It is not uncommon to come across photographs of the magical Italian city of Venice pop-up on my Instagram feed. It is an architectural gem. Canals and bridges criss-cross the city, that is made even more magical by the interplay of light and shadows. I quite enjoy the work of Italian-Austrian photographer, Ando Fuchs. There is a group of talented photographers who use long-exposure techniques to bring the city of Venice to life.
But for me, Venice has been more than a place for making photographs. I don’t know when, or how, I fell in love with the city. I
I was reading Leon’s “My Venice: And Other Essays” where she writes about the idea of an Italian woman.
“Whatever the cause, she will find herself enveloped in the warmth that comes of being with a person who likes her, who finds the simple gift of her company a source of pleasure, and who makes no attempt to disguise that pleasure.”
I think those words were meant to describe the city of Venice.
I visited Venice last year and made many photos, and only recently started to sift through them. I was thinking about how to distinguish my visit to Venice visually — and in the end, I have decided on two collections. I share the first one today — it is called Venice @ Night. I used deep blacks to give the city a more brooding quality, and in some photos, I left some color for evoking a certain feeling.
Whether it was jet-lag or my general tendency to not being able to sleep, I often ended up walking the empty streets of Venice late at night. The January cold, with a hint of menace, and the yellow light from the street lamps, with a touch of mist somewhere in the background, made the visit to Venice memorable for me. Here is a short selection of Venice slumbering in the dark, only mystery author Leon’s protagonist, Commisario Guido Brunetti knows.
ISO 50. f/11, 24 seconds. 24mm ISO 50. f/11, 12 seconds. 24mm ISO 50. f/8, 12 seconds. 25mm ISO 50. f/11, 60 seconds. 24mm ISO 50. f/8, 60 seconds. 28mm ISO 50. f/9,60 seconds. 29mm ISO 50. f/11, 90 seconds. 73mm ISO 1000. f/1.8, 1/17 seconds. 35mm (Fuji x100f) ISO 50. f/8, 24 seconds. 32mm