First photo with the 5DII

Ok obviously this is not the first SHOT!

it's the first photo I've took with the Idea of taking something good!

This is a Pano made of several photos (8 IIRC) with the Canon 17-40 f/4.0 L...

That is an amazing lens!! Awesome!!

This shot is the third re-post processing try^_^ The first one had a wrong PoV chosen in Hugin; The second was too less contrasty... so I went back in Bibble and re-developed the shots, later I's increased saturation, joined the shots in Hugin and, to end it alla added some vignetting in the shot as I liked it most^_^

The EXIF reads:

Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Date Taken: 2009:08:08 09:31:37

NO other data? that's strange O_o

Have a Good Light

Torre dell'asinello

This is another classical shot of Bologna from the same day as the shot before.

This is the Torre dell'Asinello (Little Donkey Tower) near P.zza Maggiore.

If you go there you'll have to try this shot but it will be far better to carry with you a perspective correction lens as the other building are far too near to get a good sight...

Camera Model: NIKON D300

Date Taken: 2008:06:30 18:18:43

Exposure Time: 1/60 sec.

ISO Speed Rating: 200

Focal Length: 18.0 mm

Enjoy your lights

San Francesco ai Chiostri

Speaking of not too sharp shots...
This too was taken with my D300 and the AFS 18-200 in some strange situation of lights that fooled my AF...

I've taken this picture while I was going to a famous ice cream shop in Bologna (Gelatauro) the day after Gods Of Metal 2007.
I was walking under the cloisters (the walkways in in the old Bologna are covered and are called Chiostri (IIRC) I can't find a better word for them) and I was taken by this sight and decided to shoot it...
Far lovelier sight than I succeeded in capturing I suppose^_^

Exif Reads:
Camera Model: NIKON D300
Date Taken: 2008:06:30 18:18:43
Exposure Time: 1/60 sec.
ISO Speed Rating: 200
Focal Length: 18.0 mm

Enjoy your Light

Red Sky, Black Castle

Ok this is the last shot from the previous series... this last three shots were all taken in the same morning only a few minutes from the other two.

IIRC this was the first one... I was going for a classic photo... the silhouette!

But a single silhouette is a boring one... moreover is a flat photo... I needed something to create a sensation of depth...

The main subject was the Castel Dell'Ovo A monument in Naples linked to an ancient myth... The depth was provided by the boat in the lower right...

I'm happy of this shot as it has come out exactly as I figured it out^_^

First post of 2010

I've still to take any photo in the 2010 as I'm working on refining a research text...

But I've still plenty of photos from the last 2 years to upload^_^
So... why not to start the new year with a street photo? a photo bombing done to me (not by me!)

I was taking the photo of our P.zza del Plebiscito new decoration the phrase "Love Difference" writtin in many languages (there are several I do not know).

I put the camer on a street light (the base not the top) and choose a 1 second exposure... While I was shooting a man walked to the center of the frame (while texting!) and stood there for a little (2-3 seconds) b4 going away...

Near perfect center! [you can see the whole picture without the man at http://sightsandlights.blogspot.com/2008_04_01_archive.html

Exif tells me:
Aperture: f/22
Shutter Speed: 1 sec.
Focal length on lens: 20mm
ISO: 640
Camera: Nikon D300
Date: 04 Jan 2008
Time: 09:54 PM


P.S. If I had to reshoot this photo today it would ave been a little different... it's good to see my old photos knowing I can do a lot better than that. It tells me I've still much to learn

Old and new Naples

And this is the last shot of this series... but it the first I shot too...
I was having some fun shooting some cargoes and I anded up framing a piece of Castel Dell'Ovo...

The difference was striking... Naples have always been a trading city... but in these times the differences are still more striking... we've got heritage attractions and commercial wharfs too...

Exif Reads:
Camera Model: NIKON D300
Date Taken: 2008:12:13 15:24:05
Exposure Time: 1/499 sec.
Aperture Value: 6.00 EV (f/8.0)
ISO Speed Rating: 1250
Flash Fired: Flash did not fire.
Exposure Program: Manual
Focal Length: 28.0 mm


Enjoy your light!

Castello dell'Ovo and the Sailor's burg

In a cloudy afternoon, after spending the morning at University and after visiting a friend of mine at an Amazing Comic Store here in Naples (StarShop in Fuorigrotta - Via Diocleziano, 19).

