Wednesday, June 2, 2021

Jamming with the Duke

On Friday, I took the afternoon off, to do some photography in the Palazzo Ducale di Sassuolo . It was one of the Este family's palaces. They Ruled an area  of the Po valley that stretched from Ferrara down to Reggio Emilia.

Sassuolo is a sprawling, extremely ugly industrial town near Modena, and it is the heart of the Italian ceramics industry. From the outside even the palace does not give any hint of the beauty of the interiors.

I have visited and photographed this place before, but I wanted to try and perfect a technique that combines using a shift lens hand held ( photographic dogma states these lenses are to be used with the camera on a tripod).

Using the viewfinder level and surprisingly efficient IBIS in my Nikon Z7, I am starting to get some good results with this combo in places where tripods are forbidden. It cuts down on a lot of drastic keystone correction. A bit of minor correction in post, is mostly all that is needed. I also get to compose in the viewfinder, without having to think about the extra space to trim of in post when key stone correction is done with software.

I was struck by the musicians in the frescoes in the main hall striking poses more in line with Jazz  rather than the classical music of the time.

The big problem photographing monuments right now is not the crowds, but the visually intrusive anti Covid signage that has emerged everywhere.

Palazzo Ducale di Sassuolo


Palazzo Ducale di Sassuolo

Palazzo Ducale di Sassuolo

Palazzo Ducale di Sassuolo

Palazzo Ducale di Sassuolo

Palazzo Ducale di Sassuolo

Palazzo Ducale di Sassuolo

Palazzo Ducale di Sassuolo

Palazzo Ducale di Sassuolo

Palazzo Ducale di Sassuolo

Palazzo Ducale di Sassuolo

Palazzo Ducale di Sassuolo

Palazzo Ducale di Sassuolo

Palazzo Ducale di Sassuolo

Palazzo Ducale di Sassuolo


Palazzo Ducale di Sassuolo

Palazzo Ducale di Sassuolo

Palazzo Ducale di Sassuolo


Friday, February 26, 2021

Spring is Almost Here

After a work appointment, I had time to take a walk through the "Fontanili di corte Valle Re", a nature reserve near Reggio Emilia. Here a series of small lakes have formed along the spring line, where water emerges after flowing underground from the low Apennine foothills. It is one of my favourite locations when I want to photograph the Po valley plain.

Spring is just starting here with the first signs of buds and blooms.

The reserve is divided in two halves by the A1 Autostrada and the Rome to Milan high speed train line. I have  visited the Southern part for a rural walk many times. But it was the first time I had explored the slightly wilder reserve to the North. It was a nice surprise and I will be back in the future.

I just popped the 24-200 on my Nikon Z7 and went minimalist for this walk. It is nice sometimes to be unencumbered with gear and have just a camera and lens slung over my shoulder. The 24-200 gives an output that is more than good enough for this sort of situation.

Fontanili di corte Valle Re, Reggio Emilia.

Fontanili di corte Valle Re, Reggio Emilia.

Fontanili di corte Valle Re, Reggio Emilia.

Fontanili di corte Valle Re, Reggio Emilia.

Fontanili di corte Valle Re, Reggio Emilia.

Fontanili di corte Valle Re, Reggio Emilia.

Fontanili di corte Valle Re, Reggio Emilia.

Fontanili di corte Valle Re, Reggio Emilia.

Fontanili di corte Valle Re, Reggio Emilia.

Fontanili di corte Valle Re, Reggio Emilia.

Fontanili di corte Valle Re, Reggio Emilia.

Fontanili di corte Valle Re, Reggio Emilia.

Fontanili di corte Valle Re, Reggio Emilia.

Fontanili di corte Valle Re, Reggio Emilia.

Fontanili di corte Valle Re, Reggio Emilia.