Photograph
7 September 2011

Italy
Rome
Europe
Prints
Exiting the Pantheon The perception I once had about travel in general has been redefined. There’s those who do it to cross off countries from their list and there’s those that indulge in it to learn, understand and discover. Within a day of being in Rome, we learned there was more to this city than delicious food and abundance of motorcycles. As much as we appreciate lounging under the sun waiting for another cocktail to arrive, I much prefer waking up at 6am to explore a city and seek its attraction with a camera. We arrived back a the hotel all sultry and sweaty, too exhausted for anything else but it’s irrelevant because the excitement of those photographs downloaded contained expressions of an experience that wouldn’t have been possible had we not made most of the day. The challenge with a city like Rome is that most of sought-after landmarks like The Pantheon or The Vatican are not close to each other. Assuming you have enough time, they key to enjoying your stay is to have an idea of the places you want to visit and yet leaving the schedule behind and enjoy the little in between nuances that would make you aware of where you are. Very little happens are great pace and even less happens at time. As croweded as it may have seemed, The Pantheon is more quite than the Vatican, although not near as large and grand but opulent in itself. The architecture is magnificent, the open roof and the drainage system to accommodate rainfall is worthy of modern day engineering. Having spent nearly 45mins inside this Roman temple and this was the view as we exited onto the square where you would find the Bernini fountain in the center, surrounded by local coffee shops and restaurants. In the US, there’s a lot of hype about the fantasy of visiting Europe and it’s mostly driven by what we see in films. I don’t recommend it if you’re don’t have an iota of interest for food, culture, long days of walking to visit museums or historic churches. If your aim is to be as enthusiastic about a place like Rome, you might want to check to see if what I mentioned interest you in your own city first.

Exiting the Pantheon

The perception I once had about travel in general has been redefined. There’s those who do it to cross off countries from their list and there’s those that indulge in it to learn, understand and discover. Within a day of being in Rome, we learned there was more to this city than delicious food and abundance of motorcycles.

As much as we appreciate lounging under the sun waiting for another cocktail to arrive, I much prefer waking up at 6am to explore a city and seek its attraction with a camera. We arrived back a the hotel all sultry and sweaty, too exhausted for anything else but it’s irrelevant because the excitement of those photographs downloaded contained expressions of an experience that wouldn’t have been possible had we not made most of the day. The challenge with a city like Rome is that most of sought-after landmarks like The Pantheon or The Vatican are not close to each other.

Assuming you have enough time, they key to enjoying your stay is to have an idea of the places you want to visit and yet leaving the schedule behind and enjoy the little in between nuances that would make you aware of where you are. Very little happens are great pace and even less happens at time. As croweded as it may have seemed, The Pantheon is more quite than the Vatican, although not near as large and grand but opulent in itself. The architecture is magnificent, the open roof and the drainage system to accommodate rainfall is worthy of modern day engineering.

Having spent nearly 45mins inside this Roman temple and this was the view as we exited onto the square where you would find the Bernini fountain in the center, surrounded by local coffee shops and restaurants.

In the US, there’s a lot of hype about the fantasy of visiting Europe and it’s mostly driven by what we see in films. I don’t recommend it if you’re don’t have an iota of interest for food, culture, long days of walking to visit museums or historic churches. If your aim is to be as enthusiastic about a place like Rome, you might want to check to see if what I mentioned interest you in your own city first.

