Moisturise Daily (Statue Outside Palladio's Teatro Olimpico), Vicenza

Moisturise Daily (Statue Outside Palladio's Teatro Olimpico), Vicenza, originally uploaded by flatworldsedge.

This is what happens if you don't cow before the cult of pseudo-science and marketing excess that is the cosmetics industry. That said, assuming she's been at the Teatro Olimpico since it was finished in 1585, she's probably weathered better than many of us would.

On an only tenuously related note, I once did some work with a cosmetics company buying in generic moisturiser from China and adding their own labels. All material and transport costs included it ended up on the shelf at a cost just over 56p, sold at £62.50 - 125 times cost. Ever since I have viewed all such potions with great suspicion.

Hope everyone's having a fantastic start to the weekend!

From Wikipedia: The Teatro Olimpico ("Olympic Theatre") is a theatre in Vicenza, northern Italy: constructed in 1580-1585, it is the oldest surviving enclosed theatre in the world. The theatre was the final design by the Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, Renaissance, and was not completed until after his death. The trompe-l'œil onstage scenery, designed by Vincenzo Scamozzi, to give the appearance of long streets receding to a distant horizon, was installed in 1585 for the very first performance held in the theatre, and is the oldest surviving stage set still in existence.

The Teatro Olimpico is, along with the Teatro all'antica in Sabbioneta and the Teatro Farnese in Parma, one of only three Renaissance theatres remaining in existence. Both these theatres were based, in large measure, on the Teatro Olimpico.

Since 1994, the Teatro Olimpico, together with other Palladian buildings in and around Vicenza, has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto".

Also hosted on my black and white photography blog.

Black & White Version of Japanese Tourist (Suzuki & Arcades Panning Blur), Bologna

Fino A Domani, Venice

Fino A Domani, Venice, originally uploaded by flatworldsedge.

If you are feeling indulgent, please do view on black by hitting "L"! Definitely better in this case.

One more from our first night in Venice, back in October. Heavy rain and low light, combined with the wayward AF of the Canon 50mm f/1.8. This was shot on my old 300D, which kind of lost the plot around ISO 800. At the time, with rain, spray and mist coating the camera and lens, both plastic, neither waterproof, and with soaking wet feet, I viewed the whole evening pretty much as a write off. In fact. they're some of my favourite images from the holiday (previous posting linked in the comments).

As regards the name, I'm hoping the Flickr community can help by sourcing someone who speaks Japanese and Italian better than I. I wanted to call this one 明日があるさ, but this seemed the linguistic equivalent of mixed metaphors.

When I lived in Hiroshima I was told 明日があるさ (ashita ga aru sa) was an ancient expression meantime, "there's always tomorrow". In hunting down the script for this, I find it's the name of a semi-comical pop song. If any one could tell me whether my Japanese friends were having fun with me, or whether the expression came before the song, I would be extremely grateful and interested to know.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

See Fino A Domani, Venice on Flickr for additional comments and notes.

Turbo Charged, Brighton Pier

Turbo Charged, Brighton Pier, originally uploaded by flatworldsedge.

One from the weekend and first sign of spring. Shot into the sun at 1/5000, it was practically mono SOOC, but I did the conversion to deal with some flare. Otherwise pretty much untouched. I even left the lens distortion/vignette uncorrected.

Not been on much this week, as I am painting a nursery ahead of expected arrival. It's all mountainscapes, jungle, savannah, ice bergs and other such extravagances. Cut out animals can then be placed amidst the various ecosystems. Will post a pic once it is done.

Hope everyone is well and enjoying the run in to the weekend.

See Turbo Charged, Brighton Pier on Flickr for additional notes and comments.

Rendevouz, Bologna

Rendevouz, Bologna, originally uploaded by flatworldsedge.

Just chanced upon this one the other day, a candid from Bologna back in September. I'd had it in colour for the traditional Italian stone and a deep blue sky, but it seemed a little ordinary. In the potentially mistaken, but increasing, belief that all candids look better in black and white I did the conversion and think I like it.

I confess to being one of the sly street photographers who, rather than facing people down like an impromptu one man shooting squad, conceals his intent by pretending to photograph some thing like the fountain to the left of this frame.

Still catching up - some awesome shots posted by everyone since I was last granted access by my wretched, soon to be changed broadband supplier. Hope you're all having a great end to the week and looking forward to some good days to come.

See Rendevouz, Bologna on Flickr for additional notes and comments.

Black & White Version of Stepwise Regression (Great Court British Museum), London

Only Connect (Spanish Steps Candid), Rome [Film Scan]

Only Connect (Spanish Steps Candid), Rome [Film Scan], originally uploaded by flatworldsedge.

