I wrap up my new Market/Wheels images today with a giveaway! This is my biggest giveaway yet and I’m excited to share it with you. Celebrating the new images in this series the last week has been great fun! It has reminded me that I learn from working with my images, regardless of whether they are newly captured or from my archive.
Today’s image was found in the back alleys of Venice, where I loved to wander. It is another reminder that the work of getting the market wares to the populace of Venice is quite great. First on water, then on wheels. And not just any route! If you’ve been to Venice you know there are a great number of bridges with steps, so the route for wheels must be carefully chosen. Who wouldn’t maximize the amount carried in one trip? This cart, stacked high with crates, is a perfect example.
Before launching into the giveaway information, I want to invite you to come visit me elsewhere today! I’m guest posting on Caryn Gillen‘s site, with a photographer’s view on Enjoying Food Memories. I’ve mentioned a bit about my journey with Intuitive Eating, and Caryn has been a fantastic guide. This work has really clicked for me, and I’m excited to share my thoughts on her site today. Good timing too – with all of the yummy market food that’s been showing up here in the last week!
The Giveaway
Let’s get to the details of the giveaway, shall we? I’ll be giving away matted print of choice from my RedBubble shop to the winner. The prints are 8x12in matted to 16x20in and they are beautiful! This image shows a couple of examples, which are now framed and hanging on the wall of my home:
Greeted Cards and Matted Prints from RedBubble
Are you excited? Cool! Since there is no such thing as a free lunch – I need something from you too. Here’s what you need to do to enter:
1. Visit my updated Market/Wheels Portfolio and look through all the images. (Click on any thumbnail in the portfolio and you can scroll through full-size images.)
2. Come back to this post and leave a comment telling me which are your favorite images and why. Choose one or two or three, the number doesn’t matter. I’m interested in your feedback on any number of images – but only in one comment/entry per person please!
3. Leave your comment by the end of the day on Monday, 13 February. I’ll randomly draw from the entries on Tuesday, 14 February and contact you for your selection and mailing address.
A little bonus for you too – RedBubble has a sale going on through 15 February. Use the code cards143 at checkout and get 10% off all Greeting Cards and Postcards. Yay! I’ll have the full Market/Wheels series added to the shop over the weekend, so it’s a great time to stock up.
How “Market/Wheels” Came About
I’ve gotten a few questions about the series and how I process it over the last week. To finish up today I thought I would share how this series evolved and the creative choices I’ve made throughout.
The first image in the series, Where Fiats Retire, was captured and processed in December 2010. I chose the processing to create a vintage feel. I wanted to highlight the classic Fiat and make the image more timeless. You can read about the processing in this post.
In February 2011, I found two more images which some common elements after a trip to Parma, Classic Italian Transport and Offerta, and the series was born. Follow the links to read about the discovery of the series and more about the processing. From that time on, I’ve looked for opportunities to add to the series. I also knew early on that there were more images in my archive, and I would need to go back some day to find them.
As this series evolved, I had to become clear about what is and is not included. Since I named it Market/Wheels, it had to have an element of both. For the “Market” piece, I require some obvious element related to a market, which could be permanent, temporary, food, other wares, crates or carts. For the “Wheels” piece, I require some obvious element of wheels – used by the vendor or customer and in some close interaction with the market. This seems obvious when you look at the series, but it wouldn’t be if I hadn’t made careful choices. There are a number of interesting images in my archive that almost make it, and I’ve chosen not to include them in order to remain true to the series.
Another decision to create a stronger series was to continue with the vintage processing that started in the early images. I liked how this processing created a timeless feel, and supports the premise that markets and wheels are a combination that cross time and culture. It helps to pull the series together, especially as I add new images from the US to those I’ve already captured in Europe.
There are more Market/Wheels photographs waiting for me in the future, I know it. I look forward to seeking out new images around the US to complement and build the connection to those from Europe. Of all of the personal photographic projects I’ve undertaken, this one is closest to my heart. This is the series that tells me we are all the same, regardless of where we live. It has helped me with my emotional transition between Italy and the US, and has helped me grow as an artist.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at the Market/Wheels series over the last week! I’ve truly enjoyed the opportunity to share it with you.
I love this collection! but just to mention three I would choose ‘Where Fiats Retire’ because of it’s nostalgic touch. also ‘Creperie’ because is so romantic and unique. and ‘From Water to Wheels’ because of the mosaic of colors on the houses, that give such a happy touch to the picture.
I’m doing ‘Find Your Eye’ right now and I find remarkable how methodic one can be with their own photographs. I’m learning a lot and each of your collections is an amazing example of the pleasure and the study you put into your work. congratulations, dear Kat.
