Before I take this photograph, I check to feel for the stability of Rialto Bridge. I know the bridge is made from marble now. I also known this bridge collapsed many times throughout history.

March 2014, single image, additional exposures for highlights, focal length 32mm, aperture f/8, shutter speed 63 seconds, ISO 200, 10-stop ND filter, tripod.

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Rialto Bridge burned during a rebel apprising. It fell under the weight of a crowd watching a boat parade. It fell lots of times.

Finally the powers of be at Venice got it together deciding maybe it wasn’t such a good thing if one of the four bridges across Grand Canal regularly collapsed. In 1524 the city hosted a competition for artists to submit designs for the bridge – Michelangelo was among their rankings. He did not win!

The one built all the way back in the 16th century is what I stand on now as I take this photograph of the Grand Canal and Santi Apostoli Church. There are pretty two famous perspectives involving the Rialto Bridge: one you are on the Bridge taking pictures of the surroundings, the other you are taking photos of the bridge itself. Arriving more than hour before sunset, I decided to start off with the view from Rialto Bridge.

There are number things I like about this composition. First, the contrast between shadow white cold building on the left and brightly lit warm facades and church on the right. Secondly, number of strong diagonals which leads the eye to main object, the bell tower. Lastly, my choice to smooth the water with long exposure forces the eye to focus on buildings details rather than texture of the water.

Gondola ride is one of the most iconic experiences in Venice. I wondered often if people actually use the gondola as a means to commute to work, the store, etc.

March 2014, single image, focal length 16mm, aperture f/8, shutter speed 1/80 second, ISO 640, handheld.

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It turns out these are mainly used as a tourist experience. Few gondolas even operate as taxis!

The gondola just takes you around for a certain amount of time, usually about 40 minutes, before letting you out. This impracticality would never stop a tourist from hopping onto one of the most sought after experiences in Venice.

Like any tourist caught up in the beauty of Venice including the gondolas, I could not put my camera away. Usually when travelling I save shoots for the morning and evening when the light is beast. And during the day I research the best places for photographs and it really takes this level of investigation to capture the emotion and composition for high quality photos.

Moving on, my son and wife accompanied me on my morning shoot, but by this time of day headed back to the hotel for breakfast. My instinct to stay out and capture the beauty of Venice was right. This photo is an example where I caught an intimate photo of tourists enjoying a gondola ride on a small, charming canal.

When one is taken in with the beauty of Venice, thoughts may not stray to thieves, peasants and the underground citizenry of the city. Yet, even a city as enchanting as Venice has its fair share of criminals.

March 2014, single image, additional exposures for highlights and shadows, focal length 35mm, aperture f/11, shutter speed 30 seconds, ISO 100, 10-stop ND filter, tripod.

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Lord Byron, the famous poet, did think of prisoners when visiting Venice. The bridge you see before you, the Bridge of Sighs, is named after a phrase in a poem by Byron. This bridge is the last place a prisoner crossed before being taken down to the tombs. The sigh is mean to represent the sigh of sadness a condemned would make when gazing out of the window of this bridge.

It is a famous scene which has been photographed and painted more times than most people would ever care to count. As a photographer, it was difficult to imagine even making a unique composition here. Though this did not stop me and after completing two shoots already this morning, I headed over towards Doge’s Palace to capture this iconic image.

By the time I got there the sun was already up. This dashed my hopes of a long exposure to create a smooth and ethereal feel. Yet using a neutral density filter I was still able to make the exposure longer even with the sun up.

While there is no particular novelty to this photo, I still cannot imagine my Venice portfolio without it!

San Giorgio Maggiore Church mainly sits empty and only occasional tourist ventures here across the water. Inside of the walls is unspeakable beauty and history.

March 2014, single image, additional exposures for highlights, focal length 21mm, aperture f/11, shutter speed 4 seconds, ISO 100, tripod.

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The church saw many great men come and go; one of those was Pope Pius VII, who was elected on the ground of San Giorgio Maggiore Church. Like many of the world leaders of the time, Pius VII spent a good portion of his leadership dealing with Napoleon Bonaparte.

Pius VII was even held prisoner by Napoleon where he was dragged across the Alps then imprisoned for five years where he was subjected to cruel treatment including being drugged with morphine by a fake doctor, all so the Pius would bow to Napoleon. Napoleon did not only want to rule the world, he wanted the Catholic Church. In the end, we know he would get neither.

Pius story all starts here in Venice where I’m capturing this photo early in the morning among many other photographers. The main object, San Giorgio Maggiore Church, looks especially isolated with the water and sky from this angle. Though color and texture of the church are the same as the foreground giving some relation between the shore and the church. The church and shore pavers warmly contrast against the cool sea. The blue light of the fleeing night contrasts with the warm glow of the lamp. Also the pavement contrasts starkly with the smooth water surface.

The sense of history, the composition and the lighting makes for one of the strong photos from this set.

One of the iconic landmarks in Venice is the San Giorgio Maggiore Church. You may not be able to tell by this photograph, but this church sits on an island.

March 2014, single image, additional exposures for highlights, focal length 23mm, aperture f/11, shutter speed 7.5 seconds, ISO 100, tripod.




What is interesting is despite the fact it is one of the architectural marvels of Venice, few bother with the trip to the island to visit the church. Rather it is all about capturing the exterior of the church often from the angle you see before you with the Grand Canal and Gondolas in foreground.

Like many scenes in Venice, this one has been captured over and over again by thousands of photographers. Today was no exception. When I captured these photos I met fellow photographers with heavy tripods photographing from the almost the same positions. During my entire trip to Venice it would always be like this, I’d be taking photos along with other photographers around me.

This is where it becomes challenging. While it is nice to make friends with like-minded people from around the world I must search deep inside myself to wonder “how do I set myself apart from the millions of others who’ve snapped photos of San Giorgio Maggiore Church before?”