I just love it when people look at my work and that is the first (or second) line out of their mouth. As if my camera jumped out of my hand, ran back down the street, centered the scene perfectly, focused and snapped the shot, noting that it didn’t need a flash to get the best lighting.

My hubbie once said this about a friend, but after some thought (I said nothing, neither did his friend) he came to the conclusion that maybe there has to be a smidgen of talent at least to get the camera to produce a nice picture.

And for the record, I do have a nice camera 🙂 I also have some others that might not be qualified as nice, but will produce some fantastic results if it’s the effect you’re looking for. Because in the end, the camera is just a tool that the entire world has access to, just like paint, pastels, pens, and clay.

Filed under:
Florence, Italy, My Art, not just a picture, Observances by Courtney

My brain is mush. I don’t remember anything anymore. I don’t think this is a result of getting older, though, as I’m sure my parents or grandparents will tell me. I think it’s a result of the internet and easy accessibility to information. It’s because when we drive by a funny business sign in San Francisco, and try to remember it one block later, I think, “Oh, we can just look that up later.” We did, and I still don’t remember what it was, other than a strip club with a funny name up the street from City Lights bookstore.

I see the same with my photos. Once upon a time I made sure to either note everything or just mentally stash away the info. Now I comb wikipedia and take a look at the photos surrounding to determine where I was and what else I was looking at. Such as the above, “Oh, Pantheon, Raphael’s Tomb, Madonna of the Rock”.

Filed under:
Observances by Courtney

Carousel, Florence, Italy

Yesterday morning the sky was gray – huge, puffy gray clouds provided a few variances in the shade of gray. I had to stop for gas and there was an eerie quiet for a few minutes – which is odd considering the gas station is on a busy street, and I was there during rush hour.

Another one of those surreal, slo-mo moments.

Filed under:
Florence, Italy, just a picture, Observances, Surreal by Courtney

The British royalty, if they haven’t always been, are now classified as “Entertainment”. Yes, alongside American Idle gossip and Mike Tyson gets jail time, there was a two minute clip on Queen Elizabeth’s 60th wedding anniversary with Prince Phillip. Poor guy, being second in command with his title, the ABC News clip assures me he’s in command in their personal life, well at least, he got to make the decision on where to school the children.

And we all know how well they turned out…

If you’re wondering, the title are their nicknames for each other. You guess who’s who.

Wow – I’m in a rather smarmy mood this evening… Cheers!

Filed under:
Funny, Observances by Courtney

Portions originally written October 24, 2007.

It was one of the first things that ran through my mind in Rome. We’re staying near Vatican City, and the place is surrounded by junk shops and street vendors hawking pictures of the Pope, Jesus, and pretty much any other religious figure you can think of.

Everything in the city of Rome elicits a small “WOW” from me, followed by silence because I’m floored by the beauty of it. Toward the end of day one I figured this out, after seeing St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel and Hall of Maps at the Vatican Museum, while enjoying a gelato in front of the Trevi Fountain. I know it’s all the tourist spots, but I’m not sure what isn’t in Rome. The entire city is like one big museum, only people live in and around every piece of art in it.

The mosaic work in St. Peter’s is amazing

The proportions of the buildings and the lighting add to that WOW-factor I believe. I’m a huge fan of the golden light, unfortunately, I only see it in the early morning here in the U.S. — and I’m not a morning person. It’s pretty much a golden hue through most of the day there, as you can see from the photos.

We also got to see the Pope this morning, not so much because we planned it, but because we were walking by and noticed the crowd. We decided seeing the Pope might be a once in a lifetime thing, so we stuck around.

Unfortunately I had left the longer lens at home, so you get to play “Find the Pope!”. Should be a good way to kill an hour of your Monday morning.

The entire popage-sighting was very spooky though. He was brought out in the pope-mobile and driven through the crowd, so it appeared he was floating in his white robes. Add to that some organ music, and the entire event seemed made for Halloween. Odd, interesting, unforgettable.

Filed under:
Honeymooning, Italy, Observances, Rome by Courtney