Another of the decade old film scans, and one which I really like despite numerous flaws and compositional chaos. There are so many elements and stray people that I would now days delete it for, but I find it carries a certain charisma.

To me, at least, it has the impression of a "join the dots" puzzle with the numbers deleted. So many of the odd elements seem to be interacting, although the why and how are somehow missing. I enjoy the way the scale seems wrong too, especially the girl, the Mercedes and the couple between them. The father's missing head and mother's turned back appear somehow meaningful too. There are just two elements I actively dislike, indicated by notes above.

Perhaps it's just nostalgia or an overlooking of fact, but imperfect or otherwise I really like it and hope you can forgive its flaws and enjoy it too! If not, no offense taken! Hope you're all well and enjoying the week.

See Only Connect (Spanish Steps Candid), Rome [Film Scan] on Flickr for additional notes and comments.

Beyond (World Trade Center), NYC [Film Scan]

Beyond (World Trade Center), NYC [Film Scan], originally uploaded by flatworldsedge.

One of my first SLR shots, taken in NYC a decade ago. The visit was a 21st Birthday celebration, alongside the gift of the camera itself. This is another scan of an original film image, EXIF data added, but no edits to the noise, scratches, etc. The trip was my compelling first connection to NYC; a city I got to return to a lot whilst studying more recently upstate. It was marked by the drifting mist and cloud in evidence in this view, which, neither undermined my engagement with the city itself nor, especially looking at this image in the years since 911, detracts from the impression it creates.

I would suggest viewing on black, despite the grain.

[From here on, I'm afraid things become a little reflective and over-wrought. It's not intended to offend, and no offence would be taken if you choose to skip it entirely.]

Having worked and studied overseas and in upstate NY, I've obviously made friends with a lot of people with far more intimate and emotional connections to 911 than I have myself. Not wanting to intrude upon or distract those far more powerful accounts, I still thought I might briefly commit some of my rememberings to this posting by way of commemoration and perspective.

On the day itself, we were living in Chipas, Mexico. In terms of timezones, this meant as we awoke the first tower was already on the news. Events unfolded as an American friend and I prepared for a morning volunteering (as English teachers) at the local orphanage. We had to leave for our teaching during the collapse. At the orphanage the kids would ask questions to get to know us, natural to them given their context, but strange to us, like; "Do you have a father/mother?" My friend's father was flying that morning, and he had been unable to contact him before we left, which gave a surreal, uneasy, yet somewhat epiphanic, edge to the morning.

Meanwhile, the close friend of another teacher in our group, was working in an upper level of the second tower. She had been unable to contact her. Understandably perhaps, to avoid panic and potential injury, after the first impact, she later found out that those working in the second had been told to remain at their desks. Her friend left her desk regardless, and, though she was still inside the tower when the second aircraft hit, she was now below the impact zone and thereby survived.

In terms of commemoration, I'd like to suggest, timidly, that one of the greatest tragedies of the day is not the tragedy of opposition - the battle between A vs B, whatever you label A or B, whichever side you take. Given subsequent conflict, right or wrong, that is how this event is often framed by the media. Rather I see it as a tragedy of those who have a side, and those who don't even know there was a battle. However the perpetrators are cast - be in political, religious, non-US extremist or US conspirator - clearly their paradigm was built on an underlying assumption of a conflict, which the victims were unaware of. If we disagree and together decide to fight one another, that is one thing. If we disagree, and I accept or am unaware of our differing thoughts, and yet you strike me down regardless, that is another, to my mind, greater tragedy.

I do hope these notes don't trivialise the event or offend anyone. It's just a record of a couple of stories and the musings that flowed from them. It's not meant as anything more. One thing my scanning of these old film prints has reminded me of is the power of a photograph to commemorate meaning over time. Flickr is chiefly a celebration of the present; of the frenetic energy of now and today. Perhaps one aspect of photography it overlooks is the longer term view. It's the difference between seeing the noise of everything, and stripping that noise away to leave the transcendent moment alone. Both interesting angles, but the latter inevitably absent from this medium, perhaps.

So that's probably quite enough introspection and philosophical declamation for the next few months. I hope you're all very well and have survived my ramble if you were generous enough to follow it. Have a superb week all.

See Beyond (World Trade Center), NYC [Film Scan] on Flickr for additional notes.

Skeleton Coast, Rye Harbour

Skeleton Coast, Rye Harbour, originally uploaded by flatworldsedge.

Foggy late afternoon at Rye Harbour. This is 444 second exposure (f/8.0 ¦ ISO 200) through a 9 stop ND filter. In response to enquiry in the comments, I use the "Lightcraftworkshop LCW ND500 MC filter 77mm" which works well. It does give images a bluish cast, which I correct in LR3, but was screw in - my main consideration to keep my kit bag light.

