Toad's Italy: La Dona

[Toad]

Leica M9 / 50mm Leica Summicron-M, ISO 1600, F16, 1/90 sec

I was not always as you see me now. Once the beloved consort of a wealthy nobleman, I was his constant companion. Draped in the finest silks and twinkling with gold, I attended every affair – a respected and admired member of society. Uniformed servants would rush to greet me when I arrived, and Persons of Quality aspired to spend time in my company. Every fine hotel and palazzo was quick to welcome me should I choose to grace them with my presence.

But times change. My nobleman died as did many of his kind. A new class of merchants rose to fill the void – and their ways were different from the grand lifestyle to which I had become accustomed. Their tastes in companions changed as well, and I found myself increasingly in the company of younger, sleeker, more modern versions of myself. I found that I had become an anachronism – a fading reflection of more elegant times.


Leica M9 / 50mm Leica Summicron-M, ISO 160, F4.8, 1/180 sec

Gone are the countless golden days of drifting lazily on the silent waterways with my nobleman at my side. More and more, I find myself in the company of travelers (the locals having long since abandoned me in favor of their younger companions) in line with the other aging courtesans in Piazza San Marco, each of us vying to spend a stolen hour with a generous stranger.


Leica M9 / 28mm Leica Elmarit-M ASPH, ISO 160, F19, 1/125 sec

But spare me your pity – I neither need it nor want it. Let the merchants spend time with their young and foolish companions. Long after their youth has faded, I will still be beautiful, and my admirers will still come from all over the world to spend an hour in my company. I may be a vestige of days long past, but I will go through life with my head held high, and by God, I will do it with style.


Leica M9 / 50mm Leica Summicron-M, ISO 1600, F16, 1/60 sec

[nia]

WOW! These are amazing. You captured such a beautiful views of Italy... These are very typical images... I loved especially the first one with the red masts and yes the last one with the straw hat!

Thank you dear Robert,
with my love,
nia

[matthew]

Great story. The first and third is what I want Venice to look like, but I suspect that it rarely (if ever) does. And the final one is brilliant. It took me a few moments to decipher what I was looking at, but the reds and black are perfectly set off by the hat.

[Toad]

Thanks nia and Matt. It was fun to shoot and fun to write.

[Zig]

I find Venice the oddest place and have no idea of what a representative image might be: time and distance seem purposefully to reflect its enigmatic character, with its labyrinthine and corkscrewed walks that entice one into getting lost; even the house numbers are indecipherably illogical. For sure, many vistas the tourist sees are the same ones seen 500 years ago, though I wonder if the smell has improved since then. I found it inscrutable, without substance and quite understand that Freud(or was it Jung?) found it a terrifyingly disturbing place. There was an edict in 1526 that limited the number of gondolas(might be to 400) as there were thousands of the pesky things beforehand...and that edict has stood ever since.
I'm thus quite puzzled by my own response to your shots, as my first reaction was that this was not the Venice I saw...but yet again, that would be the point, I guess! They're a little over-aggresively sharpened to me...but they all reflect(for me) the surface of Venice: and if Venice has anything in spades, it is its surface.
The last one has poise and balance, as does the second...I hope I'm not being too meagre here, as I find the way you're presenting Toad's Italy quite fascinating.

[Irma]

I love this post... The writing is so beautiful and your pictures as well...

I admire in this one the way you approach the topic in your pictures from so many different points of view... I really don't know if I explained it well... The first one is beautiful... it shows so much of the city... makes me think how it would be like to live in that street, in one of those houses.

The second one is great! I like very much to see so many contrast in textures. The reflection contrast beautifully with the smooth surface of the gondola, I like the balance.

#3 I like very much the way you used the lines in this composition... Interesting and inviting overview of the city.

I like very much the way you design this one. I see great work with shapes and use of lines. That diagonal works perfect in the way you placed it... Very limited color palette but so powerful!!... you are showing off here your good eye....

Thanks Toad for sharing ...

[Toad]

Irma Wrote:I love this post... The writing is so beautiful and your pictures as well...

Thanks you very much, Irma. I really focused on the writing in this one and tried to craft a *real* story. I am very happy that you enjoyed it.

[Toad]

Zig Wrote:I'm thus quite puzzled by my own response to your shots, as my first reaction was that this was not the Venice I saw...but yet again, that would be the point, I guess!

Yes - I would agree with that. Would be a bit dull if we all saw everything exactly the same way, yes?

Zig Wrote:They're a little over-aggresively sharpened to me...

I would definitely agree that #4 is over processed. When I look back at the original, it is superior. In an attempt to bring out a little texture detail in the hat, I'm afraid that I overdid it in the photo at large. I believe I knew that at the time, and like your slightly tilty windmill - opted not to correct it. I'm sorry now that I didn't.

#1 isn't sharpened much at all - but it does have fairly significant grain - I deliberately pushed the ISO hard in broad daylight to see if I could get that grainy effect that would say "the past". I think it actually worked pretty much as I envisioned it behind the lens.

I actually reduced sharpening in #2 with a diffusion filter to give it a more dreamy effect - but the diffusion messed with the edges a bit and that may be what you are seeing there.

Now #3 is certainly sharpened significantly and has several other edge-related effects added as well. The idea here was to give it a crisp sharpness that would reflect a metal engraving, woodcut, or a pen and ink etching from a bookplate of the period. Other processing on that one included reversing the red and blue channels to distort the overall color and then selectively reversing some areas of the photo back again. This was done in an attempt to bring about a dreamy historical sort of effect. Its similar to what I did in black and white to the first photo in this thread. I'm personally happy that both photos hit exactly the mark I was envisioning for them - but its a pity if that comes off as over-sharpening.

Zig Wrote:I find the way you're presenting Toad's Italy quite fascinating.

Thanks very much, Zig.