Hi Kat, I love them all because they are so Italian and Italy was the most wonderful experience I have ever had. Wish I could go back. I picked 4 favorites though. They all remind me of my trip to Venice. Wish I had seen more of the country but someday I will go back.
Merchant of Venice#3
Mobile Display #1
Offerta#4
Water to Wheels#2
I love From Water to Wheels because it is so Venetian, but features the oh-so-American watermelon. The colors are great and I love the curve of houses down the canal.
I am also a sucker for any of the images featuring red bikes: Milan Market, Offerta, Transaction, and A Bite or a Bike. Who can resist a classic red bike? Not I, my friend; not I!
Hi Kat
I like them all but there is one that I really really love and it’s #17 Bike or Bite:
I really like the leading line starting in the lower right hand corner with the curve of the footpath leading my eye up the photograph to where that other bike is leaning against the wall. Then my eye finally rests on the left hand side where the front wheel of the bike is leaning against that post. I just love the composition 🙂
Kat,
I love this entire collection. I do have two favorites. First I like Offerta. It just seems like “life captured” in Parma. The classic old bike next to the market. I imagine it being either a customers or even the person selling the fruit.
The second shot I love is Mobile Display. I love the dark and light parts of the photo, and the strong colors of the fruits and veggies in the wooden basket on the bike. Again, the classic old bike is so charming, and the haphazard stacking of the baskets and boxes to the right of the photo makes it so interesting. Love them all, but these are my two faves.
My two favorite images from the series are From Water to Wheels and Merchant of Venice. In the first, I like the way the canal and sidewalk lead my eye all the way to the back of the image, and I love those houses all in a row, each so simple and so similar, but their different colors revealing a bit of their owners’ self expression. The second one I commented on the other day – there’s just something dark and mysterious about that one that appeals to me. But I had a revelation when viewing it in your portfolio – I never saw the figure in the photo just now!
Thanks for explaining about your processing. I agree that it gives these images a cohesive and timeless aura. It suits the collection well.
I meant to say, I never saw the figure UNTIL just now.
I really like Back Alley Bologna. Your perspective shows dimension in how the canal and buildings curve. I like the colors in the buildings and how the sky is reflected in the water. Even though there was activity going on, I felt a sense of quietness to the scene.
this is such a beautiful collection kat, it’s hard to pick favorites. i love “classic italian transport” my eye immediately notices how the colors of the bike perfectly matches that of the wall in the background and i love it!
i also like “mobile display”–such perfect composition. i love how you chose to only show the back wheel of the bike, and how the fruits in the basket on the bike are like an extension of the baskets hanging on the wall. it all flows together so beautifully.
My most favorite is “From Water to Wheels.” First, it truly sums up your whole theme. In particular I love the color of the melons and the green of the one building giving it a real punch! My second favorite is “Mobile Display.” It’s the angles and perspective of the boxes and the basket and then that cute little holder of the veggies on the bike. This particular one just brings me in as soon as I look at it. Thanks for sharing such a great series and can’t wait to see some of the ones you come up from the U.S. that will blend with these!
Hi Kat!
It is a lovely series. Can imagine it is hard to choose only 8 for the exhibition.
My favorites are Classic Italian transport. It feels peaceful. Maybe it is matching red wall that gives it peace. Another favorite is Mobile display. Also because it shows peaceful abandonment. Where Fiats retire I love because it shows so beautifully how Italians park their cars. It makes me smile in a way only people who love tiny cars in big cities can. (I had a Cuore for many years :-D). And the last favorite is the Creperie.
What I like about all four is what I mentioned with the first one. Has nothing to do with markets. The simplicity and peace is touching. And with all four it’s like the driver jumped of and run into a coffeebar for a quick espresso.
xoxoxo
Kat, I love them all!!! What a wonderful collection. Perfect as a series but easily separated for each gem to shine on its own. But I have to say that Back Alley Bologna & Milan Market hold soft spots in my heart as they are two of the Italian cities that I have most frequented.
Well my favorites are waiting for a sale I love the old man in it. the other one is Creperie the lighting is just gorgeous it feels so peaceful.
Saun
Fellow scooter lover here. It was really hard to chose. I have 5 favorites.
5. Orange Power
4. Mobile Display
3. A Bite or a Bike
2. Classic Italian Transport
and 1. Offerta
I hope you are able to continue to grow your collections now that you are stateside again. And that your display in the show goes well.
This is the most wonderful collection of images! This was really hard!! Here are my three favorites…
Mobile Display
I like the simplicity of the shot. It makes me feel peaceful. It’s beautiful composed! I like the soft muted colors. I love how my eye is drawn from the bicycle, to the fruits and then to the hanging baskets.
