Sirmione, Lake Garda: Reflections of sunset on peaceful lake

Here you can see a view of the Lake Garda at sunset, shot from Sirmione.

This is a 10 seconds shot took hand-holding the camera over a small column.

I love the colors of the lake at sunset.

There was a nice swan swimming nearby, but 10 sec exposure doesn't fit for moving subject... :-)

Salsomaggiore's hills: The lonely tree at sunset on snowy hills

This is the classic "lonely tree".

It's on the hills near Salsomaggiore Terme, Italy. The photo is taken from the "Costa's road".

Some time ago I read a blogger asking if there's a place where you keep coming back...
This is one of those place. I love these hills, especially at sunset.
The "Costa's road" is a stretch of road long about 5 km, on the side of a hill. It's a perfect place for a relaxing walk, ad for some good photos.

Click the image bellow to see another view of this tree during the fall.

Parma, Ducal Park: Snow and streetlights surrounding the lake

Here you can see "Parco Ducale" (Ducal Park) in Parma, Italy.

I took this photo in the far 2006. 

I woke up early that day. The day before it never stopped snowing, and outside there were more than 8 inches of snow (20 cm).

I couldn't resist the temptation: I grabbed my camera and at 7:30 I was shooting in the park.

I've been lucky with this shot, the streetlights turned themselves off a few seconds after I made the picture :-)

I like the mood of this image. Without the streetlight it's totally different (useless) image.

More than 8 inches of snow,
and it was just the day before...

Salsomaggiore's hills: The sun in the sky

Yesterday has been a very nice day with a clear sky. Luckily I found myself with about one hour of spare time... so I brought my reflex and went on the nearby hills.
Here you can see a view of the hills near Salsomaggiore Terme, Italy. The photo is taken from the "Costa's road".

Some experienced photographers may tell you that you shouldn't put the sun in the frame, when doing a landscape in which deepness and structure play a role. And they are probably right.
But, to me, photography is about passion, not rules. So, here is the shot. And in my opinion it's worth to have the sun in the middle of the frame, it's the main subject after all :-)




Some minutes ago I was using Google Maps ad Google Earth to find the location from which I took this photo. I could not help but notice how similar is to reality is the Google Earth rendering of these hills. A big praise for Google's engineers :-)

Google Earth view of the same place of the photo

Florence Cathedral: Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore - The columns of the dome

This is the Florence Cathedral: Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. (check it on google maps)

Here you can see the magnificent ending of the central aisle. The two columns are part of the structure that support the dome.
I rendered the image using an HDR like look, this give more deep to the colors and the shadows, and bring the structure of the cathedral in relief.
In this shot I purposely exasperated the inclination for better render the size of this structure.
Just to be clear, these are people walking on the balcony:

People walking over the balcony... (100% crop)

I've shot this photo during our 2nd day in Florence. That day we walked for about 9km, mainly around the historic centre of the city. We visited the Cathedral, the Uffizi Gallery, Ponte Vecchio, Piazza della Signoria, and many other interesting place :-)

2nd day: walking for 9 km...

Click here to check my other posts about Florence.