside you notice that this basilica is dark and does not contain all the "glitter" of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
The other interesting story is that there didn't seem to be anyone who could figure out how to build the dome on this Basilica.
In it's day, it was the largest cathedral in Europe and could hold 30,000 people.
The locks, seen in the upper right picture, were put presumably by lovers. It seems that lover would buy a lock, lock it on the bridge and throw the key into the River Arno to signify their eternal love. Today, there is a fine for desecrating the bridge.
Once again, I was amazed at how good the local Italian food was. We had an incredible lunch.
After lunch it was time for shopping in the leather shops, walking through markets, relaxing in an Italian pub for a beer and then off to the bus for our return trip to Montecatini Terme.
All in all...a very good day.
After our morning in Lucca we headed off for lunch up in the hills of Tuscany. Our large bus wound it's way up the mountain taking us through little hamlets, olive groves, vineyards and amazing scenery that we had grown to expect from Tuscany.
Our destination was the 500 year old farm, Fattoria Maionchi. Upon our arrival we toured the wine cellar and were treated to an incredible Italian lunch.
Fattoria Maionchi was another Italian home run destination.