Carriage Display
I love the contrasts in this one; the modern store and the vintage looking wagon; the smooth concrete and the bricks; the bright colors of the fruits and vegetables against the black wagon.
From Water To Wheels
This one stirs my curiosity. I want to follow the canal and colorful row of houses to see what’s around the corner!
I don’t know how you’ll ever decide on which to use!! They’re all amazing!!
I had great fun wandering through these, and I realized that I was learning just a bit more about my own “eye!” I found myself gravitating towards those that had a bit of an empty space that let my eyes rest, and those that had some bright color. Interesting since although I see a lot of bright color in my own photos, I rarely see empty space…so lots to think about here. My favorites are Mobile Display, Carriage Display, and Where Fiats Retire.
A gorgeous series indeed – thank you for sharing its development, and for the giveaway 🙂
From Water to Wheels is certainly a favourite with me as well, for the colours and the nostalgic feel that, in contrast with the tourists and the modernity, makes Venice so very interesting.
Then I absolutely love the light and the loneliness in Creperie.
Also, the composition in Mobile Display is great; I really like how the image is divided in two horizontally, and then with a vertical line dividing the left-hand horizontal field. And that bike is so cute 🙂
Hi Kat,
I like so many but I’ve decided to select just one — the most powerful; that is, for me.
Mobile Display
As a student for life of photojournalism, I revere serendipitous captures that tug the heart, so to speak. This one does it for me.
Firstly, the composition looks like a reversed “L,” which makes it more amusing and attractive. I also see the word “HI” as in CIAO. As for the fruits and veggies, the disarrayed look gives it a heart warming appeal; not “contrived” as if worked on by a food stylist. The combination of colors of the items on the bike are wonderful, while the colors those items on the left give them life, and a backdrop of a darkened interior giving it depth.
Finally, this photo asks me if I would have been able to see the same framing/composition if I were the one to have come across this scene.
A dream of mine is to someday live for a year in Florence.
Cheers!
Kat,
I think this is a gorgeous collection overall. A few that really resonated with me:
A Bite or a Bike – I love the composition of this – capturing the second bike in the background. The image almost has a reflective property because of that.
Mobile Display – there is a sort of off-kilter madness to this shot that I love. You just keep looking at it wondering what is connected to what and how in the world is it all staying upright
Classic Italian Transport – the way the color of the walls and the color of the Vespa match…plus the capture of the two carts in the background – another kind of wheels.
A gorgeous collection! Good luck.
OK. It was tough to choose, but I picked my Top 5:
(in no particular order)
1.Offerta. I love the bars of color gradation from dark to light (inside the shop, dark gray slab, light gray slab) in the background. But it’s also lovely how the dominate red in the bike picks up the subtle reds in the apples and the sign.
2.Mobile Display. The composition is lovely. There’s the strong vertical line that meets the dominate circle and a lovely contrast between the busyness in the shop and the square of soft buttery yellow in the top left.
3.Carriage Display. This one is wonderful because it’s like the carriage is crossing over from the past to the present. There’s the carriage itself – kinda old fashioned – right outside the modern store, and then there are the wheels, three of which are on a more cobbled road and one on a slicker, smoother slab of street.
4.From Water to Wheels. I mean, come on, this is what we all love about Venice. Right?
5. Vespa Vendesi. This one is all about the reflections for me. The refection on the wine bottle, on the Vespa’s mirror, and even in the glass.
Congrats on your show! I’m sure it will be a smashing success!
Hi Kat. I liked the variety of this collection. Though they all are good,there were two that caught my eye. First was ‘A stop at the store’, and for a purely personal reason. It was taken in Corvalis, Oregon, which happens to be not far from my home town of Crescent City, CA. Besides, I have ridden my bike to the store as well.
Second was “Waiting for a Sale”. I really liked this one because of the greens throughout the photo. Also because of the vertical lines starting at the windows in the building behind that continue to the ground in the fabric awnings. I love the peaceful feeling it gives me as I view the old man sitting and waiting in the midst of the green.
A beautiful group of images. I can understand your dilemma.
I started by selecting images of the wheels that were doing the ransporting and then selected my favorites.
From Water to Wheels – I love these pictures in Venice of the canals. I’ve
never been to Italy – someday. Two design elements I particularly like –
line, pattern/repetition – are in this image and I love reflections. This is a perfect start for our journey to market.
Mobile Display – is one of your images I’ve always loved. I’m a bicycler, I like the way the image has been divided into three sections and how what’s in them lead your eye around. Love the color!
