FRENCHY Loc: Stone Mountain , Ga

Sarge , you are never too old to go back , Just went back to France ,first time in 36 years , did not recognize anything except the names I knew . But I was more happy to come back here . If I was able to do that is because peoples like you either in Italie or France gave me the opportunity to live something different and fantastic in the USA

Catalina30 Loc: Deep South

Great plan! When in Rome be sure to go to Villa Borghese which is a park right above Piazza del Popolo. From the balcony on a clear day you can see a great view of Rome and in the background is St Peter. I should know...I was born in Rome (Romano de Roma) where I spent the first 30 years of my life. Have a great and safe trip and don't forget to post picture. Ciao.

FOTOSTAN Loc: Ca..NYC..Fla.

It.s not necessary to post a long list of cities or areas you will be visiting .. why not just post that you are visiting many cities in Italy and what do we photographers who have been there recomend you shoot.

AsiaPaul Loc: Vietnam

I lived in Rome Italy for five years when I worked at the UN. While you may want to take a lot of pictures of the main tourist sites, the more interesting and unique photos are of the neighborhoods, the markets and the people of the cities you will visit. Everyone has a picture of the Spanish Steps, the Grand Canal, etc..not everyone has a picture of _Crazy Man at Piazza Barberini or a suspected member of the mafia in Naples or Sicily. I also do not agree with tripling the amount of pictures you will take. You have to have some kind of shutter discipline.

Try to think of a theme or a project for each city. Rome is a city of scooters and graffiti; Venice a city of boats.

A presto

Rome is a city of scooters and a hectic pace.


"Crazy Man" at Piazza Barberinni

Festina Lente Loc: Florida & Missouri

OUTSTANDING ADVICE! :thumbup: :thumbup:

budrakey

I just got back from a photo workshop in Italy. We started in Florence. The Ponte Vecchio (the "old bridge) and the Duomo are major photo ops. Sunrise on the Ponte Vecchio is beautiful. We also visited a large food market (not a supermarket :-) ) and got many interesting shots; from the various food preparations (there was half a sword fish in one section) to interesting people shots. There is a large parking lot across the Arno river that overlooks the city - sorry I don't know the name of it. Shooting from there at twilight is magnificent.

We then spent several days in Tuscany visiting many of the small towns. More things to photo than I can single out. Both the towns themselves as well as the vinyards and olive groves. We even stopped to shoot in a cemetary. Get out there before sunrise and catch the sun hitting some of the towns that are built on top of the hills.

We ended up in Venice which was a huge disappointment. I was there 20 years ago and it was beautiful but now three or four cruise ships show up every day and disgorge five to ten thousand tourists (sadly, those are real numbers). Of course, to profit from the tourists the whole area is inundated with vendors selling cheap souvineers. We were out by 6:15 every morning so we could shoot before the tourists overran the city.

Burano is a treasure, so colorful. Get there early. Also Murano is quite interesting, you can get some shots of glass blowers at work.

Plan on getting up early many days both for sunrise and to avoid the tourists. Even the towns in Tuscany get filled with tourists, not as bad as Venice but it still gets crowded.

Bring plenty of memory cards, I haven't yet counted my pictures (hey, we literally just got back) but I filled six 8 gig cards and two 32 gig cards (and I do mean filled).

Watch out for stuff that they will tell you is "Made in Italy" but is actually made in China - we found that even in Murano. If the price seems "too good to be true," it probably is.

Oh, and don't forget the food and wine - oh the wine!

Have a great trip!

Jim

elise3

Very true about the products made in China. My stepsister and her husband live in a town called Prato in Tuscany. It is known for being the garment center of the area and she said it has turned into china town the past few years. In her condo they are packing multiple families into small units illegally and making knock offs of italian designs. As long as it was 'made in italy' it doesn't matter if it was made of inferior chinese materials.

But it is a beautiful country. I also thought Venice was overrated, but Tuscany was gorgeous with the olive groves and vineyards.

photonynikon Loc: upstate New York

I lived in Florence for 18 months-I went to San Gimignano to escape!

Robeng Loc: California

Hi Jim,

I'll be shooting in Italy from 10/1 to 10/18, I believe you should shoot whatever you like and delete the ones you don't like.

photonynikon Loc: upstate New York

I would suggest NOT going to the popular places, but rather searching out the local trattorie(restaurants) and finding less chronicled things than the tourist destinations..San Gimignano IS a must see though...I would Vespa there when I lived in Florence, stopping to eat grapes along the way... Say hello to my cousins!
I'm from the walled city of Pistoia, 20km west of Florence.

San Gimignano

Festina Lente Loc: Florida & Missouri

Great advice.
Just avoid the iconic tourist destinations and look where the locals visit and vacation. Just explore.
It is hard not to find beauty and fasinating things away from the hoards of often rushed and rude tourists.
We spent 4 days San Gimignano in 2010 and really loved the friendly people and laid-back way of life.

rebride

Jim S,
How was your trip? Did you go? Get any good photographs?
What advice would you give now a year later?

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

I have been there recently-- and around the time of year you are going. Don't stay behind the viewfinder. I love the openess of Italians. Stroll late at night-- they typically dine later than we do-- 9-10 is not unusual.

Get lost in Venice! The "canal mazes" are wonderful. Drink some Chianti, or red table wine. Eat some real pizza-- not that doughy crap they sell here.
Visit Pompeii, if you can. The Cinque Terra is great-- I'd spend several days there if you can. Take the local train-- or walk between the villages. Rome is great-- but crowded. The Sistine Chapel is beautiful-- but no photos allowed. IMO it's disrespectful to violate this-- but many do.

For gear, take at least ultra wide angle lens. I took two lenses: 10-20 Sigma & 16-85 zoom. I wouldn't take so much that you don't enjoy the sights, sounds, smells-- and the tastes of Italy. Oh and eat lots of Gelato! The best.

Enjoy! Ciao!