It’s a frustrating and rewarding fact of life for photographers: no matter how long you study and practice, no matter how many times you upgrade to better equipment, nothing can substitute for having really great light. And for landscape photographers, great light usually depends on a combination of location, patience, and luck.
We were recently on a 12-day cruise of the Mediterranean, focussed primarily on the Greek Isles. We saw a lot of fascinating places, but unfortunately, we saw most of them under clear skies and mid-day sun, which is good for photojournalism, but doesn’t really make for the best photos. The exception was the second evening of the trip, as we sailed out of Venice at sunset to start across the Adriatic towards Croatia. For about an hour, we were treated to some of the best light I’ve had a chance to shoot in, and some really unusual views of Venice, from the vantage point of our cabin balcony as we cruised between the islands into the lagoon and then out to the open sea.
Here are just a few of my shots from that hour:
All these images are viewable in a large size by right-clicking on the image and then choosing “Open image in a new page.”
You can see some more of my images from Venice, as well as a growing set from the rest of the trip, on my Flickr page. I’m looking forward to my next happy opportunity to shoot again in such a wonderful location with such light.
Gorgeous!
Gorgeous! Love those clouds!
Thank you for sharing these wonderful skyscapes…glorious photography…must have been so good to capture evening skies over Venice.
Joyce in Northern Ireland where it is a sunny day, thankfully.
These are lovely indeed, Ray. Luck and light and fine equipment and your skill are an unbeatable combination!
Ray Ritchie-san Every images are gorgeous and especially I like the last because the tower, clouds and setting sun are beautiful. A TV news said the over-flood are invading the historical city. I hope the beautiful city could overcome it…
Thank you for the comments, Hamada-san. They have spent a great deal of money building giant sea gates between the Venetian lagoon and the open sea, so of course everyone hopes these gates will solve part of the flooding problem once they are in operation. But I think Venice has been sinking for hundreds of years now, so maybe they can only slow down the process at best. It is a beautiful city – we’ve seen it twice now, and I’d still go back if I had the opportunity.