Probably best viewed on black - which brings out enough detail to see the soft grain in the wood of the posts. The large mass on the righthand vertical third is a tangled collection of discarded ropes and fishing nets. It's my second posted shot with the 9 stop filter. So far I'm pretty happy with it, though am yet to get a result that works in colour.

Hope everyone had an epic Christmas and is looking forward to a great New Year.

See Skeleton Coast, Rye Harbour on Flickr for extra notes.

Beware Of Dog (Leeds Castle Door Detail), Kent

Beware Of Dog (Leeds Castle Door Detail), Kent, originally uploaded by flatworldsedge.

Quick shot from last week's bleak visit to Leeds Castle. Hope everyone is having a superb week.

See Beware Of Dog (Leeds Castle Door Detail), Kent on Flickr.

Man Made Cascade, Virginia Water

Man Made Cascade, Virginia Water, originally uploaded by flatworldsedge.

Thanks for all the kind recent comments, combined with a busy week I'm afraid I've fallen behind with a few contacts streams. Apologies - bit by bit I'm catching up and will have a clear run at it tomorrow night. I'm really looking forward to seeing everything, as it has been a few days in some cases.

This is just a quick posting from a walk around Virginia Water in Surrey. The waterfall looked man made, and Wikipedia has kindly confirmed that it is. Indeed, it is the work of one Thomas Sandby. I took a few 200-300 second exposures using a newly acquired 9-stop ND filter, but the best of the bunch was this 13 second effort. I was after the trails in the lower section of water, and they are much more distinct here.

Further to some comments about Harry Potter to www.flickr.com/photos/flatworldsedge/5233410987/, the friends with whom we were walking today have explained their relevance. I'm not a huge Harry Potter fan, thus was unaware of the connection, but have duly tagged that image "Patronus" by way of homage.

Coincidentally, I see some of the outdoor scenes from the HP movies were filmed by Virginia Water. So there we go. Have a good one.

See Man Made Cascade, Virginia Water on Flickr.

Coldfrontation (Bury Lake), Rickmansworth

Coldfrontation (Bury Lake), Rickmansworth, originally uploaded by flatworldsedge.

If you are looking at this photo, thank you! I know the thumbnail, which clips the geese, looks about as banal and flat as a pebble dash conference in Scunthorpe. So thank you for clicking through regardless.

Please do view on black!

Quick shot from this morning's wander in the snow and ice. A very foggy morning, so it's taken with the old 18-200mm Sigma lens - fortunately the misty atmosphere meant nothing doesn't resent it's softness! All ice in this shot, with a thin sheen of water which, in the stillness of the fog, created some lovely reflections.

For those few interested, the boat house is indeed the same one as in www.flickr.com/photos/flatworldsedge/5184896770/, shown from the other side this time.

Hope you're all having a great weekend.

See Coldfrontation (Bury Lake), Rickmansworth on Flickr.

Generations (Naschmarkt), Vienna

Generations (Naschmarkt), Vienna, originally uploaded by flatworldsedge.

Candid shot from this weekend's trip to Vienna and Bratislava. I saw a family of honey sellers at their stall, the elder of them in fierce technical debate with a customer, with the younger dreamily surveying their wares. I got lucky shooting through the shifting crowds of umbrellas and shoulders. I guess from seeing it to shooting it was all in a second. Usually I dither and frame too much and these opportunities escape me, so I'm very happy to have seized the moment.

It's a night shot, but almost overexposed as I'd been set up (ISO 800, AV-mode @ f/4.5, IS) for shooting in the shadows and the stall was brightly lit with tungsten bulbs. In the end, I'm delighted with the sharpness that's allowed - especially in the older man's face and hair. The bokeh from the wide aperture and blurred of the younger, mirroring figure are a super bonus.

Other than converting to black and white I've tweaked the clarity up slightly and cropped out a little unbalancing bokeh, perhaps a half inch, from the left.

Hope everyone is well and having a great start to the week.

See Generations (Naschmarkt), Vienna on Flickr.

Going Nowhere Fast (Unhappy Couple On Scooter), Bologna

Going Nowhere Fast (Unhappy Couple On Scooter), Bologna, originally uploaded by flatworldsedge.

I think this one makes a nice juxtaposition to my significantly happier couple on a scooter, shot half an hour earlier; www.flickr.com/photos/flatworldsedge/4986711850/in/photos.... I was going to post it flipped horizontally in collision course with that image, but the "Liberty" text on the scooter was too neat to wreck for so minor a thing a consideration.

There's no small amount of supposition in my titling and tagging of this one. If you're one of the riders and you'd like to set the record straight, so to speak, please drop me a note. The expressions are so comically miserable, though, I can only think this follows some epic argument.

See Going Nowhere Fast (Unhappy Couple On Scooter), Bologna
on Flickr.

