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.

Madonna Del Carmine Statue, Bologna

Madonna Del Carmine Statue, Bologna, originally uploaded by flatworldsedge.

Andrea Ferreri's statue of the Madonna Del Carmine which stands atop a pillar in Bologna's Piazza San Martino. This is late afternoon with a cloudless blue sky, shot through a lovely second-hand Hoya circular polarising filter. This was my first trip with a CPL following a couple of years refusing to buy one for this 62mm filter size lens. A great investment which I should have made sooner.

The statue and subject has a pretty interesting background, even for an atheist like me. Regardless of belief, the work, its context and the story behind it is worth a look if you enjoy getting under the surface of such things. More information here.

See Madonna Del Carmine Statue, Bologna on Flickr.