Scotland is...

Dramatic skies
Church steeples
Green hillsides
Rain then sun then rain
Plaid and kilted
Friendly
Bagpipes
Bloody history
Lochs and firths
Castles
Lilting accents
Hearty food
Lots of fun

We are back from our relaxed week in Scotland, where the weather was amazingly warm and sunny the last couple of days. I even got a bit of sunburn! Back in Italy it's grey and rainy, so my sunburn will fade fast. I can feel it disappearing already.

This image is from our first evening in Inverness, one of the times the sun popped out right before sundown. I loved the dramatic light and dark contrast found in the sky and the churches. Just one of the many skies we witnessed on this trip, it was ever changing. I'm just starting to go through my pictures and I look forward to sharing more this week!

Don't forget, today is the last day to sign up for the Liberate your Art Postcard Swap. Tomorrow I'll share the final count and the updated link list. I'm so excited!

Making it Mine

Before I left for Greece, I mentioned that I wanted to photograph white, white buildings with blue, blue sea. I think maybe I was wrong, I wanted to photograph white, white buildings with blue, blue windows and doors and domes. These colors are everywhere in on Santorini and I loved them! The residents must spend a lot of time painting, judging from the perfect conditions of many buildings as well as the number of paint stores along the road.  In the mile (1.6km) between where we stayed in Finikia and the small community of Ia (also spelled Oia) on the tip of the island, there were at least three paint stores alone.

As always, I love to wander the back streets (back stairways in the case of Ia) and make a place my own through my photographs. A photograph is a of a place, but it has me in it too. How I saw it and chose to capture it, my mood on that day, the light I found - all play in to the final image I end up sharing with you here.

While navigating the maze-like stairways to get out to a certain point I saw in the distance, I came around a corner and saw this scene below:

This is the scene found in quite a few postcards. Just imagine it with a slightly wider angle to get in more sea on the left and some beautiful sunset light. I obviously didn't have those same conditions for my image, but it's always fun to recognize these "postcard shots" as I wander around. I like to figure out where and how the photographers captured them when I can, it's a fun way to learn more about creating beautiful images.

I waited for the sun to come out for a while, it was coming and going all day. I sat on the steps gazing on this scene and listened to the sounds of people talking and clinking dishes in the distant restaurants. The sun never peeked out this time. Instead I continued on down the steps and kept studying the church with my camera as I approached. Trying angles and compositions, deciding what it was I really wanted to show. Finally, changing it from the generic postcard shot and making it my own.

My little piece of Ia, shared with you today.

Travelling to a New Place

A church on an island in a lake on a summer day. Fabulous! It was time to travel to a new place here on the blog, so I am going through photos of Slovenia, from our summer road trip. It's kind of fun! It also makes me excited to go back to Slovenia, we have it on our list of places to visit again this year. This church is on Bled Island, in the lake by the town of Bled.

Celebrate

This photo is from early in our time in Italy, in the Duomo di Milano. Off all of my images from the many churches we've visited, this is the happiest. I loved the light of the many candles and the girls who were so thoroughly enjoying lighting theirs and the reflection off the halos in the image behind them. There is beauty and peace in the ritual of this religion.

I thought I would share this image today, even though it's from a different time of year, to honor all of the different ways to celebrate the Christmas holiday. In a country very strongly influenced by the Catholic church, the church is a big part of the season here. We heard bells from our nearby campanile (bell tower) ringing quite a bit last night, and expect to hear them again today and tomorrow. A few weeks ago, the local priest came by to give us a schedule of events for the Christmas season at the church. Another difference to enjoy while we are here in Italy.

However you celebrate this season, I hope that you enjoy your time with family and friends!

Inspirational Light

We've seen a lot of churches here in Italy. Some are giant, some are smaller. Almost always overwhelming, you can't take it in from one angle or without craning your neck up. Most are dark inside. Beautiful stained glass windows catch your eye and it's nice and cool on a hot summer day, but otherwise dim and uninspiring in my opinion. I need the light. Except, for this one day in a church in Verona, where the warm afternoon light was coming in and illuminating the pews. Beckoning the visitor to sit down in the light and ponder the nature of our existence. Or at least, capture the beautiful light and shadows it creates. That's my personal kind of pondering.