Venice: A Surreal Muse
Ah, Venice! What hasn’t been said about the city of canals? As expected, I found it beautiful and charming. What I didn’t expect was the challenge it would pose to me as a photographer.
I captured a few unusual scenes throughout my recent trip–a group of boat builders, for instance, who shed their work trousers for swimsuits the moment their breaks began, diving headfirst into the canal’s murky water! On the whole, though, I had difficulty.
Every time I picked up the camera, the results were banal. I was confronted by a problem that every photographer—and probably every tourist—can understand: How to capture an iconic world city with a distinct visual voice? How to take photographs that didn’t precisely resemble the postcards for sale on every corner?
This predicament persisted until my last night in the city. The rain came in sheets that night, as did my inspiration. Using a slow shutter speed, I began snapping pictures of the soggy streets across from my hotel. I had no tripod. By default, the camera moved.
Rather than become frustrated, I decided to embrace this motion. I enveloped myself in it. The outcome was magical. The photos were surreal and evocative, like the city itself. I had found “my Venice”.
How does my travel experience relate to the everyday? Approach your challenges—photographic or otherwise—with persistence. Like the Italians themselves, embrace a quirky and imaginative approach. (Did you know that a sanitation boat with a mechanized arm collects garbage from the sides of Venice’s canals?!) The inspiration will come.
Themocracy
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