Merchant of Venice – The carts attract me. I like the lighting and how it portrays a bit of mystery; the color of the produce; the texture of the display against the rough wall.
Transaction – I like how line of the produce directs your eye to the ‘transaction’. Perfect ending.
Good luck with your selections and the exhibition. How exciting!
Kat, I had two that touched me deeply.
Mobile display, the unusualness of the baskets and crates above one another. the finishing touch for me was the folage that framed the harvest.
carrage display has so much charter the baskets bring out the contract of the inside of the wheels and the different colors of the harvest are strong like the wagon clor of black. best of luck to you and your entry.
Oh and thank you so very much for allowing me to be a part of ths excersise.
Wonderful collection Kat!
My favorites are “Mobile Display,” and “Water to Wheels.”
Hi Kat.. I do so love being given a challenge. Your phootos are great and choosing is difficult. I have chosen six, mainly because they are different and would enhance the variety of your show. Not necessarily in order of preference here goes:
1. Back Alley Bologna – a typical market scene. Great texture, depth, and atmosphere.
2. From Water to Wheels – Movement, composition, and colour.
3. Carriage display – Simple and strong.
4. Transaction – Emphasises both market and wheels, directional lines add focus to the subject.
5. Merchant of Venice – Moody, interesting light.
6. Mobile Display – Very strong composition with a zing of colour at the centre of attention.
Thanks for showing us your work before the exhibition. Good Luck.
Hello Kat,
These images are all so wonderful, it was very hard to choose favorites. Here goes, and they are in no particular order.
Vespa – The reflection, the table, the fact that a Vespa is parked indoors next to fine wine…. This just really made me stop and look.
Creperie – pure romance. The texture of the building, the lighting, this is beautiful!
Merchant of Venice – The utilitarian nature of it. The aged building, old things just speak to me. The lighting is wonderful.
From Water to wheels – This is a fine painting! The composition, the colors, the quiet. I want to follow the path, deeper, around the corner, and see what else there is to find.
Carriage display – Just beautiful. The romance. The old brick next to the modern cement, the girl busy with her work, and not taking notice of her surrounding. We all get caught up in work, and miss those little beautiful moments. The leaves on the fruit…. I hear music with this one.
Mobile display – I love how the green and orange and red just pop. The texture of the wall, the composition. Beautiful.
Good luck with your show, these are all so captivating I am sure you will do well!
first, from water to wheels, reminds me to my father who did it also this way in the Netherlands when I whas a little girl.
merchant of venice because that old and rusty look, love that, because its just like that by the real gardener
waiting for a sale, because the great sense of humor.
But I also think its such a great serie.
This is such a great collection, Kat! I especially love it because it’s about Italy! My favorites are Water to Wheels (love the colors, light, and canal), Bite or Bike (I like the symmetry of the composition with the two bikes) and Mobile display (the colors and textures are great).
Wow, what a great collection. It was so hard to pick just a few! I love From Water to Wheels – sums up Venice beautifully and I love the muted colours. Back Alley Bologna – love the composition and how you’ve packed so much Italy into one shot. Vespa Vendesi, such a great juxtaposition and I love the reflection too. Mobile Disply – love the composition and textures. Creperie – love the composition, the lighting and the cart againt the beautiful old building and all it’s textures.
To be honest, I love them all and I think they’d all look amazing.
Good luck with the show. 🙂
Hello Kat!
It is a great collection! I was hard to choose the photos and the ones I choose I did based on the first impression…
1- Carriage display – I love the way fruits are displayed and the colors, fruits look so perfect.
2 – Creperie – I love the old walls, the old texture of them and the beautiful chart and lights, it’s a beautiful composition, sad and lonely, but beautiful.
3 – Waiting for sale – that old man sitting there watching doesn’t seem alone to me, maybe because there’s so much going on in that picture. I feel joy just to watch how much life is in it.
4 – Mobile display – I like the composition here, this image reminds me of my childhood.
Good luck with the exhibition!!!
hard to do but this is what I narrowed it down to:
delivery – classic and makes you smile
classic itailian – the color mostly
mobile display – shows both wheels and market well
benvenut -because it is mostly white but bits of color from the food
water to wheels – for its unusual nature you just don’t see that everywhere.
I love the “Waiting for a Sale.” It makes for some good “eye candy”–you know, stuff that makes you want to sit back and just look at it and rediscover it each time. Seems there’s a story to tell, from the man on the wheeled chair, to the signs, to the balconies, to the lines, to the colors–all of it. It’s like sitting down in the French Market in New Orleans and just soaking up the atmospher and people. Good job.
Laura