I wanted to get some picture of Castel dell'Ovo (Egg's Castle) and something more (You'll see I assure you!) and I searched for a good sight of the Castle walking the shoreline.

All the photo taken that day share a common Issue... they were taken at 1250 ISO as I was playing with the camera the night before

The Exif reads:
Camera Model: NIKON D300
Date Taken: 2008:12:13 15:25:10
Exposure Time: 1/499 sec.
Aperture Value: 6.00 EV (f/8.0)
ISO Speed Rating: 1250
Flash Fired: Flash did not fire.
Exposure Program: Manual
Focal Length: 28.0 mm



Enjoy you light!

Castel dell'ovo

With this photo I start a series of 4 photos on one of the most famous monument of Naples "Castel dell'Ovo" (It means something like Egg's Castel).

This shot has been taken in a cloudy but not dark mid afternoon in February. Honesly I do not rememb er much of this shooting session adn I will not make it up^_^


Exif reads:
Date Taken: 2009:02:08 15:44:15
Exposure Time: 1/999 sec.
Aperture Value: 4.00 EV (f/4.0)
ISO Speed Rating: 200
Flash Fired: Flash did not fire.
Exposure Program: Manual
Focal Length: 95.0 mm


Enjoy your light

Some new post in order to be back online...

I'm proud to offer you my first pano with the 5d mark II... it is perfect? no! But I've to start from something^_^

This is a Pano out of 8 Images with the Canon EF 17-40 1:4 L USM (what a long name!) at 40mm... (I believe it was taken at f/8.0 but I've not the Exif saved in the stitch (or so I do believe!)

Thanks to Hugin for the help in stitching it all together and to Gimp for te PP^_^

A Fountain in Pinerolo

I was being in Pinerolo for a week when I saw this fountain really near the school..
I tried to shot a photo of it in ner sunset, but the tight timeline we had than did not let me wait 15 minutes more.
So the sky was too clear for getting a good image, but I decided to go on shooting it.
My idea was to not use the flash (No! I did not wanted to use the fill-in setting of the camera) and to go for longer shutter speed in order to get a creamy water effect.
To say it all it was an half success as there was not enough water to get maximum visual impact... but I had to go with what was there in that given moment :(

So I go with a f/2.8 and 1/4" not written down the ISO and the exif is not my friend this time...

P.S. The total absence of bokeh shows us the limit of compact camera. This was shot with my A630 Canon

I'll surely find another fountain to shot with the new camera^_^

Mole Antonelliana (2/2)

And now the inside of this mounmental building... but in a different way!

But something more of the usual shots from inside a building...
I'm sorry not showing you the bautiful bar with changing lights... but my Canon was not able to focus and expose properly without flash (or a tripod I did not have) and the flash would have spoiled the light effects...

Instead I prefer to publish two photos of a model inside the building that can make you feel how tall the building is. Moreover this part of the building was lighted enough to have some good photos.

The first one was taken at f/2.8 with a shutter speed of 1/60" (with flash!)


The second shot is from the same model but let you understand how the building is inside ^_^

Same shooting conditionsas the shot above...

1 note!
If you look at building's center there's an elevator... it's a frightening device made of glass that let you see all of the building decorations while it is rising... I suffer from acrophobia (fear of heights) so meybe using the elevator wasn't the wisest thing to do^_^

No! I won't post any picture from the top of the builfing as I went there in a sunny day at noon so there was a too strong light to shoot good photos :(

Mole Antonelliana (1/2)

In the next couple of posts I'll show you another great thing you can see in Turin: The Mole Antonelliana.

If you want to know technical data you can go at a wiki site, so do not ask me to tel lyou when it was built and how much it is tall.. .I will only say that it is not a modern building and that it is very very tall^_^

Trough this shot I tried to show the overwhelming sensation it creates...

Just sorry for the corner of the near building... I did not saw it before shooting...

Exif tells me it was taken at f/4.0 and a shutter speed of 1/640...

This is the shot as it was taken... I could have PPit to saturate the sky (getting more blue out if it^_^) while using duplicate levels to make the building clearer and brighter while cutting off the building corner...

I prefer not to apply PP (as for all the photos of this blog till now) to show what I get out of the camera..