Steet photography

I was about five years old when I learned for the first time about Venice. I remember because it was right after my father spent a year in Italy getting an advanced degree at the University of Padova. I recall looking at photos and travel guides and being curious about the canals, the palaces, and the gondolas…

It is interesting how a kid’s imagination can drive the quest of an adult, and how it can morph both expectations and reality. For me, Venice felt like meeting a cousin that I haven’t seen in many years. It was new, but also familiar. Intriguing. It is a city that the camera loves, although it doesn’t really love cameras…. or tourists. Day tourists, that’s it. To really enjoy the city spending a few nights there is mandatory.

From opulent palaces to very narrow streets, it is hard for me to pinpoint what I liked most in this city built on wood pillars driven in the lagoon’s mud. Probably the “spritz,” but that has nothing to do with architecture. One of the most interesting finds was that canals are really the back alleys of Venice. Some even have graffiti, half washed by the lagoon’s waters. Oh, and that gondolas are built crooked and float tilted to the right.

The mess, noise and craziness that is Venice during the day vanishes when the night falls and the hordes of tourists return to their cruise ships, or pack the restaurants, osterias and tavernas. As one day ends and another begins, the city seems to go back in time and is breathing a moment of respite. Venice at peace.

Enjoy the photos!

 

Small doors.
Clean streets.
Waking up at 2 in the morning to go see some dead fish being sold.
Sushi for breakfast. Noodles for lunch. Sushi for dinner.
People. Lots and lots of people. Polite people.
Police cars that look like they just descended from an anime movie.
French pastries tastier than those in Paris. Perfect cappuccino.
Walking. All day.
Interesting mélange between modern and traditional.
Almost nobody speaks English.
Google translate saves the day. Sometimes.
Learning to eat noodles and rice as locals do. We can’t slurp that loud.
New tastes, new smells, new sights.
Signs and advertisements everywhere. Handwritten. Printed. Photographs.
Somehow, it feels like Istanbul. The smell of the sea is the same. The smell of the city… much better.
Cash, must have cash.
Bento box.
Hello Kitty!
Metal snakes running at 200 mph.
Kon’nichiwa Tokyo!

WTOmic-mugur-photographer-Kansas-City

World Trade One building in New York

New York as it is viewed from the observation deck at the 104 floor of the World Trade One building. A magnificent view that you can enjoy by installing Microsoft’s Research HDView software for your browser. It will allow you to zoom in and pan in all directions.

I created this panorama by stitching together 39 high resolution images taken with my Fujifilm X-E2. Make sure you view it on full screen for an immersive experience (click on the icon on top right corner of the frame).

Have fun – and please leave a comment.

 

 

New York Gigapanorama – HDViewer:

Note: BEST VIEWED WITH FIREFOX. Google’s Chrome ver.47(current) has issues installing the HD Viewer from MS.

Copyright 2015 Mugur Geana

New York is like a living organism. Its streets are the veins and arteries through which biped cells move, collide and interact. There is an endless stream of photo opportunities for the street artist as well as for the occasional photographer who is only experimenting with this art form. The photos below are some of the results of my own experiments on these ever changing streets of New York. Enjoy!