Blogs, Photography
Creating Art In Venice, With New Glass
Dec
I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “It’s not about the camera gear, it’s about inspiration/skill/passion/a creative eye” – and most of the time I would agree with this. Photography is more accessible to more people than ever before, and you can truly create beautiful art with limited equipment. However, sometimes having adequate gear – the right gear for the job – will help you get closer to what your naked eye, thoughts, and imagination are wanting to truly capture or create, as well as have more control about what you create.
A great example of this is trying to capture a photo of a full moon- just to look at your camera and get the disappointment by the tiny glare on your screen – or trying to take photos of a fast moving object in poor lighting. I remember the first time I was hired to do a shoot in Venice, Italy – must have been in 2015. I was shooting with my Canon 1ds Mark II, which was a great camera, but not honestly it’s not that great for all of Venice’s dark alleys and canals due to its limited dynamic range and usable ISO. I also had a Canon 70D with better dynamic range – but it’s of course a crop sensor. At the time, I couldn’t afford a Canon’s 24-70 f2.8 – and the Sigma 18-35 art lens hadn’t even been released yet. So, like any photographer I made it work with what I had by using my trusty Tokina 16-28 f2.8, which on a crop sensor body was as close to 24-70 as I was going to get.
During my most recent trip to Venice – for the first time in my life while visiting this amazing city – I arrived with exactly what I knew I needed: The Canon 70-200 f2.8L Mk III. I always shoot with two cameras – currently a pair of Canon 5D MK IVs – one mounted on my chest with the Cotton Carrier Harness, and the other on my hip with my Spider Holster. The camera on my chest is usually equipped with a Sigma 24-70 f2.8 art lens, which was also true during this trip, and the camera on my hip was previously always equipped with the Sigma 70-200 f2.8. Seeing these photographs, and how well they turned out, I cannot tell you how happy I feel with the results, and how satisfied I am with my choice to finally upgrade my workhorse of a telephoto that I took all over the world and back for 5+ years. Having the right gear, and continuing to invest in better equipment for me allows me to be able to spend more time focusing on what I want to do – and where I am, vs. always trying to figure out workarounds to accomplish what I need.
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The improvement was really obvious to me when I shot into almost direct sunlight while capturing an old Venetian dock that revealed so much detail. I still cannot believe how well this print turned out – plus the cold color palette and the contrast between the dock and the sky transmit such a mysterious and dreamy vibe that I simply wouldn’t have been able to capture in such a clean way with my older Sigma lens.
The Mysteries of the Lagoon
Venice, Italy
The Dragon
Venice, Italy
And just as I expected, the Canon 70-200 f2.8 Mk III performed amazingly as well when I encountered a beautiful scene that later turned into this piece I later called The Dragon. This print shows a dark canal illuminated by the beautiful colors of the city. In this case, different blue and green shades lead the view to a salmon, pink building – and just at that moment, a gondoliere peaks out navigating through the canal – helping me transmit a sense of wonder into the scene.
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During this specific trip to Venice, I knew I only had a few hours to walk around the city, so I had to be really intentional with which shots to take – and in circumstances like this it’s just so important to have exactly the equipment you need. Thanks to the gear I had on me I was able to capture exactly what I wanted to without feeling restricted by my equipment, which is honestly just such a great feeling. With The Lone Gondoliere and Motoscafi I hope I was able to transmit the feelings and the sounds of these scenes, where I feel you can almost hear the sound of the water as it the gondola glides through it, and the motorboats drifting past.
Motoscafi
Venice, Italy
Whether or not you’re a photographer, I hope this information was useful for you! If you’re a photography enthusiast or a lover of travel, I hope that by hanging up one of the prints in this collection in your home – you’ll feel like you have your own window to this magical city. I’m honestly so proud of how this work turned out and can say with confidence that my Venice collection finally feels complete – at least for now 🙂
<3 Scott
