Venezia 2002

I was not aware that I had taken this photograph, so, when I

developed the film, I had a nice surprise. It took a lot of effort to

print it, because the density range of the negative is far more than

any paper can take. I hope it was worth the trouble. I thought,

sadly, that it would be the very last roll of Tri-X that I would

shoot. I used to buy it by the mile, and that roll was the last yard

of the last mile. To my mind, the modern black and white films are

all very well, but they do not deliver the distinctive punchy

snappiness of the classic photojournalists' film. I now find that

Kodak are still making it. It is difficult to get, but I now have

some more.

The composition is hugely original; it breaks all the rules and works superbly. The timing is perfect and the print quality is excellent.

More please!

Bravo!

Maybe better definition for the water, but could be my monitor.

Very pleasing. A study in contrasts. High/Low, Up/Down, Light/Dark, Still/Moving. It almost feels like an Escher drawing.

 

The only thing I'm not sure that I like is the soft boatman. Yes, he provides a sense of motion but only his upper body is very soft and that is a bit distracting to me.

Another splendid Venetian view. Great compostion, lighting and tonal control. I agree it would have been nice to see the gondolier sharp. I also think it's a shame he's not wearing traditional clothes - it would have given the image a more timeless quality, but then you can't have everything. And you're right about Kodak Tri-X, it's one of the best films you can buy. (Digital users don't know what they're missing!)

Molto originale

This works on many different levels. Lots of places to look, but the don't compete with each other. I imagine that this was incredibly difficult to print, but you have done a commendable job with it. I agree about the clothing, but alas, thats what he was wearing.

 

Does nobody prefer Agfa to Kodak but me?

Great Picture. And long live Tri-X, the electric guitar of photography.

Antonio,

This was well worth all your effort printing! I love it. My favorite from this folder, thank you.

Good photo, Antonio, of an interesting scene. Your folder is becoming more and more interesting. What happened all those negatives by the mile? :-) Keep them all coming. Looking forward to seeing more of your work, especially like the ones from 'caroline' time frame.

Very good shot!!

Nice composition

sweeeeet! everything right where it should be. i guess if i had to be picky, i'd like to see the man burned in a little bit so he stood out from the wall a little more. cheers

I'm waiting for him to bump his head. :-)

I like! I would hang this on my wall! I love the different angles that the two perspectives give! I love the hunch of the gondolier! wow!

Nicely Escher-esque, with "windows" into the worlds of stone and water.

Wonderful! I love these images that remind me I'm still a child, also...

It would be great in a FB print !

Understandably you needed to use a slow shutter speed to get a good depth of field, and therefore the gondolier is unfortunately blurred. this image also does a good job of showing both the "surface world" and the "underworld"

great image.

Antonio, I really like this photo. Even if I have not practice at all in developing and printing my negatives I can feel your efforts on balancing tones, lights and shadows: the results are great! Despite of the blurred man on the gondola (it bothers me, but I guess that was not expected to figure in the photo) I find the image very carefully constructed and realized. Nevertheless the man is became the center of the photo, that human element that adds something concret to images, caught here in the "decisive moment". Well done.

The background to this is that, years ago, I said to my wife (girlfriend then), that I would take her to Venice. She reminded me of that promise when we had been married for 25 years, so we went. I was only intending to take a cheap APS camera, but then I reasoned that, bearing in mind that the trip was not low budget, I really ought to take a couple of Nikons, and a few lenses. I am glad that I did. The camera I used probably dates from the early 70s, and I bought the lens at the end of the 60s, second hand. The Tri-X that I took with me was probably about 20 years old.

 

I also carry a Weston Master V if I can. Don McCullin, the famous war photographer, always had a light meter with him. He reasoned that, if you are going to have your head blown off taking a photograph in a battle field, you owe it to your editor to get your very last frame properly exposed.

 

In this location, the arches were very dark, and I think that the exposure I selected was about 1/15s at f/5.6. I had no tripod, nor a monopod, so I had to brace myself. I was trying to capture an image that broke all the rules of composition. I was only vaguely aware of the gondola, outside the image that I was seeing through the viewfinder. Somehow, that old Nikon decided to fire her shutter by herself.

 

When we got home I developed the film in Microphen, giving it a bit of a push. I was quite astounded to see this image, because I never remembered shooting it.

 

Look at the image closely. You will see that the gondola is stationary, but you can just make out its wake, so it was moving a fraction of a second before. What I think is that the gondolier had just finished his stroke, and was moving forwards. That would explain why he was moving fast, and the gondola had stopped momentarily.

 

Printing the negative was very difficult: the bridge was in bright sunlight, which should have had an exposure of 1/500s at f/11. I make it that the steps were about seven stops overexposed. When I have time, I will get the negative out, and see if I can do better.

 

Personally, I think that this is the best photograph that I have ever shot especially since it was not deliberate. It is said that the photographic genius HCB could always fire his shutter at the decisive moment, and was so lucky. I think that he always had his own cloud of luck, as I had that one day in Venice.

 

Whereas, Andrea, you say (thanks) that the image was very carefully constructed and realized, it was a totally unconscious snatch shot. Eventually, I will perfect the technique of cultivating my own cloud of luck I started taking photographs in 1949 (when I was 5), so I have some time yet.

 

PS your images are very tasty as well.

I like the picture and the story behind its creation. Both arouse genuine feelings and thoughts about things above and beyond our control.