Italy, Switzerland and Austria
31st May 2011
I have just recently returned from a 1000 mile photography trip around Italy, Switzerland and Austria so thought I'd post a few images from the trip. I landed in Trieste, Italy in the evening of Sunday 22nd May and headed straight for Venice. The next day was spent taking in the sites and sounds that Venice had to offer and scouting out some locations to photograph later that day when the light became good. Venice was extremely busy and almost a shoulder to shoulder battle with other photographs to try and get the shots I wanted. I was once told by a fellow photographer not to bother with Venice as it was somewhere every man and his dog photographed, I can safely say that is very true but still very glad I've gone and done it at least once. The harsh mid day sun didn't allow for much photography to take place but later that evening everything began to look very nice in the setting sun and dusk light. Below from right to left; Traditional Venetian Carnival Mask, Grand Canal, Santa Maria Della Salute Church, Gondolas from San Marco.
The next day was an early start and a drive to Milan. After an unscheduled stop in Bergamo because the car decided to stop working I arrived in Milan in time to head to the main Plazza to photograph the iconic Duomo in lovely late afternoon sunlight.
The following day was a 4am start and a drive to Bellagio on the shores of Lake Como to capture the early morning light over the hills and water, and then a ferry across the lake to Varenna before driving up high into the Italian mountains to cross the border to Switzerland.
Just before the crossing to Switzerland I arrived at a small Italian town called Montespluga which can be seen on the right of this panoramic image, surrounded by the still snow capped mountains and Lake di Montespluga with a very low level of water.
After a rather underwhelming border crossing into Switzerland (blink and you'd miss it) there was a short drive before being met with more dramatic mountains above the small town of Splugen.
Unfortunately the weather took a turn for the gray and drab the next day meaning I didn't really produce any noteworthy images, you're always going to have at least one or two days in a trip where the conditions aren't great. However it did allow for some much needed down time after the early starts and lots of traveling from the previous days, so not all bad.
First port of call in Austria was a small town in the Dalaas Valley region, the weather was still very gray and cloudy however the low cloud wrapping round the mountains made for a pretty dramatic looking scene.
After the short visit to Austria it was back over the border and into Italy, this time much further East for a visit to see the Dolomite mountains. My favourite shot from this region was a close up of the snow capped peaks which really lent itself well to a gritty black and white look.
The day ended back in Trieste to complete the 1000 mile round trip and there was just enough time to head into the town centre to grab a shot of the main square before flying home the next morning.
The next day was an early start and a drive to Milan. After an unscheduled stop in Bergamo because the car decided to stop working I arrived in Milan in time to head to the main Plazza to photograph the iconic Duomo in lovely late afternoon sunlight.
The following day was a 4am start and a drive to Bellagio on the shores of Lake Como to capture the early morning light over the hills and water, and then a ferry across the lake to Varenna before driving up high into the Italian mountains to cross the border to Switzerland.
Just before the crossing to Switzerland I arrived at a small Italian town called Montespluga which can be seen on the right of this panoramic image, surrounded by the still snow capped mountains and Lake di Montespluga with a very low level of water.
After a rather underwhelming border crossing into Switzerland (blink and you'd miss it) there was a short drive before being met with more dramatic mountains above the small town of Splugen.
Unfortunately the weather took a turn for the gray and drab the next day meaning I didn't really produce any noteworthy images, you're always going to have at least one or two days in a trip where the conditions aren't great. However it did allow for some much needed down time after the early starts and lots of traveling from the previous days, so not all bad.
First port of call in Austria was a small town in the Dalaas Valley region, the weather was still very gray and cloudy however the low cloud wrapping round the mountains made for a pretty dramatic looking scene.
After the short visit to Austria it was back over the border and into Italy, this time much further East for a visit to see the Dolomite mountains. My favourite shot from this region was a close up of the snow capped peaks which really lent itself well to a gritty black and white look.
The day ended back in Trieste to complete the 1000 mile round trip and there was just enough time to head into the town centre to grab a shot of the main square before flying home the next morning.