Not Interested (Italian Waiters), Venice

Not Interested (Italian Waiters), Venice, originally uploaded by flatworldsedge.

I don't usually like posting two shots of a series, but I simply couldn't choose between this one and www.flickr.com/photos/flatworldsedge/5206698402/in/photos.... This one offers the better composition and fewer distractions in the background, but it's a shame you can't see the expression on the chap holding forth to the right.

This is another candid which owes its existence to Blackfoot Scout, my glamorous assistant, who posed in front of these guys so I could shoot them candid over here shoulder. I've found setting the AF to the left or right most point helps - you can focus and get a light reading from the subject whilst pointing at your accomplice, so that when you swing the camera onto your subject you can shoot instantly rather than risk alerting them to your presence.

Hope everyone's having a great week.

See Not Interested (Italian Waiters), Venice on Flickr.

Priced Out Of Lingerie, Milan

Priced Out Of Lingerie, Milan, originally uploaded by flatworldsedge.

Female version of my compulsory fashion pictures from Milan. The chap's version is www.flickr.com/photos/flatworldsedge/49946703.

Lightroom 3 was used for the switch to black and white, and Photoshop may have been employed to make a thematic enhancement to the price tags. As you might expect, this one looks classiest on black background. If I were trying to justify the luxurious price, that is certainly how I'd pitch it.

See Priced Out Of Lingerie, Milan on Flickr.

Venetian Noir, Venice

Venetian Noir, Venice, originally uploaded by flatworldsedge.

Candid night shot from our first evening in Venice. I held off processing the first set of shots for a while as the Canon 50mm f/1.8's AF had been woeful in the rainy darkness and at ISO 800 the noise on the old 300D is pretty significant.

However, converting to black and white the noise comes across as an old film grain and the soft focus perhaps adds to the mood in this case. Hope everyone's having a great start to the week.

See Venetian Noir, Venice on Flickr.

In Bocca Al Lupo, Rome

In Bocca Al Lupo, Rome, originally uploaded by flatworldsedge.

First off and most importantly; "Crepi".

This is some very dignified Roman street furniture, depicting the city's patron beast. The background bokeh is the same car as used in Painting By Numbers, Rome - in fact it was whilst taking this shot that I noticed the reflection.

In retrospect I was a bit distracted having seen the next shot, and so this one is probably not perfect. Particularly I'd have gone for a slightly wider DOF to sharpen up the wolf's nose.

Thanks for everyone's recent comments - hope you are well and enjoying a wonderful week.

Update: Explored #292. Many thanks to everyone who has commented, fav'ed and viewed. I massively appreciate the attention and insights offered. Thanks to all! Really pleased the vintage feel came off and people generally enjoyed it.

See In Bocca Al Lupo, Rome on Flickr.

World's Edge (Old Harry Rocks), Dorset

World's Edge (Old Harry Rocks), Dorset, originally uploaded by flatworldsedge.

So first of all, I promise not to mention UWA lenses in this one. Other than to say this is taken from a razor thin prominence and it would have been lovely to get more of the sea in. The landscape version pushes the sea to the point it flares - a very nice effect. Sacrificing the bottom of the cliffs though, was too great a price to pay.

This is taken at the Isle of Purbeck's superb Old Harry Rocks; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Harry_Rocks.

Fortunately it's another easy one to get back to post-Xmas armed with a non-crop body to go for the wider angle. I reckon I'll try this again pre-dawn for a cool self portrait shot. For now, the figure in the frame is a kind passerby who agreed to take 30 seconds out of her afternoon to go and stand where directed. People prove very agreeable if you ask politely, which is a nice surprise.

See World's Edge (Old Harry Rocks), Dorset on Flickr.

Quayside Spray & Gondolas, Venice

Quayside Spray & Gondolas, Venice, originally uploaded by flatworldsedge.

First picture to be processed on my return from Venice. Lots of these shots - mostly at a much higher tide with waves sweeping in at my feet. I'd imagine more will make it online in due course. This one got the nod for first posting as I liked the lighting and reflection best.

It's the view out from just along from St Marks towards Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore, on which sits a church of the same name which is often mistaken for the main Campanile tower on St Mark's square itself.

This image is actually a composite of two - one lefthand, one righthand, manually blended in Photoshop 7.0 along the dividing line/pole noted above. The mix of spray and boat positions, combined with the lack of viewfinder, made it a little hard to ensure the gondolas' fantastic prows did not overlap with the poles. The "bulge" shown in the note above is unfortunate as it implies lax PS work - in fact it is forcola used to hold the oar, so the gap is quite natural!

Hope everyone is fantastically well and enjoying the week.

See Quayside Spray & Gondolas, Venice on Flickr.