Everywhere there are patterns. In our behaviors, our preferences and in the world around us. This is one thing I’ve always loved about engineering, finding the patterns so that you can solve the problem.
This kind of brickwork is a very common European pattern. I love how the individual squares are used to create these arcs. This image is of Patrick and Brandon’s shadows on a street in Bolzano.
Home again, home again… it’s good to be back home in Italy. I had a fantastic week last week visiting with friends when I wasn’t working, but it is truly good to get back home to my family and my cat and my own bed. And, it’s a nice sunny morning as well, so there is nothing in life to complain about. I hope you all have a good Monday!
With photography, timing is everything. Finding the transient light, that fleeting expression, the transitions of nature. Or in this case, that other photographer’s flash! I love this image from Venice, where just I happened to have the shutter open at the moment someone in the gondola took a picture. I love the star of light from the flash, the sharp shadow of the gondolier on the wall, the interesting exposure of the buildings. A serendipitous happenstance, I couldn’t have planned this shot. That makes it all the better.
So pretty, so painful. Why is it, that nature’s way of warning you of danger, poison, etc., is often also beautiful? Sometimes colorful, or in the case of these jellyfish at the aquarium in Genova, just elegant and beautiful. An interesting paradox.
One of my favorite images of this “street” corner in Varenna, on Lake Como. It’s not really a street corner, more like a corner of two pedestrian walkways. One along the harbor and the other a stairway up the hill from the lakefront through the town. Such a pretty corner, with the potted tree growing there with loving care.
Almost all of the street signs here in northern Italy are like this (haven’t been too far south yet, so can’t comment beyond Florence!): Engraved marble, on the corner of a building, facing the street they are naming. Beautiful for a place like this, but nearly impossible to utilize when you are trying to navigate in your car in the middle of a city! It’s best to enjoy these signs as part of the charm and beauty of Italy, and bring a GPS if you come visit. You will be much happier for it!
No, I’m not talking about hair! One final “love themed” post for this Valentine’s Day week. You find these locks on bridges, ocean overlooks, anywhere near water. The couples right their names on the lock, lock it to something permanent (railing, lamp post, whatever) and throw the key into the water. It must be quite the European love tradition because we’ve seen them everywhere, once we started noticing them. I had never heard of this or seen this in the US. These are from Florence, on the Ponte Vecchio. 