How do you take a picture that already exists?
Everyone is seeking the decisive moment. The internet is full of them. Instagram, Google, and Unsplash share free images of every subject and location on earth. They killed stock photography as a profession and largely travel photography as well.
Few can distinguish between a photo taken by a smartphone and one shot with a professional kit. Fewer still have the resources and connections it takes to capture an image at the level of National Geographic. Yet, we all want to be Steve McCurry.
What is there left for a normal bloke to explore while on vacation? and how should we do it?
I take photos purely for my own pleasure. I enjoy the physical act of using my old-fashioned camera (Leica M 240). It requires me to slow down and look more intently. To experience one moment at a time, even if none of them are decisive. We collect momentoes for ourselves, not for others. There comes a recollection with each snapshot. Life storries to remember and tell do not come with downloaded images.
I seek the road less taken. That in itself is difficult as tourists have covered every corner of the earth and as the roads “less taken” definitely are not comfortable. It is easier to follow in the footsteps of giants. I find those unbeaten paths in Malawi, where I sometimes work; others find them in Patagonia. Today, the question is: how do you do that in a place like Florence?
You have to be technical and diligent. Everyone has a picture of the Duomo in Florence, particularly taken from the Belvedere. It has become a meme and used to be on every second postcard from Florence (at a time when people were still sending postcards). How can one add to these perfect pictures?
First, do not go to the Belvedere; go to the Duomo. I must have walked around it fifty times over three days with three different lenses. During half the walks, I did not take a single photo, but I learned to see and made mental notes about views that appealed to me, no one else. Some days, I got up too late in the morning or arrived at my favorite spot too late in the day. Sometimes there were endless streams of people blocking any decent view. During those times, I practiced my street photography.
I brought a vintage lens to chase the perfect bokeh. It made no difference for the Duomo. I tried to get a seat at the Rinascente rooftop bar — so did everyone else visiting Florence that day. In the end, I settled on an entryway slightly elevated, but not enough to avoid distortion and not overly suitable for setting up a tripod. I picked a corner for leading lines, not the central perspective that was invented right here over 500 years earlier.
If the light is right, you can fix everything else “in post”. Tuscan colors are magic. They would have been even better had I gone in September rather than the height of summer when the sun is high overhead. Seasons matter; seek the less traveled ones. This particular picture was taken with a simple 35 mm objective at f13 for 1/60 for maximum depth of field. I included lots of extra space around the main motif to give room for the perspective adjustment algorithms to work. That resulted in a technically acceptable but not unique picture. So I added a miniature effect filter, which is very en vogue these days. I am not sure if I will still like it in twenty years.
The difference to an iPhone snap: 24 Megapixels on a 35 mm sensor vs. 12 Megapixels on a pin-size sensor. You will not see this difference on Instagram, only when you hang the 16 x 24 in print on your wall.
One last hint: shoot details! No one else bothers. Almost any light and lense will work, and there is a unique story with it, your story.