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Photograph
23 May 2011

Europe
Rome
Vatican
Landmark
Travel
Prints
Walking Away from Vatican City I felt dizzy when we arrived. Perhaps the sudden change of temperature from an air-conditioned tour bus to an 85 degree heat wave in that massive plaza that I instantly recognize from Angels & Demons had something to do with it but regardless of how exhausted or how sweaty we might have been, we were still deliriously happy to be standing in St. Peter’s Square. We’d been taken to the many other well-known landmarks across Rome but the anticipation leading to visiting Vatican City was as great as everything we ate. I have to believe that because we were in Italy, everything you can possibly see and eat had to be unquestionably good and if you thought otherwise, then you were just wasting your time not appreciating the remarkable culture and history around us. I don’t say I’ve seen all of Rome but I’ve seen enough to convince me to want to visit the place again. In instances like this, you almost have to just experience being in a place without over thinking what is the best way to tell a story either with your writing or your camera. Let the adventure accumulate to a point where what you shoot or say is based off on what you know so far and not just driven by sheer novelty of being in a new setting. Generally when I arrive at new place, that instant urge to photograph doesn’t set in until I’ve at least walked the area a bit. It’s like sipping a great wine. You pour a small amount to admire the aroma before getting wasted with the rest of it. I like to take my time shooting and it’s a characteristic that drives my wife crazy because she’s more of a shoot and keep it moving person. This was the last photograph I took in St. Peter’s Square as I walked backwards not wanting to turn away from a place I didn’t have enough time to examine.

Walking Away from Vatican City

I felt dizzy when we arrived. Perhaps the sudden change of temperature from an air-conditioned tour bus to an 85 degree heat wave in that massive plaza that I instantly recognize from Angels & Demons had something to do with it but regardless of how exhausted or how sweaty we might have been, we were still deliriously happy to be standing in St. Peter’s Square.

We’d been taken to the many other well-known landmarks across Rome but the anticipation leading to visiting Vatican City was as great as everything we ate. I have to believe that because we were in Italy, everything you can possibly see and eat had to be unquestionably good and if you thought otherwise, then you were just wasting your time not appreciating the remarkable culture and history around us.

I don’t say I’ve seen all of Rome but I’ve seen enough to convince me to want to visit the place again. In instances like this, you almost have to just experience being in a place without over thinking what is the best way to tell a story either with your writing or your camera. Let the adventure accumulate to a point where what you shoot or say is based off on what you know so far and not just driven by sheer novelty of being in a new setting.

Generally when I arrive at new place, that instant urge to photograph doesn’t set in until I’ve at least walked the area a bit. It’s like sipping a great wine. You pour a small amount to admire the aroma before getting wasted with the rest of it. I like to take my time shooting and it’s a characteristic that drives my wife crazy because she’s more of a shoot and keep it moving person. This was the last photograph I took in St. Peter’s Square as I walked backwards not wanting to turn away from a place I didn’t have enough time to examine.

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Photograph
5 August 2010

europe
rome
Prints
While in Rome It’s nearly impossible to see everything you want in Rome. We were somewhat limited by our tour and if I had to reduce our experience to an analogy, I would say it was comparable to having waved a delicious piece of prime steak to my dog to later explain that the objective was for her to see it and not to eat it. Despite the limitation of a day, we did see most major landmarks such as the Roman Coliseum, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, etc and the tour was certainly a beautiful introduction to what Italy has to offer. You’re previewed to enough that you begin formulating mental notes of the places that interest you the most and justify flying back out to learn more about them. I took this photograph at a gift shop near the Vatican as we waited for our tour bus to pick us up. My wife and I have this fixation of buying refrigerator magnets of every place we visit and to this day, the tradition continues and we’re running out of room.

While in Rome

It’s nearly impossible to see everything you want in Rome. We were somewhat limited by our tour and if I had to reduce our experience to an analogy, I would say it was comparable to having waved a delicious piece of prime steak to my dog to later explain that the objective was for her to see it and not to eat it.

Despite the limitation of a day, we did see most major landmarks such as the Roman Coliseum, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, etc and the tour was certainly a beautiful introduction to what Italy has to offer. You’re previewed to enough that you begin formulating mental notes of the places that interest you the most and justify flying back out to learn more about them.

I took this photograph at a gift shop near the Vatican as we waited for our tour bus to pick us up. My wife and I have this fixation of buying refrigerator magnets of every place we visit and to this day, the tradition continues and we’re running out of room.

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