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The best camera is the one you have with you

Last month I visited Italy and I promised to share some more photos from the trip. Let me start with a panorama photo taken with my iPhone 5. As they say 'the best camera is the one you have with you' and I always carry my phone around. Unfortunately its battery is quite shitty, so I prefer to rephrase that 'the best camera is the one you have with you ... and has a charged battery'.

Panorama in Abruzzo, Italy - iPhone 5.
Anyway, I love the contrast of the blue skye and the green fields. Such a peaceful place. Enlarge the image and note all the white daisies on the right. Actually I am pretty impressed with capabilities of the iPhone. This result makes me wonder how good the new iPhone 6 performs.


Besides my phone I also carried my 'real' camera. Noticed the bicycle on the left? That's mine! I decided to go for a bike ride with the goal to take some landscape shots. Let me share one.

Montagna dei Fiori, Abruzzo - SMC Pentax-A 50mm F1.4
Although the fields were very green, I chose for black and white to emphasise the shape of the tree. The photo is layered very appealing with a clear foreground, centre and background, creating a feeling of depth. Did you get to discover the monastery?

I gave up after 20km of cycling torture in the hills. Let's therefore switch from landscape photography to street shots. Some of these photos were taken while enjoying a coffee on one of those picturesque Italian squares. Much better conditions to stimulate creativity.

Italian street scene 1 in Ascoli Piceno  - SMC Pentax-A 100mm F2.8
Italy is the perfect country for street photography. Life happens outside! In the first picture we see four people and only one face. This immediately draws the viewers attention to the intriguing guy on right. What's he staring at? Then the bicycle on the left creates some dynamics. Cover it with your hand and notice how dull the image gets without.

Italian street scene 2  in Ascoli Piceno - SMC Pentax-A 100mm F2.8
Unlike the previous shot there's no clear subject in the second picture. That's why I like it so much. I had the low sun in my back which really illuminated the street scene. As a result many details are to be discovered when you take a close look: the cyclist avoiding the pedestrians, the creepy guy in the door on the right, the happy baby, the woman with popping eyes inside the bar...

Italian street scene 3  in Ascoli Piceno - SMC Pentax-A 100mm F2.8
A 'vigile' (local police man) in action.  I guess he's bumping into two old friends, or maybe friendly remembering them of something that happened in past? Who knows, I just like the scene and also its scenery. And to end where I started: 'The best camera is the one you have with you'. Quality of the camera doesn't matter when your subject is the streets. It's about the unique scenes being captured!







Comments

Thijs said…
La vita Italiana e piu bella, no? :-)