Do not take pictures, make pictures.

 

Sunset over the basilica Di San Giorgio Maggiore church.

Please click for the full size image.

A story behind: I think there is a difference between taking a travel picture and making one. Taking a picture means simply point and shoot. 
But while making a picture, you must think about all the elements in a scene and build your own composition. 

When I approached the scene the photo conditions were adverse: strong contrasts, almost no clouds in the sky, low line of horizon and fast moving typical venetian boats in the foreground. Placing the horizon line near the low bottom of the frame was a must.

I decided  to use wide-angle lenses. The lenses made a little barrel  distortion at the lower edges of the composition, just enough to create an ilusion that all boats "look" at the center of the scene where I put the church.

But that wasn´t enough. The upper two-thirds of the composition were empty. I moved a camera and consequently a view point a little down to include an old lamp. I placed the lamp at the strong point of the composiotion.

Location:  Venice old town, Italy.

Gear: Nikon D700, Nikkor 16-32 mm, hand-held.

Aperture: f/11


Shutter: 1/250 sec.
 
Exposure bias: -0,3 EV

Focal Length: 16 mm

ISO: 400

Date: Saturday, 19th of October 2013.

Maciek.